Shameless update from Dale Kramer

Sorry Tom - it was devolving into points that were narrower and narrower and mostly not relevant to the fundamental issues, seemingly so you can avoid conceding any points made by others.

There are some legitimate technical issues to figure out. I just don't see anything inherent in this that says the thing can't fly, and believe me helicopters of any type are full of issues. Might the thing benefit from more horsepower? Maybe. Might it kick up dust if you fly it off dry dirt and a bed of twigs? Probably. Will it hover at 10,000 MSL on a hot day? I'd bet a number of helicopters have trouble with that. Will it autorotate? Nope, but it has extra motors. Enough? Maybe, maybe not. Might it be a bit tippy with the motor up front? I think it might, but thinking that doesn't make it an insurmountable problem or Dale a charlatan.

When I worked on helicopters as an engineer at NASA Ames I saw all kinds of crazy crap that clever people made work, some with PhDs in Aero, some who were mechanics. It is the trying that drives progress. I give Dale credit for trying.

On Thursday, March 31, 2016 at 9:29:07 AM UTC-7, Andy Blackburn wrote:
Sorry Tom - it was devolving into points that were narrower and narrower and mostly not relevant to the fundamental issues, seemingly so you can avoid conceding any points made by others.

There are some legitimate technical issues to figure out. I just don't see anything inherent in this that says the thing can't fly, and believe me helicopters of any type are full of issues. Might the thing benefit from more horsepower? Maybe. Might it kick up dust if you fly it off dry dirt and a bed of twigs? Probably. Will it hover at 10,000 MSL on a hot day? I'd bet a number of helicopters have trouble with that. Will it autorotate? Nope, but it has extra motors. Enough? Maybe, maybe not. Might it be a bit tippy with the motor up front? I think it might, but thinking that doesn't make it an insurmountable problem or Dale a charlatan.

When I worked on helicopters as an engineer at NASA Ames I saw all kinds of crazy crap that clever people made work, some with PhDs in Aero, some who were mechanics. It is the trying that drives progress. I give Dale credit for trying.

I give Dale credit for trying too. But trying isn't enough; you also want to have a good chance at succeeding. Design reviews, by there very nature, can be brutal - but they are essential. I am sure you encountered that at Ames.

BTW, the 10k density altitude issue is encountered at airports at 6,000 MSL in the summertime.