I was just wondering, does anyone know how it steers? It has two counterrotating blades (I have no idea how they manage to make them counterrotate on a single rod nor do I know how they manage to keep it so that some small imbalance doesn't cause the overall vehicle to spin) but I don't see another control surfaces. I think it's too light to have a heavy gyroscope. Does it have some sort of gimbal at the base of the rotors to allow them to tilt? Is there some sort of internal mass (the batteries?) that
It's quite simple, it's two concentric shafts, one inside the other. As for steering, I haven't looked at the Mars copter, but helicopters have a device called a swashplate that lets you change the pitch of the blades selectively as the blades spin around 360 degrees. This gets you selective thrust in any direction.
An extreme example of a swashplate would be in 3D helicopter flying.
The blades look fixed angle in photos. I think they may be using a rigid rotor system that tilts. That would be mechanically simpler and is quite common with model helicopters.
Getting the weight down and lift up are big considerations because the atmosphere is very thin on Mars, and the reduced gravity doesn't fully compensate.
Good lord, man. Photos are a frozen picture of a moment in time, what else would you expect to see besides a fixed angle?
A tilt rotor system is neither simple nor common. I don't know how many model helicopters you've seen, but I've seen hundreds on my bench over 20 years. Not a single one tilted the entire rotor assembly.
You have all the explanations in the above comments.
> Fixed pitch helis tilt the entire helicopter, not the rotor assembly.
How? What do I need to pull so that the entire helicopter tilts? There must be some control rod attached to a servo horn. Where is the other end of that rod attached?
> Besides, a four channel heli would certainly not have fixed pitch.
Please explain what all those things I find by searching "4 channel fixed pitch" (with the quotes) mean. Are they trying to fool me or what? I don't have a 4 channel or a fixed pitch model, but I do ha
And that's slow-mo. You can imagine the stresses and strains in these arrangements, even in RC models, and why most toy helicopters avoid the swashplate at all costs.
My 4 channel RC helicopter is a coaxial helicopter with a swashplate, and it definitely changes the angle of the blades, it doesn't tilt the whole rotor.
by Anonymous Coward writes:
on Monday April 19, 2021 @02:18PM (#61291156)
If it changes the angle of the blades both collectively and cyclically then it looks like a dumbed-down 5 channel heli. I have no idea why one would make a heli this way. Care to name the model?
Does anyone know how it steers? (Score:5, Interesting)
I was just wondering, does anyone know how it steers? It has two counterrotating blades (I have no idea how they manage to make them counterrotate on a single rod nor do I know how they manage to keep it so that some small imbalance doesn't cause the overall vehicle to spin) but I don't see another control surfaces. I think it's too light to have a heavy gyroscope. Does it have some sort of gimbal at the base of the rotors to allow them to tilt? Is there some sort of internal mass (the batteries?) that
Re: (Score:5, Informative)
It's quite simple, it's two concentric shafts, one inside the other. As for steering, I haven't looked at the Mars copter, but helicopters have a device called a swashplate that lets you change the pitch of the blades selectively as the blades spin around 360 degrees. This gets you selective thrust in any direction.
An extreme example of a swashplate would be in 3D helicopter flying.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
This is where the swashplate has extreme throws compared to a full-size one...
The Kamov Ka-50
Re: (Score:1)
The blades look fixed angle in photos. I think they may be using a rigid rotor system that tilts. That would be mechanically simpler and is quite common with model helicopters.
Getting the weight down and lift up are big considerations because the atmosphere is very thin on Mars, and the reduced gravity doesn't fully compensate.
Re: (Score:1)
Good lord, man. Photos are a frozen picture of a moment in time, what else would you expect to see besides a fixed angle?
A tilt rotor system is neither simple nor common. I don't know how many model helicopters you've seen, but I've seen hundreds on my bench over 20 years. Not a single one tilted the entire rotor assembly.
You have all the explanations in the above comments.
https://hardware.slashdot.org/... [slashdot.org]
One wonders why you felt the need to comment.
Re: (Score:0)
Perhaps you forgot that 4-channel fixed pitch helis exist because they are way below your expertise level.
Re: (Score:0)
Fixed pitch helis tilt the entire helicopter, not the rotor assembly.
Next time, try a little research before spouting utter nonsense.
Besides, a four channel heli would certainly not have fixed pitch.
Please enumerate the function of the four channels.
I'll look at my four channel model here and compare notes, maybe that's a fake swashplate in there.
Re: (Score:0)
> Fixed pitch helis tilt the entire helicopter, not the rotor assembly.
How? What do I need to pull so that the entire helicopter tilts? There must be some control rod attached to a servo horn. Where is the other end of that rod attached?
> Besides, a four channel heli would certainly not have fixed pitch.
Please explain what all those things I find by searching "4 channel fixed pitch" (with the quotes) mean. Are they trying to fool me or what? I don't have a 4 channel or a fixed pitch model, but I do ha
Re: (Score:0)
I meant "angle of the blades", not plates...
enjoy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
And that's slow-mo. You can imagine the stresses and strains in these arrangements, even in RC models, and why most toy helicopters avoid the swashplate at all costs.
My 4 channel RC helicopter is a coaxial helicopter with a swashplate, and it definitely changes the angle of the blades, it doesn't tilt the whole rotor.
Re:Does anyone know how it steers? (Score:0)
If it changes the angle of the blades both collectively and cyclically then it looks like a dumbed-down 5 channel heli. I have no idea why one would make a heli this way. Care to name the model?