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TaxiPod
Tethered helecopter taxi service | |
Helecopter service to different buildings within cities is
nothing unusual, but what about buildings not rated for a
helecopter to land on? This idea is for a helecopter-lifted
transportation pod, carried from roofs to roofs, tethered to a
helecopter. The pod itself would be light enough to
be
allowed to land onto most buildings. It would include a
communications link between the pod and the helecopter.
The benefits of this device would be, more flexibility in
destinations and less down-draft as the helecopter is flying at
a higher height, allowing you to keep your hair under control.
TaxiCut
TaxiCut
Unrelated, except by name [theircompetitor, Sep 22 2010]
[link]
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Really? no comments on this one? |
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// buildings not rated for a helecopter to land on? // |
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The issue is usually space and roof access, not mass. Helicopters can "hover at zero altitude", with virtually no downforce on the undercarriage, but still allowing goods and personnel to be transferred. |
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The issues are more likely to be turbulence generated by nearby structures, and rotor clearances, particularly for the tail boom. |
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Oh, and it would be stupidly expensive compared to ground transportation. |
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Helicopter taxis are popular in São Paulo, largely
because it's just plain dangerous in many areas of the
city to drive anywhere. |
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Most cities don't have the same sort of problem. In those that do then the populace often have access to
shoulder-launched missiles, which may make helicopters a
poor transport choice. |
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The idea seems to be talking about a pod on the end of a cable, dangling beneath the helicopter. Keeping that steady is one trick, landing it in the precise location is another, though the two might have the same solution, with some auxiliary fans on the pod. |
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Dangling the pod would keep the copter a little higher up, and that would have benefits. |
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What I thought this might be is a pod clamped directly to the helicopter, which lands or stays light on the wheels (I was in a copter that did that once--barely touched the ground, one guy jumped out, stomped around a bit and signaled it was safe to settle down (which scared me some)). |
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The pod detaches, the copter flies off and the passengers disembark in quiet leisure. The pod waits for the next load to fill up, then the copter descends on it ... endangering the lives of everyone inside. Okay, not so good. |
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Dangling a pod could also use a detachable pod. I recommend some sort of landing and lockdown grid for the pod in any case. |
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I'm sure I've seen photos of a Sikorsky SkyCrane with a passenger box fitted, carrying 20 or 30 people. Can't find a link at the moment... |
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Yeah, I was flashing on that SkyCrane, too, and took a while to realize what was being proposed here. |
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Make the pod out of something particularly tough, just in case it gets dragged through a forest of communications aerials or a penthouse apartment, by an inattentive pilot. |
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Adding the pod just adds another danger factor to delivering passengers from a helicopter to a roof: a pendulous swinging pod full of screaming passengers. |
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Take an egg, place it on top of a cereal box. Easy. Now tape a string to it and try to lower it onto the top of that same cereal box. Now have a couple of beers to simulate crosswinds and try it. There are lots of crosswinds on the top of tall bulidings so two beers might not be enough, keep drinking till that egg is reaaaally swingin'. Alternately, you could use a fan but you'll get better "data" using beer. Anyway, that's what it would be like. |
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Probably an experiment best done in private. |
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