Friday, September 28, 2012

Morphing Airframe Rotorcraft: What is the Extent of the Platform Practical Application

I'm still in the "walk phase" with this design. I'm satisfied that the concept works, but as with anything that I put my effort into, how far can I push it? Still yet, I always question myself: Where does practical application end and novelty begin? That being said, how can this platform be applied to what is considered the "norm" with respect to what is required for helicopter capabilities today?
What's expected of a helicopter or rotorcraft:
- performance with repsect to all weather conditions for both military and law enforcement operations.
- distance and endurance with respect to operational cost per hour, etc.
- Sling load operations. This has been in the back of my mind and continues to be a pressing thought for me. I will start small scale sling load testing within the next year. Can a morphing airframe helicopter safetly lift and carry sling loaded cargo? How will said cargo effect the control considering that the weight of the two airframes is equally distributed for control....ie, excessive stick feedback?

I'll have other comments as I get further along. There are many consideration when scaling up.
The sketches below are crude drawings that I put together a couple of years ago. The HIR airframe can be applied to forward and aft flight, but a "partial" swashplate control input may need to be added. Pitch control would be mast internal and an additional "rotor prop" will need to be added to the hub for lateral flight control, but lateral control input must not effect main rotor blade pitch. I still want to avoid the angular differences between retreating and advancing blades.





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