Electric helicopter sets Guinness world record
On Friday 7 December, Tier 1 Engineering set a Guinness World Record for the farthest distance travelled by an electric helicopter. The batterypowered manned helicopter achieved a record 30 nautical mile flight at 800 feet altitude at an average speed of 80 knots. The helicopter was a modified Robinson R44 test piloted by Captain Ric Webb of OC Helicopters. All flights were accomplished at the Los Alamitos Army Airfield in California in the USA under a special airworthiness certificate in the experimental category issued by FAA’s Los Angeles MIDO.
The battery modules are supported by a lightweight composite
panel and attached to the landing gear under the belly.
Tier 1 Engineering accomplished the project under contract from Lung Biotechnology PBC to produce an Electrically-Powered Semi-Autonomous Rotorcraft for Organ Delivery (EPSAROD).
The company removed the aircraft’s Lycoming IO-540 internal combustion engine, installed a custom mount for the electric motors and a reduction gearbox to interface with the existing drivetrain. No changes were made to the drive train or flight control system. The engine bay contains the motor controllers and cooling system for the electric drive components. The helicopter first flew in 2016. According to a company news’ release at the time, the Tier 1 Engineering team designed and integrated all of the helicopter sub-systems, which included 1100 pounds of Brammo Lithium Polymer batteries, twin electric motors and a control system from Rinehart Motion Systems.
During a historic five-minute flight on 21 September 2016 approximately 20% of the battery energy was drained. Lung Biotechnology PBC intends to apply the EPSAROD technology to distributing manufactured organs for transplantation to major hospitals with much less noise and carbon footprint than current technology. Tier 1 Engineering is an aircraft design and development company with operations in Costa Mesa, California and Victoria, Australia.