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what you are looking at is a fully
electric air taxi prototype using
cyclorotors as the main propulsion
system also known as cyclogyro or
cyclocopter aircraft
this century old technology used
successfully in ships
is gaining traction as an ev tall main
propulsion system
it offers compactness precise
maneuverability and a stable transition
from hover to flight
in this video i will explain the
operating principle of the cyclorotor
and i will go over the pros and cons of
the propulsion system that could be
powering your future daily commute
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in february 1923 jonathan edward
caldwell filed for a patent on a device
he called the cyclogyro it consisted of
an airplane fuselage with two paddle
wheel like attachments in place of the
wings
this was only one of many attempts to
create a vertical takeoff and landing
cyclocopter aircraft
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the historic failure of cyclocopter
prototypes can be attributed to one or
more of these three main weaknesses
unsuitable materials heavy engines and
power sources or insufficient knowledge
of aerodynamic phenomena
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in recent years converging technologies
and improvements in lightweight
materials electric propulsion systems
and batteries have reached a point where
they have the potential to revolutionize
air travel
the creation of new cyclorotor systems
that benefit from these technology
advancements is allowing the development
of new cyclocopter aircraft around the
world
this technology combines the main
benefits of rotorcraft and fixed wing
concepts
a cyclo rotor has several wings rotating
around a central rotation axis at a
constant speed
these wings are connected to a freely
rotating hub with conrods
an eccentric position of the hub causes
a periodic change of the pitch angle of
attack of a wing during one revolution
thereby generating accelerated airflow
and creating thrust
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the distance between the rotation axis
of the rotor and the rotation axis of
the hub determines the thrust magnitude
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and the position of the rotation axis of
the hub in the peripheral direction
determines the thrust direction 360
degrees around the rotation axis
in hover the blades are actuated to a
positive pitch on the upper half of
their revolution in a negative pitch
over the lower half
inducing a net upward aerodynamic force
and opposite fluid downwash
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the austria-based company cyclotec
developed and tested many different
rotor prototypes the current prototype
is a carbon cylinder 420 millimeters
long and 350 millimeters in diameter
with five blades also made of carbon
which allows to develop a maximum thrust
of 25 kilograms at 3100 revolutions per
minute
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the company offers several uses for this
technology including the concept of a
four-seater air taxi with four
propellers on a 1.2 by 1.2 meter unit it
will offer an estimate range of 85
kilometers with a flight time of 40
minutes and a cruising speed of 150
kilometers per hour
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the cyclocopter design has several
advantages exceptional maneuverability
the ability to instantly change the
magnitude and direction of traction on
each rotor without having to change the
engine speed compactness by the
reduction of aircraft footprint
agility they can react to crosswinds and
gusts in a much faster and effective way
especially during the critical takeoff
and landing phase cyclo rotors can
immediately counteract interfering
forces
forward flight efficiency the efficiency
of a cyclo rotor is proven to improve
during forward flight
one of the biggest disadvantages of a
cyclocopter is that the rotor weight
forms a significant fraction of the
empty weight of the vehicle the weight
of the rotor is directly related to the
blade weight because it governs the
radial force which is the predominant
structural load on a cyclo rotor
designing lightweight blades for the
cycle rotor is challenging because the
outward force acts in the transverse
direction producing large blade
deformations and even structural failure
of the blades previous studies have
shown that large bending and torsional
deformations degrade the thrust
producing capability and efficiency of
the cycle rotor
russia's foundation for advanced
research is developing the cyclocar a
hybrid vtol that will carry 6 people or
up to 600 kilograms of cargo
it can travel 500 kilometers with a top
speed of 250 kilometers per hour
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the russians are planning to use it with
a hybrid propulsion system with full
electric drive and a range extending
combustion generator
a full-size long-range six-seat cycle
car is expected to fly in 2022
