The Carter PAV (

Personal Air Vehicle A personal air vehicle (PAV) is a proposed type of aircraft providing on-demand aviation services. The emergence of this alternative to traditional ground transport methods has been enabled by unmanned aerial vehicle technologies and electric pr ...

) is a two-bladed, compound

autogyro An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), also known as a ''gyroplane'', is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. Forward thrust is provided independently, by an engine-driven propeller. Whi ...

developed by

Carter Aviation Technologies Carter Aviation Technologies (also known as CarterCopters) is a privately held aviation research and development company based in Wichita Falls, Texas, United States. The main focus of the company is developing new technology and then licensing it ...

to demonstrate slowed rotor technology. The design has an unpowered

rotor Rotor may refer to: Science and technology Engineering *Rotor (electric), the non-stationary part of an alternator or electric motor, operating with a stationary element so called the stator * Helicopter rotor, the rotary wing(s) of a rotorcraft ...

mounted on top of the fuselage, wings like a conventional

fixed-wing aircraft A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air flying machine, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using wings that generate lift caused by the aircraft's forward airspeed and the shape of the wings. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinc ...

mounted underneath, and a controllable pitch

pusher propeller In an aircraft with a pusher configuration (as opposed to a tractor configuration), the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). Since a pusher propeller is mounted behind the engine, the drive shaft is in compression in nor ...

at the rear of the fuselage. Heavy weights ( each) are placed in the rotor tips to enhance

rotational energy Rotational energy or angular kinetic energy is kinetic energy due to the rotation of an object and is part of its total kinetic energy. Looking at rotational energy separately around an object's axis of rotation, the following dependence on the o ...

and to reduce flapping.

Development

When the

CarterCopter The CarterCopter is an experimental compound autogyro developed by Carter Aviation Technologies in the United States to demonstrate slowed rotor technology. On 17 June 2005, the CarterCopter became the first rotorcraft to achieve mu-1 (μ=1), an ...

was damaged in 2005 due to a gear-up landing caused by pilot error, the cost of repair was deemed higher than the cost of making a new aircraft with the added benefit of incorporating lessons learned from the first aircraft. Design of the PAV was begun during 2005.Archive 2006
''Carter Aviation'', 2 January 2006

Retrieved: 7 August 2010. Quote: "For the past several months, Carter has been designing a new aircraft"CarterCopter prototype in the works
" ''Texomas'', 20 December 2006. Retrieved: 26 January 2014. Several changes and development problems occurred along the way; twin boom was deemed unnecessary, so a single boom was constructed, and flaws in rotor blades and hub were revealed during testing and then corrected.
''

Jane's Information Group Jane's Information Group, now styled Janes, is a global open-source intelligence company specialising in military, national security, aerospace and transport topics, whose name derives from British author Fred T. Jane. History Jane's Informatio ...

''Jane's All the World's Aircraft'', 20 July 2010. Retrieved: 9 September 2010
Archive
/ref>
''Carter Aviation'', 2003–2010

Retrieved: 7 August 2010. On 16 November 2009, the

AAI Corporation AAI Corporation is an aerospace and defense development and manufacturing firm, located in Hunt Valley, Maryland, US. Formerly a wholly owned subsidiary of United Industrial Corporation, AAI was acquired by Textron in 2007. It currently operates ...

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

Textron Textron Inc. is an American industrial conglomerate based in Providence, Rhode Island. Textron's subsidiaries include Arctic Cat, Bell Textron, Textron Aviation (which itself includes the Beechcraft, and Cessna brands), and Lycoming Engines. ...

) signed a 40-year exclusive

license agreement A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

Textron Subsidiary To Develop Carter Rotor Technology
''AVweb'', 18 November 2009. Retrieved: 1 May 2010.Page, Lewi
VTOL gyro-copter flying car mates with killer robot
''

The Register ''The Register'' is a British technology news website co-founded in 1994 by Mike Magee, John Lettice and Ross Alderson. The online newspaper's masthead sublogo is "''Biting the hand that feeds IT''." Their primary focus is information tec ...

'', 20 November 2009. Retrieved: 1 May 2010. with the company concerning all

unmanned aircraft system An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controlle ...

s, one of which was intended to deliver of cargo similar to the unmanned Kaman K-MAX, but over a future range of compared to the demonstrated or more of the K-MAX.Team K-MAX demonstrates successful unmanned Helicopter Cargo resupply to U.S. Marine Corps
, Lockheed Martin press release, 8 February 2010. Retrieved 14 March 2010. The agreement committed CarterCopters to developing the technology to maturity, in exchange for exclusive rights to develop UAVs for the next 40 years. The first product in the AAI agreement was to be an

autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...

slowed rotor/compound (SR/C) aircraft based on the Carter Personal Air Vehicle.Textron and Carter Aviation or Lockheed Martin might build DARPAs flying Hummer
''Next Big Future'' 29 August 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2010. "Critical

Design Review A design review is a milestone within a product development process whereby a design is evaluated against its requirements in order to verify the outcomes of previous activities and identify issues before committing to—and, if need be, to re-p ...

" (CDR) for AAI Corporation was performed around January 2010 when the prototype was already being built. Usually a CDR is performed before a vehicle is built.Archive 2010
''Carter Aviation'', 5 January 2010

Retrieved: 7 August 2010. In 2014, Carter said they bought back the license from AAI and is seeking production partners outside USA, hoping for production 3–5 years later.Moore, Jim.
Carter seeks factory
''

Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is a Frederick, Maryland-based American non-profit political organization that advocates for general aviation. AOPA's membership consists mainly of general aviation pilots in the United States ...

'', 21 May 2015. Retrieved: 16 July 2015
Archived
on 22 May 2015.

Testing

The PAV was taxi tested in autumn of 2010 at Olney Airport after

FAA The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

Special Airworthiness CertificateWood, Janice
Carter PAV heads to flight testing
''General Aviation News'', 25 October 2010. Retrieved: 15 November 2010
Archived
on 7 January 2014. on 27 July 2010, and performed traffic pattern movement on 2 December 2010, piloted by Larry Neal at the controls and co-pilot Robert Luna.Aircraft Completes First Phase Of Flight Testing
''

KAUZ-TV KAUZ-TV (channel 6) is a television station licensed to Wichita Falls, Texas, United States, serving the western Texoma area as an affiliate of CBS and The CW Plus. It is owned by American Spirit Media, which maintains a shared services agree ...

NewsChannel 6'', 26 January 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2011
Archived
on 3 November 2013. Larry Neal was also one of the pilots of the CarterCopter at Olney in 2005.You Say You Wanna Revolution? Carter Copter Tests New Rotor
''Aero-News'', 6 April 2005. Retrieved 3 January 2011
Archived
on 5 April 2012.Crosbie, Katie
Carter Aviation Technology announces new contract
''Texomas'', 7 October 2010. Retrieved 3 January 2011
Archived
on 2 October 2011. The first flight occurred on 5 January 2011 at Olney without wings and lasted 36 minutes, which qualified Carter for a milestone payment.Wood, Janice
Carter PAV hits first milestone
''General Aviation News'', 17 January 2011. Retrieved: 21 January 2011
Archived
on 18 February 2014.Carter PAV Completes 1st Funding Milestone Flight
''Aero-News'', 18 January 2011. Retrieved: 21 January 2011
Archived
on 5 April 2012.Paur, Jason
New autogyro is an alternative to flying cars
''

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fra ...

'', 21 January 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2011
Archived
on 4 March 2014. Carter stated that the PAV performed its first zero-roll jump take-off on 18 January 2011, to a height of . Eight jump take-offs were performed. There are some electrical issues with the aircraft, and it is not in volume production.ANN Special Feature: Carter PAV flight test update – 01.20.11
''Aero-News'', 20 January 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2011.Guyot, Fareed
Carter Personal Air Vehicle completes Phase-One flight testing
'' EAA Air Venture'', 21 January 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2011. The PAV flew traffic patterns with wings at Olney in January 2012, and has since flown winged test flights. It flew a few hours at a time, but its flight certificate restricted it to within of Olney.Shores, Gary et al
"Minutes of the Wichita Falls Economic Development Corporation"
page 3, 21 June 2013. ''

Wichita Falls Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. Accordin ...

Economic Development Corporation An economic development corporation ("EDC") is an organization common in the United States, usually a 501(c)(3) non-profit, whose mission is to promote economic development within a specific geographical area. These organizations are complementary ...

''. Retrieved: 2 September 2012. As of June 2012, development of the PAV is a year behind scheduleShores, Gary et al.
"Minutes of the Wichita Falls Economic Development Corporation
p2, 18 April 2012
Mirror, page 12
''

''. Retrieved 20 July 2012. due to various technical problems,Shores, Gary et al
"Minutes of the Wichita Falls Economic Development Corporation"
29 June 2012. ''

''. Retrieved: 29 November 2012. and a delay of a further year was caused by rotor

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

software control issues. Carter received funding from the

in 2010 to complete the PAV.Shores, Gary et al.
Minutes of the Wichita Falls Economic Development Corporation
p1-3, 18 June 2012. ''

''. Retrieved: 20 July 2012.Shores, Gary et al
"Minutes of the Wichita Falls Economic Development Corporation"
p2, 4 June 2012. ''

''. Retrieved: 26 November 2012.Shores, Gary & Carter, Jay
Resolution 132-2009mirror
''City of

Wichita Falls, Texas Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. Accordin ...

'', 6 October 2009. Retrieved: 4 January 2011. Carter views the lack of a PAV

flight simulator A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...

as a mistake, and attempts to build one. The previous CarterCopter was designed using a flight simulator. Carter says that the PAV has a

lift to drag ratio In aerodynamics, the lift-to-drag ratio (or L/D ratio) is the lift generated by an aerodynamic body such as an aerofoil or aircraft, divided by the aerodynamic drag caused by moving through air. It describes the aerodynamic efficiency under give ...

of 10–15, and reached an advance ratio of 0.85 in 2012. According to Carter, the PAV reached Mu-1 on 7 November 2013. It also achieved a speed of , and the rotor was slowed down to 113 rpm. The PAV flew its first public show flight outside Olney when it flew to Wichita Falls later that month. Carter says the PAV has achieved a speed of at an altitude of , a Mu of 1.13Carter Aviation Considered for Multi-Billion Dollar DOD Contact
" ''Texomas'', 24 January 2014. Retrieved: 26 January 2014. and an L/D of 11.6-15. Carter has applied to the FAA to change the PAVs certificate from research and development to demonstration. The second PAV (called PAV-II, registration N210AV) was flight approved in March 2014, and demonstrated at

Sun 'n Fun Sun ’n Fun Aerospace Expo (officially styled SUN 'n FUN) is a nonprofit organization in Lakeland, Florida dedicated to the promotion of aviation education. It is best known for the annual week-long fly-in and airshow at Lakeland Linder Intern ...

air festival and

MacDill Air Force Base MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assig ...

in 2014, both in Florida. In July 2014, it was displayed at

Oshkosh Airshow EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In), or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, ...

. Carter says it has flown at . The first non-Carter pilots flew the aircraft in 2015.

Design

Computer aided design and X-plane flight simulation were used during development.Guevarra, Daniel
Carter PAV Is Getting Plenty Of Attention At EAA AirVenture
''AvStop Online Magazine'', 29 July 2009

on 13 April 2015.Fisher, Mark

''

X-Plane The X-planes are a series of experimental United States aircraft and rockets, used to test and evaluate new technologies and aerodynamic concepts. They have an X designator within the US system of aircraft designations, which denotes the exper ...

'', 2002
Archived
on 16 March 2012. Unlike the twin-boom CarterCopter, the PAV has a single tailboom.
''

Jane's all the world's aircraft ''Jane's All the World's Aircraft'' (now stylized Janes) is an aviation annual publication founded by John Frederick Thomas Jane in 1909. Long issued by Sampson Low, Marston in Britain (with various publishers in the U.S.), it has been published ...

'', 25 November 2008. Retrieved: 9 September 2010. Carter PAV nearly complete
''AirPlanes'', 7 August 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2011. A tilting mast allows the rotor to be tilted 15 degrees forward and 30 degrees aft to allow different centres of gravity and wing

angle-of-attack In fluid dynamics, angle of attack (AOA, α, or \alpha) is the angle between a reference line on a body (often the chord line of an airfoil) and the vector representing the relative motion between the body and the fluid through which it is m ...

s. Helicopter rotors are designed to operate at a fixed

Croucher, Phil
Professional helicopter pilot studies
page 2-11. . Quote: otor speed"is constant in a helicopter".John M. Seddon, Simon Newman
Basic Helicopter Aerodynamics
p216, ''John Wiley and Sons'', 2011. Retrieved: 25 February 2012. . ''Quote: The rotor is best served by rotating at a constant rotor speed'' (within in a narrow range of a few percent), whereas Carter uses RPM ranges between 100 and 350.Moore, Jim.
Carter seeks factory
''

'', 21 May 2015. Retrieved: 28 May 2014
Archived
on 22 May 2015. Most aircraft have two energy parameters (speed and altitude) which the pilot can trade between, but Carter technology attempts to use rotor rotation as a third energy parameter.Marker, Doug

2 November 1999.
1A+

''Carter Aviation'', 24 March 1999. Retrieved 25 September 2011. The purpose of the Slowed Rotor/Compound aircraft is to enhance the

flight envelope In aerodynamics, the flight envelope, service envelope, or performance envelope of an aircraft or spacecraft refers to the capabilities of a design in terms of airspeed and load factor or atmospheric density, often simplified to altitude. The t ...

compared to fixed-wing aircraft,

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

s and traditional

s, by minimizing the dangerous areas of the stall speed diagram/ height-velocity diagram as well as moving the speed limit up. The PAV has traditional airplane-like controls (Vernier type), but the

stick Stick or the stick may refer to: Thin elongated objects * Twig * The weapon used in stick fighting * Walking stick, a device to facilitate balancing while walking * Shepherd's crook * Swagger stick * Digging stick * Swizzle stick, used to stir d ...

also controls the rotor. Most controls were automated in 2011,Page, Lewis
'Personal Air Vehicle' VTOL jump-copter in key flight test
''

'', 24 January 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2011. and jump-takeoff is performed at the push of a button. Materials used include glass fiber, aluminum, titanium, and steel, as well as

autoclave An autoclave is a machine used to carry out industrial and scientific processes requiring elevated temperature and pressure in relation to ambient pressure and/or temperature. Autoclaves are used before surgical procedures to perform sterilizat ...

d carbon/epoxy prepreg with

aramid Aramid fibers, short for aromatic polyamide, are a class of heat-resistant and strong synthetic fibers. They are used in aerospace and military applications, for ballistic-rated body armor fabric and ballistic composites, in marine cordage, ma ...

honeycomb A honeycomb is a mass of Triangular prismatic honeycomb#Hexagonal prismatic honeycomb, hexagonal prismatic Beeswax, wax cells built by honey bees in their beehive, nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen. beekeeping, Beekee ...

core Core or cores may refer to: Science and technology * Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages * Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding * Core (optical fiber), the signal-carrying portion of an optical fiber * Core, the centra ...

on the PAV-II. The tip weights had been made of

tungsten Tungsten, or wolfram, is a chemical element with the symbol W and atomic number 74. Tungsten is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively as compounds with other elements. It was identified as a new element in 1781 and first isolat ...

, while the current (2013) are made of steel.Carter Personal Air Vehicle completes first flights with new rotor
" ''Carter Aviation'', 29 August 2013. Retrieved: 2 September 2013. Suppliers for the aircraft include Blue Mountain Avionics for

avionics Avionics (a blend word, blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, ...

and air-to-ground video and

telemetry Telemetry is the in situ data collection, collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic data transmission, transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Gr ...

, and Sky Ox Oxygen Systems as the PAV is not pressurized.Plack, Paul
Carter Aviation Technologies announces development partners
''Aero-News'', 1 August 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2011
Archived
on 5 April 2012. 60 channels of information convey sensor measurements from the aircraft to a ground computer, and 4 video cameras tape the flights. The engine is equipped with a performance enhancement system by Nitrous Express.

Operation

The PAV has flight characteristics similar to other Carter aircraft. When stationary on the ground, the engine powers up the flat pitch rotor to 370 RPM, and the engine is then disengaged from the rotor to provide full power to the propeller. The rotor now has substantial

due to the tip weights (usable temporary eng1 equivalent to ),What a Concept!
" ''Aerospace manufacturing engineer'', 26 May 2010. Retrieved: 18 October 2014. and the rotor blades are pitched to push air down and lift the aircraft in a jump takeoff.Carter autogyro revealed
''Loop'', 27 July 2009. While altitude is reached, the aircraft transitions into forward flight using the pusher propeller, and the rotor shifts to

autorotation Autorotation is a state of flight in which the main rotor system of a helicopter or other rotary-wing aircraft turns by the action of air moving up through the rotor, as with an autogyro, rather than engine power driving the rotor. Bensen, Igor ...

(windmilling) with air flowing up through the rotor. As speed increases, the air flow increases rotor RPM like other autogyros. Once sufficient

airspeed In aviation, airspeed is the speed of an aircraft relative to the air. Among the common conventions for qualifying airspeed are: * Indicated airspeed ("IAS"), what is read on an airspeed gauge connected to a Pitot-static system; * Calibrated a ...

is reached (around )Warwick, Graham.
VIDEO: Carter's Hybrid VTOL Flying
" ''

Aviation Week ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', often abbreviated ''Aviation Week'' or ''AW&ST'', is the flagship magazine of the Aviation Week Network. The weekly magazine is available in print and online, reporting on the aerospace, defense and aviati ...

'', 31 January 2011. Retrieved: 9 March 2014. for the small wings to provide lift, rotor blades are feathered to reduce rotor speed to 100 RPMInterview with Jay Carter at Oshkosh 2009
(1m0s) ''Aero-TV'', 27 July 2009. Retrieved 5 January 2011. and minimize drag, and lift is provided mostly by the wingsWarwick, Graham
Carter flies VTOL hybrid
''

'', 26 January 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2011. when speed reaches . Rotor lift is reduced to 10%, and flight efficiency is somewhat below that of a commercial jet plane.Warwick, Graham
Compound Concept
''

'', 28 February 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2012
Paper edition or paywall
/ref>

Specifications (PAV)

References

;Notes ;Bibliography
Flight International article

External links

Carter Aviation PAV webpage
{{ external media , float=right , image1
PAV
at

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In), or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin ...

, image
PAV on display
at Oshkosh 2010 , image
PAV with wingsArchive
, image4
PAV "hop"Archive
, image5

{dead link, date=July 2021, bot=medic{{cbignore, bot=medic 2010s United States experimental aircraft Autogyros Wichita Falls, Texas Pusher aircraft Slowed rotor Single-engined piston helicopters Aircraft first flown in 2011