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Carter Aviation Technologies is a research and development company, pioneering new aviation concepts. Our primary focus is the slowed-rotor compound aircraft, a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft that uses the rotor for takeoff and landing, and a small, efficient wing for high speed flight, up to 500 mph, all with much less complexity than a tilt-rotor or other vectored thrust vehicle. We successfully demonstrated the slowed rotor concept with the CarterCopter Technology Demonstrator (CCTD), the first and only aircraft to reach mu-1 (more info).

This Month at Carter

2008-08-04

• Company president, Jay Carter, will be giving a presentation on Carter's technology and an Update on the new PAV at this year's Popular Rotorcraft Association Convention in Mentone, Indiana, scheduled for Saturday, August 9th, at 10:00 am. (more info - PDF Flyer for the Event)
• We released five press releases during our press conference at Oshkosh. These releases discuss the progress of our new 4-Place PAV prototype, the projected performance of the aircraft, the several companies we are working with on the aircraft, new additions to the Carter team, and show a few pictures. To read them, visit our Press Release section.
• Completed the proof test on the composite mast. We put a 29,000 lb load on each of the mast support bearings for a total vertical equivalent lift of 58,000 lb, and kept the load applied for several minutes (pretty good safety factor for a 3500 lb aircraft). To put this load into perspective, during a jump takeoff at the max rotor rpm of 400 with the rotor making as much lift as is possible, if the pilot tilted the rotor as far to the back and side as possible, with the mast tilted as far forward as possible (which in reality is very unlikely to happen), then the moment generated on the mast at one of its attachment point would still only produce a load two-thirds of that to which we tested. Our next major structural tests will be the horizontal stabilizer, the tail boom and the new elastomeric bearing support in the aircraft strong back.
• We are going to use pre-impregnated carbon (pre-preg) to build our new rotor, as opposed to a wet layup. Because pre-preg requires a higher cure temperature, we have to build new rotor blade molds with a different resin system capable of withstanding those higher temperatures. We've already built a new plug of the rotor from the old molds, and are getting started laying up the new molds. We've also re-organized our shop, with one building dedicated solely to composites work, and another building for mechanical work and assembly. We installed air conditioning in the composites building to control the environment.
  
  

  Mast Proof Test with Tilt Cylinder New Rotor Plug in Old Mold

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