Since the end of the Second World War, aircraft manufacturers have made numerous attempts to combine vertical flight and speed in a quest to produce a crossbreed between helicopters and planes.
To date, the most recent model is Eurocopter’s high-speed helicopter-plane hybrid, the X3, which achieved a speed of 232 kts (430km/h) in level flight during flight testing in France on May 12, 2011.
Located at the Bourget heliport, the X3 will perform daily flight demos throughout the Paris Air Show.
To find out more about the fascinating history of helicopter-plane hybrids, click here.
