The ArrowCopter is back again!

ckurz7000

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2006
Messages
3,444
Location
Vienna
Aircraft
ArrowCopter
A week ago I was at the ArrowCopter factory (the company is actually called FD-Compisites GmbH) and was impressed by the progress made since the entire factory had burned down on March 30 this year.

Rebuilding is coming along nicely, as this panorama shot shows:

Exterior Panorama

The left portion is the old part of the building complex and was hit the hardest. It was here that the fire started. Offices and the new construction hangar are on the right hand side and already fully operational.

Here is an interior panorama shot taken in the newly rebuilt portion.

Interior Panorama

Currently there are six ArrowCopters being worked on, one of them an annual on a machine stationed in Switzerland. One is the factory demonstrator and four are new machines in various stages of completion.

This is the Swiss machine. I took this photo because it shows nicely the stuff that's usually hidden behind the instrument panel and the rear seat.

Electronic Spaces

A closeup of the electronic bay behind the rear seat reveals that all electronics and most of the pneumatics are collocated here. This makes for easy access, and facilitytes maintenance. Radio and transponder, too, are mounted in the electronic bay with only a remote control display in the instrument panel.

Electronic Bay

Next to assembly and maintenance there is also some exciting development going on. I was sworn to secrecy, so please don't ask for any further details. But rest assured that I'll post here as soon as we can show something tangible.

Greetings, -- Chris.
 
Wow; impressive. The famous efficiency in action.

Well, yes and no. Yes, because the ArrowCopter crew are a really dedicated team. They kept morale high and did everything in record speed to be up and running as quickly as possible again. Kudos!

And no, because Austrians are distinctly different from Germans. The latter are famous for their efficiency. Austrians are a different breed (in so far as such stereotyping is possible at all). They are farther south and east and enjoy life with a more southerly and easterly attitude. Kind of like Americans and Canadians but totally different. ;)

Greetings, -- Chris.
 
Great shots! You can see their attention to detail. Certainly hard to match in any other gyro.
 
Great to hear that news Chris. It certainly impressed me as a very good, and happy team of people who were producing a quality product.

Having taken various exec jets to various maintenance facilities around the world I think it rates high.
 
That's very cool one of my friends told me they went over and had such a good time flying with you guys.
 
Hello Chris,

I submitted my order form inquiry today.

I am very glad to hear production is back up and running.

Hope you will be kind enough to help me through the process

and customizations I'd like for my ArrowCopter.

Thank You.

Darren

Darren, I'm here in the US and can help you through the process if you'd like. I'll PM you for details.

- Jason K
 
That's very cool one of my friends told me they went over and had such a good time flying with you guys.

Hi Desmon, might that be Jason "magknight" who just posted here? Jason is in the process of becoming the US representative of ArrowCopter, and he is based in Texas.

Greetings, -- Chris.
 
Hello Chris,

I submitted my order form inquiry today.

I am very glad to hear production is back up and running.

Hope you will be kind enough to help me through the process

and customizations I'd like for my ArrowCopter.

Thank You.

Darren

Hi Darren, good to hear you're still actively pursuing your dream! Jason aka "magknight" will be able to help you with everything. But that's not to say, of course, that I'm not interested in how things are going for you.

Seems like your ArrowCopter will be among the first three flying in the US!

Greetings, -- Chris.
 
Here is one more photo from my last visist. It shows an employee mounting one of the stablets to the horizontal stabilizer. The gyro is still uncoated and the carbon fiber/glass fiber surface is showing. You can also see where the rudder is going to be attached to the vertical stabilizer.

Mounting a Stablet

The ArrowCopter is, I believe, the first gyro with a fully glass fiber/carbon fiber mast. All structural elements are made from fiber compound materials.

We have just recently again performed a full CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulation of the ArrowCopter in a variety of flight situations. In cruise, it turns out that drag from the rotor amounts to 52% of the total drag. A significant part of the rotor drag actually derives from the rotor hub!! This is one point I did not expect at all. The stub wings produce about 50 kg of lift in cruise, which is just the weight of fuel when you fill 'er up. So, essentially, you get the fuel "for free" performance wise.

Greetings, -- Chris.
 
Yes that is right Jason is a great guy. He should do a good job for you guys.
 
Chris, when are you going to put some differential incidence in the horizontal tail to balance propeller torque?

Would the current tail boom handle the increased torque load?
 
I'm no engineer, but can say that the structure is very strong, so would be shocked if there were loading issues. Why do you ask? In flying it, I didn't feel any issues with torque or yaw control.
 
Yes that is right Jason is a great guy. He should do a good job for you guys.

Thanks Desmon! I really believe in the potential of ArrowCopter, but have to say what really excites me is improving the reputation, safety, and acceptance of gyros in the US. We're at the start if a new era of gyros, just glad to be a part of it.

-Jason
 
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Chuck, differential incidence for the Hstab is on the list. The point is not strength but simply that changing production not only means cost but also a partial recertification. Not something you do lightly. The current version does perform perfectly well, so there is not much to be gained here. Still, we keep a tab on all things we'd like to change in a new version. When that list reaches a critical mass, it will happen.

-- Chris.
 
A full span horizontal stabilizer in the propeller slipstream accomplishes at least partial torque compensation.
 
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