ccalert : Messages : 5-24 of 24

http://www.cartercopters.com

Carter Aviation Technologies Update

Change to the CC Alert Mailing List

YOU MUST RESUBSCRIBE IF YOU WISH TO CONTINUE RECEIVING CC ALERT UPDATES.

Due to the increased amount of time I have had to spend maintaining the CC Alert mailing list, and due to a technical problem recently that prevented me from sending an update when we broke mu-1 and is continuing to give me problems, I have decided to switch from maintaining the mailing list locally on my computer to using a mailing list service provided by Yahoo Groups. This is a very good, reliable service. All of the mailing lists that I subscribe to personally are hosted with this service, and I have been extremely happy with the service provided.

If you would like to continue receiving news and updates about the CarterCopter and Carter Aviation Technologies, please subscribe to the new mailing list, either by sending an e-mail to ccalert-subscribe@yahoogroups.com, or by visiting the website at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ccalert/ and following the instructions to subscribe. By either method, you will be sent a confirmation e-mail to which you must reply before being subscribed. This is a security procedure to ensure that people are subscribed legitimately. If you subscribe by sending an e-mail to the above address, and then simply reply to the confirmation message, you will be added to the mailing list without needing a Yahoo account. If you subscribe via the web, or follow the link in the confirmation message, Yahoo will ask you to log in or set up a new Yahoo account.

Yahoo Groups does occasionaly insert advertisements in its mailings or when viewing messages on the web. However, these are relatively unobtrusive, and do not present a security risk. The reputation and functionality of the service easily outweighs the occasional ad that you will see.

CarterCopter Breaks Mu-1

For the first time in history, a rotorcraft has slowed the rotor in flight to mu 1. This has been our goal since we first began flight-testing in 1998. During routine testing on the morning of Friday, June 17th, the CarterCopter achieved a mu of 1 when pilot, Larry Neal, and co-pilot, Brad King, slowed the rotor to 107 rpm while the aircraft was flying at 170 mph. The pilots reported that at mu-1, and during the portion of the flight leading up to that point, the aircraft was flying smoothly and the rotor was stable. There was no cabin hop, and the rotor stayed in track the whole time. The aircraft flew continuously at a mu ratio of 0.9 or greater for 20 seconds. By flying stably at mu-1, the CarterCopter has demonstrated what some critics have said was impossible, showing that the slowed rotor concept is valid and achievable, and has pioneered the the way for future aircraft to take advantage of this technology. Read more details and see a video of this historic flight on our website.

-Jeff Lewis

Engineer, Carter Aviation Technologies

http://www.CarterAviationTechnologies.com

From: "Jeffrey R. Lewis" <jrlewis@...>
Date: Tue Sep 6, 2005 11:50 pm
Subject: Carter Aviation Technologies Update - Flight Test Data on Website

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http://www.cartercopters.com/cctd_flight_data.html

Carter Aviation Technologies Update

Flight Test Data on Website

On June 17, 2005, the prototype CarterCopter Technology Demonstrator achieved a Mu of 1 at a flight speed of 170 mph and a rotor rpm of 107. The flight was stable and extremely smooth, and the pilots reported there were no vibrational indicators that they were even in a rotary-wing aircraft. The following graphs were produced from data taken during that flight. The graphs compare the L/D vs. airspeed of the Carter demonstrator to several of the most efficient and popular fixed-wing kit aircraft and several helicopters...

Read more by following the link above, or visiting our website.

-Jeff Lewis

Engineer, Carter Aviation Technologies

http://www.CarterAviationTechnologies.com

From: "Jeffrey R. Lewis" <jrlewis@...>
Date: Wed Jan 18, 2006 6:04 pm
Subject: Carter Aviation Technologies Update - Flight Testing the CarterGyro

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http://www.cartercopters.com/cartergyro_flight_testing_2006-01-15.html

Carter Aviation Technologies Update

Flight Testing the CarterGyro

For the past week, we have been flight testing the CarterGyro. Pictures and videos are available on our website, by following the link above. Right now, this is a private page- there are no links to it anywhere on the website. We are still in the process of flight testing, and may add new videos to the page, replacing some of the ones that are on there currently. This page will probably be made public at our next monthly update, but we thought we'd let the CCAlert subscribers get an earlier look at what we've been doing.

The CarterGyro is a heavily modified Butterfly autogyro, being used as a platform to test Carter technologies. The major modifications to the aircraft in the configuration for these tests included the Carter propeller & the two-setting Carter prop pitch control mechanism, the Carter designed mechanical pre-rotator, the Carter smart strut on a Carter designed main gear, and a slightly modified commercially available nose gear with more stroke and a larger tire than the original nose gear. The original rotor was still on the aircraft. The aircraft performed very well in the tests. The pilot commented that the thrust from the Carter propeller was like "a kick in the pants" compared to the original prop. He was able to fly straight and level at around 20 mph airspeed, performed several zero-roll landings, and could perform short takeoffs in about 20'.

-Jeff Lewis
Engineer, Carter Aviation Technologies
Wichita Falls, Texas
http://www.CarterCopters.com

From: "Jeffrey R. Lewis" <jrlewis@...>
Date: Thu Aug 3, 2006 10:14 pm
Subject: Carter Aviation Technologies Website Update - Carter Highlight Video

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http://www.cartercopters.com/highlight_video.html

Carter Aviation Technologies Website Update

Carter Highlight Video

We have prepared a 4 minute and 38 second video that covers several aspects from our flight testing and development, which offers a good overview of our technologies. The video is available in multiple different formats, depending on your operating system and Internet connection speed .

-Jeff Lewis
Engineer, Carter Aviation Technologies
Wichita Falls, Texas
http://www.CarterCopters.com

From: "Jeffrey R. Lewis" <jrlewis@...>
Date: Mon Oct 2, 2006 9:47 pm
Subject: Carter Aviation Technologies Website Update

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http://www.cartercopters.com/mu-1.html

Carter Aviation Technologies Website Update

Significance of Mu-1 and the Technical Issues Involved

This is a new page with a detailed explanation of the nine technical issues involved in flying at high mu ratios.

Military Heliplane Video

http://www.cartercopters.com/videos/ch-150_combat_drop.v2.html

We've added a short animation illustrating the CH-150 Heavy Lift Transport performing a zero roll landing in a combat zone to deploy two fully loaded Stryker Vehicles. This aircraft would also be capable of deploying 200 troops or an Abrams tank.

CCTD Flight Data & Analysis

http://www.cartercopters.com/cctd_flight_data.html

We've updated this page with new Lift to Drag and Effective Lift to Drag comparison charts, including data that we didn't have before for some of the most efficient helicopters and a previously classified compound rotorcraft. We've also updated the text to make it more understandable.

2+2 Personal Air Vehicle Construction Images

http://www.cartercopters.com/pav_11g_construction.html

We've added more photos showing the progress of our new prototype.

-Jeff Lewis
Engineer, Carter Aviation Technologies
Wichita Falls, Texas
http://www.CarterCopters.com

#10

From: "Jeffrey R. Lewis" <jrlewis@...>
Date: Mon Dec 4, 2006 8:47 pm
Subject: Carter Aviation Technologies Website Update

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http://www.cartercopters.com/pav_11g_construction_3.html

Carter Aviation Technologies Website Update

2+2 Personal Air Vehicle Construction Images

We've added more photos showing the progress of our new prototype.

CCTD Flight Data & Analysis

http://www.cartercopters.com/cctd_flight_data.html

We've updated the Effective Lift to Drag comparison chart on this page, adding data for the V-22 Osprey and the Carter PAV 2+2.

-Jeff Lewis
Engineer, Carter Aviation Technologies
Wichita Falls, Texas
http://www.CarterCopters.com

#11

From: "Jeffrey R. Lewis" <jrlewis@...>
Date: Wed Feb 7, 2007 2:43 pm
Subject: Carter Aviation Technologies Website Update

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http://www.cartercopters.com/boards_of_advisors_and_directors.html

Carter Aviation Technologies Website Update

Board of Directors & Advisory Board

We've created a new page detailing our Board of Directors and Advisory Board.

2+2 Place Personal Air Vehicle & UAV

http://www.cartercopters.com/pav_11g.html

We've updated the pictures on the 2+2 PAV page to reflect the most current design. We've also created a new section showing animations of what the PAV will be capable of.

CarterGyro Demonstrator/Trainer

http://www.cartercopters.com/ctd-t.html

Added new photos and videos (including the jump takeoff videos) to the CarterGyro Demonstrator/Trainer page. (These are the videos from our January monthly update, but now that that update has been replaced, we decided to put the videos in an easy to find location.)

-Jeff Lewis
Engineer, Carter Aviation Technologies
Wichita Falls, Texas
http://www.CarterCopters.com

#12

From: "Jeffrey R. Lewis" <jrlewis@...>
Date: Mon Apr 2, 2007 7:27 pm
Subject: Carter Aviation Technologies Website Update & Change In Company Philosophy

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http://www.cartercopters.com/pav_12g.html

Carter Aviation Technologies Website Update

New Company Philosophy

We've updated quite a few pages on the website over the past few days, mostly related to the fact that Carter is making a slight change to its company philosophy. Whereas before, we'd always maintained that we were a pure research & development company, and would license our technologies to other companies to do manufacturing, we now feel that partnering with a manufacturer, as opposed to licensing, may be the best way to bring slowed rotor/compound aircraft to the market. We will still keep the main focus of the company as research & development. If you're interested in placing a deposit for a Carter rotorcraft, we've updated our Placing an Order section to reflect his change, and to include the new aircraft model discussed below (http://www.cartercopters.com/placing_order.html).

New Model: 2-Place Personal Air Vehicle

We've unveiled a new design for a 2-Place Personal Air Vehicle, a new aircraft designed with the intent of it being an entry level Carter rotorcraft. For simplicity, it has been designed as a pure autogyro. It will have a rotor and prop very similar in design to those used on the Carter Gyro Demonstrator Trainer (CGD/T), allowing jump takeoffs and zero roll landings similar to those of the CGD/T, while having a top speed of around 130 mph. As mentioned above, we've updated our Placing an Order section to start taking deposits on this aircraft.

More PAV 2+2 Construction Photos

http://www.cartercopters.com/pav_11g_construction_4.html

We've added a fourth page of 2+2 Personal Air Vehicle Construction Images so that you can follow our progress.

New Look for Concepts & Technologies Index Page

http://www.cartercopters.com/concepts.html

We gave the Concepts & Technologies index page a new look, using small thumbnail images for each concept. This may seem like a small update, but it makes it much easier to distinguish the concepts at a glance.

For a full list of the latest updates, including those related to the new company philosophy, please visit the Recently Updated Pages section of our website:

http://www.cartercopters.com/recently_updated_pages.html

-Jeff Lewis
Engineer, Carter Aviation Technologies
Wichita Falls, Texas
http://www.CarterCopters.com

#13

From: "Jeffrey R. Lewis" <jrlewis@...>
Date: Mon May 7, 2007 8:47 pm
Subject: Carter Aviation Technologies Website Update

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Carter Aviation Technologies Website Update

New Concept: CH-100 Transport
http://www.cartercopters.com/ch-100.html
Carter has done some preliminary design on a transport aircraft with a 100' diameter rotor and wingspan. The aircraft is being designed for a spiral development, such that keeping the same rotor size and airframe, but changing engines, engine fairings, and gearboxes, the capabilities of the aircraft could be greatly expanded.

New CH-150 Heliplane Images
http://www.cartercopters.com/heliplane_iso.html
A Carter fan, Milan Soukup, sent us a very good illustration of the CH-150, which we've added to the CH-150 Heliplane Transport Overview page and the CH-150 Images page. We also added our latest engineering pictures of the aircraft.

For a full list of the latest updates, please visit the Recently Updated Pages section of our website:
http://www.cartercopters.com/recently_updated_pages.html

-Jeff Lewis
Engineer, Carter Aviation Technologies
Wichita Falls, Texas
http://www.CarterCopters.com

#14

From: "Jeffrey R. Lewis" <jrlewis@...>
Date: Fri May 11, 2007 3:25 pm
Subject: CarterGyro Video on YouTube

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U971jap0gMQ

CarterGyro Demonstrator Trainer on YouTube

A fan of Carter Aviation Technologies, Mat Recardo, has put together a video highlighting the CarterGyro Demonstrator Trainer, which he did entirely on a volunteer basis. All of us here think he did a really good job. The link to the video on YouTube is below.

I apologize for sending out this alert so close to the one that was sent earlier this week. I try to keep these updates down to one per month so that they don't clutter up people's inboxes, but this video was so good that we really wanted to share it.

-Jeff Lewis
Engineer, Carter Aviation Technologies
Wichita Falls, Texas
http://www.CarterCopters.com

#15

From: "Jeffrey R. Lewis" <jrlewis@...>
Date: Mon Jul 2, 2007 9:02 pm
Subject: RE: Carter Aviation Technologies Website Update

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http://www.cartercopters.com/nxcc.html

Carter Aviation Technologies Website Update

Updated 6-Place Business Air Vehicle Page

We've updated the design for our 6-Place Business Air Vehicle (BAV). The BAV, with a 2000 HP (derated 2500 HP) gas turbine engine, will be fully pressurized, have a top speed between 370 & 405 mph (depending on altitude, and the accuracy of our drag estimates), and be capable of flying at 45,000 ft for 2600 miles with reserves (best altitude for combination of speed, efficiency & range). The new design uses many of the same parts as the 4-place PAV, such as the rotor, wing, tilting mast, rotor head, auto mechanical rotor pitch control, prerotator drive including 90� gearbox, landing gear, horizontal stabilator mold, and auto flight controls. For more information, pictures, and performance, follow the above link.

-Jeff Lewis
Engineer, Carter Aviation Technologies
Wichita Falls, Texas
http://www.CarterCopters.com

#16

From: "Jeffrey R. Lewis" <jrlewis@...>
Date: Tue Sep 11, 2007 10:23 pm
Subject: Carter Aviation Technologies Upcoming TV Appearance & Website Updates

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Carter Aviation Technologies

Upcoming Television Appearance

In an upcoming episode of Modern Marvels on the History Channel, titled Mega Machines, the original CarterCopter and our new PAV 2+2 prototype will be among the vehicles featured. The episode is set to air September 20th. Please check your local listings for the show times in your area.

Website Updates

2+2 Personal Air Vehicle
http://www.cartercopters.com/pav_11g.html
Construction of our latest prototype is going well. We've added 3 more pages to the section showing the images of the construction (most of these photos were already available through the Monthly updates, but the Construction Image section keeps them grouped together, and shows them in a higher resolution than the thumbnail images of the Monthly Updates). We continue to tweak the design of the aircraft, and have updated the 3D CAD images of the PAV to reflect the most recent changes.

6-9 Place Business Air Vehicle

http://www.cartercopters.com/nxcc.html
We've made a few more changes to the design of the 6-9 Place Business Air Vehicle since the update we sent out in July. The most up to date images and performance are available on the website.

For a full list of the latest updates, please visit the Recently Updated Pages section of our website:
http://www.cartercopters.com/recently_updated_pages.html

-Jeff Lewis
Engineer, Carter Aviation Technologies
Wichita Falls, Texas
http://www.CarterCopters.com

#17

From: "Jeffrey R. Lewis" <jrlewis@...>
Date: Mon Dec 3, 2007 8:03 pm
Subject: Carter Aviation Technologies Website Update

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Carter Aviation Technologies Website Update

Updated CH-150 Heliplane Section
http://www.cartercopters.com/heliplane_overview.html
A lot of the information in the section on our large transport aircraft with a 150' rotor and wing span had become outdated as the design evolved, so we've updated it. The Specs & Performance page now reflects the most current estimates, and also includes rotor flapping.

More 4-Place PAV Construction Photos
http://www.cartercopters.com/pav_11g_construction_8.html
We've added one more page showing the latest photos of the construction of our current prototype, the 4-place PAV.

Updated Home Page Graphic
http://www.cartercopters.com/
The main image on our home page used to be simply a photo of the CarterCopter Technology Demonstrator. While we've kept that as the main photo, we wanted new visitors to our site to be able to see at a glance more of our concepts, so we've added several thumbnail images below the main image. Clicking on any of the thumbnails will replace the main image with a larger version of that thumbnail.

For a full list of the latest updates, please visit the Recently Updated Pages section of our website:
http://www.cartercopters.com/recently_updated_pages.html

-Jeff Lewis
Engineer, Carter Aviation Technologies
Wichita Falls, Texas
http://www.CarterCopters.com

#18

From: "Jeffrey R. Lewis" <jrlewis@...>
Date: Tue Apr 8, 2008 2:42 pm
Subject: Carter Aviation Technologies Website Update

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http://www.cartercopters.com/faq-general.html

Carter Aviation Technologies Website Update

Updated Frequently Asked Questions

We've reworded the explanations to several of the questions in our FAQ to make them more clear, and to make them more generalized to slowed rotor/compound aircraft (the FAQ was originally written specifically for our first prototype, the CarterCopter Technology Demonstrator). We've also added a few new questions that people had been asking me quite a bit by e-mail.

More 4-Place PAV Construction Photos

http://www.cartercopters.com/pav_11g_construction_9.html

We've added another page of photos showing the construction progress of our current prototype, the 4-Place PAV.

New Menu

We've re-organized the main menu in the left navigation bar of every page, removing many of the links to make the menu less cluttered and more clear, hopefully improving navigation.

For a full list of the latest updates, please visit the Recently Updated Pages section of our website:
http://www.cartercopters.com/recently_updated_pages.html

-Jeff Lewis
Engineer, Carter Aviation Technologies
Wichita Falls, Texas
http://www.CarterCopters.com

#19

From: "Jeffrey R. Lewis" <jrlewis@...>
Date: Thu May 15, 2008 1:52 pm
Subject: Carter Aviation Featured in "60 Minutes on Yahoo"

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http://60minutes.yahoo.com/

Carter Aviation Technologies Update

Carter Aviation Featured in "60 Minutes on Yahoo"

A new "60 Minutes on Yahoo" segment titled "Flying Cars" is now online. It is based on the "60 Minutes: Highway in the Sky" segment that originally aired in 2005. It will be featured as the main story on their homepage until Sunday evening, and is also available directly at:

http://60minutes.yahoo.com/segment/173/flying_cars

-Jeff Lewis
Engineer, Carter Aviation Technologies
Wichita Falls, Texas
http://www.CarterCopters.com

#20

From: "Jeffrey R. Lewis" <jrlewis@...>
Date: Mon Aug 4, 2008 10:11 pm
Subject: Carter Aviation Technologies Website Update

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Carter Aviation Technologies Website Update

Updated 4-Place PAV Section
http://www.cartercopters.com/pav_11g.html
Updated the main page for the 4-Place PAV to reflect the fact that the first prototype is going to use the 300 HP Lycoming IO-540 engine, followed by the twin turbo-charged 350 HP TIO-540 after initial flight testing. We also added a new page with a performance summary for the 350 HP version.

Five New Press Releases

2008-08-04 a - Carter Photo Captions - AirVenture 2008
http://www.cartercopters.com/pr_2008-08-04a.html

2008-08-04 b - Carter Appoints New VP and Adds Staff
http://www.cartercopters.com/pr_2008-08-04b.html

2008-08-04 c - Carter PAV Nears Completion
http://www.cartercopters.com/pr_2008-08-04c.html

2008-08-04 d - Carter PAV Estimated Performance Numbers
http://www.cartercopters.com/pr_2008-08-04d.html

2008-08-04 e - Carter Announces Partners in Technology
http://www.cartercopters.com/pr_2008-08-04e.html

-Jeff Lewis
Engineer, Carter Aviation Technologies
Wichita Falls, Texas
http://www.CarterCopters.com

#21

From: "Jeffrey R. Lewis" <jrlewis@...>
Date: Tue Feb 3, 2009 8:23 pm
Subject: Carter Aviation Technologies Website Update

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http://www.cartercopters.com/pav_11g_video.html

Carter Aviation Technologies Website Update

New Animation - UAV Shipboard Operations

We've added a new animation, showing shipboard operations for the unmanned variant of the 4-Place Personal Air Vehicle.

Updated Patents

http://www.cartercopters.com/patents_granted.html

We've had 3 new patents approved since this page was last updated - Rotor Collective Pitch vs. Mu to Control Flapping and Mast/Rotor Tilt to Control Rotor RPM, Rotor Aircraft Tilting Hub with Reduced Drag Rotor Head and Mast, and Vertical Rotor Dampening. A PDF of the first of those is available on our website. PDFs for the remaining two will be posted once the patents are actually issued by the Patent Office.

Remember that you can keep track of our progress through the monthly updates on our homepage.

http://www.cartercopters.com/

-Jeff Lewis
Engineer, Carter Aviation Technologies
Wichita Falls, Texas
http://www.CarterCopters.com

#22

From: "Jeffrey R. Lewis" <jrlewis@...>
Date: Tue Jul 21, 2009 1:28 pm
Subject: Carter Aviation Technologies Update - Airventure 2009

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http://www.CarterCopters.com

Carter Aviation Technologies Update

EAA Airventure 2009
We are taking the 4-Place PAV Prototype to this year's EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The aircraft will be unveiled on Sunday, July 26th, and will be on static display through the following Saturday in the EAA Welcome Center (located along the main road, Celebration Way, close to AeroShell Square). Company president, Jay Carter, will be giving a forum, titled Carter's SR/C Technology and PAV Update, at 11:30 am on Saturday, August 1st in Pavilion 11, the REMOS Aircraft Pavilion.

More Info on Airventure:
http://www.airventure.org/

More Info on Jay's Forum:
http://www.eaaapps.org/moreinfo.aspx?id=179

-Jeff Lewis
Engineer, Carter Aviation Technologies
Wichita Falls, Texas

#23

From: "Jeffrey R. Lewis" <jrlewis@...>
Date: Tue Oct 6, 2009 9:13 pm
Subject: Carter Aviation Technologies Update

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http://www.CarterCopters.com

Carter Aviation Technologies Update

Monthly Updates for CC Alert Newsletter
This newsletter will now include monthly updates of the company's progress (previously, these were only available on our homepage and not included here). You will still be notified whenever new information is posted to the Carter website, whenever there are significant developments to the company, or when there are announcements regarding airshows, meetings, or other venues we're attending.

Carter Creating Two New Companies
http://www.cartercopters.com/pr_2009-10-06.html
In laying the foundation for expansion, Carter Aviation Technologies, LLC has created two subsidiary companies - Carter Aerospace Development, LLC and Carter Air Vehicles, LLC. Carter Aviation Technologies will continue to handle all licensing of Carter's unique Slowed Rotor/Compound (SR/C) Aircraft Technology. Carter Aerospace Development will transition to handle research and development programs for the company. Carter Air Vehicles is the new manufacturing arm that will produce pre-production and initial production aircraft for the civilian market.

Employment Opportunities
http://www.cartercopters.com/employment.html
Carter is looking for several key personnel. This is an opportunity to be involved with slowed rotor compound aircraft. If interested, please visit our Employment Opportunities page.

PAV Prototype Status

Continued with the wiring. The instrument panel is now installed in the aircraft.
Continued work on the baffling system.
Built the two skins of the new tilting mast. Internal components must still be made before bonding the two skins together.
Bonded together the two halves of the new spar. This particular spar will be tested to failure in the test fixture.
Began laying up a short section of the rotor skin to use in the spar proof test.

For photos, visit the This Month at Carter section on our homepage.
http://www.CarterCopters.com/

-Jeff Lewis
Engineer, Carter Aviation Technologies
Wichita Falls, Texas

#24

From: "Jeffrey R. Lewis" <jrlewis@...>
Date: Tue Nov 17, 2009 3:42 pm
Subject: Carter Aviation Technologies Update - License Agreement with AAI

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Carter Aviation Technologies Update

Carter Signs UAS License Agreement with AAI

Wichita Falls, TX - Carter Aviation Technologies LLC (Carter) of Wichita Falls, TX is announcing that they have completed negotiations with AAI Corporation, an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. company, of Hunt Valley, MD on an exclusive licensing agreement for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) using Carter's revolutionary Slowed Rotor/Compound (SR/C) Aircraft Technology - a combination of rotorcraft and fixed-wing aerodynamics. The 40-year exclusive agreement covers all UAS programs worldwide.

According to Carter President, Jay Carter, Jr., "This is a turning point for Carter. As an R&D company we have been focused on developing and defining our technology and the systems that would enhance its capability. We now have a viable SR/C platform that has the ability to compete in both manned and unmanned sectors with vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) and high-speed flight, and a trusted partner in AAI. This partnership enables us to combine the unique capabilities of SR/C technology with AAI's unmanned expertise."

AAI is a respected provider of unmanned aircraft systems for customers including the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. Its platforms include Shadow® Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems, which have amassed more than 450,000 flight hours; the Aerosonde® fleet of expeditionary small unmanned aircraft systems; and AAI's One System® Ground Control Station and Remote Video Terminal for unmanned command and control, as well as manned/unmanned teaming.

Carter's hybrid technology combines the runway independence of rotorcraft with the cruise efficiency of fixed-wing designs. SR/C technology enables these capabilities by seamlessly transitioning lift between the rotor and the wing based on the specific phase of flight. Carter's SR/C design is a pure autogyro and currently incorporates 20 patents. In the latest, four-place, civil aircraft the empty weight is expected to be 2,200 lbs with a gross weight of 3,500 lbs. The unique rotor system will allow jump take-offs clearing 50-foot obstacles through its vertical takeoff capability. Equipped with a 350 HP twin turbo-charged engine, the performance numbers are impressive. At an altitude of 12,500 feet and max power, the aircraft has a projected speed of 223 mph and, with 500 lbs. of fuel, a range of 768 miles at this max power setting. Flying at best range speed, the aircraft will deliver a range extending to 1465 miles. Maximum speed of 250 mph is projected at 25,000 ft with a range of 879 miles at max power and 1510 miles at best range speed.

Leveraging SR/C technology and the civil four-place primary aircraft components, Carter and AAI have been evaluating a UAS design variant employing a turbine engine. At 7,250 lbs. gross weight, with 4,750 lbs. of useful load, the SR/C UAS is expected to deliver 3000 lbs of cargo to a range of over 1300 nm at speeds of 288 mph. Configured for multi-role UAS missions, the SR/C UAS is expected to deliver endurance in excess of 24 hrs.

All SR/C aircraft variants will be enhanced by incorporation of Carter's patented landing gear and propeller system. The Carter gear absorbs up to 24 ft/second on impact. Carter's highly swept, hollow blade, scimitar propeller design is very light, unusually quiet, more than 90% efficient and can, because of its wide cord, produce up to 30% more static thrust than a comparable stock propeller.

For more information and photos, read the full press release: http://www.cartercopters.com/pr_2009-11-16.html