Ultra-Light Aircraft/LSA Projects

[hesham]

Hello hesham.
judging post #451 in that Russian forum, it seems to be a private project, designed by "Andrej G.", whoever
that may be.

Thank you my dear Jens,


sorry,I think it is a real design,the Russian language is a nice one,but hard to
translate it.

 

[Grey Havoc]

More akin to a GEV, but here goes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akA-B64RACU&feature=plcp

The Aerofex Hoverbike; Originally found on this Wired article.

EDIT: A bit more info can be found here.

http://www.dvice.com/2014-5-14/your-first-hoverbike-will-go-sale-2017

 

[hesham]

Hi,


here is the Flyvolt G 208 electric powered aircraft project,it has carbon
fiber body.


http://www.damngeeky.com/2012/08/23/4292/two-seater-flyvolt-g-208-electric-powered-aircraft-has-a-carbon-fiber-body.html

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/11051647/UK-company-launches-mini-hoverbike.html

http://news.yahoo.com/video/hoverbike-aims-aviation-level-170018218.html

 

[mz]

I wonder how far a multicopter without blade pitch control scales with just four rotors?

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001586695

Reaching new heights


2:29 am, September 23, 2014


The Yomiuri Shimbun


A small aircraft that looks exactly like the jet-powered glider used by the heroine of Hayao Miyazaki’s animated film “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind” flies at Takikawa Skypark in Takikawa, Hokkaido. Created by Tokyo-based media artist Kazuhiko Hachiya, 48, the 9.6-meter-wide plane reached an altitude of 20 meters for the first time Sunday. It can take off, glide and land under its own power. The pilot lies in a prone position and controls the airplane by shifting his or her body weight.

 

[Jemiba]

...The pilot lies in a prone position and controls the airplane by shifting his or her body weight.

This looks like an aileron or a flap to me, so it seems not to be flown purely by shifting the CG ?

 

[Richard N]

The aircraft has elevons (surfaces that are acting as both elevators and ailerons) and the pilot is strapped prone to a suspended platform that appears to be attached to lines that move the elevons. The pilot shifts his body to move the platform pulling the elevon lines and there may be a small weight shift component, but it doesn't look like the pilot can move far enough on a relatively large airplane to make much difference.

The pilot could get in trouble if he climbed so steeply he couldn't pull his body forward to give down elevons to get the nose back down or got inverted or entered any other maneuver that pins him against his control limit on one side or end of the airplane. Much better to be strapped to a fixed position on the airplane and control the elevons with a hand stick instead of having to move your whole body.

I've included the movie trailer so you can see how Nausicaä flies her ride.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8CY5HeWYgA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRuYLNz15m4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqPi_n5ru34

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6zhLBe319KE

 

[Jemiba]

Isn't that the method proposed by Leonardo da Vinci for his human powered wing flapping aircraft ?
(picture via http://wissen.de.msn.com/technik/verr%C3%BCckte-m%C3%A4nner-fliegende-kisten-ein-kurzer-ausflug-in-die-luftfahrtgeschichte)

 

[Richard N]

It is entirely possible that Leonardo was thinking of using body movement to control his ornithopter, but I'll bet that if he had the opportunity to compare a system that required moving one's whole body to initiate a control input as opposed to moving ones hands or fingers alone, he would see the efficiency of using the least necessary movement to control his vehicle. Using just the hands for control would free up the rest of the body for powering the flapping wings, ineffective as that is for us since there is no way humans will ever approach the power to weight ratios of birds.

The recent claimed first human powered ornithopter flight is iffy since it first had to be towed into flight before the "human powered flight" was initiated and claimed.

 

[Grey Havoc]

It's inventors call it a 'maritime vehicle', but it seems to me that it's prototype/proof of concept at least fits more in here:

ORIGINAL CAPTION: French adventurer and researcher Stephane Rousson prepares his Aerosail off the coast of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, southeastern France prior to his planned attempt to cross the Mediterranean from Nice to Calvi, on the French Mediterraean island of Corsica. Aerosail is the result of Rousson and his partners' ambition to create an innovative, efficient, and silent maritime vehicle, only using the wind as means of propulsion. Rousson is planning his crossing for the end of October 2014.
Picture: VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/picturesoftheday/11127494/Pictures-of-the-day-29-September-2014.html?frame=3054694​

Some more photos at the Daily Mail:

Another gallery here: http://darkroom.baltimoresun.com/2014/09/aerosail-france-stephane-rousson/#1

 

[Stargazer]

It sometimes seems to me like aviation is going in circles, if not backwards...

This one looks like many early airship experiments of the 1910s. Can't see how revolutionary it is nor what "concept" needs to be proven here.

 

[cluttonfred]

It appears that the trick is the interaction with a sea anchor of some kind to "sail" across the sea. I agree that it seems more hype than anything.

Actually, I take that back. Reading through the site (in French), it's more interesting than I first thought. Basically, it uses a foil in the water the way a sailboat uses a keel to actually sail upwind, tacking just like a sailboat. It's easy to imagine a solar electric dirigible acting as a sort of aerial yacht, using this technique to cross long distances over water while saving its limited battery power for maneuvering in port. Neat! Here are two key images from the .pdf from Rousson's site with translations of the captions for those that need them.

vitesse = speed
portance aérodynamique = aerodynamic lift
portance hydrodynamique = hydrodynamic lift
cap = heading
route vraie = actual course
composante d'avancement = forward vector
force aérodynamique totale sur le ballon = total aerodynamic force on the ballon
composant de dérive = lateral vector (leeway)
vent = wind
cable = cable ;-)
portance = lift
trainée = drag
force hydrodynamique totale = total hydrodynamic force
direction générale du mouvement sur l'eau = overall direction of movement over the water

 

[Grey Havoc]

JAXA electric aircraft to take manned test flights from February (The Yomiuri Shimbun)

 

[perttime]

Things have been pretty quiet about this one since 2012:
http://www.flynano.com

"no passengers, no cargo - just you, Nano and the endless blue. If you’ve ever had a pilot’s licence you’ll fly Nano right out of the box. The rest of you will need to learn the simple rules of the air. Minimum red tape – maximum thrills."

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/lisa-to-relocate-akoya-flight-test-base-to-get-unrestricted-access-to-414175/

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/15/07/07/1754220/siemens-sends-do-not-fly-order-for-pipistrels-all-electric-channel-crossing

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/engineering/11729838/Airbus-E-Fan-2.0-set-to-recreate-aviation-history-with-cross-Channel-flight-only-this-time-its-electric.html

 

[AeroFranz]

Karma's a bitch.
Serves Airbus right if indeed they had any hand in delaying Pipistrel's flight.
I have met the Pipistrel management and design team and it's some of the most dedicated, talented, and outright nice people you could imagine. I think it would have been in the best interest of LSA electric flight if they had won some acclaim, they have done more than anybody else to advance the state of the art of electric aviation.

 

[hesham]

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/15/07/07/1754220/siemens-sends-do-not-fly-order-for-pipistrels-all-electric-channel-crossing

Here is the E-Fan 2.0.


http://www.gizmag.com/airbus-e-fan-2-paris-air-show-2015/38068/

 

[hesham]

Hi,


here is the Airobi ultra light aircraft concepts.


http://forum.canada.ru/index.php?topic=44371.420

 

[Grey Havoc]

EDIT: Ack! Post in haste, regret at leisure. Post moved to correct topic!

 

[Stargazer]

Grey Havoc, could it be you mistook LSA with LTA? Because honestly, I'm trying to figure the connection between this picture and the topic but I'm at a loss!!

 

[Grey Havoc]

Woops, wrong topic! Thanks Skyblazer!

 

[hesham]

Hi,

what is this aircraft ?.

Аэрокосмическое обозрение №03 (40) 2009

 

[Sundog]

Hi,

what is this aircraft ?.

Аэрокосмическое обозрение №03 (40) 2009

A poor copy of the Q2?

 

[Stargazer]

what is this aircraft ?.
Аэрокосмическое обозрение №03 (40) 2009

I've said it times before, hesham, but knowing the context would help.
Is it an article about Russian aviation? An air show? Surely the page or the article contains the information you're looking for about this "ACA-2" (or "ASA-2"?) as it appears to be called on the stand...

 

[hesham]

You are right my dear Skyblazer,

but believe me,nothing about it in the article and no text ?.

 

[hesham]

Hi,

here is two LSA Ultra-Light aircraft.

http://www.bydanjohnson.com/showsplog.cfm?id=1276

 

[Stargazer]

here is two LSA Ultra-Light aircraft.

This is a little vague, don't you think??

It's the Sadler Vampire. Here's the Sadler page from my upcoming website. The second image is an artist's concept for a variant of the Vampire LSA.

 

[hesham]

Wow,excellent work my dear Skyblazer.

 

[hesham]

Hi,

this Russian Ultra-Light aircraft is called Irida,and google translated it as Iris;

http://poletim.ru/news/2006-09-13_104207.html

 

[hesham]

Hi,

from Grob company,here is a ultralight cyclogyro aircraft design,with two-seat and
powered by twin engined.

http://crop.ubi.pt/nl/02/newsletter.html

 

[Maveric]

CROP not Grob !!!

 

[hesham]

CROP not Grob !!!

What ?,they wrote Grob;

GROB envisaged the integration of cyclogyros in a more conventional ultralight two-seater aircraft, with rotors placed midwing. The adoption of cyclorotors should endow the aircraft with Short Take-off and Landing (STOL) capability; the large wingspan should ensure a greater efficiency in forward flight.

 

[richard]

It is GROB .

Interesting link to the CROP project , new for me : CROP means Cycloidal Rotor Optimized for Propulsion , and involved some European companies , among them GROB .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBC6izUPGdU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5emtt_wk

Thanks for sharing !

 

[hesham]

Thank you my dear Richard.

 

[Sundog]

This makes me wonder if that Northrop patented design actually flew a decade or two ago?

 

[Grey Havoc]

Hoversurf's Scorpion-3 hoverbike prototype:

http://www.space.com/35814-hoverbike-floats-through-air-in-test.html

 

[ZacYates]

When they can mock one of these up to be a replica Speeder Bike from Return Of The Jedi, I'm totally there.