| Author | Message | ||
     Bill00 |
http://www.hover-bike.com/index.html One of you take it for a ride first and let me know how it runs.  | ||
| Ezblast |
I want one! EZ | ||
| Aesquire |
Happy to ride it. But it hasn't flown yet. The performance specs are a daydream. I'd bet a weeks pay that 150 knots is more than twice the actual top speed, and that BMW engine will run out of power ( to go up ) well below 10,000 feet. They need to streamline the outside of the duct work to hit speeds over, say, 55mph, and "autorotate"? Not a chance. That's a bird that when the engine quits, and it will at some point in testing, you pull the handle to fire a rocket deployed parachute. That's not a condemnation. The technology for the 'chute system is quite mature, and in most flying under 2000 feet, you'd want to stay with the machine as it comes down. Really, hang gliders and Ultralights have used such 'chutes with great success for decades. Be aware, though, such a ducted fan machine isn't going to glide to a landing. Period. You're going to be strapped in, and hanging on for dear life. The Hiller flying platform proves that such machines can work. http://www.hiller.org/flying-platform.shtml I even like this one better, with 2 fans there is a chance for better stability and flight control. One issue with the Hiller never solved is that although you could hit 60mph, briefly, the built in stability would return the craft to upright and hovering without constantly fighting to keep it going forward. This toy might not have those issues. It's not the first to use the tandem duct design, and it should work fine. http://www.vectorsite.net/avplatfm.html The Williams WASP is my favorite of these, but I'd fly most of them if you gave me a chance. ( not likely with some very light designs that can't lift my 225lb mass ) Bad news is, I'm not on the right hemisphere, and I certainly don't have the spare $60k + this thing is going to cost, but it's pretty darn cool. I've been waiting for the flying motorcycle most of my life, and flown a few attempts at the breed. Closest to reality have been Ultralight Trikes and a few working mini-helicopters. I haven't tried the mini 'copters, not being rated for 'copters, ( though I have some stick time in UH-1's ) but even the Trikes, with pretty amazing capabilities on some models, are not machines you can roll out of a one car garage, warm up and fly without assembly, or a hanger with a 40+ foot door. This Malloy has that promise. I'd love to try one. Right after the test pilot gets it out of ground effect, untethered, and reports that it doesn't try to kill him too hard. ( unstable can range from "gotta stay on top of it at all times, don't relax" to "too bad about Harry" ) | ||
| Bigblock |
Awesome! | ||
| Brumbear |
I'd pay to see that thing running around NJ there be pigeons and illegals flying all over the place get sucked up or down into those fans | ||
| Danger_dave |
ATPATT (Parachutes) | ||
| Blake |
Patrick, They may have got it to fly, but I don't think they ever got it to fly safely. I don't see how either can be made stable/safe absent a very heavy duty fly by wire computer controlled scheme. Even then, I'm not seeing a very safe aviation platform. The "hover" descriptor seems misleading if they actually intend for the thing to fly more than a few feet above the ground. From the comments section for the only video of the thing so far that I can find, it's inventor states the following:
I think you could cut some holes in the upper deck of a lawn mower and get it to "fly" if it were tethered like they have that thing tied down to the ground. It sure does look cool though! It would be unbelievable if he actually gets it to work safely. (Message edited by Blake on June 17, 2011) | ||
| Blake |
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| Cityxslicker |
the ultimate 'off road bike' IN! | ||
| Aesquire |
Blake, the Williams WASP flew great. I've seen videos of it cruising through/under/around trees in the forest. 60+ mph, just not much range, and the purpose the Army wanted it for, wasn't going to work. It happily flew ropes up cliffs, it carried men over gorges, over obstacles, and was even a fine scouting platform.... except it made so much noise you couldn't hide it. The Hiller's flew fine, but had limitations only solved with full 3 axis controls that, paradoxically, made it hard for non helicopter pilot rated infantry to handle, even though the original was easily mastered, with some quirks. Again, not a silent machine. So I'm sure with some more thoughtful engineering the Malloy sky-bike thingeee would fly ok, but not very fast, and probably not with the control setup as shown. That kind of design needs to be stable in roll, and have good control authority in yaw & pitch. Tandem rotor designs want to fly sideways, so you have to be able to control that. Going fore and aft takes good pitch control, or you flip over and tent stake yourself. All that is possible without computers. After all, The Wright Flyer was unstable, but worked. ( and a stone bitch to fly ) Certainly a full fly by wire system can make anything fly with enough horsepower, and even make a well designed machine fly with less... But. Proper testing on a rig like that should follow Moller's example for initial testing. http://www.moller.com/ You hang the toy from a crane or ceiling rig, with a good winch to belay the craft for WHEN ( not if ) the engine fails, or you wobble out of control. As you rise, the crane operator takes up some slack to keep the cable from getting in the way, and when you flip over, the cable catches you and you don't bend the bird. Testing with cables holding you down like Malloy does just means you can't get high enough to flip over..... and if you allow such height, in this case 5 feet, don't stop you from doing so. Anyone who's studied early helicopters has seen the '30's & '40's films of crashing prototypes tethered down just like Malloy's. This technology isn't new, it's just never worked well enough to displace "conventional" flying machines. But. a direct lift "sky-cycle" would sell, if it wasn't a certain death trap. And something like that HAS to be so stable it almost flies itself, or restricted to actual pilots with actual training and the relflexes and most importantly, reprogramable conditioned responses. I've flown aircraft with sticks that hang down from above, stick up between the legs, and side sticks. ( like a F-16 ) All work just different enough to require reprogramming yourself to safely fly them. I won't even get into the oddball control systems some ultralights have used. How about a twist grip airbrake/rudder control for each hand? Imagine that on a bike.... relaxed, you go forward, twist one hand and you turn that way....both and you slow down. Malloy's controls probably won't make the cut to working, as is. But it has promise. Now Moller never flew the M200 in true free flight any higher than chest high. Briefly. ( that's the flying saucer job he's now calling Neuera ) Not a valid design, IMHO, just keeping multiple little Wankel engines going is a chore. The Moller Skycar had great promise, but I've never seen it fly. Not even a Video. The idea was a flying car, and the FAA knows that people can't drive in 2D... give them 3D and these things will be crashing into each other, and fall on your house. So the Skycar is waiting for complete automation of airspace, which among other things, means no more actual pilots. Or freedom of the sky. So my breath is not being held. As a side note, Moller developed small Wankel engines for his toys... found them WAY too loud, and invented a rather popular muffler system to quiet them down. The Muffler division had been paying for decades for research... I believe he sold the design some years back. If you know how many discs are in your muffler, you now know who invented it. | ||
| Joshinga |
Where Do you find such awesome toys????  I want one I don't care about the altitude or speed 4 feet works for me. Just putterin around town would be the shizz nit | ||
| Aesquire |
Anyne else old enough to remember "The 21st Century" with Walter Cronkite? For years I've waited for the Flying Car. Can't have one. Too many stupid people. Ok. Lunar Vacations? Social policies that use all the Money. Hovercraft? No brakes. But. A flying bike! That's possible. A 100hp engine, a couple of fans, some lightweight materials... It can be done...there's just never been a big enough market to fully develop such a craft. Malloy seems to have most of the ingredients... Here's the real secret of aviation. Flying, with a century of experience in how, is easy. Thrust, lift, drag. Taking off? That's a bit harder. A VTOL craft like a WASP or a Helicopter solves that... with lots of thrust. Steering? trickier. Especially when real slow or fast..... ( low stability at the edges of the envelope ) But doable. With modern electronics.. a bit easier.. which leads to the HARD part. Landing. That's really tough. you have to contact the ground, upside right, slowly. And approaching the ground changes the pressures. Assume a 2 page lecture on feedback, stability, drag and why it's dangerous low and slow. Malloy's machine needs serious shock absorbers, and big enough skids/wheels that it doesn't dig in and flip you. Trouble is, that weighs more and then perhaps you can't get out of ground effect..... It's all compromises. | ||
| 86129squids |
Fun thread. Reminds me of one from last year about some weird boat/submarine/floatable thing... What Would Leonardo Do? | ||
| Blake |
Patrick, I don't see it ever being safe for public use. It is inherently unstable. Can it fly and be piloted well? Sure. But that doesn't make it safe, especially in gusty/windy conditions. Just way too much that can go so horribly wrong so quickly. With very expensive multi-redundant computer control, maybe. "Hovercraft?" "No brakes." Too funny. Picture the video; a guy buys one and head out onto the street, crashes almost instantly. Oops. LOL. | ||
| Mtjm2 |
PLEASE KEEP AWAY FROM SMALL CHILDREN AND PETS !! | ||
| Hootowl |
Those pictures show the craft hovering while still in ground effect. It's a hovercraft at this point in its operation. Until it gets more than 10 feet off the ground, it isn't really flying (inasmuch as helicopters "fly"). Also, strapped down like it is, they really aren't testing stability, just its ability to put tension on the tie downs. I wish them well, but those photos don't demonstrate much. |
