"Peter Dohm" wrote:

Why wouldn't it auto rotate?... The blades are no different than a
gyrocopter's fixed blades and they autorotate...
I can confidently predict that like Moeller's Skycar they will still be
pitching it to "investors" for years to come... PT Barnum was a
genius..

There's no clutch on the blades to allow them to free spin in case
of the engine loss of power.

Right you need a clutch to disengage the engine and the ability to change
pitch
elstwise your in a heap of do do :-)

It looked like some "scary ****" even before any engine problems occur!

I couldn't figure out how it is supposed to be controlled in pitch and roll,
since there is no cyclic, or even how it is to be accelerated and slowed
back down...

But, somehow, it fits my sense of voyeurism. As such, I have duct-taped
(the everyman's tool) a hand-held mirror to the end of a length of 1x2 at a
45 degree angle--so that I can watch a demo flight while cringing behind the
nearest solid structure (wearing safety goggles in case my mirror gets
shattered).

You mean, something like this....

http://www.habcycles.com/helocrash.wmv

Mark "don't try this at home, kids" Hickey