AIRBUS RACER / Clean Sky2 LifeRCraft Demonstrator

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From the same press visit, but in English:
https://verticalmag.com/news/airbus-assembling-racer-targets-flight-this-year/
Couple of tidbits… nothing really groundbreaking honestly:

“…target cruise speed of 215 knots”

“…we can fly at 180 knots on only one turbine,” said Krysinski. “This will reduce fuel burn by 40 percent.”

“…while Airbus hasn’t given an exact figure for the Racer’s maximum takeoff weight, it will be “in the range of seven to eight tonnes,” and has a nose-to-tail length of about 15 meters.”

“…Airbus has managed to achieve a 45 percent [drag] reduction compared to similar size rotorcraft”

“…the use of the box wing and pusher propellers help reduce the power the aircraft needs in forward flight by 12 percent”

“the upper wing houses a bearingless supercritical driveshaft, linking the gearbox to the propellers. This is a very specific technology with soft couplings”
 
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And most important:

“The X3 was to demonstrate the technology: are we able to fly at this speed without any technological problems?” he said. “The answer is, ‘Yes.’

And now the question we will answer with this demonstrator is can we perform the mission?

And can we demonstrate the efficiency and the speed advantage to the customer with that kind of aircraft?”
 
@VTOLicious My read of those statements is that customers are skeptical... why should they bother buying an aircraft twice the size of an H145 just to gain 25-50% speed? (Not that they don't want more speed, but the extra cost & complexity scares them).

And so Airbus are hoping that a real life demonstrator will change their mind and "create demand" where none exists today.

Not exactly very promising for the future (unfortunately).
 
H_K said:
@VTOLicious My read of those statements is that customers are skeptical... why should they bother buying an aircraft twice the size of an H145 just to gain 25-50% speed? (Not that they don't want more speed, but the extra cost & complexity scares them).

And so Airbus are hoping that a real life demonstrator will change their mind and "create demand" where none exists today.

Not exactly very promising for the future (unfortunately).
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We will see how that turns out. I wish them luck!
 
H_K said:
@VTOLicious My read of those statements is that customers are skeptical... why should they bother buying an aircraft twice the size of an H145 just to gain 25-50% speed? (Not that they don't want more speed, but the extra cost & complexity scares them).

And so Airbus are hoping that a real life demonstrator will change their mind and "create demand" where none exists today.

Not exactly very promising for the future (unfortunately).
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Oh i don't know, maybe not a huge market, but an important one.

1645653532715.png
 
Final assembly announced and first flight for 2023. Some major components still lagging behind (GB and wingtip nacelles):

681d0ada4c804962f90e66bbb26c5e9b17f660cd682883793526d5195e3e96c1


https://air-cosmos.com/article/airb...-voler-le-racer-d-ici-la-fin-de-l-annee-36473
 
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Here’s a good Spanish article on the Racer. Covers the industrial work share, unique tail design, and overall efficiency gains.

"The Racer is a helicopter with aircraft performance"​

www.latribunadealbacete.es/Noticia/Z75FF7FEC-CDAA-7475-A27C764365122CA7/202205/El-Racer-es-un-helicoptero-con-prestaciones-de-avion

Airbus Helicopters is preparing its most ambitious project, a helicopter 50% faster than conventional ones, thanks in part to the rear fuselage manufactured in the Albacete factory and designed by a team led by Juan Manuel Jiménez.

When was this project launched?

The project was launched in 2014 and has a duration of 10 years, therefore it is expected to finish in 2024.

How many nations participate in the Racer?

It is a small tower of Babel that participates in the development of this small technological demonstrator, because 13 nations and up to 40 different entities participate, including large companies, small and medium-sized companies and technology centers.

What countries are they and what parts has each one done?

The Czech Republic and Poland have participated in the Cowlings or engine chaining. Avionics systems; that is to say, all the computers that allow the pilot to visualize all the information of the device have been made in Belgium. The nose structure and part of the intermediate structures between the central fuselage and the rear fuselage are made in Germany. The door theme has been developed by other companies, German and Austrian. The dynamic systems, the rotors and all the elements that involve movement, have been made in France. A French, Dutch and Italian consortium has been tasked with developing the fuel tank. The main box (which would be the equivalent of a car gearbox) has been made in Italy. The wings have been developed in England. The central fuselage or main body of the demonstrator has been made in Romania. Finally, the rear fuselage, which is so innovative and disruptive, has been made in Spain, in Albacete. In Spain we (Airbus Helicopters) have led the activity, together with a consortium led by Airnova (also based in Castilla-La Mancha, in addition to other companies and technology centers, which belonged to Madrid, Seville and the Basque Country.
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Unique tail design:

The rear fuselage of the helicopter has been manufactured in Albacete. What is innovative about it?

In Albacete the rear fuselage has been designed, manufactured and assembled. The rear fuselage is so innovative, because it is the first time that such a fuselage has been developed and manufactured without a tail rotor.

Regarding the innovations, the so-called tail cigar is innovative, because it is the first time that a patent belonging to Airbus Helicopters becomes a reality, this patent is based on the fact that the cross section is not symmetrical, as is the case in all our products. , here the left side is completely different from the right. We want this fuselage when the helicopter is in hover, stopped in the air, the rear fuselage works like a wing, with respect to the air current that comes down from the rotor and only because of that design it lifts it more than a helicopter conventional, which makes us save more than seven percent of fuel consumption, in that phase of flight, only because of that geometry that is very complex to carry out and it has been the first time that we have had the means to be able to develop it.

The rest of the tail also looks innovative, right?

If we talk about the set of rear wings, the vertical and horizontal stabilizers, there, apart from the geometry, which is totally disruptive again and it is the first time we have implemented it, because it is an ax, with a double angle, to improve the stability of movement of the ship, because there, we have two cornerstones of our development. The internal skeleton of the horizontal wing has been developed by Airbus Helicopters Spain, together with the Autcom consortium, at RTM, in fact it is going to be the largest piece at RTM that has ever flown on our products. This technology has been used to make three meters from a single piece, which if we did it with current technologies, would be eight pieces, plus gluing and joining processes. Also in the part of the vertical stabilizer, It is the first time that a part manufactured with a 3D printer, made of titanium, has been put into flight as the primary structure, which is again the skeleton. Manufacturing, design and, above all, convincing the authorities that we can fly with this technology has been a challenge. We want to be as innovative as possible, to be efficient.

What is RTM (Resin Transfer Moulding)?

It is a process focused on manufacturing pieces of composite material, but it does not require the autoclave oven that is normally needed to bake the pieces. Normally they are carbon fabrics that are impregnated with a resin and that are put together and put into that oven and the piece comes out. In this case, it is a more environmentally friendly manufacturing process, because that autoclave oven needs a lot of energy, to have a high temperature and generate a lot of pressure and with the RTM you put those same textile fabrics without resin, place them between two molds and inject the resin, which allows you to control with great precision the amount of resin you use. With less temperature and pressure, you get the same element.
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Overall performance benefits:

How is it possible that such a fast helicopter uses less fuel and pollutes less?

Due to the efficiency of the design, aerodynamically it is our best product, with the design solutions that we have included we save 20% on fuel. With the rear fuselage design we saved seven to 10% of fuel consumption. We have the aerodynamic design and the Eco Mode, this hybridization system that allows us to unplug one of the engines, making the machine fly at its maximum cruising speed, consuming 15% less and moving 50% faster than a conventional helicopter.

This machine is very efficient and allows the operating cost of this vehicle per nautical mile to be reduced by 25%, not to mention the efficiency with respect to the environment, which we can reduce emissions up to 30% or 20%.
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Racer’s first flight is delayed to 2023 apparently due to late delivery of some unspecified parts by the supply chain. However “we are currently preparing the power-on in the coming weeks in order to maintain progress towards the first flight” according to Airbus.

https://www.flightglobal.com/helico...helicopter-slips-again-to-2023/150799.article
The prototype assembly is fairly far along:

Airbus-Racer-1.jpg


Source: https://www.defesaaereanaval.com.br...-a-maior-fabricante-de-helicopteros-da-europa
More pics:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1568869794551668736
View: https://twitter.com/Julien_Maire/status/1568869794551668736?s=20&t=KMtsbCmS9f30fGTpdKOc-Q
 

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When the X3 toured the U.S. in 2012 one of the biggest lessons was that almost every pilot/operator asked for a clutch so the propellers could be stopped while keeping the engines running on the ground. Airbus engineers didn’t really agree that it was necessary but the clutch will be present on the Racer…

…so no meat grinding. ;-)
 
So, the Racer will seat on the ground with a main rotor spinning at very low rpm (no anti-torque), engines at idle, the time passengers and ground crew fully clear the pad?!

I want to see how it goes for real in operation.
 
@TomcatViP In theory only the propeller on the left (passenger) side needs to be declutched. The propeller on the right side should still be able to provide anti-torque… to be confirmed though.

And Airbus’s argument is that no declutching should be necessary as the wings provide a sufficient passive safety barrier… should be hard for a passenger to walk around/behind the wing. (To which operators will probably reply « but idiots still exist »!).
 
Since the RACER is intended at this point for civil operations; where the crew and passengers are much more controlled, it will likely be acceptable for the methodology above. I suspect most of the objection from the pilots were for military operations. There the risk is significantly higher that accidents could happen.
 
Adding a duct to each fan might improve thrust and safety, but at what weight cost ??
 
Private flight tarmacs are not regulated and policed.

It's your own responsibility to watch out for Propeller clearance. Good luck then for the pilots seated low, bunkered down in the front.
 
Latest progress update on Racer. Final assembly to be completed soon (this summer), followed by ground tests and first flight before the end of the year.

The pic shows some small visible progress from 6-9 months ago… some panels have been closed. Missing engines, probably the gearbox (which was the cause of delays) and windows.

https://www.capital.fr/entreprises-...-la-technologie-start-stop-en-vol-1470040?amp
 

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H_K said:
Latest progress update on Racer. Final assembly to be completed soon (this summer), followed by ground tests and first flight before the end of the year.

The pic shows some small visible progress from 6-9 months ago… some panels have been closed. Missing engines, probably the gearbox (which was the cause of delays) and windows.

https://www.capital.fr/entreprises-...-la-technologie-start-stop-en-vol-1470040?amp
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Not entirely sure, but it appears the props are spaced further apart and are slightly smaller than on X³.
Eurocopter_X3_-_MAE_1.jpg
IMG_0582.jpeg
 
VTOLicious said:
LifeRCraft = Low Impact, Fast & Efficient RotorCraft

The next step after X³

Refer to page 332 (8.7 Compound Rotorcraft Demonstration (LifeRCraft)) for further information:

http://ec.europa.eu/research/partic...l/jti/h2020-guide-techprog-cleansky-ju_en.pdf

Info about Clean Sky: http://www.cleansky.eu/fast-rotorcraft

BR Michael

...H160 derivative? ::)
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update Twitter from Airbus and color scheme


https://twitter.com/x/status/1675771329344151552
View: https://twitter.com/brunoeven/status/1675771329344151552?s=61&t=S3ZZSp5bvFyQavLM45JgpQ



cheers
 
Woaw..
painted even before being completed or final assembly. That is Airbus re-inventing EMD, prototyping and manufacturing every day.
 
The only place I really see a market for high speed civilian helicopters is EMS. Especially if they can stretch that response range for the "Golden Hour" of care. 10 minutes for ground EMS to arrive and evaluate cases, 15 minutes for Life Flight to power up and arrive, 10 minutes or so to pack the patient for transport, and 15 minutes back to the hospital and getting seen by doctors. Roughly a 10 minute flight time. 10 minutes at 120knots is 37km. 10 minutes at 180knots is 56km. And if they can get 240knots out of the beast, 10 minutes flight is 74km.

I don't think enough executives fly via helicopter that would want/need the extra speed to make it worth the purchase price.
 
H_K said:
Next I need to add an H160 and AW169 for comparison.
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OK here's the Racer vs H160 size comparison. The 2 are very similar in size, but the Racer looks slightly more "substantial" with more space under the cabin floor (for fuel) and a larger engine fairing and rotor hub (not surprising given the need for more power).

(Not sure I got the scale exactly right... probably accurate within 5% though)
 

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They missed the year-end goal, but first flight is imminent… watch this space.

The super-fast Airbus Racer helicopter will take off in February​

“In recent days, the transmission has undergone final tests. We have completed gearbox fatigue testing and oil loss testing. We have already completed all the tests and are preparing Racer for flight," said Tomasz Krysiński, vice president for innovation, research and development at Airbus Helicopters.

https://portalobronny.se.pl/przemys...aszynie-pracuja-polacy-aa-ikL5-vagx-bdaC.html
 
H_K said:
They missed the year-end goal, but first flight is imminent… watch this space.

The super-fast Airbus Racer helicopter will take off in February​

“In recent days, the transmission has undergone final tests. We have completed gearbox fatigue testing and oil loss testing. We have already completed all the tests and are preparing Racer for flight," said Tomasz Krysiński, vice president for innovation, research and development at Airbus Helicopters.

https://portalobronny.se.pl/przemys...aszynie-pracuja-polacy-aa-ikL5-vagx-bdaC.html
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Well, it's better than the Sikorsky ABCs, but I'm not sure that the Racer would do anything besides set some records. Nobody is going to want props spinning around where people are loading.
 
Looks to easy airbus. How about we combine it with coaxial contra-rotating Technology for all props and maybe a tail rotor in a push configuration.
xD
 
I am looking forward to seeing this fly, I think it will be the template for Small-Medium lift helicopters going forward.
 
How does every other helicopter manage? Most dont have a wing structure separating passengers from the tail rotor.

main-qimg-a89c3740f924d1d228c0ab18e669b6cd-pjlq[1].jpg
 
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