Quadrotor Helicopters

[brian eiland]

...just a model now, but I'd be willing to bet a bigger prototype is not too far off....WOW

Aggressive Maneuvers for Autonomous Quadrotor Flight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvRTALJp8DM

[Willallison]

Just the thing every Russian billionaire needs to get ashore from his new gigayacht.....

[Doug Lord]

Thanks Brian-I developed a video piloted RC copter years ago-that little machine is perfect for that application since cameras and transmitters are so cheap now.
Here is a bigger version with 2 rotors per pod -6 rotors total:



pix-Dragonflyer-

[Deadeye]

Wow...can you imagine the Gs a pilot would feel ?

It would plant your head firmly into your own butt !

[Easy Rider]

Must be counter rotating propellers. I wonder if the down rushing air spinning in the opposite direction helps the lower propeller develop more thrust? That's a lot of engines. Sure would get interesting if one quit.
Why is this on a boat forum?

[brian eiland]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider

...Why is this on a boat forum?

How about the number of superyachts with helo's on their back decks..

I actually looked thru some older threads that discussed deck construction for helicopters, but the threads were so old they wouldn't allow me to add to them, ie:
Helicopter Landing Areas

Helicopter Pads

[Squidly-Diddly]

I can't find the youtube.

It was some military lab.

It was a computer controlled blockish thing firing rocket pulses in xyz axis for total control, and making lots of noise and generally being about the scariest thing I've ever seen.

[jonr]

So what can I use the small one for on a boat? Lifting a VHF antenna? Looking for shallow water?

Thats really Cool.

And I can see some practical applications for it right away.

How about a Video Camera with microwave Sat feed mounted onto it to use for spotting Bluefin Tuna. They are here right now off the Cost of New England and I would be happy to field test it for you.

Moose Season will be here soon and they would be nice to launch off the pickup truck in Aroostock County to reconnoiter Bullwinkle.

Or depending on the payload, could we mount a camera and a GE Minigun with a couple thouand rounds on it and test it out in the Afganistan mountains.

Whats its ceiling?

Capt Walt

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[kerosene]

pretty impressive movement.

However - you can see that the helo is surrounded by IR-light-camera units and the helo has reflectors. This is tech used for capturing motion of actors for computer generated animated things for example.

That means that probably all alignment info and calcs are done externally. The helo itself might have no gyros or whatever and that all position info comes from the motion capture setup.

I do think that it makes the aggressive movements easier to accomplish as long as the feedback loop is fast enough.

[Doug Lord]

Originally Posted by jonr

So what can I use the small one for on a boat? Lifting a VHF antenna? Looking for shallow water?

---------------------
The one in my previous post could be video piloted from your boat to a range of three to five miles. It could carry a life ring to a man overboard. It could be equipped with a speaker and mic so you could talk to the man overboard.
It could take spectacular pictures of your boat under way. It could take spectacular pictures of the women on that island right over there....
And so on and on and on.... Oh yeah-its a lot cheaper and safer to fly than a full size machine. And boy is it fun!

[Doug Lord]

Here are a couple of mini-heli's I designed and built using commercially available rotorheads 25 years ago. The van was used to fly the machine: it had a tv ,the rc unit and the video receiver. It had a platform that slid out the back and lifted up for landing and take off.
The new stuff is so much better!

[brian eiland]

Austrian research company IAT21 has presented a new type of aircraft at the Paris Air Show which has the potential to become aviation's first disruptive technology since the jet engine. Neither fixed wing nor rotor craft, the D-Dalus uses four, mechanically-linked, contra-rotating, cylindrical turbines for its propulsion, and by altering the angle of the blades, it can launch vertically, hover perfectly still, move in any direction, and thrust upwards and hence "glue down" upon landing, which it can easily do on the deck of a ship, or even a moving vehicle. It's also almost silent, has the dynamic stability to enter buildings, handles rough weather with ease, flies very long distances very quickly and can lift very heavy loads. It's also so simple that it requires little maintenance and requires no more maintenance expertise than an auto mechanic. It accordingly holds immense promise as a platform for personal flight, for military usage, search and rescue, and much more.

Lots of pess releases and photos on Google. Here is one article that brought it to my attention:
How D-Dalus Flies Like Nothing Else | Popular Science

[Doug Lord]

Thanks for the find, Brian! Cool stuff...

[Jeremy Harris]

Looks a bit like this, from the 1930's: http://books.google.com/books?id=xSg...epage&q&f=true

or this collection of similar aircraft from the past: http://www.pilotfriend.com/photo_albums/potty/2.htm

for a more modern take on the same principle, how about the Fanwing: http://www.fanwing.com/

Nothing really new or novel about the D-Dalus, just a re-hashing of some very old ideas for a new application. It's certainly not "disruptive technology", as the aerodynamic efficiency is rubbish, it just happens to be a viable solution for that particular requirement.

Oh, and if you want a marine-related link, this thing works just like a Voith Schneider prop, so not exactly new or novel there, either.................