Wichita Falls, Texas: Tuesday, February 9, 1999.

FLIGHT TESTS RESUME AT SHEPPARD AFB

This past weekend CarterCopter L.L.C. achieved a major milestone in their flight-test program. Don Farrington flew the CarterCopter for almost 2 hours total flight time at Sheppard Air Force Base (Wichita Falls, Texas).

Saturday afternoon, rain showers terminated flight testing and the aircraft was hangared. A detailed inspection ensued. The left engine mount was found to be defective; so it was replaced. Two sensors that provide downlink data also needed recalibrating.

Flight testing resumed early Sunday morning. The aircraft performed flawlessly the remainder of the test period. By early afternoon, several goals were accomplished. The chief goal was proof testing of the new ball bearing cable control system. Numerous repeatable data points were collected on stabilized flights down the runway at 90 to 100 mph. By the time flight testing ended, Don was comfortable with the control system and aircraft performance. He was performing long "S" turns while flying two miles down the runway.

DISCUSSION MEETINGS EVERY 3-4 FLIGHT RUNS

After every 3-4 flight runs, testing was halted and all flight-critical aircraft components and controls were checked. The flight data being downloaded to ground support was compared with notes taken by the test pilots. Everyone then agreed on which flight control settings to try during the following 3-4 flight runs. After numerous flights, two ergonomic issues became apparent. The control system needs stronger trim controls to relieve stick pressures at the higher forward speeds in the case where the rotor is still essentially providing most of the lift and the cabin needs to have better ventilation.

Takeoff speeds of 60-65 MPH consistently used less than 500 feet of runway. The aircraft's test weight was a bit over 3100 pounds. Landing speeds of 40 MPH were obtained by flaring the aircraft without the use of collective. The aircraft reached altitudes of 120 feet above the runway and speeds of 105 MPH. Rotor-blade pitch was varied from 2 to 5 degrees. One unplanned run of 7 degrees happened when collective was accidentally pulled past its detent position. The aircraft's mild reaction demonstrated the inherent safety of its design. The high inertia rotor blades allowed the pilot time to take recovery steps from the incurred high angle of attack condition that was higher than required for auto rotation of the rotor. If this condition had occurred with a standard rotorcraft, having relatively low inertia rotor blades, the situation could have been disastrous. Instead, the CarterCopter's rotor RPM remained high enough to allow the pilot to fly the aircraft back down onto the runway from the 20-30 feet altitude.

There are several recent changes to the aircraft. The most noticeable is the new trim-tab like extensions on the rotor blades (see press release dated January 28, 1999). Another recent addition is a steel cable that runs down the right side of the nose boom, then under the nose and the right wing to the small door (approximately 1-foot in diameter) in the back of the fuselage. This cable will later be connected to the ballistic chute that will be installed behind the door when testing begins at traffic pattern or higher altitudes. Two radio antennae have also been recently added. One is mounted above the cabin and the other is over the engine compartment. Another addition is the wide web-strap that runs from the ceiling to the floor of the cabin behind each of the two seats. With these straps, the seats are designed to withstand a greater than 30-G load. Maximum tail-first impact with the ground is estimated to produce a 5-10 G load on the pilots. It is hoped that the ballistic chute will never be used.

EVERYBODY NEEDS TO GET INTO THE ACT! (Top Right)

Flight testing at Sheppard AFB will hopefully resume in two weeks. This is the soonest that the facilities and all necessary personnel can be available. The chief goal will be to unload the rotor more (place more of the lifting load on the wing; automatically slowing the rotor down) and confirm that these different flight configurations also agree with our analytical projections for rotor RPM, aircraft pitch & horsepower at different degrees of cyclic, collective, and horizontal stabilator angles. Once this is accomplished, flight test operations will return to the 5,000 foot runway in Olney, Texas.

We will be finished with Phase II testing when we have flown between minimum safe slow speed flight and 150 mph at varying combinations of cyclic, collective, and horizontal stabilator angles. Testing will continue until we fully understand how the aircraft is flying; i.e. our analytic analysis agrees with actual flight data. Once this milestone is complete, we can start work on zero-roll take-offs/landings; phase III flight testing. Phase IV flight testing will determine the maximum safe forward airspeed that can be attained at the lowest rotor RPM possible.

HIGH SPEED RUNS (Note: Ballistic Chute Opening on Right Rear of Fuselage)