Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. has announced that it has successfully conducted a flight test of its unmanned compound helicopter "K-RACER" at the Taiki-cho Multipurpose Aviation Park in Hokkaido. The unmanned test aircraft was used to demonstrate the technology with the aim of increasing the speed of the helicopter, which is a technical limitation for conventional helicopters, and the test confirmed stable flight with autonomous control.
The K-RACER is powered by the supercharged engine of Kawasaki's Ninja H2R motorcycle. In addition to the main rotor (4 meters in diameter), the K-RACER has main wings and propellers on both port and starboard sides instead of a tail rotor. The left and right propellers generate forward thrust while counteracting the torque associated with the rotation of the main rotor.
In forward flight, the main wings share the lift, reducing the burden on the main rotor and allowing the concept to fly at high speeds unattainable with conventional helicopters.
Kawasaki aims to utilize the results obtained from this test for the development of aircraft operating systems in conjunction with VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft, including manned and unmanned helicopters, and various services and will continue to contribute to society through aviation technology, including the realization of VTOL systems in the future.
"K-RACER" is an acronym for Kawasaki Researching Autonomic Compound to Exceed Rotorcraft.
Unmanned Compound Helicopter "K-RACER" Flight Test
Original Source [ KAWASAKI Heavy Industries, Ltd. ]
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