Help Design a Human-Powered Helicopter

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SUMMARY

The forum discussion centers on the design and feasibility of a human-powered helicopter, with participants highlighting engineering challenges and potential solutions. Key points include the need for a strong cyclist to generate sufficient power, the importance of rotor design, and the constraints imposed by competition rules, which require the helicopter to take off and hover within a 10-meter square. The prize for achieving this has increased to $250,000, motivating engineers to innovate. Participants also reference past human-powered flight achievements, such as the Gossamer Albatross, to contextualize the current challenge.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of human-powered flight mechanics
  • Familiarity with rotor dynamics and aerodynamics
  • Knowledge of competition rules for human-powered vehicles
  • Basic engineering principles related to structural integrity
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the design principles of the Gossamer Albatross and its flight mechanics
  • Explore rotor blade efficiency and the impact of rotor diameter on lift
  • Study the competition rules for human-powered helicopters in detail
  • Investigate innovative materials and structures for lightweight helicopter designs
USEFUL FOR

Engineers, aerospace enthusiasts, and students interested in human-powered flight design and innovation will benefit from this discussion, particularly those looking to participate in or understand the challenges of the human-powered helicopter competition.

jzvonek
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Hello,

I have started a website to facilitate the design of a human-powered helicopter. Please visit this website if you are interested in joining:

http://sites.google.com/site/humanpoweredhelicopter/

We need great engineers to solve this difficult problem. If interested in giving your time, please email me at jzvonek@gmail.com.

Thanks.

-John
 
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Difficult indeed! At face value it seems like an impossible problem!
 
Looking at the human-powered plane efforts, and being an amateur bicyclist, I see no way for a human-powered helicopter to be practical for more than a few seconds. Ouch.
 
First you need a good cyclist. Bringing the blades to velocity is an issue. I'd read the fine print over how to torque it up. The less stress on the pilot to overcome inertia under potentially adverse gearing could be a major issue.

Only 3 meters?? A lot of ground effect is in play. Can the rotor tips be closer to the ground than 3 meters?

Stability and control I would leave up to electronics if allowed.

The Gossamer Albatross had a wingspan of 47 feet with a root cord of about 6 feet. The top speed during the Channel crossing was 18 mph. Keep that in mind when you consider rotor diameter. Isn't it the last 1/4 of the rotor blade that does half the lifting?

So where are the rules of the game? A Wikipedia page isn't enough.
 
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Here is a link to the rules:

http://www.vtol.org/awards/hphregs.html

Also, the prize has just been increased to $250,000 from the original $20,000.

I don't know if ground effect would be significant with the slow-moving rotors of a human-powered helicopter. I've seen experiment results that show the effect dropping off quickly as the rotors move away from the ground (< 3m).

Stability and control will be major issues, and I believe electronics are not allowed by the rules.

And the problem is not impossible. We have better engineering tools than at any time in the past. We just have to take advantage of them.
 
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When they say 'human powered' - do they count 'human fuelled'?
A gas turbine will run on bio-diesel !
 
Looks like you are going to need Leonardo on this one.
 
He's going to need angels for this. They're the only way a human powered helicopter is going to get off the ground.

mgb_phys said:
A gas turbine will run on bio-diesel !
It's people. Jet fuel is made out of people. They're making our jet fuel out of people.
 
I wouldn't be as quick to dismiss a human powered helicopter. But, according to the set of rules quoted, it has to take off and remain within a 10 meter square. This limits the blades to about 4 meter each.

I'm not versed in helicopter efficiency, but it seems that twice the rotor disk area should about double the efficiency. Earlier I noted that the Gossamer Albatross had a wingspan 47 foot span. This might compare to a 47 foot rotor disk.
 
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  • #10
I'll absolutely dismiss it. The power that can be provided by a good cyclist is somewhere in the area of 300 W. Not only will you be hard pressed to find a very light person that can put out that kind of continuous power, you have to deal with the structural aspects of aa helicopter. It does not lend itself to light and whispy structures like the Albatross did.
 
  • #11
FredGarvin said:
... you have to deal with the structural aspects of aa helicopter. It does not lend itself to light and whispy structures like the Albatross did.

Why is that?
 
  • #12
Look at the rotor head and blades alone.
 
  • #13
Phrak said:
I wouldn't be as quick to dismiss a human powered helicopter. But, according to the set of rules quoted, it has to take off and remain within a 10 meter square. This limits the blades to about 4 meter each.
You are misreading the rules. It's not the whole vehicle; just one single point on the vehicle.
A reference point on the non-rotating part of the machine will be established an a means whereby the observers can judge that the machine stayed within the confines of the 10-meter square.​
FredGarvin said:
I'll absolutely dismiss it.
The basic feat has already been achieved, twice. Just not for the requisite time and height.
 
  • #14
D H is right. Human-powered helicopters have already gotten off the ground. A few great ideas on how to improve the design will win the prize.
 
  • #15
D H said:
You are misreading the rules. It's not the whole vehicle; just one single point on the vehicle.
A reference point on the non-rotating part of the machine will be established an a means whereby the observers can judge that the machine stayed within the confines of the 10-meter square.​

Yes, I believe you're right. It's ambigiously written.
 
  • #16
How is that ambiguous?
 
  • #17
D H said:
How is that ambiguous?

You're joking? Nowhere is it stated what parts of the craft cannot drift outside the square, or even for that matter if they are talking about the 'reference point' staying in the square.
 
  • #18
FredGarvin said:
Look at the rotor head and blades alone.

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.
 
  • #19
FredGarvin said:
He's going to need angels for this. They're the only way a human powered helicopter is going to get off the ground.


It's people. Jet fuel is made out of people. They're making our jet fuel out of people.

Fred...them old Charlton Heston movies are really takin their toll on you, aren't they??
 
  • #20
D H said:
The basic feat has already been achieved, twice. Just not for the requisite time and height.
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.
 
  • #21
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  • #22
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.
 
  • #23
Ranger Mike said:
Fred...them old Charlton Heston movies are really takin their toll on you, aren't they??
Hey. MGB started it...
 
  • #24
FredGarvin said:
Hey. MGB started it...

i stand corrected..a lot of pathos out there ,Pathos (pronounced /ˈpeɪθɒs/; Greek: πάθος)
 
  • #25
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.
 
  • #26
russ_watters said:
This "helicpoter" prize seems pretty pointless to me.
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.
 
  • #27
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.
 
  • #28
From http://www.humanpoweredhelicopters.org/davinci/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?

http://www.humanpoweredhelicopters.org/davinci/image003.jpg

Joe, the guy with the yellow nametag will be the pilot for today's demonstration.
 
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  • #29
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.
 
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  • #30
FredGarvin said:
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.

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...
 
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