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Old 1st Dec 2003, 23:43
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RDRickster
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Gaithersburg, MD
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Thumbs up A novel approach...

Take a look at this...

http://www.helis.com/types/comultra.php

Click on "Eagle's Perch" in the middle of the page (scroll down). The Eagle's Perch is a twin engine, coaxial pendulum kit helicopter with no tail rotor. Original concept was for Ag spraying, pipe line inspection, and mustering cattle. The blades are made of wood.

The aircraft can maintain flight on a single engine, but it cannot hover without both engines running. There is a ballistic parachute to provide an extra margin of safety.

In an emergency, a steel chain (attached to a parachute) is shot from the aircraft. When the parachute deploys, the wooden blades are cut off from the rotor head by the steel chain!

Okay, who wants to be the test pilot for this one?
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