Part 6 Learning to Fly Homemade Helicopter
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
- Almost 30 seconds of hovering has now been achieved but still a way to go.
Modifying and fixing things as you go along makes it a slow process and it seems never ending. Just making the Helicopter fly long enough to learn how to fly it, is a challenge in itself. More to fix before the next one.
Well done. Only a master aviator can design build and fly their own aircraft.
Thank you 👍
Complete respect sir. Learning to fly in a commercial helicopter with an instructor is very hard. Learning to fly in a less than perfect machine (no disrespect) and by yourself is much harder. But you’re doing everything right, slow and steady progress , very impressive 👍
Thank you very much 👍
Good job! 🙂
You are flying!
Your blades are NOT doing 5000 rpm! And it looks like they were very dry to start with. The engine is doing about 5000 rpm. What is the reduction ratio?
Don't worry about the over-corrections. You are just training your body to adapt. Awesome job!
Thanks 👍
Blades are doing 780rpm, 7:1 reduction
wow, who needs flight school !!!!!!!!! Wont be long now before youre flying into town for bubble and squeak.
“Exits are available… everywhere” 😂
Hight is your friend to ground effekt, your were aprox 20 cm higer than before, best luck and more hight fore succes. An RC pilot
I’m so happy for you to see improvement in controllable flight. I guess small inputs really help. Again I so happy for you. And thanks for the scenic flight and soft landing
Way to go!!!!! I bet you consumed so much Helicopter tea after this hover, really enjoy these parts in progress and thanks for sharing
Are you keeping records for both flight time and ground maintenance ?
I've got an hour meter installed which I am using to monitor one specific part that failed previously. However as I've designed all the parts there is no time out data to go by. I monitor all the parts I can by visual inspection. I could disassemble certain parts for crack testing, I would have to invest in some half decent crack testing equipment.
it's amazing seeing you improving with every video
You should create a preflight checklist that covers all pertinent aspects of inspecting before getting in.
Then a second checklist for all you have to do and inspect and test before lifting off.
Every pertinent item should be on the check lists. It should be relatively short and a few words per item.
You will use the checklists EVERY TIME YOU FLY.
Pilots with 12,000 hours always use a checklist. Always.
It's very dangerous and foolish to omit this crucial safety process.
I can understand the importance of checklists and I have made one. I walk round and check things every time I test. My machine needs constant inspection of every part which is hard to achieve all of the time.
Are sure you have a current will....you're welcome.
You flying in dirty air It should get better after you start flying away from the ground
I was told that was the case it's just having the nerve to go higher at this point. It will be so nice when you just enjoy the ride rather than intense concentration.
Actually not. Ground effect is giving you more lift AND more stability. The farther you go from the ground, the less stable you will get. Also, you will accumulate more potential energy, and since you can't autorotate, more risk. If the air is turbulent at all it's because you are downwind of obstacles, not due to ground effect. Glad to see you are still alive, and still having fun. Very entertaining. Don't forget the large forces of kinetic, and chemical energy in close proximity. I don't advise adding more ( potential ).
@@Chris-bg8mk Nope less stable down low you are in disturbed air
Good capitan
😀
Nice bro
try to put stronger motor so you can lift off easyer
My friend I know it feels good to expirience your spetacular improvement. The best are yet to come. Now about the leading edge of the rotors I saw some are trying to solve it with reinforced carbon fibre rotors. You used a tape on aluminim. So the question is how can you reinfonce the tape?An idea may be to use double tape and apply an epoxy mixture in between the tapes. The weight gain I reckon will be insignicant and it will not affect the balance of the rotors. Thetre are some epoxy mixtures that are suitable for metal and aluminum applications. I am thinking about the battery but I dont have any idea yet. Please keep up the great work.
Thanks for the suggestion, much appreciated, I believe you can buy a thinker version of the same tape I bought and you can also buy tape specifically designed for the leading edge of rotors. I looked at this first time around but thought it was expensive. I'll check the price again and might decide to purchase it this time.
The outboard has a stator for battery charging, I need to find out if it's charging and what amperage it puts out. It's running the electric fan and electric water pump.
Bravo!
Can't believe you're practicing your skills with HV power lines directly above you 😲😲
I take your point to some degree though things would have to go catastrophically wrong to get anywhere near the power lines, the lines are directly above the hedge and of course 10 or 20 times higher than I've flown to date.
And he's tethered....
3M has a seethru protective film thats designed to protect leading edges of heli blades. U should try it out. Good luck with the learning experience!
Thank you. 👍
really thanks for sharing all of these great vlogs
My pleasure. It was good fun.
Between coaxial helcopter and normal helcopter with tail rotor which is more complicated in making it?
Good question, typically a coaxial is more complicated, the swash plate arrangement is certainly complex on a coaxial compared to conventional. For my attempt I thought in the beginning fixed pitch rotors on a tilting mast would be simpler than conventional. In reality the reversing drive was harder to work out than the swash plate arrangement would have been on a single rotor design. If choosing conventional there are lots of plans available which would have been much easier than designing your own from scratch, just depends what level of challenge you want in a project.
Nice Job, Well Done... you did it! You Flew!
Thank you 👍
Wishing you a safe and pleasant flight too Dixi Air !! LOL CHEERS
I can't tell if you have a death grip on the cyclic or not, try controlling it loosely with 3 fingers while resting your arm on your leg.
Hi, yes I'm resting my arm on my leg and using three fingers for the lightest control I can. Just not practised enough I think. I'm going for an R22 lesson again soon, it will interesting to see how it compares. It's going to take some practise it seems to get any good at hovering. It's certainly hard to learn the skill.
Nothing left for me to say.
Except congratulations on not only the build but the I trial flight tests. Undoultably, ground effect plays a big part in stability control and this is fight that needs to be faced. Keep up this wonderful work.
Appreciate the comment, yes it certainly seems better higher up but took some nerve to try it in part 7. I was talking to a helo pilot and he said he likes to hover at around 3ft but would increase that to 5ft if it's gusting. I've recently learnt that a steady head wind can actually increase stability.
Thanks for the update!
You're doing great!
Keep em coming! :)
What sort of HP is your motor supposed to deliver.
It's 60 Hp at 6500 RPM, running at 5500 RPM it's could be more like 50-55hp.
👍👍👍👍
*H E L I K O P T E R*
*H E L I K O P T E R*
Im sorry , i knew this a while ago and forgot.. How many HP was that outboard rated for ? Im trying to come up with some rough ratio for peak power to max takeoff weight ( e.g for every 100lbs 12 hp is required )
Hi, the outboard is rated at 60hp and it should be possible with that power to lift 720lbs. That's from what I've read 1hp can lift 12lbs maximum. I don't know how accurate this statement is. My engine could be producing more power than 60 due to the tuned exhausts, it would be nice to know what power it is putting out I just need to know the torque it's producing to work it out.
@@Ben-Dixey makes perfect sense.. youre a bit overpowered for the weight then , which is awesome .
Well possibly yes, I know I've got throttle remaining, haven't tried full throttle yet or increasing blade pitch. I can go to 7 degrees for maximum lift, it's currently at 6.3 degrees bottom rotor and 5.3 degrees top rotor. However my blade design isn't as efficient as it could be with the addition of the leading edge tape. More efficiency can also be achieved with asymmetric blades. My guess at this point is that I wouldn't be able to obtain the lift of 720lbs, even with the extra HP I might have but that is just my prediction.
@@Ben-Dixey whats the current takeoff weight ?
@@airgunningyup It's approximately 518lbs, my digital scale isn't producing repeatable measurements though. It seems to vary by 20lbs without changing anything. I'll have to invest in a better one.
How does it turn ? .. since it does not have a rear fan like a normal non counter balanced helicopter
The tail fins direct the downwash from the rotors to produce yaw.
You're doing very well and look forward to the next update
100/100
Looking great!!!! Keep it going!!!
Ooh getting there 👏..its going to be one of these situations where one day, your going to say..ah fuck it ! And just hover at 20 ft..trust me ! 😁👍
Add leg guards
You are just gonna force me to build one of these! OMG! 😱😁🤪🤣👍✌
I think you are doing really well.
Wow mad respect on a true home made copter
Oh man your doing it, you need a nice big field, some traffic cones, flashing LED lights, great job.
I'm thinking the same thing 😀👍
did it really fly or just hopping in the ground waiting to see fly across continents
Hopping in the ground
That's a big milestone that you've made in your project very happy for you.
Thank you 👍
So very very cool!! Have you considered finding an experienced heli pilot to give it a shot?
Also, is it fixed pitch? Keep it up!
Thank you, yes I briefly considered it but I wouldn't want to put anyone in my homebuilt machine until it had been tested for hundreds of hours and all the problems had been identified. Even then I would be nervous to do so.
Yes fixed pitch
that is pretty awesome
Awesome work !
On build and flying
Yeah, the devil's in the details
Thank you. 👍
Hi. On the part you crack tested why have you made that diameter reduction right next to the bearing surface? This is where it will crack !
Hi Yes, I've got no choice the diameter has to increase right after the bearing journals for maximum strength. If the diameter increased further out it would be weaker.
A helicopter is not much use if the only thing you can do with it is hover.
Hovering is also the most difficult manoeuvre you can do.
Get it into forward flight and learn to fly it properly.
You have to learn to hover before attempting forward flight, even though that's the hardest part. The way I'm doing it anyway, dual controls and being instructed allows pilots to learn in a different order. I've flown in a Robinson in forward flight and it's more like controlling a plane. No way could I bring it in for a landing. It's got to be slow and steady wins the race.
its no surprise the tape is getting damaged. bugs, rain and friction of the air will damage the tape. Also I was wondering if there is a lot of play in the cyclic control?
There's very little play in the controls which is something I've be working on. What movement there is, is hard to identify. The tape is automotive but called helicopter tape as it was developed for the protection of the leading edge on rotor blades. I'm thinking it must be bugs causing the damage. Perhaps I'll have to see how much the aviation rated helicopter tape is. It's a sticking plaster over the real issue which is probably new blades.
this is genius! Thank you.
When you fly to Australia, I'll shout you a cup of tea. Well done.
Thank you and hope your project goes well. 👍
Well dun,
Thanks for your help and encouragement H. Much appreciated. 👍
You are doing awesome! If you wanna do much more than that you're gonna need to commit and get some altitude to get out of your own wash.
Thanks. I agree, do you know at what height things get less turbulent ? out of ground effect ?
Great! It looks like it's in good control.
It's getting there👍, conditions where there's no wind at all seem necessary to progress.
You will have to fly out of ground effect to establish a stable hover.
Ok, thanks for that info. 👍
@@Ben-Dixey I'm a retired Cpl(h) and CFl(h). If i can be of assistance pls PM me
Ps. Both CAA and FAA qualified. Documentation will be provided upon request.
Is it possible the damaged tape on the blades could be heat damage from air friction?
Possibly, it could certainly reduce the tapes resistance to impact from foreign objects. 👍
What kind of tape do you use? My gyro don't has tape of the rotor, but on the leading edge of the composite prop. It is also used on car bumpers (clear PU tape, quite expensive).
@@StefanWode It was automotive tape used to protect paint from stone chips. However it was called helicopter tape, and developed from the aviation industry. Ill try a thicker option next time or spend the money on the aviation rated product.
@@Ben-Dixey I'm not sure if it would work but you could eliminate the possibility of heat damage if you used Kapton tape, it's highly resistant to heat (not sure how strong the adhesive is though) and if it still gets damage then you would know for sure it is debris doing the damage.
Brother i believe if once you can hover the helicopter (both paterns normal and contra rotors type ) stably ,you can easily fly it in normal forward direction on higher height.
But I really appreciate your carefulness as you can see the boundaries of you engine performance blades performance.
Good way you are doing it .
No hurry brother, as life is most important.
I think you're absolutely right. The hovering has to be competent before attempts to fly forward. I actually tried flying forward but didn't manage to achieve it and ended up going backwards. The problem is the brain at this stage is having deal with a lot going on and adding an instruction like trying to go forward overloads it and things get out of control. I will just have to be patient.
@@Ben-Dixey hovering looks easy to uninformed or normal people watching it from outside but it's may be most difficult maneuver in helicopter .
You said "it went backwards instead forward" how come? did you pull the cyclic instead push ?
Still great approach to building the complex machine and now learning its mood and behaviour for control it better.
Well, my plan was to try and fly it back to the gate instead of putting the wheels on and dragging it up the field. The wind had increased a bit and I turned it around facing the gate but that meant I had a tail wind. A tail wind was horrible and I could barely hover, I attempted to go forward but I shouldn't have even attempted it. All that happened is that I ended up further from the gate than I was before. I think if I kept it facing into the wind I might have been able to get it closer to the gate by going backwards. The controls are the right way around it's just lack of skill.
@@Ben-Dixey thanks for explaining me in detail brother.
That's a big milestone that you've made in your project very happy for you.
Thats amazing, and it does wonders for your confidence, learning to hover an off the shelf helicopter is never easy, learning to hover one you have built yourself is at another level, keep up the good work
Thank you 👍
how do you do the radiator installation on the engine sir? Can you help me? 🙏
The radiator is a working progress as the engine isn't being cooled effectively yet. What I have done so far is make a manifold to direct the water through an electric water pump and then on to the radiator. I had planned for a belt driven fan as I didn't think the electric one would provide enough airflow, so far this has been true. I intend to install a belt driven fan soon but doubt that will be the end of the over heating problem.
@@Ben-Dixey thank you so much👍 do you have facebook or whatsapp application sir?
@@Ben-Dixey do you know what is the ideal weight of the mosquito helicopter propeller sir?
@@amrinwello6620 I don't know the weight of the mosquito blade but for any helicopter that needs to auto rotate a blade tip weight is the most effective way to help rotor inertia. In an ideal world the blade would weigh nothing and only have tip weights, of course that's not possible but hopefully you get the point. have a look at vortechinternational they give the weight of aluminium extruded blades.
What an astounding achievement. Engineering, design, hand to eye skills..... complete and utter admiration!
Wow thanks 👍
I have fun, flying my simulator... but, it's no comparison to the fun I have, seeing you fly the real thing. Cheers!
What simulator do you have , if I may ask? Picture?
@@bruceyoung1343 I've tried to reply a couple of times to your request for into, but apparently, they've been blocked.
@@Patriottoo2 thank You for trying
@@Patriottoo2 if I could figure a way for just you to have my email. Or Twitter you can
WOW! Another outstanding video Ben. You must be getting a lot of satisfaction from that. Just a tip re the alloy exhaust, scrap that and use 0.4mm stainless. Google diy hydroforming using a pressure washer. The aluminium will not cope with the heat/vibration, I had the same issues. Cheers Cam.
Thanks very much Cam. 👍 will do, did you have any cracking when hydro forming the exhaust on yours ?
I wouldn't go for stainless, it is prone for fatigue. Use pressure washer and banana shaped blanks. Do a small z-shaped bending along the edges (there are special pliers or rollers for that). TIG weld the edges together. Now there will be a small distance between both blanks. This pre-bending will keep the seam in a better shape when inflated with water. And use the mildest steel you can find, 0,8mm thick. It should be suitable for deep drawing. We made 100s of resonaters this way. Cheers from Germany and good luck!
@@StefanWode Cheers for this, did you butt weld or lap weld the joints?
@@Ben-Dixey There may have been some some fine misty leaks but it's insignificant to the volume of water being forced in. Just make sure there is no air in the system and you will have easy fine control over the shape.
@@StefanWode 304 Stainless is a great cheap material, Ask Elon. 0.4mm s/s is easy to weld and fatigue is not an issue with experimental home built helicopters. The reason for folding the edge for hydroforming is so the weld itself doesn't have to bend when forming. A "Z" is not necessary. It would be nice to have some CAD software that could accommodate for bends, so not as much trial and error. Cheers Cam.
i think the damage of the tape is coused by the counter blade . by the turbolent air stream . maybe you should use carbon tape or tape with fiberglas in it . great project . i fly model helis and will watch your project . keep the videos coming :)
Awesome love your patience in all this, when it's flying I keep pulling up the collective imaginary to just leave and go 😂...I see the sense in all this based by the many issues you coming across now while still teetered, the less patience ones like us would have those parts fail with us up there...not good....will be in this stage by December looking fwd
Thanks Jeff. You will get there too and yes fixing/inspecting things is part of the process. It's a long process but an exciting one. Keep going 👍
Just discovered your work on this helicopter. Astounding. Thanks. Subscribed.
Thank you 👍
I love the ball cap. Your welding is perfection.
This is just great, to see it hovering properly for the first time, you must be so excited. Really happy for you, well done.✌️🇬🇧
Thank you. Yes it's been a super journey. Looking forward to hovering without having to concentrate so hard, I think then the enjoyment will increase further.
very nice and better then I expected... well done sir!
Huge improvement Ben, keep practicing. 👍🏿
Thanks Richard. 👍👍
This is so cool! Incredible what people can do
You’re a legend. Gonna binge these and wait for more!
👍😀
Ha Ha! Message from the captain, brilliant! Ha ha!! Have to say, those tethers are impressive.. Good job you have them though, keep you from being tempted to fly off to MacDonalds… 😉👍👌
Ha. McDonald's is an excellent choice of destination 😀👍