Very cool drone with 8 engines!

[huppe]

This is what I want after my Inspire.Don't forget to turn your volume on!

Or this one!

 

[damoncooper]

This is what I want after my Inspire.Don't forget to turn your volume on!

Or this one!

It's like the Wright brother days all over again

 

[damoncooper]

18 rotors on this one. Looks pretty promising actually:

By these guys:

http://www.e-volo.com/ongoing-developement

 

[John Alan]

I saw that 18 rotor one a while back...

The key to a good multi-copter with fixed pitch props will be it has to be electric motors and braking ESC's... we got that tech today...

Using piston engines on fixed pitch props...
They are too slow to change power up and down to be very controllable...
You might get one to hover... but show me spins 180 degrees then climbs out like an Inspire 1...
HA!... no way...

The problem now is payload weight (people) verses battery weight and capacity...
It's reported that the 18 rotor above flies great... as long as nobody is on board...

The problem is the same as what effects drones today... Can not store enough energy in a lightweight battery to make it work...

First company to build an economical micro turbine direct driving a generator with a battery to level out amp draw will make this all doable...(large electric multirotor that can carry a person 1 hour)
Either that or a 100x leap in battery power density...

Just look at the power system on the Solar Impulse 2... and remember it's a 40 to 1 glider...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Impulse...

Making something that can carry 1000 lbs payload (4 pass + luggage)... take off like a helicopter and go 500 miles on one charge... HA!!... can't be done anytime soon...

 

[The Editor]

18 rotors on this one. Looks pretty promising actually:

By these guys:

http://www.e-volo.com/ongoing-developement

Only problem is, doing the compass dance with that is a real pita!

 

[damoncooper]

I saw that 18 rotor one a while back...

The key to a good multi-copter with fixed pitch props will be it has to be electric motors and braking ESC's... we got that tech today...

Using piston engines on fixed pitch props...
They are too slow to change power up and down to be very controllable...
You might get one to hover... but show me spins 180 degrees then climbs out like an Inspire 1...
HA!... no way...

The problem now is payload weight (people) verses battery weight and capacity...
It's reported that the 18 rotor above flies great... as long as nobody is on board...

The problem is the same as what effects drones today... Can not store enough energy in a lightweight battery to make it work...

First company to build an economical micro turbine direct driving a generator with a battery to level out amp draw will make this all doable...(large electric multirotor that can carry a person 1 hour)
Either that or a 100x leap in battery power density...

Just look at the power system on the Solar Impulse 2... and remember it's a 40 to 1 glider...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Impulse...

Making something that can carry 1000 lbs payload (4 pass + luggage)... take off like a helicopter and go 500 miles on one charge... HA!!... can't be done anytime soon...

PEM hydrogen fuel cells may be the way forward.

 

[John Alan]

PEM hydrogen fuel cells may be the way forward.

Hmmm... looking...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton_exchange_membrane_fuel_cell

Maybe... but I still believe that it's not energy dense enough...
The weight of the high pressure hydrogen storage tank is not helping the math in my mind...

You look at a TB48 battery and the specs on it... as a system
1.5 lbs...
5.7 amp hours...
130 watt hours...
Goes in a 6.5 lbs bird that gives about 20 mins flight time in ideal conditions... less if you add any more payload...
Lets add a 0.2 lbs dummy for giggles and fly it around... it's doable... 6.7 lbs...

Now multiply those numbers by 1000... so maybe you can carry a 200lbs person around for 15 minutes...
Power source needed
1500 lbs
5700 amp hours
130000 watt hours
Goes in a 6700 lbs gross weight flying machine...

Now be aware your going to drain it in 15 mins... 1/4 of an hour...
so it's got to provide 130000 watts in 15 mins... or at a rate of 520000 watts per hour...
520 kwh generator... under 1500 lbs... HA!!!

You need about a 700hp genset to get that kind of power... and that is assuming no losses...
And that would only sustain hover or level flight... so you could fly more then 15 mins...

They use turbines in helicopters cause they are power dense light weight energy sources...

Sure someone could built today a scaled up human carrying Multicopter on paper...
You gonna need a crane to change that 1500lbs battery every 15 mins...

Ain't physics fun...

 

[Soflms]

The first 2 videos look super sketchy lol. I think I'll stick to the good ol ugly Robinson r22