Shytorque !
did you spy me or what ??
i think exactly the same thing about tip jets :
1 - the nozzles must be a slot
2 - with new materials and some new types of nozzles (i have some ideas) , the noise could be lessen significantly
3 - it is a wonderful safety feature, and btw, should allow some hovering and jump take off... just imagine you can pilot a helicopter with a gyro license !
4 - yes i thought about de-icing also, i live in a cold country (not canada lol). a de-icing is very useful..and free with tip-jets.
5 - making a blade with tip-jet features is not really more complicated than a classical one ( i have plans)
6 - modern superchargers should allow enough pressure (airflow ?) to have a basic air generator if coupled to a piston engine (
www.rotrex.com)
For a very light gyro, a 3 or 4 bladed rotor is possible at low cost/complication (dick degraw built one on his Gyrhino).
A small rotor with smaller blades sould be feasable with less mechanical constraints than a bigger one, playing with new composite and elastomeric materials.
Some will say the R&D costs will be to high...yes, talking for ONE prototype, but , even if the gyro market / helicopter is small, this improvement should fond a good echo.
check that : construction begins in january 2005.
http://zeeoo.free.fr/gyro/G1.jpg
cheers