Nick said;
"I am sometimes amused at those (Dave?!?) who design a purely aero solution and do not account for the weight and structural impacts of the design decision. This is actually backwards in the real world."
Backwards???
Excuse me!!!
Aircraft operate within an aerodynamic medium. Vibration and weight, plus the resulting structural problems, are nothing more than undesired byproducts of imperfect aerodynamics.
Improving the aerodynamics of a craft results in a reduction of ALL sources of vibration. Improving the aerodynamics of a craft results in a better lift/weight ratio.
Add-ons, such as bifilars dampers and tail rotors, are only weighty 'band-aids', which attempt to compensate for imperfect aerodynamics.
I am spending my own money and time to openly research
Independent Root & Tip Control - Torque Tube Method . Obviously, improving the lift/drag ratio over the area of the disk will reduce the above two problems ~ at the source.
What have the financially endowed done to significantly improve VTOL craft?
Dave