Carter Puts Mu-1 Barrier Attempt on Hold

Carter Aviation Technologies (Carter Copters) is announcing that their attempt to break the "Mu-1 barrier" for rotorcraft, recently scheduled for November 22, 2003, has been put on hold. The attempt was scheduled in conjunction with the Organization for Sport Aviation Competition's (OSAC) Air Games at the Texas Motor Speedway in Ft. Worth (TX).

According to Carter President, Jay Carter, Jr., the critical flight-testing phase prior to advancing to Mu-1 has not been completed. The original November date for the Mu-1 attempt was set last spring prior to a wheels-up landing that caused extensive damage to the engine compartment on the Carter prototype.

Springtime trouble spawned opportunity.

Repairs to the fuselage are now complete, but Carter took the opportunity to upgrade the engine from a 300 hp to a 400 hp, turbocharged engine. This new engine is being developed to take Carter's next generation prototype far beyond Mu-1. Changes to the fuselage to accommodate the new engine were fairly straightforward. However, calibrating the engine computer with the turbo added and rewiring the computer systems that download 60 channels of information during flight-testing has been very challenging. In addition to the engine upgrade, Carter took advantage of the downtime to revamp and upgrade some systems that were causing intermittent problems. They also upgraded their patented landing gear to simplify the retraction and extension system and make it more reliable.

Jay Carter commented, "We are moving out of the research stage into more of a development stage.  Our basic technology has been proven with almost 100 hours of successful flight-testing. We are now progressing to the next level and conquering Mu-1 is the first step in expanding the scope of our technology. There are risks involved and our approach has always been one of 'safety first.'  If exceeding Mu-1 was an easy process the barrier would have been broken long before now."

[The OSAC Air Games are also being rescheduled to accommodate a later date for the Mu-1 attempt.  No specific date has been set for the new event. Indications are that it will take place in the spring of 2004 --ed.]

FMI: www.carteraviationtechnologies.com