nirmal Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 One of these might tempt me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hgn1Psq0V24&feature=related http://www2.gen-corp.jp/GENH-4_en/index.htm My apologies if most forum members have already seen these, but surely it's worth seeing once again. It's a shame I don't have $35,000 spare change lying around. Would one of these be considered a FLPA if they managed to bring the weight down to 60kg? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon_dunn Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 No way! Absolutely crazy!! Have you ever noticed that these pilots don't fly much higher than 20-30ft? They can infact fly alot higher, and once out of ground effect and translational lift kicks in at speed, then economy and performance would improve more. The reason why no one goes any higher is that the unit has a fixed pitch rotor system- therefore if you have engine failure, you cannot autorotate or 'glide'.... the resultant rapid deceleration trama due to gravity or 'crash' in layman's terms would not be pretty. Although you have 4 separate engines on this machine.. we all know 2 strokes well.... if it was only the engine keeping me up- i certainly wouldn't be flying. 5 gallons per hour too!!! WTF!!! For all this unit does, you'd be better spending your money on a Genie Z51 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irm750 Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 If money and time were no object then I would definately have one of these! I saw one on a show presented by one of the top gear team and apparently it has a strict limit to the height and operating area imposed by their local air regulations. As for safety, the write-up the engines are independant and don't work to capacity so if one fails then the other three can continue to fly the machine. There is also a balistic parachute option should the worst happen. I can't imagine them ever being able to get it under 60kg though! Best regards, Ian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon_dunn Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Interpret -'it has a strict limit to the height and operating area imposed by their local air regulations' as, no-one has the b**ls to put this thing into a circuit. I've flown model RC helicopters for years, and my very first machine was a fixed pitch nitro machine.... After seeing the effects of an engine stopping from 250ft I vowed never to fly a fixed pitch again... Had numberous engine failures with the variable pitch machines, and almost every time was able to autorotate successfully... As far as i'm aware ballistic parachutes are illegal in the UK, so put your chequebook away for a while... The Fresh Breeze Excitor cannot be sold in the UK with this anyway.... i guess this is the reason. As soon as they develop a twin engine microturbine version with variable pitch i'll buy.... GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nirmal Posted April 12, 2009 Author Share Posted April 12, 2009 Why are Ballistic parachutes illegal in the UK? Is a pneumatic system like the parachutter system http://www.parachutter.com/index.php?op ... 2&Itemid=2 classified as a ballistic parachute? I would have thought that a reserve mounted on top of the rotor assembly like a radar pod on an Apache helicopter, together with the airbag they are planning to mount underneath would probably make it safer than any rotary aircraft in a catastrophic event. The likely-hood of such an event occurring is entirely another issue. I get your point about it not being able to autorotate but if I was given the option of choosing between an autorotating landing and an appropriate sized reserve plus airbag, I'd take my chances with the reserve and airbag. As long as two stroke engines are not too highly stressed in an attempt to extract power, they are very reliable. Most paramotors and a large number of microlights use 2 stroke engines, and engine failures are very few and far between. Most 2 stroke engine failures are due to inadequate lubrication and its consequences. If the engine is reasonably well designed, under-stressed and well maintained it should be reliable. I am not aware of any micro turboshaft engines available at present that can be used for machines in this weight range. I was under the impression (perhaps wrongly) that turbine engines would spin so fast that blades would fail unless special metals and sophisticated electronics were used. The reliability of micro turboshaft engines for critical applications especially where a human pilot is on the machine, would have to be conclusively proven before they replace 2 strokes. I am sure microturbines would be much more expensive than a 2 stroke engines too. I don't have a clue as to whether they are more fuel efficient or not. I think that the Japanese being naturally cautious people are playing it safe as far as the demos and test flights go. An fatal accident at this stage would probably put an end to the entire project (if it is still alive). If they get a French or Russian test pilot on one of those things, we would see some crazy stuff . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazarooney Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 My apologies if most forum members have already seen these, but surely it's worth seeing once again. It's a shame I don't have $35,000 spare change lying around. Would one of these be considered a FLPA if they managed to bring the weight down to 60kg? That would definitely make me give it up! ______________________________________________________________________ Working at Heights Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyfreefly Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I personally as said before.....in this link .. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5283 wouldnt give a toss about legality of fitting a ballistic parachute if I felt the need its your/my life and nobody.....( that is nobody ) has a right to say you can not fit a life saving device....its all bollocks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poz Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Those devices wouldn't tempt me. Mainly because they are too concept like. However, this came close last week: Good price (jut a bit more than a top end PPG). Really useable You don't even need a chopper licence (in the states). Not sure in UK The only thing that put me off is the whole kid/build your own thing. I haven't got the patience. http://www.innovator.mosquito.net.nz/mbbs2/index.asp Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.