Well, this is interesting. My most immediate question is, even though it says it won’t stall, what happens if it loses power? Can it glide?
13 thoughts on “A New Way To Fly”
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Well, this is interesting. My most immediate question is, even though it says it won’t stall, what happens if it loses power? Can it glide?
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The linked AOPA article says it can auto-rotate like a helicopter but I think I’d want a ballistic parachute just in case. Like a helicopter auto-rotation, I suspect the thing would have the glide ratio of a brick. The article claims a glide ratio of about 3:1, which might be a bit better than a helicopter and about the same as a subsonic Space Shuttle.
A year or so ago, I read an article about an airline pilot going for a helicopter rating. He described the first time doing an auto-rotation as, “It looked like death.” The descent was so steep that it scared him.
Larry beat me to the auto-rotation answer, and I agree with the parachute idea. Isn’t Cirrus Aviation doing the parachute thing for all their planes?
Yes, Cirrus has always installed whole-plane ballistic parachutes in their production planes. The success rate is mixed – sometimes the chute works and sometimes it doesn’t. There have been some reported life-saving chute deployments but IIRC the actual fatality rate for Cirrus planes isn’t any better than other planes. One possible explaination is that due to the sophistication of the Cirrus planes (they were perhaps the first small planes to feature glass cockpits) and the belief that the chute will save you, people are taking more chances than they would otherwise.
Many years ago, I went up with an instructor in a funky old Cessna 175 (geared engine version of the 172). He had me pull full flaps, set the throttle for a low RPM and trim for a low airspeed and then keep the wings level with the rudders. The plane’s descent rate was equal to or even less than a Cirrus under the chute. This was taught as a strategy for a non-instrument rated pilot who found himself in clouds. You could keep the wings level with the rudders using the turn coordinator all the way to the ground if necessary. The plane would likely be a write-off (as are Cirrus planes following chute deployment and impact with the ground) but you’d likely survive. I’ve read that some other modern planes behave the same way. My Cherokee doesn’t – the descent rate at idle with full flaps is pretty high.
Larry J:
“…set the throttle for a low rpm…” Hey Larry..how low? idle? Or do you adjust it watching the VSI to get a minimum descent rate?
“One possible explaination is that due to the sophistication of the Cirrus planes (they were perhaps the first small planes to feature glass cockpits) and the belief that the chute will save you, people are taking more chances than they would otherwise.”
Quite possible. Another is that the Cirrus planes are higher performance and there have been hangar tales of the airplanes getting away from improperly or incompletely trained newbie owners. IIRC Cirrus set up a school for customers to address that.
I don’t really remember, the flight was many years ago. The Cessna 175 was kind of a funky old plane. The geared engine meant you had much higher tachometer settings than we normally see in light planes. If I had to guess, I’d say it was roughly 1700 RPM which would’ve given you a propellor speed of about 1000 RPM, give or take.
I was considering buying a half interest in the plane but didn’t. Good thing, too. Less than a year later, it was heavily damaged when the engine failed on takeoff and the owner had to land it off-field.
If it does 3:1, that’s worse than a typical helo at 4:1.
Thanks for the link, Rand. A “flying harvester/reel mower”? Yes, it is ugly, but it WORKS. Fascinating example of thinking outside the box; or the fairing, in this case.
I think they used this idea in the old Tom Swift books
http://www.fanwing.com/faq.htm#6
If you think about it the right way, it is a re-arranged helicopter. Both work by moving the wing relative to the fuselage, just around different axes.
I’ve been in a Huey for autorotation practice. When the guy lowered the collective you were weightless until the rate of descent stabilised at 6000 fpm (60 knots). Airspeed read 60 knots too.
As for whole airplane chutes, once you deploy it you are out of control. I prefer the personal chutes in our BD-4. The doors are top hinged and the seat is above the door rail. Just roll off the seat
Have gyroscopic forces been accounted for when this thing manouevers?
This may be a problem when it scales up.
“…what happens if it loses power?”
I was on a cross country flight once, and the guy across from me was hammered from the previous flight, and kept swilling free 1st Class Seat Bourbon.
An hour into the flight the pilot came on the PA and announced he had a problem, he was shutting down one engine and the flight would be delayed an hour.
The drunk guy said, “…oh hell no, I want to get home, I love my wife, I don’t want to crash!!
An hour goes by, the pilot comes on the PA again, more trouble, feathering an engine, another hour of added delay. And he orders another drink.
The drunk guy said, “…oh no, hell no, I want to go home, I love my wife, I miss my kids, I don’t want to crash!! And he orders another drink.
Another hour goes by, pilot on the PA, shutting down 3rd engine, yet another hours delay lots of moaning from passengers, pilot assures them he can make it safely.
The drunk guy looks out the window, counts the number of engines under the wing on his side, does some drunk math and announces,
“…if we lose that last engine, we’ll be up here forever and I’ll never see my family again!”
CRAP, that’s out of order up there. The drunk ordered the drink not the pilot, I wasn’t on Delta or Quantas!