Helicopter Strategies (New Apogee Kit)

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majordude

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I just got an email from Apogee that they are releasing a new kit: https://j.mp/1eS1r80

It looks advanced compared to the Roto-Roc or Rose-A-Roc... but the video shows it coming in pretty fast. Does altitude beat spinning?
 
I just got an email from Apogee that they are releasing a new kit: https://j.mp/1eS1r80

It looks advanced compared to the Roto-Roc or Rose-A-Roc... but the video shows it coming in pretty fast. Does altitude beat spinning?

The test flights use an A8, but the design seems more suited for a B6 or C6. So you're looking at ~1 minute dead air time for that model on a B. Decent, not great.

The biggest two factors in any duration event are altitude and decent rate. Trading one for the other is a matter of style and personal preference.

I think that the times shown in the video could be vastly improved upon with a little tweaking. The oscillating shock cord steals a lot of energy from the system, which increases the decent rate. My guess is that the hub was seriously out of balance, which is what drove the oscillation. The unbalanced hub also increases friction on the shaft, stealing more energy still. You'll notice that the airframe was spinning as fast as the blades; the airframe should turn slowly if at all. If you're really crazy, you could peel a layer off the 24mm tube or replace it with a hand-rolled FG one and save 4-5g.

IMO, the Gyro Chaser isn't any more complex than a Rose-a-Roc. This has an internal hub, but the Rose has split blades. Burn strings are less reliable as a rule. So six of one and a half dozen of the other.
 
I would think that if you're not doing it for competition, small, flashy, mylar stickers would be good for placing on the rotor blades to increase visibility, and make it a more fun rocket to watch descending.
 
The test flights use an A8, but the design seems more suited for a B6 or C6. So you're looking at ~1 minute dead air time for that model on a B. Decent, not great.

The biggest two factors in any duration event are altitude and decent rate. Trading one for the other is a matter of style and personal preference.

I think that the times shown in the video could be vastly improved upon with a little tweaking. The oscillating shock cord steals a lot of energy from the system, which increases the decent rate. My guess is that the hub was seriously out of balance, which is what drove the oscillation. The unbalanced hub also increases friction on the shaft, stealing more energy still. You'll notice that the airframe was spinning as fast as the blades; the airframe should turn slowly if at all. If you're really crazy, you could peel a layer off the 24mm tube or replace it with a hand-rolled FG one and save 4-5g.

IMO, the Gyro Chaser isn't any more complex than a Rose-a-Roc. This has an internal hub, but the Rose has split blades. Burn strings are less reliable as a rule. So six of one and a half dozen of the other.

I'll Second Brian's Post:
I'm ordering one of Apogee's new HD models just for fun. I'm sure there will likely be many ways to Tweek the design and/or materials to increase both altitude and duration as This Type of Helicopter have been in use by the US and international Competition teams for YEARS.
 
I'm ordering one of Apogee's new HD models just for fun. I'm sure there will likely be many ways to Tweek the design and/or materials to increase both altitude and duration as This Type of Helicopter have been in use by the US and international Competition teams for YEARS.

The blades seem too small and it looks like it comes in faster than a Rose-A-Roc. The beauty of those old models is that they will actually work (and place!) with just one blade if you happen to be running out of time the night before a launch and can only slap one blade together. :)
 
I would drop a $20 just to have a look at that hub, personally. The blade area and weight seem roughly equivalent to an open rotor design. Built well, I don't think it would be any worse than an open rotor. Just ordered one though, so I'll let you know.
 
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