brewnog said:
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!
I agree in principle, but disagree in general!
Yes, building something like a small personal air vehicle of whatever type, would certainly involve a huge amount of work, and be quite expensive. But the parts and equipment are commercially available, and a design simply needs to incorporate the mechanisms of putting these all together. The most significant obstacle to overcome is the very strict regulations regarding airworthiness. The EASA regulations, even for small aircraft, are based around commercial, multi person craft, and do not reflect the needs and considerations of the small home builder because this was not a central concern when they were being drafted. The regulations I believe have also stifiled private aviation advancement for decades because the cost of design and research & development, in order to comply with the regulatory requirements, is outside the realm of the private inventor/builder. I'm not so sure about the FAA reg's. The entire market is drowned in very strict regulations which in some cases are very necessary, but in other cases could be re-drafted to be much more flexible, while still ensuring a reasonable level of safety. Complying with these regulations, and awaiting assesment at the various build stages is a major contributing factor to why home building takes so long.
Re. IcanBuildIT post's previously, and the replies. I think nobody is questioning the complexity of building a heli, however this does not mean it cannot be done with relative success and a reasonable flight safety level, by someone who is willing to spend time learning and 'carefully' building with attention to detail. Remember we are NOT talking about a heli with all the bells and whistles of a modern multi million dollar commercial design. Simply a basic design equivalent to decades ago. The first heli in 1907 was built by private designers unrestricted by modern limitations of technical and regulatory natures. It was still a 'helicopter' and it still flew...I wouldn't trust my life to it, but it worked. It can be done. People nowadays are blinded by the complexity that something can, but does not have to, have. There are two kinds of people...those who do, and those who talk about doing!
kleinjahr said:
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.
If memory serves me correctly ( Which it may not!
) the russians developed a heli using rockets at the tips of the rotor blades. I can't remember if there was a safety purpose, to assist in rotation of the blades after a main engine failure, or simply for powered assistance during takeoff/flight.
