In the 50's the rotordyne (Fairy) could take 40 pax not sure of the range but I'm sure google knows. The tech works and it's simple always a plus. I have heardthat the noise problem was solved, mind that would be noise 60 years ago, maybe not good enough for today. Surely a bit of modern tech could sort it.
By the way an electric motor would be high speed and would still need reduction, hence gears.
Last edited by Sevarg; 11th Jul 2016 at 21:12.
Reason: Added the electric motor bit.