h a l f b a k e r yI think this would be a great thing to not do.
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Quad Flyer
Turn a stock quad into the ultimate in personal transpo .. | |
Stage one:
Starting with 600-800 Horse Power unit, get a stable running modified-quad together first; remove or avoid, any two-wheel drive reduction gear system, or related hardware/software.
Stage two:
Remove the wheels and brake calipers/discs, etc, cap and maintain the pump, hydraulic lines
and levers.
Stage the chassis and frame, with both fall-away, static (fixed) supports as well as movable (autonomous-like) cabled supports, over a large pit, preferably flat, bottomed-out at +12' in depth, with tapered walls, outward of 30-50degs.
Pick yourself up six (6) chip-based accelerometers, ones easily x86 programmable and with decent input/output capabilities; they're cheap these days. As well, head to the junk yard and snatch up six (6) '90 Civic, front-end CV joints; three (3) left and three (3) right.
Now you want 4, 5 or 6, small diameter, high-output, fan assemblies; ArmySurplus is a good source for this.
Adding a 3 gallon basin and hydraulic controllers to the braking system (now for steering), you're all set! Additional levers can be added or modified.
Get yourself a PII main-board, with 512MB of memory at a garage sale, and wire it up to the harness of the quad along with an accelerometer at each axil and one at each axils center point.
The CV joints will then transfer energy, from the drive train, to the fan-assemblies. The trick is managing the central positions, axil center, if required. But also, maintaining good code, in order to control your position against gravity.
Doesn't quite stand up to the hover-craft-mod-kit you could get for an ElectroLux vacuum back in the '70s, but it's still just as easy in 2009 and fun for the whole family.
Moller Saucer - the well built version
http://www.moller.com/videom200x.htm
No quad chassis to worry about! [Skrewloose, Mar 12 2009]
Army Air Jeep
http://www.vectorsite.net/avplatfm.html
[MisterQED, Mar 15 2009]
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If I'm reading it right, your first step is to convert a quad (ATV) to 600-800HP. Why bother? All the trouble you're going to here looks like it'll be easier just to make your own chassis from scratch. |
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How about summarising here? Does this end up as a hovercraft with one large external skirt? Or is this something different? Why not just make a bloody hovercraft? |
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Well taken and noted. HP? Get creative ... it's possible with a stock Quad, you just need a tight RED gear for transfer ... HP meaning, at each wheel .. and NOT BHP, over the entire frame ... my apologies and so, my words get ahead of me. |
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Hover like capabilities, with respect to the human form ... 170lbs let's say, doesn't yield such an experience of control. A design similar, or based on this concept, yields the human experience of riding a motorcycle through the air ... the gyroscope-effect is the outcome with respect to steer, so however you lean your body, the frame will then go. |
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The key is having latitude and control over the landscape, combined with speed ... that does not exist with conventional hover craft. |
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I could get behind a motorcycle conversion maybe... 4 divergent hovering fans on the back where all the weight is and 2 variable-pitch fans on the end of long front forks for directional control... but you need *alot* of power to make tight swoopy turns and gas mileage wouldn't be the best... put wings on it and call it "Easy Glider". |
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I think it's a tethered thing like a skateboard in a skatepark... in which case 800hp seems a bit much unless the purpose is actually to build a large random-operation blender. |
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'Just modify a quad to 800hp' |
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Anyone got a large displacement race spec V8 hanging about they want to donate? |
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Am I right in thinking this is gonna be agarden shed version of a Moller 'flying saucer'? |
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Most of this makes not sense except the last paragraph that states that this 800HP contraption won't be as good as a home-built electric hovercraft, that you could probably build for $100, so I am loosing interest. |
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//Doesn't quite stand up to the hover-craft-mod-kit you could get for an ElectroLux vacuum back in the '70s, but it's still just as easy in 2009 and fun for the whole family.// |
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Wow ... such color ... the mechanical intuition is amazing!!! |
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Loving the skate-park diggs. However, we'd need to drop the tethers and scale up a bit; 3,800,000sqft @ +300ft in headroom, against a standard park. |
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As for the moller thing, the whole 'center of gravity at your chin/neck', and the cookie-like-shape, I'd say we're falling a bit short ... ehh ... flat and short. |
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So, engineers ... yummy ... I forgot they like the J-Pod option ... do mechanics write here? |
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//do mechanics write here?//
I think there's at least one, but I can not recall who it is right now. The one I'm thinking of has not commented on the idea, though - I'd remember the name if I saw it. (2-Fries?, Notthesharpest?)
edit - I now think it was Letsbuildafort. |
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//machanics here?// There are a couple, not me, I'm just a physicist, but let me take another crack at this and see if even though I'm not a mechanic, if I can understand and offer some meaningful critique. |
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First this idea to to create an airjeep. Google it and you will see the Army has been trying to make one since the 60s. |
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1. quad > 800 HP is possible if you started with a good Rotax and then rebuilt it from scratch for a big turbocharger or supercharger. I'm assuming variable pitch props, so the motor can be as peaky as hell and tuned for 8K+. The down side is it wouldn't be reliable so since this thing can't autogyro, I'd lower that flight ceiling to ~30ft, if you like the pilot. |
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2. Dump all the CVs you mentioned. They weren't made for the power and since I assume you are using multiple CVs to bend the fans towards verticle thrust, they would set up epicylic vibrations that would tear everything apart. Also they would never last if operated at a high angle constantly. Also every bend in your drivetrain looses power and you will need lots of power to get airborne. |
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3. If you use cheap accelerometers/gyros understand that they are DIFFERENTIAL accel/gyros. They only tell the CHANGE of acc/angle and thus have constant need of external correction or the slight errors explode. What you need is a real gyro like an Artificial Horizon in a plane, it will still know which way is up three minutes after you turn it on. |
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I'll polish and finish this up when I get to a computer... |
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No, skip the polish, I think this sums the major issues up. |
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"800hp"
"fans"
"large pit"
"lean your body into the way you want to go for gyroscopic steering"
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