mangogrooveworkshop
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| posted on 14/5/04 at 04:13 PM |
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Locost flying machine
http://www.vortechonline.com/b1920/
looks scary>>>>>>>>>
[Edited on 14-5-04 by mangogrooveworkshop]
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Peteff
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| posted on 14/5/04 at 05:34 PM |
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Looks like the next big thing .
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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scutter
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| posted on 14/5/04 at 05:42 PM |
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wonder who i'll try a bungee to launch the first one.
Dan, Very afraid for the airways
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James
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| posted on 14/5/04 at 05:51 PM |
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Would certainly get me to work quicker!
James
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Cita
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| posted on 14/5/04 at 06:04 PM |
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If you guys ever want to build a gyroplane than dont buy from Vortech.They are like RH only diff is they play in the aircraft division.
It's not as difficult as it looks,it's not as costly as even a locost and... it's not as forgiving as a locost
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Mark Allanson
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| posted on 14/5/04 at 07:37 PM |
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Bet the SVA is a bit of a nightmare with all those spinney bits at the top!
If you can keep you head, whilst all others around you are losing theirs, you are not fully aware of the situation
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Peteff
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| posted on 14/5/04 at 08:15 PM |
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If you guys ever want to build a gyroplane than dont buy from Vortech.
Who do you recommend then? I like the look of that.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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Cita
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| posted on 14/5/04 at 08:53 PM |
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As with everything Pete there allways will be guys trying to make a buck on the benefits of those who did the hard work.
Vortech is one of them.
The main activity is to sell so called construction plans, often incomplete drawings with no reference at all and advertisement that gives a
misleading interpretation of the plans.
Being a homebuilt rotorcraft enthousiast (whatever that may be)for more than 30 years i've seen lots of dangerous info and Vortech (formerly
Helicraft) is the questionable leader.
If you realy are interested in this stuff than do a search on gyrocopters.
Lots of usefull information will, pop up.
Ken Wallis from England is probably one of the most experienced gyroplane designers of the world.
Try to look for info on "Wallis days".
V.Magni-Ken Brock-Joe de Souza are a few names who are selling machines/plans for a motorized version and are in buiseness for years.
If you need any more information dont hestitae to ask.
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I love speed :-P
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| posted on 14/5/04 at 09:42 PM |
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i have one, a question that is how much do they cost to make, cus my dad has been interested in the for years, o sry 1 more, what do u need 2 fly 1
in the uk something like a Driving lisence?
Don't Steal
The Government doesn’t like the competition
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mangogrooveworkshop
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| posted on 14/5/04 at 09:44 PM |
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Well would you ADAM AND EVE IT I found the "hellfire" of the copter world..See link
Hellflier !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[Edited on 14-5-04 by mangogrooveworkshop]
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Cita
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| posted on 14/5/04 at 10:00 PM |
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I dont know what the regulations are i the UK but in the USA you can fly this kite towed behind a car/boat without a license.I guess the same goes for
the UK.
The cost of such a craft largely depends on...what do you like to spend!
If you take your time to find parts and have acces to a lathe/mill these "toys" can be build rather cheap.Going from a few hundred quid to
a few thousand.
Wood rotorblades can be homebuilt for a modest cost,aluminium blades are better quality and more expencive,composite blades are the best but cost an
arm and a legg.It's all up to you.
Most gyroplane kits are bolted together instead of welding.
The leading ass. in the UK i believe is Popular Rotorcraft Flying.
Dont be scared off by the comments on safety.Those rotorcraft guys like to keep the impression alive that flying a rotorcraft is still something that
only can be done by the inteligent lucky few.
It requires no more common sence to build a gyroplane than to build your own car and driving around in a car is probably more dangerous than flying
this craft towed behind a car.
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mangogrooveworkshop
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| posted on 14/5/04 at 10:12 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Cita
IK.
The cost of such a craft largely depends on...what do you like to spend!
If you take your time to find parts and have acces to a lathe/mill these "toys" can be build rather cheap.Going from a few hundred quid to
a few thousand.
Wood rotorblades can be homebuilt for a modest cost,aluminium blades are better quality and more expencive,composite blades are the best but cost an
arm and a legg.
Macspeedy take note
Cita what do you think of this ekranoplan?
http://www.hovercraft.com/index.shtml
[Edited on 14-5-04 by mangogrooveworkshop]
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spunky
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| posted on 14/5/04 at 10:51 PM |
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Chaps,
I do a bit of paragliding and I'm pretty sure that in the UK any foot launched aircraft is unregulated, ie. no formal training is compulsory but
highly recommended.
As soon as you put wheels on it, it falls into the same catagory as light aircraft and becomes regulated.
Still, it does look fun and whose gonna catch you....
John
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Cita
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| posted on 15/5/04 at 06:31 AM |
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The Ekranoplane was something the Russians surprised the world with when the Berlin wall and the communist empire collapsed.
They had massive Ekranoplanes for troop carrying and the CIA did'nt seem to knew this.
Take a good look at the picture of the folder and especialy the planes in the background doing steep turns.Imagine what will happen when one of the
wingtips hit the water!
The Ekranoplane uses the same aircushion technique as the hovercraft but under a different concept.
Speed and simplicity are the major advantages of the Ekranoplane but for fun i would stick to the good old fashioned British hovercraft.
Dont even think about building a footlaunched gyroplane to avoid license obligations.
It has been done as early as WW II by Baumgartl and numerous attempts ever since by others.It's to bloody dangerous!
I know a guy who broke his spline in an attempt to footlaunch his homebuilt gyroplane.
People often underestimate the kinetic energy stored in a whirling rotor.Even at a modest 100 RPM those rotorblades can snap your backbone or neck in
a split second.I have seen a picture of a wood/steel rotorblade that had an unpleasant meeting with the landing strip concrete and Savator Dali would
have been jealous about the "new rotorblade".It was twisted like a corkscrew without braking the wood!!
Back in the late '50's Bensen (Russian emigrant in the U.S.) started to sell plans for a homebuilt Gyrocopter.
It was a huge succes and formed the base of virtually every gyroplane that was designed ever since.
Oh yes,one more thing...
there are gyroplane pilots who own what you could call the Caterham among gyroplanes and those who build their own Locost machines.
The only diff i experienced is that the so called Caterham guys usually know jack s"#t about their planes and most Locosters can fix any
problem anyware anytime and usualy know why their craft is not responding as it should be.
The funiest thing during a "fly in" is to hear the rich people kiss the ass of a "grease monkey" to fix a broken part.
The sad thing is that they are so short of memory
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Peteff
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| posted on 15/5/04 at 09:15 AM |
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The Ekranoplane was no threat as it takes it an ocean to turn. It was more of a defensive mobile missile base wasn't it?
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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Cita
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| posted on 15/5/04 at 11:16 AM |
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I thought it was mainly used as a cargo transporter and in that regard the C-130 is not exactly able to make a turn on a football field either aldo
this comparison is a bit out of order as the C_130 is an airplane where the Ekranoplane is a aircushion craft.
If it realy could be considered as offensive is questionable.
A truck based missile launcher can use terrain as a shelter like the talliban did in Afghanistan where the Ekranoplane operates in the wide open space
of the sea/lake making it an easy target for even the slowest fighter plane.
Nevertheless the good old US of A were schocked by the existance of the Ekranoplane.
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Peteff
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| posted on 15/5/04 at 11:43 AM |
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If it realy could be considered as offensive is questionable
I wrote defensive, the opposite of offensive. It would have been ideal against a sea force with its Cruise missile capabilities. Likening it to a C130
is pointless. Ekranoplane 50ft up, C130 50,000ft up. Which one are you going to spot first from your ship.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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Cita
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| posted on 15/5/04 at 04:27 PM |
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50 or 50000ft up, target spotting today is done with electronic devices not with binoculars.
Sorry about the offensive /defensive mistake.
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Cita
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| posted on 16/5/04 at 05:13 AM |
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For those who are interested,there are FREE plans available to build a gyroplane.
Search for Gyrobee.
atb.
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I love speed :-P
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| posted on 16/5/04 at 09:15 AM |
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i recon that chris should set up a new section, on building one of these things
Don't Steal
The Government doesn’t like the competition
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Cita
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| posted on 16/5/04 at 04:23 PM |
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Hi Sid,i almost dont dare to say it but...it's been tried before.
Hafner who was working in England before and during WW II launched a few idea's and one of them was to put a huge rotor above a jeep.Tow tests
where done and the "thing" flew but barely.The idea of using the same upset for a real tank where wisely put back in the drawer!
The rotachute however was tested significantly and with succes.The Rotachute should replace the parachute of the paratrooper to give him the chance to
land almost exactly where he wanted.
It's rather easy to calculate how big the rotor for a gyroplane must be.
A rotordisc loading of about 8 kg/m2 is suficiant.
A flying Locost... that would be something to give those Caterham nanny's something to think about
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