Comment by Tim Lucas on July 6, 2011 at 8:37pm

If you sit on this thing during test flights like Ritchie is saying then yes you would be a fool, Common sense tells me you will fly it as a UAV first though,  I know some guys that are going to fly a Gyrocopter as a UAV.

Your control system/ Gyros should be able to counteract the fact that no one is sitting in it if your pilot seat is not at centre of gravity.   A quad copter is a dangerous craft for a human to sit on  they rely too heavily on gyros etc one stuck gyro and this thing will flip fast   This is not real common but can happen  conventional helicopters are capable of auto rotational landings  a fixed pitch quad is generally not   Robert yours should if you hook it up right, I cant see it being something to rely on though   I would have a fast deployable parachute or ejection seat  which would be standard with a military test vehicle.

 

Even a small quad if one paremeter is out it can just flip when you try to take off  sounds like your blades are around eye level.

Where are you located? if you get this going I would love to see it :)

Comment by fibrewire on July 16, 2011 at 7:23pm

A regular helicopter with a fully articulated rotor system has a collective pitch AND swash plate. A variable pitch quad rotor DOES AWAY with the fully articulated rotor by eliminating the swash plate entirely. It creates dissymmetry of lift by varying pitch in a particular quadrant of the quad rotor system. So a helicopter and a VP quad rotor fly essentially the same. I can completely eliminate the electronic component of flight and replace with a collective If I intended to sit in the thing.

Comment by Tim Lucas on July 17, 2011 at 6:46am

I am quite aware of how these systems work as I have a couple of them sitting in the other room, also conventional helicopter systems, having studied aviation and also worked on real choppers 

Please note: be it a collective pitch quad or a fixed pitch quad is irrelevant They both require Flight control systems & cannot be controlled properly with direct linkages to a cyclic or RC system. 

You are basically using the same systems as a normal chopper uses on its tail rotor but 4 of them sprouting from a 4 way gearbox in the centre.

What stage are you currently at?

Comment by fibrewire on July 17, 2011 at 6:37pm

Two 3-way gearbox, CVT on center axle. See here

I'm designing the monocoque fuselage now, but my main project is design of the blade roots and lead-lag damper plate.

The original blades for this aircraft are only about 12" long with a 2" chord, made of Roacell foam with a carbon fiber 'C' spar and tungsten weights for inertia. The new blades are 18" long with a 3.5" chord, made from a single piece of extruded aluminum. The roots for the new blades will be about 3.5" long, for a total blade diameter of 48".

The engine will produce 115 HP at the target RPM of 6000. Once the blades are built, I will begin testing to see what the optimum speed for lift is. The rotor with blades will be mounted to a pedestal built specifically for testing. The rotor will be mated to a 30HP 3600RPM electric motor, and lift generated will be measured by a load cell.

Comment by Tim Lucas on July 18, 2011 at 12:07am

Are you developing this as a product prototype or for personal accomplishment? I sent friend request, will talk further on it, not on the forum.

Comment by fibrewire on July 18, 2011 at 12:09am

Doesn't seem right, but four 48" rotors is the equivalent of one 16' rotor...

 

1400lbs static thrust???

Comment by fibrewire on July 18, 2011 at 12:41am

personal achievement.

Comment by fibrewire on October 9, 2011 at 12:52am

Still working on this, real life gets in the way. Someday I will post my progress.

Comment by fibrewire on December 25, 2011 at 11:52pm

Pictures soon, also some proof-of-concept video + my rotor diameter

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvxfo5oGaPA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vy5Ky50eGJs

 

Comment by fibrewire on October 2, 2012 at 10:12am

2.5 years and nobody has even attempted this yet? Real life gets in the way, but I'm the only dummy with big dreams? Guess I have to do this for real just so it can be "done"

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