Blogs

Variable Pitch Quad Rotor - M/UAV

Posted by fibrewire on March 14, 2010 at 12:30pm

Variable Pitch Quad Rotor - M/UAV

3689343247?profile=original

DIY project ranging from a 600cc 120HP etec Ski-Doo engine, UltraSport 254 tail rotors, extruded aluminum blades from Vortech, aluminum / steel tube structural components, and a carbon fiber reinforced polymer monocoque frame.

E-mail me when people leave their comments –
Follow

You need to be a member of diydrones to add comments!

Join diydrones

Comments

  • wurpfel March 15, 2010 at 12:05am
    did you considre electric flight? they can regulate the power much better than mechanic!


    for paragliders you will find electric powersystems, 25kg, 10kW and a 14s40Ah is enough to reach 1000m AGL. four will do the job as a quadcopter..


    its no problem to furnish two 25kW engines for my mostliked design: NASA-puffin ;)
    with 2m props and a axiro-range extender it will offer a great envelope!
  • fibrewire March 14, 2010 at 8:49pm
    Hey look, somebody else posted this last year - variable pitch quad rotor..

    not a bad idea using tail rotors from rc helicopters. I wonder how much it would be using those kinds of parts, simle drive shaft, bearings, mount, single engine. Interesting...
  • bGatti March 14, 2010 at 8:24pm
    ok, so this is at the scale of the Honda UAV's perhaps.
    I suppose you intend to hook up some servos and an IMU...
    I would point out that you can buy small variable pitch electric motors for $20 or so, and that this might provide a good rig for testing - as the dynamic torque issues are more analogous. (variable speed motors create momentary torque, while variable pitch rotors will produce proportional torque)
  • fibrewire March 14, 2010 at 8:19pm
    Truth is, it's marginally more expensive to build at the scale I plan on building at than a a ridiculously overpriced Vario Lama scale heli with a turboprop engine. That and I would like to keep the UAV in the air longer than 15 minutes at a time. :-)
  • Ron Jacobs March 14, 2010 at 8:11pm
    Ummm...Admire the ambition, but I'll be standing very far away when that takes off...
  • fibrewire March 14, 2010 at 8:11pm
    This should put things in perspective - that is a PS3 controller in the center of those tail rotor gearboxes and the bevel gear drives. You think i want to be held in the sky by that? Well, maybe for a second or two :-)

  • fibrewire March 14, 2010 at 8:07pm
    bGatti - Previous to this project, I had looked everywhere for parts to build a quad rotor with a cyclic. Once I realized It would cost me at least $150K on parts, and the next 2 years worth of weekends, I stopped. I stopped because it's too complex to risk a human life on an experiment, too many variables and untested parameters, and it's not what I want to do for the rest of my life, and it's only $25K for an Ultrasport 254 helicopter. But being stubborn, patient, and lucky, I happened across 4 Ultrasport tailrotors and *BAM* back on track to build a UAV. Someday it would be cool to fly in a quad rotor aircraft, but i surely can learn from other's mistakes. Case in point - Moller and his SkyCar... I'm definitely building an UAV only. :-)
  • David Ankers March 14, 2010 at 7:47pm
    WOW! I had to do a double take at the "full size".

    Yeah, my wrench set doesn't include tools big enough for this either. I'm not going to be the one to sound negative this time (and it was not my intention last time either when someone was very ambitious) but I will say be careful, don't get hurt and good luck!

    We need a DIYdrones extreme edition!
  • bGatti March 14, 2010 at 7:37pm
    Robert, I half agree with Jason, - You've proposed a human flying machine - while this crowd builds flying toys. Your project belongs in the big leagues - and kudos if you get it flying - but I doubt 3 people on this site have a wrench big enough to turn the set screws on your main rotors ; )

    You may realize that you can put a human and a cyclic in the middle of these rotors and have a proper flying machine; if on the other hand, you want Gyro-stabilized human flight-by-wire, then you are I think, really pushing the envelope of the Open Source liability release issue. For example, one of the questions Atmel will ask DIYdrones before they ship the chips is whether or not it is intended for use in airplanes. Again kudos if it flies...
  • fibrewire March 14, 2010 at 6:58pm
    Doug - If I can get enough lift with this UAV I will build a Wright Brothers style enclosed cockpit, one where the pilot can lay down inside of the fuselage. If not enough power to carry a pilot then the cockpit will hold surveillance avionics and extra fuel.
This reply was deleted.