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Wichita Falls, TX – January 17, 2007 – Carter Aviation Technologies said it has developed a gyrocopter that will land and take off vertically, entering the race to create a personal air vehicle or PAV.
“We feel the [gyro] can now visually demonstrate that the age of true personal flight is at hand,” said Carter President Jay Carter Jr. “We now have a vehicle that can safely take off from your driveway, fly 200 miles and then safely land and take-off from a truck stop to refuel, or a restaurant to eat, or a hotel where you can spend the night.”
Carter adapted technology from its CarterCopter gyro to create the gyro prototype with a new rotor system called the CarterGyro Demonstrator/Trainer, or more simply, the CGD/T or CarterGyro. During flight-testing of the new prototype in late December, test pilot George Mitchell executed several vertical take-offs where the aircraft was able to jump more than 150 feet straight up into the air. See the test flight.
"It was phenomenal!” Mitchell said. “But, it took a little getting used to. It's not something you do with the average gyro. The "g" meter showed 2.25 Gs on take-off!"
Carter said they “couldn’t be happier” with the test results. “We've completed the hours of flight-testing required by the FAA since the rotor changes were made, but we will continue to look at the overall safety and response of the systems.”
In addition, they are also looking at adding some features like an electric starter, Carter said.
Carter plans to apply the technology to a four-place aircraft with enclosed cabin. It hopes to fly the four-place model, 2 + 2 PAV, by the end of 2007.
The 2+2 PAV at a glance
- •The baseline aircraft will have a 34-ft diameter rotor and wingspan, and will utilize a 100 HP Rotax 914 engine.
- •It will have an expected empty weight of around 800 pounds, and a max gross weight of 1,600 pounds.
- •The aircraft will perform either a vertical take-off or short rolling takeoff, depending on the density altitude, gross weight and available horsepower.
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Ready & Waiting: the CarterGyro is secured in the pit and ready for preliminary tests on the revolutionary Carter Rotor with the new, automatic, rotor pitch control system. Photo Credit: Jeff Lewis.
In final flight-tests the CarterGyro was able to perform vertical take-offs to over 150 feet straight into the air. Carter’s very excited Test Pilot, George Mitchell, exclaimed, “It’s just phenomenal! At first you don’t believe it ‘til you check the instruments.” Photo Credit: Mark Robinson.
Carter’s revolutionary rotor design looks like something out of science fiction, but works to remarkably improve performance. The rotor tips contain 20 lbs. of lead allowing the rotor to generate maximum stored energy for jump take-offs. Photo Credit: Jeff Lewis.
Although Carter’s Landing Gear design looks simple. The Carter “Smart Strut” is able to absorb landing impacts of up to 6 Gs and 1000 ft./min. sink rates. This provides a tremendous safety envelope. Photo Credit: Jeff Lewis.
For More Information
Carter Aviation Technologies
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