Homemade Helicopter: For the People.

[Imop45]

Ok, I heard that you could make a cheap, but good helicopter, that's a 1-2 seater, relatively easy. How could this be done?

 

[FredGarvin]

Helicopter and cheap are two words that never go together. Are you referring to something like an autogyro kit that you find in the back of Popular Mechanics and the like?

 

[Mech_Engineer]

Ok, I heard that you could make a cheap, but good helicopter, that's a 1-2 seater, relatively easy. How could this be done?

I think "cheap" is like $20k or $30k, cheap for a helicopter, but not that great. AND not very safe.

 

[brewnog]

I'm waiting for the "how can I build a spaceship to take me to Mars for under $60?" thread.

 

[Imop45]

Ok, to clarify, I meant cheap as in, building a Helicopter and not buying a$15,000 motor and things. Yeah, I'm not going to buuld the frame out of duct tape...I was saving that for the motor parts.

 

[Imop45]

I know cheap isn't going to be cheap.

 

[FredGarvin]

Again, this may be what you are thinking of, but they are not helicopters.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/aviation/1280656.html?page=2&c=y

 

[brewnog]

Imop, I don't want to brush you off cos I used to have all these amazing genuine aspirations to build all sorts of creations when I was younger, but do you really think companies would spend hundreds of millions developing things like cars, hovercraft and helicopters if all there was to it was welding some tubes together in your shed? That's not to say it can't be done, but do you know what's involved?!

Again, not trying to brush you off, but have a look at some of the other threads about building go karts/hovercraft/planes in this forum and see what kind of level of detail you need to go into to do it yourself. Lots of people here have done engineering degrees, and many have years of experience behind them, but I doubt anyone here would feel confident designing something like this in its entirety, from start to finish, on their own!

Having said that, if you have any specific questions here's an excellent place to start asking...

 

[Mech_Engineer]

Lots of people here have done engineering degrees, and many have years of experience behind them, but I doubt anyone here would feel confident designing something like this in its entirety, from start to finish, on their own!

I might be willing to try, if I won the lottery and was bored... But I don't know if I'd be brave enough to fly in it

 

[Imop45]

Imop, I don't want to brush you off cos I used to have all these amazing genuine aspirations to build all sorts of creations when I was younger, but do you really think companies would spend hundreds of millions developing things like cars, hovercraft and helicopters if all there was to it was welding some tubes together in your shed? That's not to say it can't be done, but do you know what's involved?!

No. I don't. Thats why I wanted to learn what was involved. My Grandfather was actually wanting to look into, as he wants a ultralight plane or something related to it. Thanks though.

 

[Danger]

My cousin was planning to build a Scorpion II, and I was certainly looking forward to playing with it. Unfortunately, he died before he had a chance to do it.

 

[magnum40]

cheap helicopter plans

not really a helicopter more like a mix stears like a plane

THE GYROBEE
http://users2.ev1.net/~gyroman/downloads/gbeer50.pdf

Total BEE Kit
http://www.starbeegyros.com/productdetail.asp?ID=177&kits=1

 

[wolram]

not really a helicopter more like a mix stears like a plane

THE GYROBEE
http://users2.ev1.net/~gyroman/downloads/gbeer50.pdf

Total BEE Kit
http://www.starbeegyros.com/productdetail.asp?ID=177&kits=1

I am sure i read some where that auto gyros were grounded due to rotor strikes on some part of the air frame, in the uk any way.

 

[kleinjahr]

Didn't PM have ads for plans for a one man chopper. I seem to remember one type with jets/rockets at the blade tips.

 

[DaveC426913]

Helicopter and cheap are two words that should never go together.

:rofl:

I'm waiting for the "how can I build a spaceship to take me to Mars for under $60?" thread.

Waaay less scary! If your spaceship breaks, you've got plenty of time to fix it.

 

[Francis M]

The problem I see with this is not so much that they might be cheap (read in: not built well). I'll go out on a limb and say that maaaaaaybeeeeee these have been designed by an AE with a kit plane idea so they decided "hey why not try a kit helicopter, I've got the skills". My problem is that the adds seem to give the impression that you can "send in your money, buy our kit, throw it together and enjoy hours and hours of hovering fun." :rofl:

Next up is correspondence courses on "Learn to be a Quantum Physicist in your spare time! That's right folks, for just the price of a cup of coffee a day..."

 

[Matson]

I think "cheap" is like $20k or $30k, cheap for a helicopter, but not that great. AND not very safe.

For $98 I found plans for a propellor driven backpack used in tandem with a ram chute. They provide blueprints, manufacturers and suppliers of propellors and motors. You can use a body harness or build a little 3 wheeled, kayak looking thing. They both work on the same principles.

They say you can be flying for as little as $2,500 or less. The ram chutes are about $800 used and costs vary on construction.

 

[Ki Man]

You'd have to go to flight school first and check for how legal the projects are in your area.

They have build it yourself kits for relatively low prices where you can build a small one seat or two seat helicopter. either that or you can get an R22 if you find 200,000 cheap.

 

[FredGarvin]

For $98 I found plans for a propellor driven backpack used in tandem with a ram chute. They provide blueprints, manufacturers and suppliers of propellors and motors. You can use a body harness or build a little 3 wheeled, kayak looking thing. They both work on the same principles.

They say you can be flying for as little as $2,500 or less. The ram chutes are about $800 used and costs vary on construction.

Finding plans and trusting life and limb to them are two different things. Also, I don't know how many people would be comfortable flying a chute without some kind of previous experience. Caveat Emptor to the ultimate degree.

 

[Panda]

I don't know what the law is over the pond but in the UK whilst you can build a car, plane, helicopter, spaceship in your back garden, unless you own sufficient land such that it cannot come into contact with unsuspecting members of the public, you need to get it cleared as fit for purpose.

I've built cars and raced them on circuits because when the wheels fall off they are contained within the catch fencing.
An aircraft is much harder to contain, as your fences need to be slightly higher, so they tend to calculated how far it could go in a straight line with a full tank of fuel, draw a circle round that and any member of the public in that radius means you can't fly.
This even goes for professionally built stuff, We generally test in the middle of deserts or over the sea to ensure that no body gets hurt when we type the guidance algorithm in backwards... a surprisingly common occurance.
I think that these kits may not make it clear that yes you can build your own plane, it's just you won't be able to fly it.

 

[Matson]

Finding plans and trusting life and limb to them are two different things. Also, I don't know how many people would be comfortable flying a chute without some kind of previous experience. Caveat Emptor to the ultimate degree.

I was parachuting for sport in the 80s. The bottom line is that you are wearing a parachute the whole time. I can cut off my motor and safely land, so worries about my well being are moot. The downside is, parachute harness's are REALLY UNCOMFORTABLE! LOL!

I saw a special on the "gadgets of 007." They showed the autogyro that was featured in one of them, still sporting the fake rocket tubes. The old man that builds them has around 20 of them that are operational. He had single and double occupancy models, open and closed models.

He swears it is the safest way to travel. After watching him roll one out, jump in and take off, I was sold. He said he can shut down the motor at any time and land it safely. I can only find RC autoguro models, though...and SCREW THAT.

 

[Ki Man]

He said he can shut down the motor at any time and land it safely.

with no wings, how are you supposed to glide to the ground? And how does an autogyro counter the spinning force from its main rotor without the smaller rotor that appears on hellicopters

 

[Mech_Engineer]

It's really not that hard to do a little searching on how Autogyros work...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autogyro

 

[Ki Man]

but it depends on a rotor to act like the wings of a glider, but if the rotors stop, how are you supposed to take it down safely?

 

[Mech_Engineer]

but it depends on a rotor to act like the wings of a glider, but if the rotors stop, how are you supposed to take it down safely?

Here's what I found after some quick searches in Google:

There is one other major advantage that autogyros have over airplanes and helicopters- safety in event of an engine failure. If an engine fails in an autogyro, the same thing would happen as if the pilot tried to fly too slow. The aircraft would slowly descend until landing. In fact, the procedure for landing an autogyro after engine failure is the same for landing an autogyro under ordinary circumstances.

Autogyro technology looks a lot like helicopter technology, but aside from appearances, they are quite different. Technically speaking, an autogyro has much more in common with an old-fashioned single-prop airplane than it does with a helicopter. An autogyro's rotor is unpowered, providing lift in a way similar to a fixed wing, but caused to spin by its forward motion through the air. The thrust that provides lift comes from an airplane-like propeller– in the case of the PALV, a small pushing-type propeller mounted to the rear of the vehicle.

 

[Matson]

Here's what I found after some quick searches in Google:

For all us guys that don't have John Travoltas $$$, Backpacks with ramchutes and autogyros is STILL flying. The ramchute backpack I mention has a speed of 30 MPH and you can climb 10 feet a minute, a slow ride when you're hanging by your crotch...BUT HEY! You're FLYING!

 

[Matson]

You'd have to go to flight school first and check for how legal the projects are in your area.

They have build it yourself kits for relatively low prices where you can build a small one seat or two seat helicopter. either that or you can get an R22 if you find 200,000 cheap.

That would not apply to people with a natural contempt for authority.

 

[Ki Man]

While rummaging through sites on aircraft, I found a good heilopter kit site and remembered this thread. if anyone is still into this,http://www.rotorway.com/" makes some pretty good, low cost kits

 

[FredGarvin]

IIRC, there was a show on the Discovery Channel that had a British guy building and then flying his own aircraft kits. I believe that was the helicopter he made. It was a nice kit, but a lot of work (obviously).

 

[Ki Man]

IIRC, there was a show on the Discovery Channel that had a British guy building and then flying his own aircraft kits. I believe that was the helicopter he made. It was a nice kit, but a lot of work (obviously).

i think this company is based in arizona

 

[icanbuildit]

Why are there so many that think building a home made helicopter is so far out there, I have built several things just using common sense, books and a few books?

 

[Danger]

I can't get a decent lock on that link, but I'm pretty sure that RotorWay is the manufacturer of the Scorpion series that I mentioned earlier. They seem to make a good quality product.

 

[Mech_Engineer]

Why are there so many that think building a home made helicopter is so far out there, I have built several things just using common sense, books and a few books?

The answer is simple, it takes a LOT more than just common sense to build a helicopter. You obviously don't have any idea of what would be required to make one.

 

[icanbuildit]

No, your right and for some it would not even be a thought! I am sure there are many things I have not considered for when I plan on building one. I have built race cars, kayaks, canoe's, lap strake row boats and many other thigns that take simply put knowledge andmore than common sense. I think no one should ever say they can't, because they have not tried. I lost three fingers building one of my kayaks and have built harder projects than a little boat since then.

 

[Danger]

I lost three fingers building one of my kayaks

That might be an indication that your approach to construction is somewhat flawed.
Just getting the swash plate assembly correct is more complicated than any of the things that you've mentioned in their entirety.