Every year or so, some research group posts a video of a "cyclocopter" flying. I'm not sure why (this article suggest they might be more efficient than traditional helicopters, and that people have been pursing them for a century).
Anyway, here's the latest from a Korean university lab. I wish I could tell you more but their information link is dead.
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Just a follow-up I came across while researching a Boeing project...
(5-17-2013)
Cyclorotor Earns Top Honors for 2013 Service Academy Engineering Capstone Project Competition
According to an article at: http://www.boeing.com/boeing/Features/2013/05/bds_capstone_05_17_13...
“A cyclorotor resembles a paddle wheel, where airfoils serve in place of the paddles. According to Pryor, it is capable of vertical takeoff and landing and can hover like a helicopter, but the design would improve fuel efficiency by 30 percent over current day helicopters and offer significantly higher cruising speeds.”
Put it upside down, and I bet it could really rip across the water...
Interesting post. It got me reading more on the topic.
While I’m certainly not suggesting that the ‘cyclocopter concept’ has any particular advantage over more traditional designs… there still exists an intrinsic value to looking under and around as many ‘rocks’ as possible while in search of a good ‘stepping stone‘.
I do agree with all the above regarding efficiency loss towards multicopters but this might design might be able to move on the ground and maybe water as well with some more innovation involved.
I watched the video and the hover was not that stable. As far as the design feature, it's massive and has more mechanical parts to fail during flight. Even if it's more efficient it will never been so much more efficient than the cost of maintenance on all of those moving parts.
It looks like a way for lot of grad students to combine their independent research into 1 vehicle. 1 guy studies bike chains. Another guy studies airfoils. Another guy studies paddle wheels.
always good to see a different way of doing things . keep up the good work.
I am sure that this type of project helps inspire new ways to solve problems
Probably the same way as a traditional hex or quad by increasing and decreasing motor speeds separately .
How does it yaw?
Efficient or not, it definitely lacks the mechanical simplicity of a traditional brushless direct drive prop. Which means it's going to be heavier, less sturdy and more expensive.
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