Sat, Oct 11, 2003
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.]
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