While it would be nice to have a "electric gyro", at this point in time I think that the application of this new tech motor to the use as a pre-rotor is the most pressing need.
We have talked at great length in other threads as to why we have such a low membership and slow growth, there has been a lot of finger ppointing and accusations which have accomplished very little but here is a cold hard fact that cannot be denied.
We are in competition with the fixed wing world for interest and involvement. The powered Parachute is a very limited market and not having much luck in growing either. BUT, the fixed wing market is growing quite well especially with the introduction of aircraft like the "Back Yard Flyer" from
www.valleyengineeringllc.com . We can boast all we want about our vertical decents and zero roll landings and being able to fly in rougher wind and our quick turns. However when we are put up against something like this aircraft that takes off in a VERY short distance, lands ina VERY short distance and uses a off the shelf engine with very little mod that eats about somewhere around 1 gallon a hour and flys at decent speeds, then we are in serious competition territory.
With the exception of a few models like Ernie's Dominator and some other that are near clones that can really do a impressive pre-rotate short take off, we are very weak in the impression department when we eat up several hundred feet of runway trying to get airborne. If we are going to make a competitive impression on the prospective public, we are going to have to consistently have take off's like SuperFly did in his video Superfly meets Goped (in another thread ). This is where I would hope the new tech electric motor will provide a much needed boost in take off performance.
Many years ago I was told that when you replace a electric motor with a gas engine and want the same amount of performance, you will need to replace a 1 hp electric motor with a 2.5 ( or bigger) hp gas engilne. Don't know where these figures came from but they sure seem to have been correct. So it looks like if we can get a 3 or 4 hp motor of the new design and comparable weight to what is being used, then we can expect some SERIOUS pre-rotation performance and start attracting more attention from the prospective public for members. The motor could be head mounted or mounted else where and shaft driven, what ever the need maybe. While the Back Yard Flyer is ultralight I don't think we have to compete there because this is a double edge sword, on the good side it lets those who have lots of experience flying and maybe have lost a medical get back into flying or others who have the training and just want a fun machine, it also lets those who have no experience, no training or a bad attitude, get in a aircraft and do something stupid.
Tony
PS still think we should move this to "other components "