"Gig 601Xl Builder" wrote in message
m...
wrote:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/05/15/s....ap/index.html
Karl


Anyone have a clue as to how it controls yaw?
As a guess, differential torque. The blades are fixed pitch so differential
collective ala Kaman is not possible. Note that the guy says while it is
possible to fly as high as 165 yds, his demo would be at 16.5 yds altitude.
If the engines fail, though it would require all 4 failing, the helo quickly
converts to a lawn dart. If it was me I would demo at 1.65yds altitude and
no faster than I could run. I saw a demo of this ship at Sun'n Fun a number
of years ago. The pilot got a bit carried away with some low altitude
swooping and tipped the ship over to far and it hit the ground shedding
rotor parts:; some of which were later found several hundred feet down the
flight line in front of an RV. No injuries though.
Stu