h a l f b a k e r yThe phrase 'crumpled heap' comes to mind.
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Aircraft wings, although not symmetrical front to back, could
be made so with a bit of tinkering, such that they provide
acceptable lift whether moving forward or backward.
Then, simply release the parking brake, throttle up the left-
hand engines, and engage the thrust reversers on the right-
hand
engines and, ipso corrigendum, the plane will spin itelf
helicopterishly into the air.
Anyone else remember these?
http://www.cyber-he...eclipse/stand44.jpg
[MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 08 2013]
Always loved these ram jet rotor blades
https://duckduckgo....=ram+jet+helicopter
Why not try it on the wings, even though wings aren't needed -- you forgot to mention the wheel spinners that actually provide the lift -- the wings would provide engine mounts however:-) [+] [Sunstone, Mar 09 2013]
'The Borribles' by Michael De Larrabeiti
http://www.amazon.c...d=1362911691&sr=8-2
Includes the great Rumble hunt. A classic of senseless & hilarious violence & genocide. Entertainment for all ages! [DrBob, Mar 10 2013]
Some weird airplane
http://news.softped...unding-289401.shtml
[Kansan101, Mar 20 2013]
Shape shifting wings transform to needs of desired flight
https://www.google....e+shifting+airfoils
MaxwellBuchanan's need for Aircraft wings, although not symmetrical front to back, could be made so with a bit of tinkering, such that they provide acceptable lift whether moving forward or backward." are here! [Sunstone, Apr 13 2020]
Emergency faith pack
Emergency_20faith_20pack
Not merely useful; essential ... [8th of 7, Apr 16 2020]
Who needs a runway? Every airplane can be a helicopter
Who_20needs_20a_20r...be_20a_20helicopter
Calculation of centripetal force. [8th of 7, Apr 26 2020]
[link]
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The fuselage probably won't be able to withstand the centrifugal effect. |
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I am incapable of providing the amount of derision this post deserves. |
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The centrifugal force needn't be a problem for the passengers. Make the wings sufficiently long, and the rotation rate can be made arbitrarily low. |
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Take this far enough and it starts to resemble the Kiritimaticentrifugomobile, described elsewhere in these hallowed pages. |
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Transitioning to horizontal flight would be a bitch. |
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The Nazis messed around with this concept a bit. They
probably should have spent a little more time on the 'we
should quit this horrific unwinnable war' concept, but
instead they decided to make a bunch of their test pilots
very dizzy. |
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//Anyone else remember these? |
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//Transitioning to horizontal flight would be a
bitch.// Not necessarily. |
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Assume, for argument's sake, that the passengers
survive the lift off. They are now in an aircraft
which is spinning, and more or less directly above
its point of departure. |
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Carefully timed throttle pulses should be able to
impart a net horizontal motion, superimposed on
the rotation. Clearly, the lift then comes from a
combination of the rotation and horizontal
movement, both of which cause the wings to
move through the air. |
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Gradually, the movement can be made less spinny
and more flyey, until pure linear motion is
attained. With luck, this linear motion will be in
the same direction that the aircraft ends up
pointing in, in which case all will be well. |
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Admittedly, there are a few tricky moments when
the horizontal motion completely cancels out lift
from each wing during half of its rotation.
However, this will only affect a part of the wing at
any one time. |
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In short, I fail to see no serious flaws whatsoever
with this
idea. |
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If you mount the passenger seats on gimbles so that they don't rotate with the aircraft then it would be fabulous. You could decorate the interior of the heliplane like a kinematoscope to keep them entertained whilst they wait for their sick buckets to be emptied. |
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//mount the passenger seats on gimbles// |
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I think you mean 'gimbals'. 'Gimbles' are furry
creatures who live on Cleethorpe Common and used
to collect litter, but have since fallen into despair
and alcoholism since missing a key audition for
children's television. |
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//disrepair and alcoholism// unfortunately, a simple re-read corrected that |
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//With luck, this linear motion...// |
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As a pilot, I really prefer to stick with something more
than luck. |
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And that's how the golden era of aviation died. |
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Mount the entire fuselage on gimbals so only the wings spin! |
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//Carefully timed throttle pulses should be able to impart a net horizontal motion, superimposed on the rotation.// |
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Imbalance of lift on a gyroscope, eh? Clearly what you have now is a boomerang: the precession will cause your net motion to be a curve. Better add another axis to your gimbals... |
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Gimbals? We don' need no steenking gimbals. |
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And I can't believe nobody remembers those
helicopter fireworks. They were brilliantly
unpredictable, which is exactly what's needed in a
firework. |
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I think an easier method to transition from rotation to horizontal flight or rather becoming 'less spinny and more flyey" would be to spin it up to a very high altitude, like maybe 2 miles high or so, and then stop the rotation, either through thrust reversal or through air brakes, and then free fall into a dive, that might be climbed out of at the last second, if you are lucky. If you are unlucky, you make someone a new farm pond. So someone wins, either way. |
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Nice marketing strategy! "Welcome aboard 50-50 Airlines, where our motto is *Do you feel lucky?* I'll be your captain today. My name is Whip Whitaker." |
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//Mount the entire fuselage on gimbals so only the wings spin!// Like a helicopter! |
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//'Gimbles' are furry creatures who live on Cleethorpe Common and used to collect litter, but have since fallen into despair and alcoholism since missing a key audition for children's television//
That'll be the 'Rumbles of Rumbledom Common' you'll be thinking of, (linky) |
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// And I can't believe nobody remembers those helicopter
fireworks. // |
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Not only do I remember them, but I know where one can
still purchase them (virtually anywhere in South Carolina,
West Virginia, or Georgia, and one rather disreputable
establishment on State Route 9 in New Hampshire). When I
was a younger and less experienced idiot than I am today, I
made a few similar devices out of AA model rockets by
trimming and canting the fins and adding a little curl of
plastic sprue or cardboard that produced a loud whistle in
flight. It's all fun and games until your foolhardy creation
smashes though a double glazed window and explodes in
your grandparents' living room. |
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//Not only do I remember them, but I know where
one can still purchase them// I am impressed and
pleased to know they're still available, although I
presume the lack the RAF roundel on the wings. |
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I buy the spinning UFO fireworks every year. Talk about a
fire hazard! |
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//Talk about a fire hazard! |
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Do we have to? You can if you like, first amendment and all that... |
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//And I can't believe nobody remembers those helicopter fireworks. They were brilliantly unpredictable, which is exactly what's needed in a firework.// |
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You can still get them in Taiwan. In the celebrations for new year, groups of kids were firing them off in the street, during lulls in the traffic. They'd bounce off the overhead wires.
I bought some nice big ones, but wasn't allowed to fire them off in the city. |
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I remember my Dad talking about fireworks you'd hold hands and stand around in a ring; they'd jump around. |
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Ideally, the fuselage would be reshaped to provide lift as well.
What could possibly go wrong? |
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Found something like it, kind of. Or close. I think. See link. |
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I'm thinking it might actually be cheaper and less
trouble to simply buy a helicopter. With a bit of
practice, they can be made to gyrate around in the
sky in similar chaotic fashion, if you like. |
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Who needs a landing mechanism? Every runway can be a
crater. |
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"A good landing is one you can walk away from. A great landing is one where you can use the 'plane again." |
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Brilliance of MB is missed so much. Funny I was just talking to
the cardinal who is sitting on the birdfeeder. |
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// the cardinal who is sitting on the birdfeeder // |
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Surreal image, that. Does the Pope know ... ? |
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<Enter cringing uniformed flunky, stage right/> |
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"Your Holiness ... I regret to report ... One Of Our Cardinals Is Missing..." |
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Now, with Herr Benedict, that could have been the setup for a full flecks-of-spittle Führer-biting-the-carpet where-are-my-787s rant ... |
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But with the new bloke, not so much. |
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Hahaha, you have ruined my birdfeeder view forever. Shame
on you, say a bunch of Hail Marys. Quick. |
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We can say the Hail Mary at a speed that would astonish you. We know all the words. We can generally get at least a dozen in between turning from base leg to upwind and dropping low enough to feel the ground effect, at which coherent speech is replaced by whimpering and blubbering, overlain by the squawk of the stall-warning alarm ... |
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"Brakes off, Undercarriage down and locked, Mixture full rich, Fuel booster on, Flaps twenty, Carb heat on, Hatches and harness secure, Hail Mary, Mother of Grace, Blessed be Thou amongst Women and, Tower upwind on short finals, Golf Sierra Yankee, the fruit of thy womb Jesus Christ, flaps twenty five, Mother Mary, pray for us sinners, now AND AT THE HOUR OF OUR DEATH ... |
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(That bit tends to get a bit shrill.) |
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And that's without the help of a set of rosary beads, and taking time out to speak to ATC in a calm, collected way. |
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Just use an ordinary plane, and tie one wing to a
point in the ground by a cable. Plane goes around
in circles, slowly let the cable out as it gets faster,
then when it’s going really fast let the cable go,
and pew it will cartwheel through the sky to its
destination where you can catch it in a big circus
net |
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For a neat demolition of that idea, see [wjt]'s calculation in this <link>. |
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