This means having to integrate new techno-bricks, lighter materials and innovative thinking.’ We need to add wing boxes and two lateral rotors to achieve the boost in speed, while staying within the weight envelope of a conventional helicopter. ‘A major aspect of the challenge is to reconcile the environmental targets - to reduce CO 2 by 20%, NOx by 20% and noise by 20 - without adding weight. But despite all that the target is to develop a complete rotorcraft, aiming for demonstrating time-critical missions,’ says Antonello Marino, project officer at Clean Sky. ‘The RACER is a pretty complex machine with extra components. Making the RACER's winning formula even more compelling, its speed and versatility are complemented with cost-efficiency and sustainability attributes. It’s a type of rotorcraft that resembles a helicopter, but augmented with wings and lateral propellers, enabling vertical takeoff and landing but with a targeted cruise speed in excess of 400 km/h, opening up new possibilities for time-critical missions. The RACER (Rapid And Cost-Effective Rotorcraft) demonstrator almost defies categorisation. 'Racing' through the city, the RACER demonstrator combines speed, versatility and sustainability

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