Software tool to help amateur community design rotor wings: Initial survey.

[MGG]

Hey, everybody.

I'm thinking about developing a software tool to help home builders size and optimise rotor blades without incurring the costs of CFD and wind tunnel testing. I thought I saw a need while studying aeronautics at Cranfield, so sold them on the idea of an MSc thesis towards this goal. Idea is to have a tool using well established methods, such as were used for the NASA JPL Mars Ingenuity helicopter, to reduce that doubt about whether a new design will do what it's supposed to do. The fixed wing community already has lots of tools, like Xfoil and Prandtl lifting line, so I'd like to extend that to the rotor wing community.

So, my questions for the discussion to help me get this right:
0. Is there even a need for this kind of tool?
1. What helicopter/autogyro configurations need to be supported?
2. Do most home builders have any software experience beyond Excel?
3. What level of helicopter theory background do most builders have?
4. Is blade planform, taper, and twist modification something home builders want to consider?
5. Could the results of this tool, backed by testing, help to get aviation authority approval?
6. Would there be objections if the tool development favoured battery electric calculations over piston pounders?
7. What did I miss?
(I might need to edit this list several times)

BTD1982 already has an idea about the level I'm ultimately aiming at.


Mart

 

[mtal]

Dear Mart,

Did you make software tool for rotor blades? Could you please share this drawings source? Are these drawings from your calculation?

Mustafa