I really like this, because it shows that quadrotor (and flying vessel in general) research is far from "done".
Most people would tell you that you'd be insane to try to design new types of aircraft, because we already know how to do that. This research proves otherwise.
One might almost say that anybody knowing basics of Newtonian mechanics would say maximizing your blade swept area reduces power needed to stay aloft. Then there's stuff like tip vortices etc. So just one big rotor is great.
The problem becomes control. With many small rotors you don't need to control blade pitch, as the electric motors have high torque and the blades are light, so you can control with quick engine thrust changes. And it's that what makes the quad rotor system much more attractive than a normal helo. The traditional helicopter pitch control system is complex and requires precise high stress components that are well built and maintained.
But it's a very inelegant brute force system in my opinion. The pitch control could be improved a lot as well if you have powerful electromagnetics with very precise control.
You still need a tail rotor though.
The real helicopter is seeing some real progress at the moment as well, all in the name of higher speeds. There's Sikorsky's X2 and AVX's modified Kiowa. They have coaxial main rotors with a pushing tail rotor and two pushing fans respectively.
Then there's tilt rotors by Bell and Boeing, IIRC. These were, at least at some point, all part of a US scout helicopter competition.
And then there's the Eurocopter X3, with no tail rotor but twin pulling rotors like a twin prop airplane. X2 and X3 have flown.
Comments
I really like this, because it shows that quadrotor (and flying vessel in general) research is far from "done".
Most people would tell you that you'd be insane to try to design new types of aircraft, because we already know how to do that. This research proves otherwise.
One might almost say that anybody knowing basics of Newtonian mechanics would say maximizing your blade swept area reduces power needed to stay aloft. Then there's stuff like tip vortices etc. So just one big rotor is great.
The problem becomes control. With many small rotors you don't need to control blade pitch, as the electric motors have high torque and the blades are light, so you can control with quick engine thrust changes. And it's that what makes the quad rotor system much more attractive than a normal helo. The traditional helicopter pitch control system is complex and requires precise high stress components that are well built and maintained.
But it's a very inelegant brute force system in my opinion. The pitch control could be improved a lot as well if you have powerful electromagnetics with very precise control.
You still need a tail rotor though.
The real helicopter is seeing some real progress at the moment as well, all in the name of higher speeds. There's Sikorsky's X2 and AVX's modified Kiowa. They have coaxial main rotors with a pushing tail rotor and two pushing fans respectively. Then there's tilt rotors by Bell and Boeing, IIRC. These were, at least at some point, all part of a US scout helicopter competition. And then there's the Eurocopter X3, with no tail rotor but twin pulling rotors like a twin prop airplane. X2 and X3 have flown.