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Human-powered quadcopter elev8s -- a little — Parallax Forums

Human-powered quadcopter elev8s -- a little

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
edited 2013-03-04 07:52 in General Discussion
It's no Gossamer Albatross and would never survive being outdoors, let alone on a trans-channel flight. But, nonetheless, wow!

Leonardo's vision is made manifest four hundred years later:

leonardo-da-vinci-helicopter-model.jpg

-Phil

Comments

  • GadgetmanGadgetman Posts: 2,436
    edited 2013-02-28 23:22
    Ah, yes. The Gamera II

    There's also Team Aero Velo's Atlas trying for the same prize.
    http://youtu.be/hm8Lv1U8QTU
  • GadgetmanGadgetman Posts: 2,436
    edited 2013-03-03 12:39
    And now a third entry, this time hoping for $20.000 in funding through Kickstarter.

    http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1690149118/human-powered-helicopter-project
  • Dr_AculaDr_Acula Posts: 5,484
    edited 2013-03-03 15:29
    Looks like a lot of fun. Post #3 link - these guys seem to understand the theory but I'm not sure they have put it into practice. The rotors are too short and hence will need to run faster, and so each will still be running in "dirty air" from the previous rotation. The guys in post #2 seem to have it right - very long wings moving very slowly. I wonder how the power/weight calculations work out for quad rotor vs dual contra rotating rotor vs single rotor?
  • jmgjmg Posts: 15,173
    edited 2013-03-03 16:23
    Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) wrote: »
    It's no Gossamer Albatross and would never survive being outdoors, let alone on a trans-channel flight. But, nonetheless, wow!
    -Phil

    They are so very close, but it looks like the Ground Effect is significant.

    To claim the prize, they must keep their human-powered helicopter in the air for at least 60 seconds, while staying within a 10-meter-by-10-meter area and reaching a height of at least 10 feet.


    In August, the team was able to get the Gamera into the air for 65.1 seconds and get as high as 9.4 feet. They broke world records in the process, but now they want the prize.... The team stopped Thursday after dozens of unsuccessful attempts to reach the 10-foot height mark. They did get the Gamera about 6 feet up.


    I wonder if they could vary the texture of the floor a little, so change the net Ground Effect ?
  • Mark_TMark_T Posts: 1,981
    edited 2013-03-03 16:33
    The force/power efficiency of air screws when hovering increases with radius, rather neatly shown by these examples I think (you
    want maximum momentum exchange for minimum kinetic energy exchange, implies lower air speed, larger area.

    Running in "dirty air" is exactly how insects wings achieve far higher efficiency than "standard aerodynamics" would allow for - the
    old story about bumblebees not being able to fly according to older theory.
  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,392
    edited 2013-03-03 17:11
    Gadgetman wrote: »
    And now a third entry, this time hoping for $20.000 in funding through Kickstarter.

    http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1690149118/human-powered-helicopter-project

    Don't tempt me, Gadgetman. What a great combination of things I enjoy, cycling and flying (okay, quadcopters).

    I bet this human-powered helicopter would destroy anybody but the strongest cycling athletes. Maybe if we get one we can ask erco to fly it for us, or maybe MattG.
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2013-03-04 07:52
    It wouldn't hurt to have a "Parallax Propeller" with logo on that Kickstart entry......

    Time to ask about a sponsorship fee... tons of goodwill and lots of exposure to a new audience.
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