X3 Over Texas

Eurocopter Logo The Eurocopter X3 has kicked off it’s US demonstration tour in the skies over Texas. I understand the design just fine, but it still looks weird to me. In a production design I think they’d need to relocate the propellers; in their current location they really restrict approach and departure routes for passengers. You can really only come in from the aft quarters to avoid the props, and the risk of a wayward person wandering into a prop would be a lot higher than with a tail rotor. There’s also going to be some noise management to handle with the props right next to the passengers. That’s one thing Sikorsky’s X2 coaxial design has going for it; it is intended to use a single pusher prop at the end of the tail, well away from the passenger cabin.

About MegaZone

MegaZone is the Editor of Gizmo Lovers and the chief contributor. He's been online since 1989 and active in several generations of 'social media' - mailing lists, USENet groups, web forums, and since 2003, blogging.    MegaZone has a presence on several social platforms: Google+ / Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / LiveJournal / Web.    You can also follow Gizmo Lovers on other sites: Blog / Google+ / Facebook / Twitter.
This entry was posted in Aerospace and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.