Revolutionary Silent Santa Helicopter Concept

[magi]

Hello.

A helicopter make a lot of noise and turbulence.

Why not separate engine and rotor from the cockpit.

When the engine and rotor start/land it need less power because of the less weight.
Then when it is high enough it lower wires and connect to the cockpit and lift the pilot and passengers.

The engine/rotor can have closed off start/land spots noise controlled.

So you go to the cockpit and lift and land completely silent and with much less disturbance to the area because the noise is produced 50 to 100 meters or up to 300 feet up in the air.

You then fly compleately silent and fast to next place if you have a VTOL for high speed flight.

Is this a good idea?

Anybody here have to much money and want to see it built?

M.Sc. in Engineering Physics / Magi

 

[DaveC426913]

So, the powertrain component is ... robotically contolled?

Your vehicle is now 300 feet in height, and comes in two parts, connected only by wires?

Are current helicopters too safe for your comfort?

 

[Dr Lots-o'watts]

All that for the sack of noise reduction? (and still far from "completely silent")

What's wrong with rated ear muffs and the inside of buildings with concrete walls?

 

[AlephZero]

So you go to the cockpit and lift and land completely silent and with much less disturbance to the area because the noise is produced 50 to 100 meters or up to 300 feet up in the air.

You then fly compleately silent and fast to next place if you have a VTOL for high speed flight.

Is this a good idea?

I have the misfortune to live underneath the regular flight path of the local Air Ambulance helicopter, flying back from the local city hospital to its operating base at a nearby airport.

On a really bad day, it spends 5 or 10 minutes hovering over my house waiting to join the airport circuit for landing.

I can assure you that "300 ft up" would be completely ineffective for noise reduction. Maybe 3000 ft up would work, except air traffic controllers don't like helicopters hovering in controlled airspace.

 

[mugaliens]

Hello.

A helicopter make a lot of noise and turbulence.

Why not separate engine and rotor from the cockpit.

When the engine and rotor start/land it need less power because of the less weight.
Then when it is high enough it lower wires and connect to the cockpit and lift the pilot and passengers.

The engine/rotor can have closed off start/land spots noise controlled.

So you go to the cockpit and lift and land completely silent and with much less disturbance to the area because the noise is produced 50 to 100 meters or up to 300 feet up in the air.

You then fly compleately silent and fast to next place if you have a VTOL for high speed flight.

Is this a good idea?

I answered the poll before I read the post, so change my vote to "no."

Several problems with this:

1. Hovering a helo is a real fuel-burner. The extra fuel burned performing this maneuver would be prohibitively expensive.

2. Lowering cables from a helo is risky, requiring skill on the part of the pilot in the helo, the crewman operating the hoist, and the individual(s) being hoisted. It's why all combat aircrewmembers are giving hoist training, so we know what to do and what not to do if we're ever in a situation where we need a helo lift. Conducting this operation from the ground alone would be more risky than the FAA would allow.

3. Even at 300', a helo is very noisy, yet hoist operations are rarely done above 50' altitude due to the ever-increasing dange accompanied by increasing height. Pilots will go higher, but only if absolutely necessary, such as thing jungle canopy or very high waves.

Anybody here have to much money and want to see it built?

M.Sc. in Engineering Physics / Magi

If I had that much money, I'd buy a plane and donate my time as a pilot and my plane for use with various charities.

 

[magi]

Or why not just use a VTOL engine/rotor just for the start and landing.
You go out and start with no turbulence and low noise in your jet straight up.
Then when you reach hight you detach for VTOL engine/rotor and go by jet to destination.
When you reach destination a VTOL engine/rotor meet up and attach to your jet and you land anywhere with no turbulence and noise next to your house.

Interesting?

M.Sc. Magi

 

[DaveC426913]

Still not getting it.

For the sake of some noise, you're going to build a craft that is 300 feet tall and connected by wires. Pilot is 300ft away from the rest of the craft. And you're going to dangle this thing around my cities?

 

[magi]

Its a Santa helicopter.
Show some Christmas spirit.

Magi

 

[DaveC426913]

< Christmas Spirit.

Actually, I never did understand the Santa reference.



Oohhhh. You mean because it could drop off and pick up quietly? Sorry. Went right over my head.

 

[magi]

I meant that Santa is pulled by reindeer's in wires.

Magi

 

[Dr Lots-o'watts]

Or why not just use a VTOL engine/rotor just for the start and landing

Assuming you would design the release and catching mechanisms, what would be the advantage over a tower or a manned helicopter?

 

[magi]

Assuming you would design the release and catching mechanisms, what would be the advantage over a tower or a manned helicopter?

Automated systems are cheaper than pilots.

Magi

 

[JaredJames]

Automated systems are cheaper than pilots.

Towers are cheaper than the proposed automated systems.

I've racked my brain trying to fully understand what you are describing, but so far every way I've looked at it brings up more problems / questions.

Noise abatement isn't enough of a problem to warrant such an extreme solution.

A note regarding your "take off with VTOL device, discard it, connect up to a new one to land" idea: what you are proposing here is a combination of a carrier landing with mid-air refuelling. Both very difficult and extremely dangerous on their own, let alone combining them together.