Kawasaki Ninja H2R Powered K-RACER
We have been hearing about Kawasaki working on Ninja H2R powered unmanned aerial vehicles for some time now. Well, just a while back Kawasaki announced they have successfully completed the flight test of the unmanned compound helicopter called the “K-RACER”. In case you are wondering about the name, K-RACER stands for Kawasaki Researching Autonomic Compound to Exceed Rotorcraft……Hm.
Developed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ Aerospace division, the K-Racer is powered by Kawasaki’s Ninja H2R supercharged Supersports bike. We have seen Helicopter engines making their way into road bikes (MTT Y2K). However, Kawasaki shoving a whole motorcycle engine into an aerial vehicle boggles our minds.
The K-RACER falls under the compound helicopter category. Compound helicopters have a main rotor that generates forward thrust and instead of tail rotors (like on traditional helicopters). On the other hand, propellers on the main wings assist the main rotor in generating thrust for lift and thrust for turning. This difference in the flying mechanism enables compound helicopters to attain higher flight speeds which cannot be attained by conventional helicopters.
In case you are unaware; Kawasaki actually manufacturers a number of helicopters that are vastly used for: firefighting, EMS as well as search and rescue. The results that Kawasaki gathered through this compound helicopter would be used in the development of future manned and unmanned VTOL (vertical take-off and landing aircraft).