It has been flying since two yrs and a light diesel engine is considered to feed the batteries.
I find it remarkable how AugustaWestland and everyone involved managed to keep this under cover for so long. Just like Eurocopter with their X2. Very uneuropean. I guess the main field of application will be militairy?
The formal unveiling at the AgustaWestland press conference on the eve of Heli-Expo comes several weeks after the concept was revealed in a patent application published on 31 January.
The patent filing shows a V-tailed vehicle identified as the "Convertiplane", with a top speed in forward flight of 270kt (500km/h) and a normal cruising altitude of 24,600ft (7,500m). The patent was assigned to James Wang, the vice-president of research and development.
Such an aircraft would boast twice the cruising speed, range, ceiling and endurance compared with a conventional helicopter, AgustaWestland claimed in the patent application.
Heli Expo 2013
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more info today!
The original photo above struck me as caught redhanded anyway, because of the distance, guys running around it, hardly a pose
Meanwhile the
PR department put together a release.
“Project Zero” All-Electric Tilt Rotor Technology Demonstrator International Collaboration | AgustaWestland