Innovation drives Racer forward

Airbus Helicopters celebrated a significant milestone with its innovative Racer compound rotorcraft. This experimental aircraft is pushing the boundaries of what's possible in vertical flight, demonstrating a new era of speed and efficiency for helicopters. We sat down with Brice Makinadjian, Chief Engineer for the Racer, to discuss the aircraft's recent achievements, its groundbreaking technology, and what lies ahead for this ambitious project.

Brice, this year the Racer, celebrated a new speed record. Can you tell us about it?

Yes, it was a fantastic achievement for the Racer! In April, we successfully flew the experimental aircraft at 240 knots (444 km/h). We actually reached this speed with power margin to spare, and it's particularly significant because it was achieved after only 25 flying hours – which is just one-eighth of the total flying hours justified for the flight-test program. This really speaks to the maturity of the aircraft's design. We had actually broken our initial speed target of 220 knots in June after just seven flights. While we're just 15 knots short of the record set 15 years ago by our predecessor, the X3, the Racer achieved this speed while being two metric tons heavier than the X3 with roughly the same engine power. It's crucial to understand that the aim of the Racer is not to achieve a speed record, but to demonstrate increased capabilities for certain operations where high speed is a real advantage. Airbus is demonstrating that speed and efficiency can match together.

Why is the Racer such an innovative platform?

The Racer is incredibly innovative for several reasons. Firstly, it's an Research & Technology demonstrator that aims to test a compound architecture combining vertical flight capabilities with the faster flight characteristics of a fixed-wing airplane. We've designed it for a cruise speed of around 220 knots, aiming for the best trade-off between speed, cost-efficiency, and mission performance.

The aircraft also incorporates over 90 patents and serves as a test bed for numerous advanced technologies that will benefit both current and future generations of Airbus helicopters. These include advancements in fuselage aerodynamics, an asymmetric tail boom, electromagnetic actuators for moveable surfaces, a reusable gearbox with lower maintenance, and new simulation capabilities for the blades. We're also deeply committed to reducing the environmental impact of our aircraft through technologies that lower CO2 and sound emissions.

What can you tell us about this fuel economy and low noise levels?

We've made significant strides in both fuel economy and noise reduction with the Racer. Thanks to aerodynamic and engine optimization we've achieved fuel consumption reductions of up to 25%. The efficient demonstrator configuration alone allows for up to a 25% fuel reduction per nautical mile at 180 knots compared to a conventional helicopter of the same weight category at 130 knots. The innovative Safran Eco-Mode hybrid-electrical system, which allows one of the two Safran Aneto 1X engines to be on stand-by while in cruise flight, will contribute to further fuel consumption reductions.

Regarding noise, the Racer aims to lower 20% of noise emissions, thanks to advanced vehicle acoustic optimization and precisely controlled flight trajectories, compared to a helicopter of the same weight class. The compound formula also offers the possibility to control the aircraft attitude to minimize operational noise.

What are the next steps for the Racer?

The aircraft will be prepared for the next phase of testing, which includes the installation of the eco-mode. This eco-mode will allow one of the two Safran Aneto 1X engines to be shut down for more economic cruise flight. Like modern automobile start/stop systems, the eco-mode will shut down one engine in cruise, with a 100-kW battery system quickly spooling it back up to full power within 5-7 seconds when required for landing or hover. The batteries for this system will be fitted into the cabin.

Beyond the eco-mode testing, we also plan to perform several as-yet-undefined demonstrations focusing on speed, maneuverability, range performance, and the ease of flying the aircraft. We also plan to continue customer demonstrations, as we have had very positive feedback on the demonstrator capabilities and on the technologies being tested. The objective is to fly at least 200 flight hours.

For more information contact:
Belen Morant
Communications Manager
belen.morant@airbus.com