Fast helicopters
2011-06-28 23:36:34.305934+00 by Dan Lyke 1 comments
At the Paris Air Show, the Eurocopter X3 demonstrated 180kts helicopter flight. The X3 is a modified Dauphin, the focus seems to be on demonstrating that for the right price their airframes can be modified to run faster.
Meanwhile, Sikorsky's X2 concept takes two contra-rotating lift rotors and a pusher prop to achieve 300kts.
Wired article on the X3 at the Paris Air Show (Eurocopter's YouTube video), older NextBigFuture entry with X3 and X2 links, SE entry that turned me on to this.
(And, no, I'm not going to mention "Airwol..."... Damn it.)
