VTOL Gyrocopter Quiz

[Rotor Rooter]

, ' , ' , ' , ' , ' , ' , Department of Demented Designs

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' , ', ' , , ' , Where the lights are never turned off ~ 'cause the light never really came on.


, ' , ' , ' , ' , ' , ' , ' , ' , ' , ' , ' , ' , VTOL Gyrocopter

The following is a half-serious, half-quiz, and perhaps half-assed, concept for providing a gyrocopter with vertical takeoff and landing abilities.

It is half-serious because it will conceptually work. It is half-quiz because this seems like a fun way to present it. The half-assed applies to the author of this post. This quiz consists of 1/ an opening statement; 2/ a daily hint and 3/ a daily request for guesses as to the essence of the concept.

Opening Statement: One theoretical means of providing jump-takeoff is to convert energy from gasoline to rotational inertia in the rotor. However, this creates two problems. One being the ability of the rotor to handle an extremely high centrifugal effect and the second being the ability of the craft to not counter-rotate when it is located on surface with low friction, such as a wet surface or grass.

Today's hint:
Carbon filament is a strong and lightweight material when subjected to tension.

Any initial guesses?

[Luc De Keyser]

build a fly wheel out of carbon that stores the energy from the engine and releases it to the rotor at JTO?

Luc

[Rotor Rooter]

Luc,
Part way there.

2nd hint:
The craft requires more energy when taking off then when landing. The craft has more fuel when taking off then when landing.

[Rehan K.Janjua]

Interesting Dave .

Use a Gyro launch pad.
Where external power is used to spin the rotor for jump take off.

Rehan

[Rotor Rooter]

3rd hint;

Carbon filament winding is used to produce very strong and light cylindrical containers. A couple of teardrop shaped containers would have minimal aerodynamic drag.

[Papa Smurf]

Rotor tip rockets?

Wonder what the duration should be?... Humph! Interesting.

[karlbamforth]

Cylinders are for storing air pressure, which is then used to spin up rotors.
Am already designing something similar as a trial project.

[Victor Duarte]

i think about pressurized water tanks.

[Rotor Rooter]

4th hint:

The two teardrop cylinders are fuel tanks.

[Victor Duarte]

refuelable tip jets ?

[brett s]

Or pressurized fuel used to drive a pump...

[Luc De Keyser]

or the cylinders are placed at the tips of the blades - at take-off they are filled with fuel resulting in a rotor with lots of inertia - the rotor is overrotated and the inertial energy is used for vertical take-off - then the fuel is consumed during flight (can you pump the fuel out of the tip cylinders towards the central engine against so much centrifugal force?) - at landing, the rotor has enough inertia with the cylinders empty (but much much less so than at take-off) to do a zero-roll landing.

Luc

[Rotor Rooter]

Luc;
More of of the way there.

5th hint;
The rotor is to be designed to handle 1/3 of the additional inertial that will be required for a fully functional jump takeoff.

[Cobra Doc]

Just stick a pair of OS 1.20 four-strokes out at the rotor tips. Or line the leading edges with 100 Cox .049 engines.

[Luc De Keyser]

You have two co-axial counterrotating rotors: a regular one with blades (and collective) and one with just the cylinders at each end. In preparation of the jump take-off you pre-rotate the blades and pre-rotate the cylinders; for JTO you pull collective and to keep the blades rotating you let the higher inertial energy of the cylinder rotor drive the blade rotor (using reverse rotation gears) until the energy is depleted or stable pure autogyro flight is obtained; at cruising speed the cylinder rotor is slowed and stopped in the least draggy position. There is no more centrifugal force to be conquered to siphon out the fuel from the cylinders. In preparation for landing you let the cylinder rotor pickup the speed of the blade rotor and you lock both rotors together. This allows more inertial energy for a good flair at landing.

Luc