AIRBUS RACER / Clean Sky2 LifeRCraft Demonstrator

[yasotay]

Racer may very well beat Defiant since Defiant top speed was done in a slight dive.

 

[H_K]

Looks like Racer is back in the air.

View attachment 761840

One more test flight today... reached ~215 knots according to Flightradar24.com.

I expect 1-2 more flights this month and hopefully to see them start pushing the envelope to 240+ knots.

Racer MSN001 flight test history

1st flight test campaign
1 | 25/04/2024 | 0:30 hrs | 80 knots
2 | 30/04/2024 | 0:55 hrs | 165 knots
3 | 13/05/2024 | 1:22 hrs
4 | 15/05/2024 | 1:06 hrs
5 | 03/06/2024 | 1:36 hrs | 190 knots
6 | 19/06/2024 | 1:32 hrs
7 | 21/06/2024 | 0:34 hrs | 227 knots

2nd flight test campaign
8 | 06/03/2025 | 0:51 hrs
9 | 14/03/2025 | 0:49 hrs
10 | 19/03/2025 | 0.30 hrs
11 | 22/03/2025 | 1:01 hrs | Marseille-Toulouse
12 | 28/03/2025 | 0:59 hrs | Toulouse-Marseille

 

[H_K]

Before & after pics of Racer’s new low drag rotor head and landing gear doors.
Rotor head drag is expected to be 25% lower with these low drag fairings.

Racer resumes flight testing with new low-drag parts in place

Airbus Helicopters' Racer demonstrator is back in flight testing after a six-month lay-up to install new parts to boost the high-speed rotorcraft's aerodynamic performance.

www.flightglobal.com

 

[H_K]

VNE test yesterday. Racer reached ~260 knots in a dive according to FlightRadar24... perhaps next flight could be a level speed test?

Racer MSN001 flight test history

Live Flight Tracker - Real-Time Flight Tracker Map | Flightradar24

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www.flightradar24.com

1st flight test campaign
1 | 25/04/2024 | 0:30 hrs | 80 knots
2 | 30/04/2024 | 0:55 hrs | 165 knots
3 | 13/05/2024 | 1:22 hrs
4 | 15/05/2024 | 1:06 hrs
5 | 03/06/2024 | 1:36 hrs | 190 knots
6 | 19/06/2024 | 1:32 hrs
7 | 21/06/2024 | 0:34 hrs | 227 knots

2nd flight test campaign
8 | 06/03/2025 | 0:51 hrs
9 | 14/03/2025 | 0:49 hrs
10 | 19/03/2025 | 0:30 hrs
11 | 22/03/2025 | 1:01 hrs | Marseille-Toulouse
12 | 28/03/2025 | 0:59 hrs | Toulouse-Marseille
13 | 02/04/2025 | 1:03 hrs | ~260 knots in dive
14 | 11/04/2025 | 1:16 hrs
15 | 11/04/2025 | 0:41 hrs | 2 test flights in 1 day

 

[yasotay]

A good day for Airbus. Let's' hope that, unlike other high speed helicopters, the vibratory loads going down hill did not rattle the teeth of the test pilots and require a full tear down of the main rotor system before continuing the flight test program.

 

[WatcherZero]

Subsonic rotor blades should reduce vibration considerably.

 

[Scott Kenny]

Subsonic rotor blades should reduce vibration considerably.

ABC is still supposed to be subsonic rotor tips.

 

[H_K]

Let's' hope that, unlike other high speed helicopters, the vibratory loads going down hill did not rattle the teeth of the test pilots and require a full tear down of the main rotor system before continuing the flight test program.

I doubt that vibration is a major risk here, as the X3 demonstrator achieved 255kts in level flight and 263kts in a dive with no vibration issues (in fact the X3 didn’t even need an active vibration control system).

That said, the wing needs to be very stiff for this type of compound aircraft so perhaps the new joined wing introduced some (small?) risk… but so far Racer’s flight testing seems to have been progressing through test points fairly rapidly and without any obvious issues.

 

[yasotay]

Subsonic rotor blades should reduce vibration considerably.

Indeed they should since supersonic rotor blades tend to disassemble themselves due to compressibility.

It is good to see the technical agility of Airbus remains in place as rotorcraft requirements change.