Helix SPX242 Through Shaft Aerospace Demonstrator Motor
Helix, a UK manufacturer of the world's most power-dense electric motors and inverters, is continuing its expansion into sectors beyond motorsport and automotive with the completion of a Direct Drive Scaleable Aerospace Electric Propulsion Demonstrator technology project. Known internally as XBS, the project ran in partnership with the Midlands Aerospace Alliance (MAA), and the Aerospace Unlocking Potential (Aerospace UP) project between the MAA and the University of Nottingham.
Having identified an aerospace requirement for a direct-drive motor and supported by MAA funding and Aerospace UP, Helix developed the XBS project within its X-Division. The company offers its advanced Scalable Core Technology (SCT) in three Product Levels: Stock, Configured and Custom; X-Division takes Helix's unique capability a step further, developing innovative solutions that push performance beyond established boundaries.
Under the guidance of Chief Engineer Derek Jordanou-Bailey, the XBS project took an existing SCT motor configuration and adapted it to suit a 38mm through-shaft. The through-shaft architecture enables considerable versatility and optimisation for multiple aerospace applications. Mounted to a piston engine, for example, the motor could augment engine power in a parallel hybrid arrangement. Alternatively, a propeller could be driven from one end of the motor via a gearbox, while the other provided an auxiliary drive to generators, pumps and other ancillaries.
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