Work in Progress - Cyclogyro

in #aircraft4 years ago

I became aware of this type of flying machine because of a blog I follow titled Weapons and Warfare on WordPress. I first mentioned it here: https://kjworldsong.wordpress.com/2020/04/22/airships-of-the-nine-empires-part-3/

In keeping with my intention of using this device to power an airship, I decided to start small and relatively conventional:

Cyclogyro prototype 1.PNG

As you can see, this cyclogyro is the size of a small aeroplane, but with a much taller fuselage. This is very close to the design I first saw, but there is a problem with it: the torque from the rotors will cause the entire craft to "gerbil," or spin about its own X-axis. Therefore, it really ought to have a tail rotor - for the same reason that helicopters have one, unless they have counter-rotating main rotors, as on Russian military helicopters. In the case of the cyclogyro, however, the tail rotor would be oriented horizontally.

Cyclogyro prototype 2.PNG

This, of course, is a very simple model that doesn't show the details of the actual mechanism, which I do indeed plan on designing. Larger models, such as those of a passenger liner, will show off those details. Of course, one could always look up "cyclogyro" on Wikipedia to see exactly how it works.

Cyclogyro prototype 3.PNG

There are several bizarre airship designs that I intend to play around with, and having this new mechanism at my disposal opens up new possibilities. Tomorrow, I'll probably have another one.

Cyclogyro prototype 4.PNG

On a side note, I think I may have finally found a good way to properly render airfoils, but until I re-design my IL-10 model, I won't know for sure. Inability to put fillets on that one is the main reason I don't design aeroplanes, but that may change in the near future.