In a flight on May 12, Eurocopter's X3 hybrid helicopter maintained a true airspeed of 232 knots (430 km/h or 267 mph) for several minutes during stable, level flight.

See that chopper right there? That's the Eurocopter X3, and as of last week, it can cruise at more than half the speed of a commercial jet. Although the helicopter was striving to hit 220 knots ...

The Eurocopter X3 has set an unofficial helicopter world speed record of 255 knots in level flight, slightly faster than the 250-knot top speed achieved by the Sikorsky X2 compound helicopter in 2010.

Airbus's experimental Racer Helicopter is designed ... the Racer’s Safran Eco-Mode hybrid-electric system ... slower than the 293-mph top speed of the Eurocopter X3, the experimental aircraft it ...