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Airbus’ High-Speed Racer Helicopter to Start Testing State-of-the-Art Technologies

Airbus has reached another milestone for the Racer, a high-speed helicopter developed as part of the European program Clean Sky 2, which aims to improve the environmental impact of aeronautical technologies through fewer toxic emissions and reduced noise levels. In collaboration with Safran, an innovative rotary-wing instrumentation data acquisition system was added to the Racer.
The Racer will be a high-speed, versatile helicopter with lower emissions and noise levels 7 photos
Photo: Safran
Racer Helicopter ProgramRacer Helicopter ProgramRacer Helicopter Program - HIRISRacer Helicopter ProgramRacer Helicopter ProgramRacer Helicopter Program
This high-speed helicopter demonstrator cruises at nearly 250 mph (400 kph). It’s designed for a wide range of missions, from commercial transportation to emergency medical services. Its dynamic configuration leads to not only burning 15% less fuel per nautical mile compared to conventional helicopters but also makes it much quieter.

Plus, the Safran Eco-Mode hybrid-electric system can take fuel savings up to 30% by enabling one of the two Aneto-1X engines to switch to a standby mode during cruise flight.

Some of the innovative features of the Racer include a hybrid metallic-composite airframe for reduced weight, an asymmetric tail boom for better hover, a double-wing concept that improves aerodynamics and safety, plus highly-efficient lateral rotors that also increase safety.

Another major feature of the Racer is the exclusive HIRIS (Helicopter Innovative Rotating Instrumentation System), described as “a wireless system with the performance of a wired system.” It had now reached 60 hours of flight time on an H175 helicopter since last summer when the testing campaign began.

XMA-Rotor is the system that will be installed on the Racer for the data acquisition from the Hiris and is part of the helicopter’s complex chain developed by Safran Data Systems.

The extensive testing of this system had to do with overcoming serious technical challenges. For example, the difficulty of transferring a huge volume of data with wireless technology, despite the very high rotation speed of the blades. Another challenge was synchronizing the data collected on the rotors with the other helicopter parameters as accurately as a wired network.

The HIRIS system operation is designed so that data users are under the impression that a wire connects the rotating part to the fixed part of the helicopter,” explained Marc Seznec, Senior Expert Flight Test Instrumentation at Airbus Helicopters.

The XMA-Rotor is now ready to be tested on the Racer, with the first flight tests set for the end of this year.
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About the author: Otilia Drăgan
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Otilia believes that if it’s eco, green, or groundbreaking, people should know about it (especially if it's got wheels or wings). Working in online media for over five years, she's gained a deeper perspective on how people everywhere can inspire each other.
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