I landed on my girlfriend's front lawn on a Saturday morning unannounced. She and her mom came out in their bathrobes 🙂 I was flying an R-22 in Seattle(1985), and took her out to breakfast. I liked your jig for the hydraulic press to form the hinges with a concave section.
Nice 👌 lucky lady. Despite being around for decades helicopters are still a mode of transport only for the privileged. Igor Sikorsky and his Vision for helicopters to be used by the masses for everyday activities such as shopping never came to reality. With all the expensive engineering that goes into them it'a easy to understand why that is.
@@Ben-Dixey Yes, helicopters for shopping and flying cars won't be a thing; skilled expert pilots have issues and barely pull it off, and the everyday masses have issues JUST piloting cars 😲 I also think the multi rotor super sized commuter drones won't be a thing until they develop backup systems, because after the first fatal motor failure and plummet, they will be taking a second look at their previous rosy views. My R-22 time was back in the 80's and 90's, btw. Following this build with interest because of your engineering and machining.
Totally agree, I'd like to see human carrying drones become a way of transport but as you say extra redundancy is needed. Autorotation has been the fail safe and without a large rotor that is hard to accomplish. Ballistic parachutes I don't think are the answer either. The Jetson one looks a lot of fun, it can still fly on 7 of the 8 motor powered props and has two flight controllers. A way to adjust the prop pitch would be good I think even if it couldn't auto. It will probably only ever be a manned toy but unmanned has more potential.
I expect having the amount of snow you do through the year is hard work. For us it's a novelty and something to get excited about. If there was snow in the forecast for overnight I used to set my alarm for 6am and go out and drive in it before I had to go to work. 😆 I don't do that anymore despite the rarity of snow.
It was really great John. I absolutely loved it, so great to see where I live from the air in a helicopter and the sight and sound of you coming in was so exciting. The memory will stay with me for a long time.
@@Ben-Dixey It's always good to see your home from the air. From a pilot's point of view, it was great to see the footage put together showing the approach from above and below.
Thanks a lot Simon. I really appreciate that, the videos on this don't seem to be doing great but I'm glad there are some people who are interested. I'm certainly enjoying the build and want to share the process.
That looks great, Ben. I'll update the empennage dims to your drawings. Still chipping away at the calcs, but making progress. Initial dims suggested 10 degrees of dihedral, but i'll update the numbers and let you know. Got a bit stuck last weekend on estimating roll control rates, but think I have it now. The main thing is I'm learning a lot about estimating aircraft dynamics & performance from first principles. Eventually I'll code all this stuff up to benefit the next project...
What an excellent video Ben! Loads of progress made - so looking forward to this completing - bet you are too. Outstanding engineering thought going on here. As for the Heli 'drop in' - bloody awesome indeed and well deserved - thanks to Jon there!! Very happy to collab sometime next year when it's warmer - bring my big girls along for a flight or two in your excellent surroundings. Legend.
Well we are all tuned in, some cool tube bending ideas to when I start a fixed wing, good to see boring head at use, i brought some for sale and never sold any guess my people dont know about them.
Hi mate, the Boring head I really like, it's surprising how much it gets used. Until you have one you don't necessarily realise how useful it is. Pleased to hear about your plans for more flying machines. I will respond to your dilemma on your channel, I've seen your message.
Hey Ben! I was just in England last month! Would still love to visit your shop and see what you're up to someday. I have been flying the Schweizer 300cbi recently, similar to the one you show in this video. It is a fun machine to fly. I will be uploading some new material on my Helicycle build progress soon. It's coming along nicely. Glad you are back at it building something that will fly!! Take care.
I was wondering what happened to you! 11 months ago was your last video 😉😉Yes time for a new one I think! Glad you are still making progress and nice to hear you are flying. Be great to meet next time you are over here. 👍👍
I had to stop on my build because I had a severe neck injury last October. It has taken almost a year to fully recover. I may have permanent nerve damage but I am fully functional now despite some minor discomfort from time-to-time. @@Ben-Dixey
Thanks for sharing. To reduce weight in the wings and not have ribs, have you considered just a material wing as used in WIG hovercrafts and the 'Mudskipper'?
Definitely and it's an idea I'm flicking back and fourth with, can't make up my mind on it. I like Rudy Heeman's idea, two aluminium spars, foam inserts to hold the airfoil shape and fabric covered. This is very tempting.
Well it certainly needs to exceed the stall speed. I'm going by wing loading and comparing other planes stall speeds. The wings will generate more lift in ground effect obviously and there might be a slight headwind to aid lifting off. I want the smallest wings possible to aid transport but there needs to be some margin of performance. I want it to carry two people but if that fails then there is the option to reduce that to just a pilot
Thanks also to Jon Collier for the helicopter footage
It was a real treat to be able to come and see John arrive and meet him. Thanks for inviting me over mate!! 👍👍
I landed on my girlfriend's front lawn on a Saturday morning unannounced. She and her mom came out in their bathrobes 🙂 I was flying an R-22 in Seattle(1985), and took her out to breakfast.
I liked your jig for the hydraulic press to form the hinges with a concave section.
Nice 👌 lucky lady. Despite being around for decades helicopters are still a mode of transport only for the privileged. Igor Sikorsky and his Vision for helicopters to be used by the masses for everyday activities such as shopping never came to reality. With all the expensive engineering that goes into them it'a easy to understand why that is.
@@Ben-Dixey Yes, helicopters for shopping and flying cars won't be a thing; skilled expert pilots have issues and barely pull it off, and the everyday masses have issues JUST piloting cars 😲 I also think the multi rotor super sized commuter drones won't be a thing until they develop backup systems, because after the first fatal motor failure and plummet, they will be taking a second look at their previous rosy views. My R-22 time was back in the 80's and 90's, btw.
Following this build with interest because of your engineering and machining.
Totally agree, I'd like to see human carrying drones become a way of transport but as you say extra redundancy is needed. Autorotation has been the fail safe and without a large rotor that is hard to accomplish. Ballistic parachutes I don't think are the answer either.
The Jetson one looks a lot of fun, it can still fly on 7 of the 8 motor powered props and has two flight controllers.
A way to adjust the prop pitch would be good I think even if it couldn't auto. It will probably only ever be a manned toy
but unmanned has more potential.
Great to see an update on this and some helicopter fun
You have green! We have 6 inches of white fluffy crap. That is so excellent that you were able to fly around the neighbourhood!
I expect having the amount of snow you do through the year is hard work. For us it's a novelty and something to get excited about. If there was snow in the forecast for overnight I used to set my alarm for 6am and go out and drive in it before I had to go to work. 😆
I don't do that anymore despite the rarity of snow.
Nice footage. Good to see the project is underway. A pleasure to drop in and see the set up. Glad you enjoyed the trip.🙂
It was really great John. I absolutely loved it, so great to see where I live from the air in a helicopter and the sight and sound of you coming in was so exciting. The memory will stay with me for a long time.
@@Ben-Dixey It's always good to see your home from the air. From a pilot's point of view, it was great to see the footage put together showing the approach from above and below.
I’m beyond hyped on this build. I’ve been waiting impatiently for this video too lol
Thanks a lot Simon. I really appreciate that, the videos on this don't seem to be doing great but I'm glad there are some people who are interested.
I'm certainly enjoying the build and want to share the process.
Glad to see a new video from you. Your projects are very cool
Thanks for the support. 👍
Good job👍👍👍
That looks great, Ben. I'll update the empennage dims to your drawings. Still chipping away at the calcs, but making progress. Initial dims suggested 10 degrees of dihedral, but i'll update the numbers and let you know. Got a bit stuck last weekend on estimating roll control rates, but think I have it now. The main thing is I'm learning a lot about estimating aircraft dynamics & performance from first principles. Eventually I'll code all this stuff up to benefit the next project...
What an excellent video Ben! Loads of progress made - so looking forward to this completing - bet you are too. Outstanding engineering thought going on here. As for the Heli 'drop in' - bloody awesome indeed and well deserved - thanks to Jon there!! Very happy to collab sometime next year when it's warmer - bring my big girls along for a flight or two in your excellent surroundings. Legend.
Thanks Heli Shed, would love to meet you and try a collab. Welcome anytime, your Rc flying is amazing. My email address is btdixey@hotmail.com.
excellent!! We'll sort matey. @@Ben-Dixey
Well we are all tuned in, some cool tube bending ideas to when I start a fixed wing, good to see boring head at use, i brought some for sale and never sold any guess my people dont know about them.
Hi mate, the Boring head I really like, it's surprising how much it gets used. Until you have one you don't necessarily realise how useful it is.
Pleased to hear about your plans for more flying machines. I will respond to your dilemma on your channel, I've seen your message.
Hey Ben! I was just in England last month! Would still love to visit your shop and see what you're up to someday. I have been flying the Schweizer 300cbi recently, similar to the one you show in this video. It is a fun machine to fly. I will be uploading some new material on my Helicycle build progress soon. It's coming along nicely. Glad you are back at it building something that will fly!! Take care.
I was wondering what happened to you! 11 months ago was your last video 😉😉Yes time for a new one I think! Glad you are still making progress and nice to hear you are flying. Be great to meet next time you are over here. 👍👍
I had to stop on my build because I had a severe neck injury last October. It has taken almost a year to fully recover. I may have permanent nerve damage but I am fully functional now despite some minor discomfort from time-to-time. @@Ben-Dixey
Sorry to hear about your neck troubles, but glad you are on the mend. 👍
Thanks for sharing. To reduce weight in the wings and not have ribs, have you considered just a material wing as used in WIG hovercrafts and the 'Mudskipper'?
Definitely and it's an idea I'm flicking back and fourth with, can't make up my mind on it. I like Rudy Heeman's idea, two aluminium spars, foam inserts to hold the airfoil shape and fabric covered. This is very tempting.
Can the boat exceed the stall speed of the wing?
Well it certainly needs to exceed the stall speed. I'm going by wing loading and comparing other planes stall speeds. The wings will generate more lift in ground effect obviously and there might be a slight headwind to aid lifting off. I want the smallest wings possible to aid transport but there needs to be some margin of performance. I want it to carry two people but if that fails then there is the option to reduce that to just a pilot
Re, your comment that a heli had never landed in your field before... I recall seeing one land... perhaps, you weren't looking... it was yours.😀
😆 yes i suppose so! 👍
Ha, ha.@@Ben-Dixey
Brilliant!! I've been waiting for that!! 👍🙂