Eurocopter to fly X3 at Paris

[Neil]

Helicopter manufacturer Eurocopter will perform the first public flight demonstrations of its X3 hybrid rotorcraft at the Paris air show.

"Eurocopter applies innovation every day in expanding the boundaries of flight, and the X3 is an excellent example of how we are preparing for the future," said Lutz Bertling, Eurocopter president and chief executive. "I am sure that professional visitors and the public alike will be impressed by the X3's extraordinary flight demonstrations."

The X3 demonstrator is powered by a five-blade main rotor system and two propellers on shortspan fixed wings - a combination that couples the vertical take-off and landing capabilities of a helicopter, along with aircraft-type fast cruise speeds and manoeuvrability.

Also part of the daily flight programme is the airframer's EC175, jointly developed with the Chinese. The model on display is one of two aircraft in the flight test and development programme.

Eurocopter expects certification in the second half of 2011 with first delivery in 2012.


Eurocopter to fly X3 at Paris

 

[Tomcat]

it looks like a Dulphin II modified with a wing and the tail rotors deleted