e volo volocopter

figured you aero buffs would dig this....its in the new issue of popular science in the article about the 100 greatest innovations of the year.
i have to say it looks pretty awesome

its got eighteen 1.8 meter long carbon fiber propellers. it says it can fly with the loss of several rotors.....

www.e-volo.com...



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that thing is pretty cool. just wanted to share

a reply to: Grovit

I thought I had already picked out my Christmas present.
I guess it's OK to change my mind though.

I wonder what the vibration is like with all of the different motors aswell as how the onbord computers manage them in different situations. Very interesting, it looks like they have came a long way from thier old machines:
en.m.wikipedia.org...

Well I guess my big question would be, have there been enough helicopter failures with single props to warrant putting this many on one vehicle? I mean, if something is violent enough to take out a propeller, wouldn't it likely take out this choppers entire propeller scaffolding they are all built on?

I am not a big fan of multiple failure points....the more moving parts you have, the more likely it is to fail.

I've followed this helicopter for a while. I like that this idea
came from the Radio Controlled community.
Brushless Electric motors have gone through the roof
as far as power goes in the last 5 years. It's about time they
lift people. The skies the limit

But even if I could I wouldn't hop in my RC plane
and go for a spin. Because even the best pilots
crash...a lot..

originally posted by: Vasa Croe
Well I guess my big question would be, have there been enough helicopter failures with single props to warrant putting this many on one vehicle? I mean, if something is violent enough to take out a propeller, wouldn't it likely take out this choppers entire propeller scaffolding they are all built on?

I am not a big fan of multiple failure points....the more moving parts you have, the more likely it is to fail.

You can find a list of accidents involving Chinook helicopters. They have two sets of rotor blades and two engines, but it is the gearbox connecting the two rotors systems together that is the first to fail, primarily due to salt corrosion. Everything else has been caused by enemy attack, pilot error, or unusual loads.

en.wikipedia.org...

a reply to: Vasa Croe

This comes to mind when I saw it.

"A bunch of parts flying in close formation just waiting to fly apart."

Still it does look pretty cool.

I would worry about lightning myself...

a reply to: Vasa Croe

Actually, multiple failures is the whole idea. You can have several individual motors go out and the flight computer can still compensate by adjusting the output power on adjacent motors. Even hobby level hexacopters do this now.

a reply to: DodgyDawg
Vibration is significantly reduced compared to a conventional helicopter, mainly because much smaller components create small, higher frequency oscillations which are easier to filter. But also because the vibration is averaged out across many out of phase sources.

a reply to: cavtrooper7
A valid concern.

originally posted by: CraftBuilder
a reply to: Vasa Croe

Actually, multiple failures is the whole idea. You can have several individual motors go out and the flight computer can still compensate by adjusting the output power on adjacent motors. Even hobby level hexacopters do this now.

Right, but that is assuming it is simply an engine failure. If something hit that bar that ALL of the motors are mounted on, how many will fail and how quickly will it compensate?

a reply to: Vasa Croe

How quickly will a conventional helicopter recover if something hits and takes out the rotor?

I've seen hexacopters compensate easily when 1/6 of their motors get shot out. By the way, I don't see a single bar which all of the motors are mounted on.

P.S. The Volo uses electric brushless motors, not engines. Two bearings and the shaft are the only moving parts. Orders of magnitude more rugged and reliable than the hundreds of moving parts in a turbine engine, gear box, and hub/linkage.

I'm hearing that battery technology is now able to reduce the size and cost massively however it will take a few more years. However, over these years we will see a change in home solar (with affordable and smaller battery banks) and also electric vehicles.

Perhaps also then brushless electric motors for flight will become a more viable alternative?