Re:Atlas: A Human-Powered Helicopter
by starpilot on Friday May 18, 2012 @03:03PM
(#3993370)
Wow. I spent most of my undergrad extracurricular effort working on my university's HPH team. Incredibly difficult challenges in aerodynamics and structures. The goal is to go for a whole minute and reach 3 m altitude. In the few decades the prize has been offered, the record has been seconds and centimeters high.
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Re:Atlas: A Human-Powered Helicopter
by Unoeufisenough on Friday May 18, 2012 @04:38PM
(#3993804)
Is storing energy against the rules? for example pedaling for an hour or two to store up say mechanical energy in a flywheel, spring tension, hydraulic pressure or other means then just put the rotors in gear to lift off?
Re:Atlas: A Human-Powered Helicopter
by heretohelp on Friday May 18, 2012 @04:49PM
(#3993869)
I have to assume so. Leverage is presumably allowable though.
Once you're in the business of storing mechanical energy, you haven't solved the problem of sustained human-powered flight and you're really just a technology epoch away from using a motor and a capacitor.
Re:Atlas: A Human-Powered Helicopter
by option_greek on Friday May 18, 2012 @03:18PM
(#3993427)
I can understand the altitude limitation but whats limiting hover time.. losing balance ?
Re:Atlas: A Human-Powered Helicopter
by archangel_one on Friday May 18, 2012 @03:36PM
(#3993506)
Presumably the pilot must be pedalling pretty hard to get this thing in the air, so they're not going to be able to keep that up forever.
It may help to see a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q70tM5sDQhc
They are right on the edge of flight/no flight. The driver is pedalling flat out and it's not flying. Then it hovers for a few seconds, then it goes back to on the ground.