Originally Posted by
Shagpile
Luckily for us, Hill has just spent 2 years working out exactly the layup strategy, vacuum locations, resin parameters, temperatures etc.
I suspect he hired half of Williams F1. And that's the team you want to poach your composites guys from because they are crashing every week and have lots of experience rebuilding the car and keeping the driver alive!!
this is precisely the problem with Hill. Automotive and racing technologies for structural applications are not technically sufficient for helicopters. Composite fatigue is a real thing… and it will delaminate blades, hulls and rotor components very rapidly and catastrophically. All rotorcrafr with composite primary structures are heavier and less damage tolerant as a result. Repairs suck, antenna bonding sucks, and performance in many environments (hot and humid conditions) suck. Metal is easier and more predictable and repairable… but a race car guy will lie to you and tell you the opposite about his helicopter. Smh