7
votes
Accepted
Is there a simulator in which you can test your own helicopter model?
RC Desk Pilot is a simple, free, open source RC simulator that has an aircraft editor where you can create your own models, or modify an existing model.
If you really want to get into this, X-Plane is ...
- 7,428
5
votes
How to restore LiPo-powered aircraft that have not been flown for years?
You may need new batteries.
When a LiPo battery fully discharges, thin whiskers of lithium metal form between the plates of the battery. Attempting to recharge the battery will cause these whiskers ...
- 686
5
votes
Accepted
How to calculate how much lift to be generated for my helicopter to takeoff?
Using the equations from this question
$$L = C_l \cdot A \cdot 0.5 \cdot r \cdot V^2$$
Where:
$L$ is lift force
$C_l$ is the lift coefficient
$A$ is the blade area (0.04 square meters)
$r$ is the air ...
- 7,428
5
votes
Accepted
Question about Mars Ingenuity helicopter's wide-chord blades
Longer blades are more efficient, but it's only practical to a point. Blades have to withstand high RPM, be balanced, and be light. Also the linear velocity of the tip of the blade increases a ton if ...
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5
votes
Question about Mars Ingenuity helicopter's wide-chord blades
Increasing blade chord can give more lift, but only up to a point. Helicopter blades are pushing a column of air downwards, accelerating it from stationary to whatever speed is necessary. Each time a ...
- 7,428
5
votes
Accepted
Why don't solutions exist for a 3-axis helicopter flight controller?
Beta flight has helicopter modes ("Heli 120", "Heli 90", etc. depending on your swashplate layout), as does pretty much every other programmable flight controller software.
The ...
- 7,428
4
votes
Methodology and sources for obtaining the correct replacement batteries for low-end RC aircraft
Most low-end aircraft use small LiPo batteries (lithium polymer batteries). If you want to find a replacement battery you can look at the voltage and capacity of the original battery and purchase a ...
- 5,792
3
votes
How to calculate how much lift to be generated for my helicopter to takeoff?
THERE IS A BIT OF MISUNDERSTANDING HERE, THE LIFT EQUATION CANNOT BE DIRECTLY USED FOR HELICOPTERS
The correct equation for rotary-wing is:
$T = ½ \rho (\omega R)^2 \pi R^2 C_T$
where $\omega$ is the ...
- 271
3
votes
Does the tiny helicopter drone black hornet use a swash plate?
No. The Flir Black Hornet Nano UAV does not have a swashplate. The rotor blade pitch is controlled directly by servos at each blade root. The servos are held by a structure that rotates around the ...
- 131
3
votes
Is there a simulator in which you can test your own helicopter model?
A quick search does not show anything on the Mac except maybe some games.
Instead of a program built for a Mac how about an emulator instead?
Wine provides a compatibility layer to run Windows ...
- 501
3
votes
Can nitro engine run on gasoline (RON95)?
While alcohol or alcohol/nitromethane engines ("glow engines") won't run on gasoline without modification (fuel mixture too rich and may not be possible to lean out enough, glow plug ...
- 307
3
votes
Building a personal helicopter, I have a 5kw electric hub motor, how big will the rotors need to be?
If you are asking this question here, like this, then I humbly suggest that you probably shouldn't be attempting this.
This is life or death stuff, and without years of professional aviation knowledge ...
- 356
2
votes
Accepted
Error in the explanation of Ingenuity: The Mars Helicopter by NASA members?
The thrust being the same, a coaxial design is going to need some 15% more power than a single-rotor helicopter. This increment in power is due to the aerodynamic interference among the upper and ...
- 271
2
votes
Proper procedure for collective-pitch RC helicopter autorotation
I'm not really an expert, but you're right about aft cyclic. A full-size heli is probably cruising along faster than they want to autorotate, and can trade some speed for rotor energy. A model could ...
- 7,428
1
vote
Building a personal helicopter, I have a 5kw electric hub motor, how big will the rotors need to be?
A helicopter needs the highest power in hover. As a first approximation we can use the momentum theory which estimates the thrust as:
$ T = 0.5\sqrt[3]{2 \rho A P^2} $
Where:
$A$ is the rotor area;
$\...
- 271
1
vote
Can nitro engine run on gasoline (RON95)?
No, nitro engines won't run on gasoline. They don't have a spark plug.
There are model engines that are designed to run on gasoline. However they're generally much larger. The engine you show has a ...
- 7,428
1
vote
Does the tiny helicopter drone black hornet use a swash plate?
Based on slide 13 of this 2014 PowerPoint presentation, it looks like the PD-100 Black Hornet does indeed incorporate a swash plate.
Now, a caveat here is that slide appears at the end of the section ...
- 585
1
vote
Can I use a quadcopter AIO FC (or stack) to control a micro helicopter via Arducopter or iNAV?
I managed to get SPRACINGF3EVO BRUSHED, flashed with custom INAV firmware to work with Eachine E119 helicopter. I got the pitch and roll servo working (correction move from gyro and input), and the ...
- 11
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