Still Hoping To Put Personal Air Vehicle Into Production In The Future

Carter Aviation Technologies, LLC (Carter) is continuing its focus to get a CarterCopter into production. Although flight testing has ramped down, flight demonstrations have not. “With the passing of our long time pilot Larry Neal last fall, we have been working to identify and train a new crew,” explained Jay Carter. “This time we wanted to put two pilots in the aircraft rather than a pilot and a flight engineer, which would give us more flexibility to demon­strate – if one pilot is unavailable we have a backup."

Responding to this need, Carter has brought onboard pilots Chris Lord and Dan Holcomb. Chris is the owner of Pictaio Aerospace, LLC and an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner as well as an instructor for gyroplanes and airplanes. Dan trained in helicopters with the US Army flying the UH-1 and CH-47 before transitioning to the Air Force and flying the KC-135 among other aircraft. Retired as a Lt Col, Dan now flies commercially for various clients.

“This is the best team we have ever had. Chris and Dan live a few miles apart and are good friends,” exclaimed Jay Carter. “You would have to see them to believe how well they work together. We called them on a Friday and by the following Monday they were training in the PAV. Before the end of the week they were performing jump takeoffs like old pros. And, all this was accomplished by training themselves.”

Chris and Dan are preparing to support key demonstrations on Carter’s behalf to include cross country flights as well as airshows. “When Jay gave us a call, we were instantly in,” stated Chris Lord. Dan and I have flown a wide array of aircraft including fixed-wing, helicopters, and gyros, but nothing quite like the CarterCopter. The capabilities of the aircraft are really impressive from the energy in the rotor for the takeoff and landing to the dramatic drag reduction as the rotor is slowed for cruise flight.”

Carter is positioning itself to demonstrate the aircraft at a variety of venues. It is also preparing to host interested parties and companies who desire to license the technology and put it into production. “Videos, pictures, flight test data presentations and the like are all good, but people considering making the investment required to put our technology into a product want to experience it first hand,” described Jay. “Chris and Dan are a key element of our preparations for a robust demonstration program going forward and we are extremely excited to have them onboard.”

(Images provided by Carter Aviation)

FMI: www.CarterAero.com