To: Dave (must have a lot of time on his hands) Jackson
Phase II will consist of mounting the tri-teeter-totter's hub on a bearing, which will allow it to rotate around the ground post. This way the craft will go round & round as it goes up & down.
You talk a great deal about rigid rotors. You can greatly simplify your design by eliminating the hinges and mount the (Tri Totter) on a constant velocity joint. This will allow rotation while at the same time permit the (Pilots) to provide the nutating force in order to generate gyroscopic precession.
It will be necessary to provide a high friction surface for the pilots' seats in order to minimize the effects of centrifugal force. The best high friction source could be Velcro ™ and this would in effect provide centripetal force, which would cancel out the centrifugal force.
A propulsion force mounted on the ground (A fourth kid) could generate the rotating force however this rotation would make it difficult for the pilots to provide the nutating force (feet against the ground) due to the generating of excessive friction and the possibility of spraining an ankle.
A rudimentary control system must be incorporated and I will give this some thought unless someone else can come up with the design. I have to get ready to take my wife to Wal Mart so I can’t do any more design this morning. I look forward to other ideas from the great thinkers on this forum.
