AC20 is a new helicopter design developed and presented by the Austrian company ArrowCopter. This is a vehicle that carries crew of two – a pilot and a passenger, as the passenger is sitting behind the pilot. The propeller that pushes the aircraft forward is located behind the passenger and in front of the direction controlling fin.
ArrowCopter AC20 is almost entirely constructed of composite materials (carbon fibers, kevlar) with aluminum inserts which are supposed to increase the construction strength and durability. Another benefit of these materials is the great reduction of weight – only 600 kg of maximum take off mass. The vehicles are manufactured in cooperation with Mubea Carbo Tech GmBH , a company specialized in production of panels and parts from composite materials. When empty, the vehicle is nearly twice lighter – 342 kg.
It is 5,8 m long, almost 2,5 m wide and nearly 2,9 m high. AC20 reaches top speed of 195 km/h and its minimum speed is as low as 30 km/h.
Interesting is the specially developed EFIS (Electronic Flight Information System) which provides the pilot with 3-dimensional terrain view, wind aloft calculations, thermal sensors, maintenance timer and many more along with the standard for every aircraft devices such as altimeter, compass and airspeed indicators.
SOURCE: [interestingengineering]
