Help Design a Human-Powered Helicopter

Phrak

Well, it doesn't have to support a gun plateform, and there's more than one way to skin a cat. Look at the toy models available and their novel designs.

Ranger Mike

Fred...them old Charlton Heston movies are really takin their toll on you, aren't they??

FredGarvin

Source please. A quick Google search showed a "helicopter" that barely got off the ground and which I agree is a human powered hovercraft, not a helicopter.

The competition states that they have never awarded this award.

I'll sit firm in my skepticism.

sylas

Current world record holder is apparently "Yuri I". In 1994, it achieved an altitude of 0.2 m and a time of 19.46 sec with a drift of 9.95 m. It has four separate rotors, all mounted below the frame. More details: Yuri I at www.humanpoweredhelicopters.org

Thumb below is a clickable link to a full size image at the above website.

FredGarvin

My definition of "helicopter" differs GREATLY from theirs.

.2 meters is well within ground effect. It still looks like useless form of a hovercraft. But I guess everything has to start out somewhere.

FredGarvin

Hey. MGB started it...

Ranger Mike

i stand corrected..a lot of pathos out there ,Pathos (pronounced /ˈpeɪθɒs/; Greek: πάθος)

russ_watters

After looking at the rules, I believe the contest is doable. It only says you need to momentarily exceed 3 meters and total hover time is only 1 min. A cyclist can put out a lot more power for 1 min than s/he can for three hours.

Just keep in mind, this is nowhere close to the achievment of the Gossamer Albatross, which actually had sustained, controllable flight for close to 3 hours. This "helicpoter" prize seems pretty pointless to me.

D H

Depends on the meaning of "pointless". As a viable form of transportation for the masses, I agree. (Then again, so is the Gossamer Albatross.) As a college engineering project, I disagree. Something like this could be quite instructive.

FredGarvin

As a teaching tool I completely agree this is a good contest. However I still think that putting the moniker of helicopter to these machines is akin to me calling my 3 year old's tricycle a human powered car.

Phrak

From http://www.humanpoweredhelicopters.o...inci/index.htm

This is a picture of the Da Vinci 3, rotor tip, I think.

Is that a spool of kit string I spy in the rectangular cut-out?



Joe, the guy with the yellow nametag will be the pilot for today's demonstration.

chayced

What about cheating? Use a person to charge a spring then the spring to spin the rotors and lift the craft. Technically it's human powered, and it gives you enough power to actually lift off.

Beyond that I don't think it's possible, unless you are using huge rotors and then it's more of a spiraling airplane than a helicopter.

Phrak

Pointless? But think of all the money and glad-handing. The professors get to publish on every meaningless detail, foundations get to disperse funds and claim to be important contributors, post grads get to slick-up their resumes, fundraisers get paid. It's bounty all around. They just have to get the silly contraption suitably aloft...

dr dodge

in the rules it says no energy saving devices, but the rotor assy is exempt. use the rotors(2+ counter-rotating) as flywheels. it states a flight lenght, but I didn't see a total time duration. If it took 2 persons 2-5+ hours to slowly keep spinning up the rotors (w/ no lift) until lift off, I would think, in theory, the energy stored could excede the extra energy to then hang it in the air long enough
how long to the tour biker's ride continuously?

dr

dr dodge

if the target web site has a way to contribute ideas I could not find it
so I am going to toss this out in here
if 3 rotors were used, each of different mass, smallest (in diameter) was heaviest, largest lightest, and a variable gearbox could divert torque between all 3, you could generate rotor speed with all of them, then feather the power to the largest diameter one to speed it up, and use the middle sized one for counter rotational stability. since reaction of pedaling would want to spin you around, you could offset that by having the middle rotor of equal "inertial mass" as the body, and compensating for no tail rotor. all lifting surfaces would not cover the next. from above it would look like 3 concentric circles

dr

liannagreyson

Very nice post with a ton of informative information. I really appreciate the fact that you approach these topics from a stand point of knowledge and information
instead of the typical “I think” mentality that you see so much on the internet these days.

dr dodge

I just checked the web site the OP was starting, and seems as though it is not being updated. so, I'm in if someone wants to take the lead and we build one. Since I have my own industrial park in the back yard, we should be able to do it on a shoe string.

dr