Hey Dave, when in the first flight of the X4 scheduled?
You're not slipping again are you?
Must admit i prefer keeping things simple, and one rotor is simpler than six. The effective hinge offset will be higher on smaller rotors, so you could design a snappier machine. The problem here is that the multiple rotors will be bigger than the single rotor, for the same actual lifting area. Also the need to stop disk leakage requires some sort of structure, which will be heavy.
I recommend using Excel to generate a weight table. Compare conventional to six rotor, and look at Dave's concepts. I'm betting that innocent X-shaft + gearboxes in the interleaver eats up a bit of payload. Helicopter design is all about margin, how much more
payload can i lift for how much less helicopter. Flights of fancy are always fun, but can they beat the S-64 50% payload at MAUW. Also for a privately owned machine, how often do i need to overhaul the drivetrain and rotors. How often is the machine u/s because of a bearing failure. It all adds up.
That said, it's good to think outside the box, but better if you understand the constraints.
