Up up and away.
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 46
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From: UK
Up up and away.
Inspector gadget time. I wonder if it comes with NVG's for the trip back from the pub?
AA11: PICTURE - World's smallest manned helicopter makes Hong Kong debut
AA11: PICTURE - World's smallest manned helicopter makes Hong Kong debut
Visitors looking to rise above Hong Kong's congested streets could do well to pay a visit to Japan's Gen Corporation, which has brought the world's smallest manned helicopter to the show.
Powered by four 10hp, two-stroke boxer engines, the Gen H-4 weighs just 70kg and is 2.4m high. Offering a top speed of 40kmh, the helicopter can take off at a maximum weight of 180kg. Finding space to land in Hong Kong could be tricky though, as the carbon fibre reinforced plastic, counter-rotating blades are 4m in diameter.
If you are not brave enough to strap in yourself, an optional unmanned version is available, which uses GPS navigation.
The Gen H-4 is the brainchild of Gennai "Gen" Yanagisawa, who spent five years developing an engine small and light enough to power such a helicopter. The design made its public flight debut at the AirVenture show at Oshkosh in 1998 and development work on the project continues in Matsumoto, Japan.
"Consider the possibilities in the future of the Gen H-4," says the company. "Just like one would ride a motorcycle, you can strap on, start the engines and go flying.
"Take off vertically and fly to your heart's content. And it is so small it could be stored in less than half the space of a compact car."
Powered by four 10hp, two-stroke boxer engines, the Gen H-4 weighs just 70kg and is 2.4m high. Offering a top speed of 40kmh, the helicopter can take off at a maximum weight of 180kg. Finding space to land in Hong Kong could be tricky though, as the carbon fibre reinforced plastic, counter-rotating blades are 4m in diameter.
If you are not brave enough to strap in yourself, an optional unmanned version is available, which uses GPS navigation.
The Gen H-4 is the brainchild of Gennai "Gen" Yanagisawa, who spent five years developing an engine small and light enough to power such a helicopter. The design made its public flight debut at the AirVenture show at Oshkosh in 1998 and development work on the project continues in Matsumoto, Japan.
"Consider the possibilities in the future of the Gen H-4," says the company. "Just like one would ride a motorcycle, you can strap on, start the engines and go flying.
"Take off vertically and fly to your heart's content. And it is so small it could be stored in less than half the space of a compact car."
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 1,835
Likes: 3
From: Philadelphia PA
In Japan, if the last thing to leave the ground, and the first thing to touch the ground are your feet (as opposed to any structure of the aircraft), you don't need a license...
4 engines? Because you can't do it with one - no pitch control on the rotor blades, so you can't handle autorotation. Two engines? They both need to be big enough to power the machine in case one fails. Three engines? A bit difficult to engineer, as they'd need to be bigger engines. Four engines? I just happen to have 4 of the right size engines lying around the workshop...
I wonder how yaw is controlled???
4 engines? Because you can't do it with one - no pitch control on the rotor blades, so you can't handle autorotation. Two engines? They both need to be big enough to power the machine in case one fails. Three engines? A bit difficult to engineer, as they'd need to be bigger engines. Four engines? I just happen to have 4 of the right size engines lying around the workshop...
I wonder how yaw is controlled???
