Carter Flies Vertical-take Off Aircraft

By Graham Warwick graham_warwick@aviationweek.com

Carter Aviation Technologies has completed initial flight tests of its proof-of-concept Personal Air Vehicle (PAV), an aircraft that combines a rotor for vertical takeoff and landing with a propeller and wing for efficient high-speed flight.

The “2+2”-seat PAV uses Carter’s slowed rotor/compound (SR/C) technology. The rotor is unpowered, as in an autogyro, but when spun up by the engine allows a “jump” takeoff. On landing, the energy stored in the high-inertia ...

---