• Welcome aboard HomebuiltAirplanes.com, your destination for connecting with a thriving community of more than 10,000 active members, all passionate about home-built aviation. Dive into our comprehensive repository of knowledge, exchange technical insights, arrange get-togethers, and trade aircrafts/parts with like-minded enthusiasts. Unearth a wide-ranging collection of general and kit plane aviation subjects, enriched with engaging imagery, in-depth technical manuals, and rare archives.

    For a nominal fee of $99.99/year or $12.99/month, you can immerse yourself in this dynamic community and unparalleled treasure-trove of aviation knowledge.

    Embark on your journey now!

    Click Here to Become a Premium Member and Experience Homebuilt Airplanes to the Fullest!

The best theoretical gyro rotor blade shape? Can a gyro rotor blade be bend in 2?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Ronald

New Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2008
Messages
1
Location
Holland
Hi all!

I want to design & build my own gyrocopter and started to read a lot about it. The intention is to make a 2-seater Microlight (450 kilo max take-off weight). My most important concern at the moment are the rotor blades.
Two main questions here:

A. Theory regarding gyrocopter rotor blade.
What is the theoretical optimum shape?
I see many companies offering many types of rotor blades from different materials. Just from pure theoretical perspective:
(1) what is the ideal form for a gyrocopter rotor blade (shape, angle of attack twist, etceteras)? Since the outer part of the blade produces the lift and the inner part maintains the autogyro effect (depending on circumstances such as forward speed) I can imagine that theoretical optimal shape is something highly complex for a gyrocopter rotor blade. Does anybody have any idea from practical experience or theoretical background?
(2) Are there rotor blade manufacturing companies who go for the best shape/ best performance? Who either have the theoretical background or practical test facilities. Any suggestions which companies to contact?
B. Tilt (or bend) the rotor blade to save space.
Also from what I read so far I would need rotor blades of about 365 cm each, which will make the vehicle too long to handle (won't fit in my garage for sure).
My friend has a model helicopter where the rotor blades can be folded together (both blades side-by-side in parallel), which reduces the space problem already.
Due to the centrifugal forces the blades stretch out by themselves without a permanent fixation (they hinge 'freely' around a single pin).
(1) Could the same trick be used on a large (real-life) scale for a gyrocopter? Does anyone have any experience with this?
(2) I know naval helicopters can also bend (or fold) a single rotor blade in half, which conciderably saves a lot of space. Can I use the same technique for a gyrocopter rotor blade? Anyone knows if this has been done before? Does anybody know a rotor blade manufacturer who could produce such a blade?
Closed (bend/ folded) rotor blade.
ronald-albums-gyro-rotor-blade-picture29-vert-fold-rotor-closed-detail.jpg


Open rotor blade.
ronald-albums-gyro-rotor-blade-picture30-vert-fold-rotor-open-detail.jpg
 
Back
Top