Fast helicopters

George Vranek wrote:

"John Roncallo" wrote in message
om...

It is not that it is a diskrotor concept or something new that makes
funding a challange. Funding is always a challenge, I'v seen much more
bizzare ideas get the funding.

All those companys wont be interested unless some government branch like
NASA or DARPA ask's them to research it and pays them to do so. I
suggest you submit the idea as an DOD or NASA SBIR. Visit
http://www.acq.osd.mil/sadbu/sbir/othersites/index.htm. I belive Carter
Copter got started from a NASA SBIR.

My opinions experessed here are my own and do not represent the company
I work for.

John Roncallo


Hallo John,

Thanks for your info regarding NASA and DARPA. Tthey support preferably
companies, but I am a retired aeronautical engineer and hobby flyer.
Therefore I would prefer to work as a consultant for a company developing
the diskrotor helicopter with the NASA or DARPA support.
According to EAA e-HOT LINE, Vol.3, No.53, the Carter Company received now a
quarter-million Dollar DARPA contract. In January 1997 I have sent to Mr.
Jay Carter a sketch of his Gyrocopter equipped with a disk rotor, but I
receved no answer from him.

George



The SBIR programs are very specifically for small businesses and
individuals. The initial phase SBIR program will give you seed money, I
belive up to $30,000 and one year, to help you research and develope
your ideas. If what you develope is promising you may get further awards
which if I recall are up to $600,000 to further develope the concept.
Somewhere along the line if the agency sponsoring the project likes the
idea they may ask a major helicopter company to get involved or just
fund you further. This is the way to start.

You say you want to work as a consultant. Unless you have already
developed a full scale disk rotor helicopter or a very significanr
model, no one will be likely to take you on as a consultant because at
this point you have what may be a reasonable concept but not
significantly more knowledge than others in the industry at applying the
concept.

At this point you have come up with a concept. Tell me just how far you
have gone with it.

1) Have you done weight trade studys, What will the disk weigh, What
will the retraction mechanism weigh. How much compromise will you accept
on hover performance due to these weight penalties.

2) How do you plan to motor the rotor in auto rotation with no blade in
what would normally be the motoring region of the blade.

3) You had made some negative comments on fixed wings for helicopters,
however have you considered them on your disk rotor. I think fixed wings
would only be an asset on this aircraft since the wings would be under
the no lift producing portion of the rotor.

There is nothing I see impossible here. Only significant reaserch is
needed to prove or disprove the concepts viability. Companies are
sometimes not too eager to spend money on these concepts because what at
first appears to be significant breakthroughs in technology often wither
and die or just come up short of expectations and end up usefull but not
cost effective.

I may start a flame war but I belive the V-22 is in this mode right now.
Yes it works, but it has H-53E power and H-60 payload and God knows what
for aquisition and maintenance costs. You have to ask was this worth it.
Your disk rotor will only have similare compromises, maybe not as bad,
maybe worse.

My opinions experessed here are my own and do not represent the company
I work for.

John Roncallo