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Human-powered Helicopter Fails to Lift Off
Peter writes "The Human-powered helicopter didn't even get off the ground. A team of University of British Columbia engineering students tried to win the $20,000 US prize offered by the American Helicopter Society. Three metres off the ground and hover for a minute was the challenge. But before the rotors were able to produce enough buoyant force they hit each other. More details: Vancouver Sun."
Wow, a human powered helicopter! Great, I would be free from traffic congestion on my five minute commute to work!
I dunno, for some reason, the second half of that headline seems pretty predictable after reading the first half :)
...not getting off the ground makes it difficult to crash.
Show me on the doll where his noodly appendage touched you.
But killing humans and using them for fuel? That's horrible!
... He'd have provided more engineering graduate students.
The little guy just ain't getting it, is he?
Peter writes "The Human-powered helicopter didn't even get off the ground. A team of University of British Columbia engineering students tried to win the $20,000 US prize offered by the American Helicopter Society. Three metres off the ground and hover for a minute was the challenge. But before the rotors were able to produce enough buoyant force they hit each other.
I assume 'they' refers to the rotors, not the team...
The art of flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.
(S(SKK)(SKK))(S(SKK)(SKK))
So not only am I paying top dollars to fly to europe, now I'm going to have to pedal for 8 hours too? Great.
Eh.
Attention passengers, we're preparing for take off. Please put your seats in the upright positions and your feet on the pedals. If you notice a fellow passenger failing to pedal, please quietly alert a stewardess that you suspect terrorism.
that the theory "helicopters can't fly; they're just so ugly that the Earth repels them" is incorrect. Oh well, back to the old drawing board...
> These blades are huge, thick profile and with HUGE drag.
> There is simply no way a human can spin and keep them rotating
> for 1 minute at a speed sufficient for liftoff.
Yeah, but it's merely an engineering problem. All they have to do is reduce the blade profile by (thick/3.212) to get to (HUGE-SOMEWHATBIG)+3, give or take a few hundredths of a BIG and it just might work.
Could someone confirm my math?
Oh I admit, it LOOKS grim, but isn't it a bit presumptuous to be a naysayer without any real data?
You obviously haven't heard about the Canadian Army's Sea King helicopters which cost $000's per day to maintain. With a human-powered helicopter, Canada could cheaply replace all of its dozen or so copters with these, and gain more maneuverability, speed, and reliability! Even if the thing never leaves the ground...