About us
Products
Sales & Marketing
Markets
Customer support
Technical support
Technical publications
After Market Services
Training
Safety
Quality
Awards
News
Careers
Did you know?
- U.S. economic impact
• Estimated at $740 million in direct activity and business brought to the network of some 1,000 vendors
- Industrial footprint
• Nearly 1 million square feet
• Production/assembly facilities at Grand Prairie, Texas & Columbus, Mississippi
- American Eurocopter’s heritage
• Our products have been flying in the USA since 1957
- American Eurocopter’s heritage
• Our first U.S. sales partnership was established in 1963
- American Eurocopter’s heritage
• Our first U.S. manufacturing partnership was established in 1969
- American Eurocopter’s heritage
• Our SA.313 Alouette II was the first ever light turbine helicopter to enter civil operation in the U.S. (with PHI)
- American Eurocopter’s heritage
• We have been a fully-owned U.S. helicopter manufacturer since 1974
- #1 in the marketplace
• We have been the #1 producer of civil turbine helicopters in the U.S. for 9 of the past 10 years
- #1 in the marketplace
• We are #1 in four market segments
- The broadest product range
• From the 2 ton EC120 to the 11 ton EC225
- A Hollywood star
• Our AS350 AStar is one of the most popular helicopters used in the movies!
- Neighborly-friendly
• Our Fenestron-equipped helicopters are some of the quietest available
- Over 2,500 aircraft delivered
• To U.S. operators since 1957
- Around the world
• Our U.S. aircraft fly the equivalent of 3,500 flights around the world each year
News > Eurocopter's advanced X3 hybrid demonstrator is coming to the U.S.
|
|
Eurocopter's advanced X3 hybrid demonstrator is coming to the U.S.
May 4, 2012
The X3 demonstrator developed by American Eurocopter’s parent company, Eurocopter, will showcase its capabilities for U.S. civil and military applications during this advanced hybrid aircraft’s upcoming tour to the country, which is set to begin next month.
It will enable U.S. military and civil operators to experience the X3 demonstrator first-hand as it delivers high cruise speeds at affordable costs – providing increased mission productivity. The X3 demonstrator is a five-ton class helicopter, offering a cabin sized for up to 11 passenger seats.
Scheduling of the X3’s visit calls for several stopovers at U.S. locations, including the Grand Prairie, Texas headquarters of American Eurocopter.
The tour’s announcement was made in Texas this week, where Eurocopter’s X3 development team won the American Helicopter Society (AHS) International’s Howard Hughes award for outstanding improvement in helicopter technology.
The honor acknowledges Eurocopter’s successful validation of its hybrid concept, which uses two turboshaft engines to power a main rotor along with two propellers installed on the short-span fixed wings. The result is an advanced, cost effective transportation system offering the speed of a turboprop-powered aircraft and the full flight capabilities of a helicopter.
During flight testing performed to date, the X3 demonstrator aircraft surpassed its original speed target of 220 kts. – reaching 232 kts. using less than 80 percent of the available power. In addition, the X3 exhibited excellent flight qualities, maneuverability, outstanding acceleration and deceleration capabilities, exceptional climb and descent rates as well as very low vibration levels – all without any need for passive or active anti-vibration systems.
A wide range of X3 applications are foreseen for the U.S., where Eurocopter’s rotary-wing aircraft innovation has made its American Eurocopter subsidiary a major supplier to the commercial sector, law enforcement agencies, emergency medical airlift service providers, and government users such as the U.S. Army, Coast Guard, Navy, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and FBI.
View the Feature archive.
