Efficient Gyro?

[eruttan]

Is an around the world non stop gyro possible?

What would it look like? What would it take?

[rehler]

So far the world record for non stop flight in a gyro is less than 700 miles. An that has been hard to beat.

[ToddP]

I would never say impossible, but I would venture a guess that the gyro is probably the worst aircraft for such an endeavor. I would also probably wager my house that I'll never see it done in my lifetime. :)

[pwendell]

Is an around the world non stop gyro possible?

What would it look like? What would it take?

Sure. With mid-air refueling you can fly anything around the world :) Seriousely, all rotorcraft are extremely inefficient. It's part of the compromise. We don't stall because our 'wing' is always experiencing a very high reletive wind, and because of this, we always experience a high level of drag, even at very slow speeds.

[eruttan]

Chuck did a graph of how mych HP our rotor takes on Norms.

I think it ws only 26HP at 120MPH. And I think he said our flying lawnchair airframes have way more drag at 100+mph than our rotors do.

I also have read some posts here about twists in blades that could allow us to greatly reduce our tip speeds, and therefore reduce drag.

Chuck you still got that graph?

So if anyone is willing to hypothesize on some numbers that might be fun.