Aviation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Aviation - Essay Example This paper will discuss the design of Eurocopter x3, comparing it to conventional designs with reference to aerodynamics. Conventional helicopters have a rotor that is supported above the body/fuselage of the craft. The rotor rotates at high speed to provide the lift required for vertical take off and landing (Watkinson, 2004). In addition, the rotor provides the thrust to make the craft move horizontally and laterally. In addition to the main rotor, the conventional helicopter has a tail rotor to develop thrust in addition to countering the torque produced by the main rotor (Watkinson, 2004). Alternatively helicopters may be fitted with ducted fans or NOTAR systems to perform the same functions. This however, is not the case with Eurocopter’s x3. The Eurocopter x3 Demonstrator is a machine that has been designed as a foundation for the Hybrid Helicopter. What this basically means is that the machine integrates the principles of the helicopter with those of fixed wing crafts with the result being optimized performance. The x3 is based on the design and features of existing models with the main additions being two short wings and the lack of a tail rotor (Vion-Lanctuit, 2010). In addition, each of the two short wings bears a propeller. The x3 has objectively been designed to have the main rotor to provide lift and thrust like other helicopters. The main rotor has five blades which means it has the capacity to provide higher lift and thrust compared to those that have two blades, other factors held constant. The two propellers supported by the short-span fixed wings provide additional thrust thus allowing the machine to achieve speeds that conventional helicopters cannot. Owing to these additional features, the helicopter can reach speeds beyond 230 knots or 267 mph (Whittle, 2012). This speed far exceeds the speed achievable by conventional helicopters which stands at about 140 knots or 160mph at the