Inventor and physicist Thomas Senkel, who passes the October 2011 video (only) video, again the 16-pole rotary helicopter dubbed for the multi-grocer 1 inspection, is now a manufacturer of experimental personal aviation craftsmanship. To 100% battery power.
The new design requires 1.8 meters, 0.5 kg of carbon fiber blades, each paired with the motor. They surround the hubs of two concentric circles in a cockpit of one or two people.
After awarding the Volocopter concept as the Lindberg Innovation Award in April, Charles A. said that in addition to the novel appearance, the E-Volo concept performed well in terms of safety, energy efficiency and simplicity, which is the basis for the prize.
The arrival of these three attributes is largely due to Evolo’s removal of classic helicopter elements. First, the high-quality main rotor, gearbox, tail arm and tail rotor with energy shaking disappear. On the nacelle of a regular shredder, huge blades create lifts, but their mass creates a high degree of pressure and wear on the crafts. The small tail rotor perched vertically on the boom behind the cabin, preventing the helicopter’s body from spinning in the opposite direction like the main blade, but it also swallowed up 30% of the helicopter’s power.
Volocopter’s multiple rotor blades alone do not generate torque generated by a large rotor, which provides redundancy for safety. Senkel, the co-transmitter of the aircraft and chief construction engineer at E-Volo, said assuming the ambusher can fly with several functions of rotors, as long as none of them all gather together.
Without the iconic two configurations, the craft would become lighter, making it more fuel efficient and reduce the physical complexity of delivering power from a single engine to the top and rear blades. Volocopters also don’t need to crave energy transmission. In fact, “there will be no mechanical connection between the gas engine and the blade,” Senkel said. This means that there are fewer energy loss points for security and higher redundancy in security.
The E-Volo design eliminates the dependence on a single power source of the blade. As a continuous hybrid vehicle, the Volocopter will be equipped with a gas engine, in which case the engine is able to produce 50 to 75 kW of engines, a typical ultralight aircraft. The engine does not mechanically drive the rotor, but generates power for the motor and the charged lithium battery. If it fails, the battery is expected to provide sufficient backup power so that the process can land under controlled conditions.
The helicopter navigates by changing the pitch of the main tail blade, and the operability of the Volocopter will depend on changing the speed of the individual rotor. Although more complex, in principle, three to six redundant microcontrollers (if one or more fails) are used more accurately to control the ship (if one or more fails) to explain the pilot’s instructions for using the game console’s joystick (similar to the rudder pedal, control rod, and throttle).
Wulff’s first impression of Volocopter design is not uncommon. E-Volo’s computer animation promotional video, in which glittering white, carbon fiber and fiberglass crafts are under the thatched rack, reminiscent of many of the possible flying machines of the late 19th century. This is not lost on Senkel.
“I understand these skeptical opinions,” he said. “The design concept looks like a blender. But we are indeed making safe aircraft.”
That itself is progress. The Multicopter 1 looks like something from the MacGyver episode, equipped with a landing gear involving a silver yoga ball. Senkel rides and sits in all rotors powered by lithium batteries only. The multifunction 1 produces an average of 20 kW of hovering and is only a few minutes high.
There is a reason for experimental crafts to fly briefly only once. Senkel describes the first process as “bonding and twisting together.” He said sitting on the same platform as the rotating blade, he said, “I know I’ll die, maybe. Besides, we proved that the concept works. If we fly twice, what will we win?” he asked rhetorically.
The revised Volocopter design will be the same as the original prototype, except that the pilot is placed safely under the blades. Senkel said the design requires three to six redundant accelerometers and gyroscopes to measure the position and orientation of the Volcano shooter, creating a feedback loop that makes process stability easier to fly.
The under-construction prototype that Volocopter is being revised may debut next spring. The first production models that may be used in three years are expected to fly at a speed of more than 100 kilometers per hour, with a minimum altitude of about 2,000 meters, and are still far below the normal operating altitude of about 3,000 meters. “This may change our lives, but I expect there will be 10 years that won’t change,” Senkel added.
Given that most of the technology needed to build a Volocopter is already available, “the idea is fairly easy to implement,” said Carl Kühn, managing director of E-Volo partner Smoto Gmbh, which integrates electric drive systems and related components.
Like Senkel, Kühn has modest expectations in short-term expectations, although he repeatedly emphasizes the standard nature of the technology involved. “I think there will be electronic volo. [a prototype] The three years of the plane could be done – it would lift one or two people from one point to another. ” he said.
The biggest direct limitation seems to be regulatory. For example, European aviation regulators consider any electrical system greater than 60 volts as high voltage and more actively regulate such systems. As a result, Volocopter will run below this threshold. According to Senkel, the spacecraft also needs to weigh no more than 450 kilograms to remain in the ultralight category, which is also subject to government aviation regulations.
Wulff of the Lindberg Foundation said the group’s judges believed E-Volo “had more than 50% chance of success, or they wouldn’t award them for innovation.” When asked if she would be in line for a flight one day, she said: “Of course I will. It looks compelling to me.”
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