I've learnt from viewers, Homebuilt Helicopter fixing part 3 + seakranoflyer build.

[@ehudgavron9086]

FAA Commercial Helicopter pilot with an engineering background here. I'm still *very much* enjoying your work, and your thought process, and the detail in working out the equations. There's the happy part of the sandwich. If you were climbing to any altitude at which both a failure of design disallows a safe return to ground (e.g. autorotation, float, magic rockets, etc.) and the occurrence of a lift system failure (be it engine, shaft, transmission, clutch, rotor head, etc.) then this would be a definite design killer, even if you're only running at 4% of the chain load *in specific circumstances* which don't include a horizontal-plane chain, insufficient sprocket teeth, etc. A Honda racing motorcycle (had one once) doesn't get very far off the ground, so a drive system failure will leave you at worst case departing your bike with a good amount of momentum. At best case a break will cause you to start deceleration as energy in is now less than energy out. That's the sad part of the sandwich (sour meat?) You have built --from scratch-- a literaly homemade helicopter. It flies; it hovers; it has sufficient lift and thrust to move you around your lawn while IGE. Those are creditable achievements if you were ONLY an engineer, but your talent with machine tools and craftsmanship suggests far more. See, the second happy part completes the sandwich. If you intend to never go above "this fall could hurt me severly" height, then your rotor system and its flaws are livable. I envision a bright red on white sticker saying "FLIGHT PROHIBITED ABOVE 3FT AGL". However, if you intend to drive the main rotor from the engine you should consider WHY there is a belt (or chain) on piston-driven helicopters and none on jet turboshaft helicopters. It's there to take the load off the engine during engine start and until it's come up to running RPM. So, if you take a fresh look at this, you should figure out how much energy it takes to spin up that rotor, and whether that load is something the engine can handle, and if so no need for any clutch mechanism. No belt. No chain, etc. You might consider a true multi-gear gearbox. One gear for starting (making up a number here: 500:1 so 5000eRPM=10rRPM), and one gear for running (17:1 so 5000eRPM=~300rRPM). With no frictive clutch you'd have to have pretty good synchro gears and probably 17 is a bad choice so maybe 5000eRPM is a bad one as well, but it's my first SWAG (scientific wild ass guess.) The smaller you make things the less they weigh, but the less torque, torsion, flex, and whatever else power in the Z axis is called they can take. If you do the tradeoff curve you'll likely find that changing from being worried about 0.01 fitting into 0.08 becomes much easier if you make things larger... and add that little weight -- much less than two gearboxes. Finally it appears the aircraft is REALLY UNSTABLE. As you've flown an R-22 in a previous episode, and you've flown this things for hours, and knowing your hands aren't shaky nor is your voice indicative of any stress condition or CNS "uppers"... I'm inclined to think it is inherently unstable. There is an easy way to test it. Buy some R/C servos and 3D control sensors and see if that setup can make it hover with stability over a fixed point. If it can, well, the problem can't be fixed ;-) If it can't... figure out whether your CG is too high on the Z axis, or whether something is so close to out-of-CG that any change in attitude (long/lat) destroys that balance. Flying helicopters is ilke balancing a broom on your palm... and a home-built one is like balancing a broom atop a toothpick inserted into an olive held within two fingers... Best wishes!

[@Ben-Dixey]

Hi and thanks for the great comment. It is correct that this machine will only be hovering or moving very slowly within a few feet of the ground. The rotors are fixed pitch so no autorotation is possible, the overrun clutch is only something that want to disengage the drive shaft and engine from the rotors should an engine seize ever happen. A centrifugal clutch is also needed in this case because I'm starting the engine manually to save weight, did have electric start previously but it was too heavy. It would have been possible to start the rotors and engine with electric start. The belts are toothed which means they can't be slipped as a clutch. I have had a total of one hours instruction with an R22 but the rest has been self taught on my machine. I'm a very inexperienced pilot but there is a massive difference in hovering stability when the wind gusts. It can go from relatively easy to hover to un-flyable in my hands during these conditions. I'm not experienced enough to confirm whether it's the machine or me but rotor flap back I think is the problem, there's no delta 3 in the rotor system to compensate. My current thinking is this machine is only suitable for very calm conditions, fixed pitch is too slow to react to gusts.

[@martingarrish4082]

@ehudgavron9086 , some good comments there. I've put forward a suggestion to Ben outside of the KZbin chat to address these concerns. I'd like to see the design go further, but there are some fundamentals that need sorting.

[@DumfriesDik]

Bonkers or genius, you have my admiration. I never got past Meccano. The best of British to you Ben.

[@CameronCarter1]

Love your videos Ben. They put a smile on my face and make me want to re-visit y projects. :-)

[@Ben-Dixey]

Hi Cam, great to hear from you, I really hope you do go back to them, you know how much your helicopters and videos inspired me, but we both know how massive a project it is. I hope to have the enthusiasm to continue with this stuff forever, but time will tell I suppose.

[@HeliShed]

Amazing mate - just amazing the thought that goes into your projects, the skill and confidence to go forth with it - Max respect Ben. Lookin' forward to meetin you pal.

[@Ben-Dixey]

Can't wait to meet you Tyger, You're a real character watching your videos and always make me laugh. We'll have a fun day I reckon.

[@kentuckyhelicycle2614]

It looks like the hover is more stable now. It is amazing to see how much math and physics you are unpacking with you build. I feel fortunate that my kit has had all that stuff worked out by its designer and engineers!! Coming back to England in Sept. My daughter and her husband are expecting their first child. He will be born in July. Totally stoked!! Keep it going Ben. You inspire the rest of us!

[@Ben-Dixey]

Hi! Yes to make the right decisions every time you almost have to be an expert in everything. Materials, drive systems, aerodynamics, physics, maths, engineering, etc etc. I like the fact it forces you to learn something you likely would have never come across otherwise. Your helicycle I'm sure is also a big educational experience. Feel free to stop in should you be anywhere near Devon. Congrats on the news 👍

[@Petermomo5050]

Thanks for sharing this video glad you've returned to the build, and I feel a little smarter from watching this particular video. Nice hoovering by the way

[@Ben-Dixey]

😊 thank you

[@mitubachiflight]

I love your thoughtful designs. I'm looking forward to seeing what improvements you make!😀

[@Ben-Dixey]

I like your rc models 👍😊

[@rajeevshagun7409]

Hayyyyy Ben glad to see you flying it for longer time. Will write you more soon. Wow

[@Ben-Dixey]

Hey, I have to disappoint you on this I'm afraid because the hovering is old footage from before the driveshaft broke. I just used the footage to accompany the narration, there will be new video of hovering but it will take some months to get it back operational again. Apologies for misleading you.

[@rajeevshagun7409]

@@Ben-Dixey oh no disappointment, I understand this is continue process of the improvement... believe you very much . Great Ben

[@Joemama555]

best torque testing audio EVER! :)

[@Ben-Dixey]

😀👍

[@-Rambi-]

I love that you choose to keep going at it, I remember connecting with this a year or two ago. I'm staring a call with old friend that togheter have a PHD in astro pgysics, a PHD in metallurgy and a PHD in Aerospace engeering. Just as a cause to bring us togheter again and work on a project as a team, we will of course share our findings with you, I must say though, you did spark a goal/project that have been absent between our fields. And for that. I am forever grateful. Conquer the skies.

[@Ben-Dixey]

Wow. Thanks for that, yes keep me informed, sounds interesting.

[@john3Lee]

Always interesting stuff - Thanks

[@rickshaw3005]

Thanks for the update and bonus knowledge about chain drive.. I was always curious why it was always belt. I would have felt safer with double roller wide chain,or 2 belts with chain drive in the middle for extra safety..

[@Ben-Dixey]

👍Two belts on each drive would be safe for sure but the penalty would be the cost and extra weight in pulleys and framework etc. Every decision is a balance of cost, weight and safety. If a single belt is guaranteed to last say 100hrs I think that would be acceptable in terms of cost to replace and safety.

[@OYEUAV]

❤❤... sir please I still congregate you for such a wonderful video... am still following you. Keep it up

[@okgo8315]

Very interesting stuff here Ben, and some knowledgeable helpful comments too....thankyou.✌️🇬🇧

[@Ben-Dixey]

Thank you 😊

[@Kebekwoodcraft7375]

I learn lots of things with your videos thanks 😊

[@Ben-Dixey]

Nice to hear that, makes me happy.

[@Mister_G]

Thanks for the video - fascinating to follow your thought process.

[@gafrers]

Greatly explained

[@Ben-Dixey]

Thank you 😊

[@mavsmith123]

Just a thought about the rudder cables. rather than the reversing bell cranks, just swap the cable from side to side between the last pulley and direct connect to the rudder.

[@Ben-Dixey]

👍 that is how I planned to do it initially , much simpler and lighter but the cables have to pass through the vertical stabiliser. I thought this might give me a problem when it came to covering the stabiliser. Still open to discussion on this though.

[@SteveWrightNZ]

Consider also the tortional vibration situation as well. See how motorcycles resolve it with a cush drive in the rear, and the clutch basket springs up front - and even then there will be an "avoid" rev range.

[@Ben-Dixey]

Good point. Think chains are well and truly out. Shame, as it could have increased the lift significantly with a lower ratio.

[@SteveWrightNZ]

@@Ben-Dixey I think chains might be workable, will be heavy though.. Cush drives in the rotor head will be a complete rework, probably you could retask some motorcycle engine clutch basket, or just use the whole motorcycle engine. Thats a lot of reworking though...

[@StarChasersHere]

Adding chain's increase Murphy's law Ben. Stay safe.

[@shekhargaidhani1618]

Very nice video...

[@Ben-Dixey]

Thank you. 😊

[@AlienLivesMatter]

Perhaps a bevel gear set to get the reduction and to correct the chain orientation.

[@av8tor261]

My case for belt drives. Certified belt drive helicopters, Hughs 269/300, Enstrom and Robinson R22/ R44

[@Ben-Dixey]

👍

[@n085fs]

The issue with a chain comes from thermal stretching. If it isn't operating while being soaked in oil, it will stretch. An idler tensioning pulley is a basic fix for that, but keep in mind that metal also shrinks as it cools down and will fatigue with thermal cycles.

[@Ben-Dixey]

Think I've decided there are too many problems to overcome with chains. The heating and stretching of chains probably needing constant attention or more complexity to solve as you suggest are good reasons not to go in that direction.

[@keithcarpenter5254]

Didn't know we had this amount of freedom left in experimental general aviation! I know in America, if it's less than 7, or 900kg, can't remember which!, you're good to go. No licence, no inspection, nothing! I thought article 39 buggered all that up years ago, here!? Banging coax, more headspeed if you've got the ponies!😊

[@Ben-Dixey]

We have some freedom but I'm pushing my luck. In America they have FAR part 103, up to 115 kg empty weight, flight without needing a license or certification. In the uk it's up to 70kg to qualify. There might be an exemption as my helicopter is always tethered but they are long, as tethers going tight would be very dangerous for myself. The wing in ground effect boat is completely unrestricted by the CAA, it's only governed by maritime law and classified as a boat.

[@dagameface8181]

@7:45 sharpie marker leaves a coating almost .001" thick, definitely enough to mess with bearing press fit. In fact its an old machinist trick, if your bearing isnt snug, you can use sharpie on both surfaces and get a friction fit.

[@Ben-Dixey]

I just tried it out of interest, I measured a piece of steel with a mic, then marked both sides with the sharpie. No measurable change in dimension. New cars for example have a paint thickness of between 0.08mm- 0.120mm. That's the primer and top coat, a sharpie being 0.025mm I can't seen happening in one application, etch primer via gun maybe, but then it has to stay on during the press fit which is also unlikely in my opinion. Sorry to disagree but it doesn't seem right to me.

[@hkruczek8725]

@@Ben-Dixey Bull S never bafuls brains,

[@bulenboncuk426]

helikopter bence stabil duruyo ama şaft mili nekadar sağlam bilmiyorum emeğinize sağlık kolay gelsin

[@Ben-Dixey]

👍

[@Paulman50]

A plan so cunning, you could pin a tail on it, and call it a weasel 😂

[@trevorpom]

There’s quite a bit of energy lost using a chain. Up to 30% as opposed to the belt. Belts are far more efficient and more than strong enough to handle the load. Not to mention lighter, quieter and require far less maintenance.

[@Ben-Dixey]

I had forgotten about the efficiency, difference good point. 👍 Think the belts are 95-98% efficient. Chains will get less efficient with heat and at high speed too.

[@trevorpom]

@@Ben-Dixey They also don't wear out the belt pulleys like chain does to sprockets. It's the main reason a lot of modern cars have timing belts instead of chains, not all but most. Chain has a bad habit of stretching too, needing constant adjustment and lubrication. In a machine like yours where efficiency is paramount, belt drive is the way to go imho.

[@cloudusterable]

Hi Ben.......have you you looked at De Lackners Helivectors the the machine uses belts and a single roller chain and his own revering syetem, plus outboards for power, might get a few ideas.

[@Ben-Dixey]

Hi Peter, well I knew about the Delackner but have to confess I haven't researched the mechanics. Great suggestion to look at, found a couple photos so far, looks like a chain drive then v- belts at first glance. Will look further into it to try and understand how they did it. 👍

[@donaldpayne1376]

I wonder if you have considered making the gearbox with one fwd and one reverse output attached and driving the rotor shafts directly with the auto one way on the gearbox input end. This will allow for drive belt or engine failure while still maintaining ability to auto rotate. Of course this depends on a collective pitch upgrade.

[@Ben-Dixey]

Sounds good to me. If the reversing gearbox was also a slight reduction drive then the extra lift generated would easily compensate for the gearbox weight. The belts would be under slightly more strain but not much I don't think. Easily calculated and checked.

[@donaldpayne1376]

I'm not sure why the belt[s] between the engine and gearbox input end would be doing more work with a gearbox rather than large & small pulleys. Maybe you are referring to gearbox losses. The gearbox could do the majority of the reduction allowing adequate pulley diameter [ pulley wrap ] of both the engine and gearbox input to reduce excess flex maintaining good efficiency. The gearbox could also carry the bottom of the swash plate stack. My '82 microlight uses 4 A section belts between a 30hp 2 stroke and propeller providing a 2 :1 reduction. Some have a 40hp using the same 4 belt 2 :1 reduction. Maybe talk to your local auto transmission shop for a look a planetary reduction stacks.

[@alexanderhartmann07]

Hallo, danke für dein sehr gutes video und gute arbeit. Ich möchte aber sagen, das die lager , für die umlenkrollen am antrieb, zu schwach sind . Die laufen trocken und dann gibts probleme. Größere rollen und stärkere kugellager , wäre die lösung..

[@Ben-Dixey]

Hi and thanks. Deflection rollers? Is that where the belts are deflected around the opposite side of the large driven pulley ?

[@nickaxe771]

Just discovered your very interesting channel Ben. Can I ask....are home built Helicopters allowed in the UK.....over in the US they have some great little Helicopters. Nick from Cheshire....a retired microlighter.

[@cloudusterable]

If you went down the official legal route in the UK you wouldn't do anything, these things are deemed as " private pirate ventures "

[@chippyjohn1]

Keep at it Ben. The millenial joke is quite true, although Im a millenial. There is a big obsession with making things from plastic.

[@Ben-Dixey]

👍 The technology for making things using computer controlled machines is great but the skills to make things using manual machinery is just as important. I see some channels making great things from plastic but when it comes to making something from metal they can't do it. Alan zhang is an example, in his video he states "as an engineer we can make whatever we want" so he 3d prints a load of stuff but then realised some parts needed to be metal. At this point he had to pay an engineer to make them for him. There are other channels that are the same, they don't seem to think that learning the skills of metal working is very important, perhaps beneath them.

[@chippyjohn1]

@@Ben-Dixey I've seen plenty of videos of people 3d printing components only to throw it out because it is wrong or fails or they change it. I know the plastic can mostly be recycled, but the waste behind it. If you make something from metal, you really have to think ahead so you don't waste material. The plastic printer people seem to be in such a hurry. I despise plastic personally, try and avoid it as much as possible.

[@chippyjohn1]

@@Ben-Dixey Also people calling themselves engineers bugs me. Here in Aus a boiler maker trade is now called engineering, yet they are only taught basic fabrication and nothing really about design. We have another work experience kid that says he is studying engineering, which is actually boilermaker, but he calls himself an engineer. He struggles to use a drill and to think he will have a certificate that has Engineering on it. Uni and education just seems to be about having a title, not skill.

[@Ben-Dixey]

@@chippyjohn1 The broader use of the engineer term devalues it. They did the same thing at college while I was there, they changed the name of Higher national diploma to foundation degree. Why? To make it sound more impressive ? All it does is devalue the degree qualification. Boiler technician I would think is a more appropriate title.

[@ik04]

Those flight controls need to be moved inside the protection of the frame.

[@chippyjohn1]

Should you ever have an interest in gears, look at the KHK catalogue. For your power output it should not be too heavy, although cost would be far higher.

[@Ben-Dixey]

Thank you 👍 very helpful

[@donaldpayne1376]

Did you get the engine built in charge winding and an external regulator / rectifier contributing to your cooling fan and so reducing or hopefully eliminating the need for external alternator? Many older original equipment outboard charge regulator rectifiers are inefficient. So a later single phase reg rectifier is likely to give you more output. I'm guessing your electrical requirements are around 10 amp so within the ability of the outboard charge winding.

[@Ben-Dixey]

Hi, the electric fan I'm using is drawing 17 amps, gauges and water pump is 1am. I think I need to go to a belt driven fan. When I do that modification then it would make sense to sort the Johnson stator and remove the external alternator. Think a replacement stator is rated for about 5 amps. I didn't know that about the later single phase outboard charge systems being more efficient. 👍

[@donaldpayne1376]

17 amps for an electric fan is a lot. I think you can do better. I'd expect an efficient brushless 'continuous duty' fan to have a start current around 20~30 amp [dependent on cable area] and run current near 10 amp. I'd select a scimitar shaped fan blade. They are more efficient so draw less current to push or suck more air. If possible look for a brushless design often much more efficient like 80% rather than 30 to 50% for a brushed design. How good and close is the seal onto the radiator? The better the seal the more heat gets transferred to the atmosphere with less air short circuiting around the edge of the fan and not through the radiator. Does the fan have a good end plate around the tips of the fan blades again making a big improvement on efficiency. As a bonus this air resistance or more work being done also means slower fan speed and often less current. How near the top of the radiator where the coolant is the hottest is the fan mounted? Much better to move the hottest air. How large is the fan? This as It's a lot cheaper and more efficient to move a lot of air a little than a little a lot.

[@donaldpayne1376]

Later charging systems are superior due to the more efficient regulator regulator rather than a larger winding inside the engine.

[@Ben-Dixey]

@@donaldpayne1376 Thanks for the info. The fan I chose is Spal va08-ap70/ll-23ma It's brushed I believe, I went for the highest CFM and largest diameter I could fit to the radiator. It's a pull type fan straight bladed and 14" diameter. The fan is as close to the radiator as possible without risk of touching it and shrouded. The shroud is welded to the radiator so it's a perfect seal. Data shows it can pull 1600 cfm at 17amps. I haven't looked at the brushless ones yet but will have a look.

[@donaldpayne1376]

@@Ben-Dixey Good job on the shroud seal. Is the fan on the correct side of the radiator so its encouraging heat to rise? Might be a contradiction if it's in the rotor downward area. I'd look at scimitar blades & continuos duty as well as brushless. I'd also stay away from a reversable blade as its a compromise with sub optimal performance both ways. I wonder if a larger radiator would help. Keep up the great work, it's fun watching your progress.

[@markmaker2488]

Have you thought of using dyneema rope instead of steel cables?

[@Ben-Dixey]

Hi, I had a comment about that last time but forgot to look into it, I hadn't seen it used for control surfaces on planes before but I need to look into that. It would be much lighter if it can be used. Thanks for reminding me. 👍

[@markmaker2488]

@@Ben-Dixey your welcome, it’s up to 15 times stronger than steel by weight.

[@WarblesOnALot]

G'day, Great stuff ! I'd never heard that term "Cordle-Effect" before, but it certainly "stands to reason"...; and out of curiosity I do expect to be on my knees later today, counting the Teeth on the Drive-Sprocket of my Electric Motorbike...! (1,007 Km logged on it now, in 2 months & 28 Recharges...; I'm travelling 24 Km on the Bike for each litre of 91-Octane fed into the Generator, to refill the Battery...). On the other hand, I feel like Catweazle looking at those one-way Roller-Bearings..., "GadZOOKS, Sire... What Outlandish Sorcery be this ? !!!" Or words to that effect. In the Gripping hand though...; What does the Press-Fitting process' Circumferential Tension-Stress being permanently loaded into the Wall of the Aluminum Tubular-Shaft...; do to the Fatigue-Life of that Tube, when it's under high cyclic-rate vibrating Torsional Stresses (peaking on every transmitted Power-Stroke, fed into the Crankshaft by the Connecting-Rods thumping the Big-End Bearings ...) ? Aluminium is a bit fragile in Tension..., & vibrating Cyclic-Loading annoys it as well...; but those Clutch/Rollers sure look like "Magic" To my olde eyes...(!). In other "news", I finally succeeded in capturing Smoke-Trails wreathing vertically up from under a Foam Chuck-Glider model of a Spitfire, suspended inside the Hut, and free to Weathercock... Responding to the "Propeller-Blast" of the little Peltier-Effect powered Stove-Fan... At a distance of 66 inches (168 cm). Capturing the visualised/imagined Airflow at super-low Airspeeds is a lot easier to think up than it is to achieve in practice..., it turns out (!). The things one gets up to, while living in a Lawn Locker in the Forest, with no TV ; especially on Rainy Dayze...(!). Such is life. Have a good one... Stay safe. ;-p Ciao! Post Scriptum... The Drive-Sprocket is in a tricky spot to count, but I make it to have 8 Teeth on the 180° which I can see and reach with a Pointer to count with certainty. Assuming it to be radially symmetrical..., then yeah - 16 teeth on the Talaria Sting's Motivational Cog..., as well. Perhaps all the Motorcycle-ologists are taught about the Cordle (Caudal ?) Effect...; in the way that Baby Aeroplanologists learn that Lift must equal Weight and Thrust equates to Drag..., in stable level flight - whereas that Vector Analysis surprise a lot of "Normal reasonable Adults" Whenever the topic rises in conversation... Rumsfeldts' famous "Unknown Unknowns" Might well include this "Cordle/Caudal" Effect ; But the mere fact that Rummy didn't know things Never ever meant that those things were Not Underway, and proceeding afoot... Life being full of Surprises, as it is. Have a good one... Stay safe. ;-p Ciao!

[@Ben-Dixey]

Hi, The bearings are indeed magical, inside there are wedges where the rollers jam and only get released by counter rotation, small springs hold the rollers in the free running position. Quite impressive that they work so well and are so compact in design. The electric bike, are you going to have a solar panel to recharge the battery at some point ? Is it 67mpg as it stands ? Not bad if so considering. The cyclic fatigue I hadn't considered on the pulley but I have worked it out on the driveshaft if made from aluminium. I watched your video, surprising the fan had enough power to disturb the smoke at that distance. 👍 Ben

[@WarblesOnALot]

@@Ben-Dixey G'day, Wow, Synchronicity strikes ! I posted an edit to my Comment, and when returning to my Notifications I found that we were simultaneously typing to each other...! Yeah, there's a swag of Solar setup in the pipeline to feed the Bike. 2 X 440 Watt 24 Volt Panels, 12x 2.2 Volt 480 Amp/Hour Lead/Acid Gel-Cells, a 1,200 Watt Solar Charge-Controller and a 1,500 Watt Inverter... ($8,000 for the Stuff, $1,000 Installation, $900 for GST & I have yet to put a Slab of Concrete on the ground to erect the $2,000 Lawn Locker to keep the Rain off it all. I've been unable to get myself to start on the Slab..., for months ; and now in midwinter the Shadow Horizon in my Clearing - even after lots of Tree-Clearing to make room, is situated so that IF my sense of urgency had driven me to "Just Do It...!" Then the Panels would be in Tree-Shadow half the day in Winter...; Because it be wasn't till now that, after all the Pruning I finally got to see where and when the Winter Shadows go. The Shed Kit has been paid for since before Xmas, and a 10% deposit paid to get the Solar Stuff ordered and into Stock...; and now that the "Penny has dropped", I expect to see myself getting into that bit of the project. Yesterday I rode to Deepwater, 29 Km each way, on the back roads, intending to buy Bread & Milk on the (Public Holiday) Monday of the Long Weekend on which Oz celebrates the King's Birthday (it still feels weird writing that, I've never had a King-thingy before...!)... The idea was to avoid the Highway and it's flocks of Tourist Lemmings desperately competing to get home in time to return to Work..., and that worked - but everything in Deepwater was shut but the Pub... So I drank Coffee, ate half a Pizza, and video-ed the ride home, proving that Electric Motocross Pizza can indeed be a Thing (!)...; and the Light was indeed Golden, mostly from the Correct Cinematographic direction, and the last 12 Km were Magic to re-watch. 58 Km all up, at an average speed of 33 Km/Hr (40 on Bitumen & 30 on the Dirt...), arriving home indicating 33% Battery remaining - but after an hour to "cool down" that dropped to 30% : and the Recharge back up to 100% took 02:35... Basically, two 51-minute Rides of 29 Km each... When I arrived there the Supermarket was still open, but was about to close - and as I was Unhelmeting myself the Bike attracted the (apparently inevitable) observant bystander seeking to experience the Electric Motorbike Walkaround Introductory Warble... Which is how I came to go out for Bread & Milk, planning the Return-journey Video in the Sundown Golden Light ; and coming back with half a Pizza instead...(!). Last night I figured out the ideal timing for the Smoketrail Visualisation..., getting the Fire up to temp. before lighting the Dhoop-Cone and then putting the Fan on the Stove... Next time I'll do all that..., synchronised, and put up some black Cardboard Backdrops, to better contrast the Smoke. When done "properly", initially the two Smoke Trails rise vertically and falls away - with the hot stuff wobbling the model in it's Thermal Convection. Then as the Fan spins up to speed, the Hot Air initially goes over the Model and only ruffles the Smoke..., but as the Fan speeds up the "Prop-Blast" does too, becoming energetic enough to cross the Hut & hit the Model, weathercocking it and blowing the Hot Smoke well back behind and above the Model... And all that is happening above the Colder Air through which the Cold Dhoop-vapour falls and responds to (and shows) the other Currents happening lower down, under the Thermocline ; as the Potbelly is sucking in Cold Air and blasting it up through the Firebox and out the Flue... It will take a bit of setting up for, but with the Camera on a Tripod, the Black Backdrop and correct timing synchronised with the Potbelly's Firebox...; I reckon I should try to show the full Effect, one more time (!). I really do enjoy visualising Airflows. To the point of going outside to watch the top of the Chimney every time I light the Fire, to see where the Smoke goes in the Wind of the Day, and monitor the Convection-Runaway in the Firebox as the Flue commences to burn "Clean".... One can have a lot of fun, pondering the way Air moves... Have a good one, Stay safe, ;-p Ciao !

[@martingarrish4082]

Hey, Ben. Apologies for going incommunicado on you. Check your inbox for a quick sketch of a potential solution. It is something of a redesign, but would sort out most of the issues.

[@bakakun]

All of this belt drive/gearbox/planetary is because you dont have a concentric under-hinge engine axle mounting solution, right?

[@Ben-Dixey]

Well the belt drive doing the rotor reversal meant I didn't need an additional reversing gearbox. The Nolan bothers and the air scooter 2 had a separate gearbox which I thought was weight that could be removed. I thought I need a reduction drive anyway why not do that and the reversal in one go, but the tilting plunging driveshaft needed is a little harder to design than I thought.

[@bakakun]

@@Ben-Dixey So. Question. Does the engine _NEED_ to be frame mounted? can it be hung from the gimbal aswell?

[@Ben-Dixey]

@@bakakun The engine can be hung from the gimbal yes. The Helitrike did this on KZbin, they didn't get fully off the ground more than a few inches but that I believe was because they didn't have long poles attached to the skids. It was very top heavy and didn't have the safety in place to attempt a higher altitude. I believe it would have worked despite the high CG.

[@mhale71]

Why change the belt? The issue was the shaft / cv and the fixed pitch setup wasn't it?... drice belts are used in most piston helicopters with no issue

[@chippyjohn1]

Actually the most common cause of belt driven helicopters coming down is because of belt system failure, atleast in Australian crash reports.

[@mhale71]

​@@chippyjohn1 utter garbage, and I know two people that have had drive belt failures and kept flying. They have multiple belts and all of them failing is incredibly rare

[@chippyjohn1]

@@mhale71 If you feel official reports are made up, not sure what to say then. I was surprised also at the time of reading. Look up CASA incident reports for helicopters and read yourself. If you can't be bothered learning that's your problem.

[@chippyjohn1]

Also rotorway had issues with drive belts breaking shafts, and tensioners. Many helicopters have issues with belt drives.

[@Ben-Dixey]

Hi, the reason I looked into chains was because I thought at the time that the belts had been highly stressed during the drive failure. Replacing the belts is really expensive so I wondered if chains would be a better and cheaper option. I thought I could improve the ratio and add more lift in the process with chains. The driveshaft problem still needs to be resolved but I do have a plan for that.

[@nexttonic6459]

Umm aluminium + roster steel == corrosion

[@Ben-Dixey]

Yes, I need a barrier between them or to stop water getting between the joints.

[@ramjet4025]

It has no collective, this machine can never go anywhere

[@av8tor261]

Those one way bearings are NOT designed to be helicopter free wheeling units. It's going to fail.

[@Fatpumpumlovah2]

Listening to keyboard engineers on youtube comments have led many to their demise....

[@Ben-Dixey]

Perhaps so but the comments are only there to start the research process. It wouldn't be wise to blindly follow a comment without researching it.

[@Convolutedtubules]

Could do without the music.

[@kepamurray1845]

Make sure you get someone to post your last video. Give it away. It's not worth it.

[@Ben-Dixey]

I don't understand this mentality.

[@leemnav]

@@Ben-DixeyBen , keep it that way , you'll be better off.

[@Ben-Dixey]

@@leemnav 😊👍

[@funkydozer]

Relying on parts not failing because they are ‘well built’ is idiotic. For example, that top rotor shaft looks like it would fail in an instant if you lost a blade to a bird strike. Nothing is ever built well enough to negate failure.

[@Ben-Dixey]

Relying on parts to never fail within normal circumstances.

[@quadtraxxx]

Excellent video!! Haven't even watched it yet, but I know it'll be good!! 😉👍