CCTD: Fail-safe Air Transportation

For the few of you who have not already heard, the CCTD flew a flawless public demonstration at AirVenture, Friday afternoon, 26 July 2002. Larry Neal, our chief test pilot, and Brad King, our co-pilot, ended the program by borrowing part of Ken Brock's routine. With the CCTD engine at idle, they descended almost vertically - at speeds slower than a standard parachute. If they had wished, they could have held the 1000 fpm decent all the way to the ground and let the 1200 fpm landing gear absorb the vertical impact. Caution being the better part of valor (especially since they were flying the only CC), they pushed the nose down at the last moment to build a little forward speed and performed a flare landing that autogyros do so smoothly. The dialog between the announcer and Jay Carter, Jr. was heard live on Internet around-the-world. The flight appeared on a special Fox network Speed-Vision program about AirVenture that was aired on Saturday, 3 August.

The huge crowds that had assembled to watch the demonstration cheered and everyone congratulated the CarterCopter crew and their families. However, very few people watching the demonstration realized they were witnessing the prototype fail-safe air transportation system of the future. The CCTD with its dual flight modes, fixed wing and rotorcraft, represents an emerging technology that will solve most (if not all) of the general aviation problems NASA is working so hard to address with its SATS program. The vertical descent by the CCTD was a demonstration of what to do when your engine quits, or you are trapped above the clouds when your fuel runs low - or any number of other GA emergencies we hear about. If you need a parachute, you have one in the CCTD's autorotation capabilities -- just for the asking and without leaving the aircraft.

Oshkosh / EAA AirVenture Goals Met

All goals listed for AirVenture in our previous press release were accomplished, with the results better than we could have hoped. Our three press conferences and three official EAA forums were well attended. The three unofficial mini-forums we held in the CC exhibit tent provided us a chance to present additional information without the formal structure of the EAA forums. Our much-improved CCTD flight simulator was a big hit for the second year. X-Plane author Austin Meyer drew crowds and sold all the X-Plane CDs he brought with him. George Mitchell's soon to fly VTOL-UAV hung in the exhibit tent's rafters and drew a lot of attention. George used one of the mini-forums to show how he designed the aircraft with its 10-ft wingspan  using CC technology, and then built it in his attic. CC hosted guests from as far away as England, Austria and Spain. The CC crew, family members and guests staying in our four rental houses peaked at 40+ on the night before Friday's demonstration flight. Our numerous successes had everyone in a festive spirit for our big celebration party Saturday evening at the rental houses.

Mu-1 & Next Generation CC

With the success of AirVenture behind us everyone is now focused on our long-standing goal of breaking the Mu-1 barrier. A new high-mu rotor design, a large single stage turbo for the Corvette engine, improvements to the automated systems, replacement of the flexible collective push-pull cable with a stronger and stiffer push-pull tube and lots more are currently being addressed. The new high-mu rotor is designed to remain inherently stable at Mu ratios up to 1.3 without the need for very stiff or boosted controls. It will also reduce the expected loads on a boosted flight-control system (to be added later) that is needed to permit flights at Mu ratios greater than 1.3. The reduced loads will provide the needed safety margins should the rotor become unstable at high Mu ratios for any reason. The turbo and related platform changes will permit the CCTD to maintain 300 hp up to 30,000 feet. The thinner air at that altitude will permit the CCTD to demonstrate the higher Mu ratios and thus more efficient flight profiles (higher speeds and greater distances) using the Corvette LS-6 engine than would be possible otherwise. Flight testing is scheduled to resume in another 6 weeks.

CC is completing plans to build and flight test a second-generation CCTD to utilize everything learned on the first prototype and push the design envelope. The new prototype will utilize the new high-mu rotor discussed above and a 4-blade version of the existing propeller. The fuselage will be 3+ feet longer to reduce drag caused by airflow separation, yet weigh much less. Its design structure and larger internal volume will accommodate a variety of powerful engines to demonstrate operational performances never before seen in a rotorcraft. Since no new concepts will be incorporated - just improvements to the existing design, the aircraft can be built and flight-tested in a relatively short time. With sufficient funding, the 7-passenger aircraft can be built and flight-tested in time to appear at the EAA Wright Brother's centennial celebration on 17 December 2003.

Preliminary specifications using a 2,000 shp turboprop engine:

• 2,200 lbs empty weight
• 5,000 lbs gross weight with VTOL
• 6,000 lbs gross weight with 200 ft rolling takeoff
• 350 mph top speed
• 30,000 ft. cruise altitude in a pressurized cockpit
• 2,000 mile range with 1,000 lb. useful load

The same next generation platform can also be used with two 1500 lb thrust fanjet engines. Williams International has offered to provide engineering specifications for their new model. With the boosted control system to permit flight at much higher Mu ratios, this version of the next generation CarterCopter could demonstrate a cruise speed up to 500 mph.

CarterCopter Team: Brad King - Co-Pilot, Larry Neal - Pilot,  Jay Carter Jr. - President/Inventor,  Kenneth Hibbs - Electronics, Stan Clines - Composites, Paul Smith - GAA/Investor, Mark Robinson - Mechanic, Jeff Lewis - Aeronautical Engineer and Rick O'Hara - CFO

AirVenture 2002 Photo Gallery

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