CarterCopter: Newsflashes - Updates - Rumours

July 23rd-30th 2001: Pre/post Oshkosh Summary ...

Well we didn't reach our desired speed goals prior to Oshkosh but that has not diminished the excitement among the CC team who will be at the show demonstrating the fantastic and highly accurate X-Plane flight simulator. People will be able to sit in our (currently very basic) simulator cockpit & do all the things the current test pilots do which of course includes both running & jump take-offs as well as zero-roll & conventional run-on landings.

Within the next 2 weeks we will publish many photos of people using the simulator and at this time can already say that it includes an incredibly diverse range of people from an Astronaut, test pilots, military pilots with Apache training right through to a 5-year old girl from Holland (with a little bit of assist). We had two 10 yearolds who were able to take-off & land consistently with only a short briefing.

Two experienced test pilots actually took the CC simulator through totally realistic aerobatics & this started off with rolls (on day 2 & by a fixed-wing stunt pilot) and on day 3 one well known Gyro pilot - Mike Solano - did a clean loop. Mike was just so impressed with the accuracy of the X-Plane simulation. His comment was that it behaved exactly like he expected based on his Gyro expertise and the characteristics of Gyro style flying.

If ever there was any doubt about who would be able to fly the CC, the X-Plane simulator has changed all that. Don Farrington used to tell us that he was quite confident that he could take any fixed wing or helo pilot & have them flying the CC very quickly - *once* we had come to understand its dynamics. Austin Meyer of X-Plane has done a fantastic job in translating the unique characteristics of the CC into his simulator software.

So any of you out there who now want to experience the next best thing to being in a real CC cockpit, go buy the latest copy of X-Plane & try it. There will be one more revision of the CC characteristics based on our expereinces at Oshkosh but you will be able to download those as an update for free.

Doug Marker (30th July 2001).

(PS a summary press release was posted the day before Oshkosh began. See the official CC press releases link on the main menu)

July 19th 2001: More News In ...

Testing will continue each day perhaps even through Oshkosh although Jay will be present for his Tuesday presentation. The team want to break the mu-1 barrier before or if has to be, even during Oshkosh.

July 16th 2001: More testing with the new engine ...

The new engine is delivering between 30-40 more hp than the LS1 model & this is exactly what was hoped for. The climb rates achieved so far are greater than before & there was a good deal of satisfaction that this is available now.

Over the past few days testing the CC was achieving 500-700 fpm climbs with the gear down (not retracted). And even when the temperature was becoming high (94 deg) they managed to achieve 350 fpm.

During one test flight Rusty reported excessive stick force & a roll to the right - later examination of camera & telemetry data indicated it might have been a dose of blade weave so this will be carefully checked out again.

Well next w/e is the start of Oshkosh week & so no more updates unless you want to ask us personally while we are there. Look forward to meeting many of you at our tent.

Doug M

July 13th 2001: The fast pace continues ...

This week-end the CCTD (CC Technology Demonstrator) will be flying again. It has been a fast paced week. Only 8 days ago a conrod went thru the side of the engine block and here 8 days later the CC has a new new more powerful engine, has been fully pit tested, and is again ready to fly.

The damage occurred after some very rigorous load testing on the engine and happened as the crew were taking off but the pilots are now so confident, they easily and comfortably put the craft down with the engine dead.
The good news from the engine failure is that the new Corvette engine (an LS6) is a much later and improved version of the damaged Corvette engine (an LS1) that was being used in the CCTD. It is lighter in weight and puts out more HP but retains the same dimensions os the older model. The extra horsepower comes just when the CCTD test program needs it. It will allow a larger fuel load and higher speeds.

Another (12 July) official press release has just been posted at the CarterCopter web-site providing more details of the above and other info. You can directly access it from the Official CarterCopter LLC - Press Releases - menu item on the main menu above.

July 5th 2001: Update ...

The latest press release (3rd July 2001) is now available and it covers the past few weeks in great detail.

The really good news is that the CC achieved new altitudes for testing that exceeded anything achieved last year. It reached 4000ft and 128 mph.

To get the full details please click the Press Release item on the main menu.

July 2nd 2001: Update ...

News is in !!!. The CC is still being tested & managed to do some serious flying over the past few days. The dutch film crew arrived and got a great days filming in - even had the fun of being flown around in an Air Command Gyro.

The following composite picture from George, captures the spirit of the week-end's testing.

July 1st 2001: Update ...

There hasn't been much news to pass on as in order to pass it on I have to be getting it and that has not been happening for the past 10 days, but, with the intensity of effort and the fact that some very interesting vistors have been calling, it is understandable. Also this week-end may be make-or-break time as to if the CC will be flown to Oshkosh. A group of us will be going no matter what & Jay will be presenting at a couple of forums no matter what.

I am able to report that last week-end some more patterns were flown but there was also a blade-weave problem related to fitting the rotor spinner cover. Also there were delays due to the extremely hot weather having its effects as well.

This week-end will include 5 days of testing and flying as well as the CC being filmed by a Dutch TV crew.

A press release will be issued next week and this will bring us all up to date.

Also, the CarterCopter is now featured as an X-plane add on - go to X-plane website

June 18 2001: Flying patterns after minor delay from weather

The team also went thru a checkout to determine if a previous problem from last year, resulting in 'vertical oscillations' of the rotor, was likely to re-occur.

That problem occured when the previous version of the CC was flying at the faster speeds and caused the CC itself to go into severe vibrations as the rotor passed a particular speed band. That problem was traced to minor slop in the pitch controls that allowed the rotor to change pitch slightly but rapidly at a point where the rotorblade pitch was reduced while at the higher speeds. When the problem first occured the pilots couldn't see (their vision was blurred by the severe shaking they received). They accidently turned off the radio & also failed to fully lower the gear but despite it all landed the former version without serious incident - the problem only occured at particular speed and pitch settings.

The team needed to be sure this old problem is not reoccuring, then the craft was taken higher and faster. Testing continued until Sunday.

As a result of this 8 days of testing, the pilots have now taken the craft to 1500 ft altitude and 115 mph speed. The longest test pattern was a 20 minute flight with Rustly and Larry at the controls.

Testing will resume this coming week-end of the 23rd June and is expected to be repeated the week-end after.

There are some pretty happy people at Olney (and elsewhere) after this testing.

June 14 2001: 1st cicuit Pattern flown by the new pilot team

Pilots took the CC into its 1st circuit pattern this year. They reached 85mph and 750 ft. Weather deteriorated so further flights on hold for the day. Expecting to resume Thursday US time. Goal will be to increase speed and go to 2,500 ft altitude.

June 13 2001: Preparing for circuit patterns

All this week testing has been underway and will continue non-stop for the next 3-4 days. A new test pilot has joined the team. His name is Larry Neal and he is acting as Rusty Nance's flight engineer for the current test program.

George Mitchell is on hand as is Rod Anderson, in support as well as all the regular team of engineers (the day-to-day team).

The biggest effort so far this week has been in tuning the take-offs and landings. It is expected that today (Wed US time), flying circuit patterns will commence for the 1st time since 1st perfomed by the late Don Farrington last year.

June 1 2001: Pilots back in control !!!

The latest series of tests have put the pilots back in control of the unusual CarterCopter. Both active test pilots were able to perfect the take-off technique pioneered by the late Don Farrington and proven to be the right way to master controlled take-offs needed for monitoring performance and effects. There is a great deal of justified satisfaction among the pilots and crew - the past few months have tested patience and grit to an extreme.

There have been times when it seemed nothing would come right. But the careful approach and precise observance of proceedures and measurements, insisted on by Jay Carter Jnr have achieved the desired effect.

To read all of the official details of the past 3 test sets click the following link to the official CC press release.....

Latest CC Press Release

May 26th 2001: CC in the air again - continuing testing as of today

A new technique for doing running take-offs ahs been devised & the Pilots George & Rusty are practising these. There is a real desire now to recommence flying circuits and practice with moving the rotor whilst in gyro mode flight.

The team are very keen to have their go at the Mu-1 barrier.

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The CC crew and supporters also welcome Jeff Keaton on board - Jeff will be managing much of the effort as the CC gets closer to its historic Mu-1 goal.

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A vision of the future

Click this link - shows a vision of a carrier borne CC

composite pic by Mat Recardo

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Here is another interesting bit of artwork also done by Matt Recardo and checked out by Rod Anderson for accuracy. It reflects the feeling of the CC team about just how much pioneering work and sacrifice has gone into the CC program.

May 12th 2001: CC rotor can be repaired - more testing in 1-2 weeks

Just a note to say that the rotor I beam had not been damaged & the rotor foils will be redone.

Testing should commence again possibly as early as next week end.

April 30th 2001: Some gain - and more pain !!!

Below are a couple of composite pictures provided by George Mitchell- they are from the last couple of test sets. (Yes the rotor did get buckled after a mishap where the craft ran off the runway & the nose wheel buckled).

April 22nd 2001: CC Testing continues at a slow steady pace

Not a lot to say at the moment - testing continued over Easter and also this week-end, it is at a very steady careful pace, step-by-step, as was done when Don Farrington was starting out.

A minor design problem related to doing running take-offs was discovered & dealt with. This was where the craft was inclined to do an unexpected forward pitch once out of ground effect which was caused by the stabilator holding the tail down while it was taking off down the runway and then causing the craft to pitch forward once it was out of ground effect.

We are planning to be at Oshkosh this year and we do expect the CC to fly at the show.

April 1st 2001: CC sustains minor damage in test flight

During a test run whilst pushing the flight envelope, a heavy landing sheared the tops of the two tail fins & the prop scuffed the rotor. The repairs will take about 2 weeks to do & flying is scheduled to resume on 14th April. It is a fact of life that we have come to understand about the CarterCopter, that flying an unusual and differnt type of aircraft is a slow, and oftern 'learn the hard way' effort. We really have emapathy with the Wright Brothers.

March 24th 2001: CC flight testing has resumed - report should be available this week

Some photographs of the past couple of weeks unit testing in the test pit area now available in the Picture Gallery section.

Quiklink to the new pics in Picture Gallery

March 10th 2001: CC repairs nearly complete - ready to resume flying again

The rotor was pit tested during the past few days & is being balanced (minor weave problem to be adjusted). The remainder of the fuselage has been fixed.

This will be the first flight test series involving the participation of the Golden Arms Associates team.

This year we are also expecting a big gathering of CC people at the Oshkosh AirVenture airshow. We are all hoping the CC might perform a demo flight. It is still far to early to tell if that can be achieved.

March 2nd 2001: Major Boost for CC Flight Test Program

As a result of several weeks of briefings and discussions, the members of the Golden Arm Associates have agreed to taking over the CC test planning program and to work with the existing CC test pilots to complete the current test program of the CC prototype.

The members involved include:-

USAF Lt. Col. Paul G. Smith. Smith is currently the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Joint Test Force Commander and Chief Government X-35 test pilot. He leads 22 flight-test engineers and pilots from the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Marine and UK and oversees the efforts of Boeing and Lockheed Martin in their X-35 and X-32 flight test programs. He was the first military pilot to fly the X-35 and the first pilot to air-refuel an X-designated aircraft.

USAF Maj. Tom P. Currie, Jr. Currie leads the CV-22 Integrated Test Team at Edwards AFB. He directs a diverse 200 person team dedicated to the testing and development of the CV-22 Osprey for the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). Tom was picked to fly the first CV-22 in a six-hour flight from Texas to Edwards AFB.

Full details can be read at the CC web site under press releases. (Click link 7 in the menu above)

Nov 2000: CCH-T CC Heavy Transport Design wins PM Magazine Award

Link to Heliplane Details

Prior Newsflashes & Updates (Mid 2001 thru to Mid 2002
Prior Newsflashes & Updates (Nov 2000 thru to Mid 2001