Bell Nexus
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Bell Nexus
At yesterday’s opening of the Consumer Electronics Show CES 2019, Bell unveiled the full scale Nexus Urban Air Vehicle.
’Team Nexus, consisting of Bell, Safran, EPS, Thales, Moog and Garmin, are collaborating on Bell’s VTOL aircraft and on-demand mobility solutions. Bell will lead the design, development and production of the VTOL systems. Safran will provide the hybrid propulsion and drive systems, EPS will provide the energy storage systems, Thales will provide the Flight Control Computer (FCC) hardware and software, Moog will develop the flight control actuation systems and Garmin will integrate the avionics and the vehicle management computer (VMC)’
cheers
It is being promoted as a taxi thereby implying that it, like the flying car, can be operated by just any old Uber driver....and drop onto your drive at home or office ..take you to the Golden Globes .......... bah humbug!
Great bit of PR from the same sort of PR source that said Drones do not need piloting!!!!
Of course its still a tool that will need a pilot with a CPL..... as always it is the driver that costs the most to train and acquire.
With six swivel fans to maintain it will undoubtably be way less complex to look after and operate a Bell 505.... though it may be a bit more messy landing in a football crowd....
Great bit of PR from the same sort of PR source that said Drones do not need piloting!!!!
Of course its still a tool that will need a pilot with a CPL..... as always it is the driver that costs the most to train and acquire.
With six swivel fans to maintain it will undoubtably be way less complex to look after and operate a Bell 505.... though it may be a bit more messy landing in a football crowd....
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Yeah, no way. See those nice, very expensive waterfront homes in the image? You think the local town council will allow something with rotors loud enough to lift 5 pax and baggage on that route?
That's the problem with the whole "taxi" idea. This will bust all kinds of local noise ordinances, if it can fly any route that's actually useful as a point-to-point taxi ride. People aren't very tolerant of noise pollution as it is. They'll be even less tolerant when it's a mode of conveyance only the wealthy can afford. It *might* work in a dense city center with rooftop helipads, keeping the noise far enough overhead.
Just once, I want to see a promotional video for something like this, or the Airbus concept, with an honest depiction of what it will sound like.
That's the problem with the whole "taxi" idea. This will bust all kinds of local noise ordinances, if it can fly any route that's actually useful as a point-to-point taxi ride. People aren't very tolerant of noise pollution as it is. They'll be even less tolerant when it's a mode of conveyance only the wealthy can afford. It *might* work in a dense city center with rooftop helipads, keeping the noise far enough overhead.
Just once, I want to see a promotional video for something like this, or the Airbus concept, with an honest depiction of what it will sound like.
I would love to see manned multirotors in operation, but I agree they will never work as taxis because of noise. People buy houses near airports and then complain about the airport noise, and they have relatively low traffic volume along fairly narrow routes. As far as pilots go, it's not possible to pilot a multi-rotor in the normal sense because computers are required to manage the motors, so a human really cannot do anything more than what you do with remote drones (giving it relatively high-level commands). But there still must be a PIC and of course the pilot must know radio, navigation, weather, etc.
Shouldn't the sultan have checked in to tell us how beautiful the Nexus is?
Whenever I see the promos for tilt rotor air taxi concepts such as this my thoughts go to the video of the V-22 dropping into an open air wedding as a surprise for the bride and groom. There were tables and chairs flying everywhere, not to mention ladies attire being ruined, by the downwash. Even in the link below the downwash is an issue though less spectacular.
I appreciate that the air taxi concept will be a far smaller machine, but then isn't it supposed to get into smaller places, therefore the issue of an unsecured landing area and FOD are still relevant aren't they?
I appreciate that the air taxi concept will be a far smaller machine, but then isn't it supposed to get into smaller places, therefore the issue of an unsecured landing area and FOD are still relevant aren't they?
40ft wide and deep. 6000 lbs, turbine powered.
That's bigger and heavier than a 407 but fewer pax.
Doesnt look inexpensive
Perhaps the answer is just to make existing helicopters a bit cheaper to operate?
That's bigger and heavier than a 407 but fewer pax.
Doesnt look inexpensive
Perhaps the answer is just to make existing helicopters a bit cheaper to operate?
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A conventional helicopter is very complex hence the high operating cost.
The six fans are on very simple mountings with hovering attitude control being accomplished by simply changing the current supplied to the motors. Other than the rotating engines, generators and motors no moving parts involved. Hopefully it will be possible to avoid variable pitch rotors??
Compare with a conventional helicopter with all its gearboxes, shafts, control linkages, swashplates etc, every part of which has to work perfectly every time. It is possible that this aircraft may well be able to make a safe landing with one (or more?) rotors inoperative. If one fails, shut down the opposite one and carry on...
It may be possible to deal with power peaks with batteries meaning that smaller engines and generators could be utilised. It's just arithmetic and engineering.
Well might soon enough find out.
https://www.verticalmag.com/news/bel...exus-air-taxi/
Just found this - quite a lot of detail here.
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That is, unless someone at Bell has discovered quiet anti-gravity engines. Or Flubber.
A helicopter is too loud and obnoxious to fit the "air taxi" theme these companies are trying to sell. They think it's a brand new market, but they're going to run into the same noise abatement and potential FOD property damage issues that non-emergency helicopter flights have to deal with. Maybe even worse, if the ducted fans have a higher-pitched whine.
That is, unless someone at Bell has discovered quiet anti-gravity engines. Or Flubber.
That is, unless someone at Bell has discovered quiet anti-gravity engines. Or Flubber.
I don't get what market they are aiming for, apart from the very wealthy, super flash and those lacking cool transport around their private pad in the Virgin Islands.
Maybe this will be cheaper to run but by how much? It carries passengers so will be subject to regulations and that will come with cost to certify and maintain, unless they are hoping that special air-taxi regs will let them avoid all those annoying requirements conventional aircraft have to meet.
It has to move enough air to lift 6000 lbs and while it has 6 enclosed high-speed spinny bits instead of 1, who in their right mind would be happy to have an air-taxi rank in their neighbourhood?
They have managed to wangle their way around two engines with battery backup but will it fly on 5 fans when one has ingested little Billy's drone?
It will likely have nominal range over which you can move a small number of people. I just don't see how the economics stack up. Perhaps Bell will release their operator's business case for it.
Speaking of mechanically complex, with a fixed pitched prop of that size, there will be no ability to autorotate.
Being essentially single engine, I wonder how they are going to argue there is sufficient redundancy for operations over built up areas? Ballistic Parachute?
Being essentially single engine, I wonder how they are going to argue there is sufficient redundancy for operations over built up areas? Ballistic Parachute?