The last month has been an extraordinarily busy time as we gathered up the pieces from a major crash and prepared for our next flight test. On March 15th Atlas climbed to a height of roughly 3 metres coming within inches of achieving the altitude requirement for the AHS Sikorsky Prize. Within seconds, however, one… Continue Reading
Friday Flight Plan
Tomorrow we’ll be making another attempt at the AHS Sikorsky Prize. This last week we installed small aluminum inserts to fix the stripping problem we had last week, and we’ve adjusted all structural lines to their final positions. We’re confident, collected and ready. Wish us luck! Below is a plan for the progression of flights… Continue Reading
March 8th Flight Summary
We know we’re close, and we know the helicopter/pilot is capable, but to clinch this prize absolutely everything has to go right. Unfortunately, yesterday we saw some very strange behaviour in one of the rotors and spent several flights trying to chase down the problem. We ended up figuring out that it was a stripped… Continue Reading
Flight Attempt Friday: Power Numbers
After two weeks of video analysis, minor modifications and weight saving measures, we’re preparing for another AHS Sikorsky Prize Attempt this Friday, March 8th. Since last time out we’ve managed to cut off an impressive 4.2 pounds, which, in concert with a few other modifications should reduce the low-altitude power by about 40 Watts. In… Continue Reading
Congratulations to the Pegase Team on the Flight of their Human-Powered Aircraft!
We would like to congratulate Le Projet Pégase (Pegasus) on the first flight of their human-powered aircraft on November 28th, 2012. Footage of their construction and flight has just been released on CBC Radio-Canada, and is available (in French) here. The project is featured 30 minutes in. Le Projet Pégase was started at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec… Continue Reading
How To: Epic Rotor Repair Video
Check out the new video post of one of the most epic repair jobs so far! Last Friday was an incredible day of flight testing: the rotors were balanced and trimmed with very few adjustments and controls were responsive and effective! We had to pack up early, unfortunately, because the field was booked at 3pm.… Continue Reading
Good Luck to Team Gamera
Today and tomorrow the Gamera team from the University of Maryland will be making official attempts at the Sikorksy Prize. If this prize wasn’t hard enough already, the competition is certainly making it so! Best of luck guys! Fly safe. For more up to date information you can follow their twitter feed at twitter.com/UMD_Gamera, or learn… Continue Reading
The Ups and Downs of Flight Testing
Friday was quite an incredible day on several fronts. The massive snow storm, that pretty much shut down Toronto, ended up being a real blessing for us. With the evening soccer cancelled, we had an extra few hours to fly, giving us an excellent chance to make a strike for the prize. After many trimming… Continue Reading
Truss Modifications for Friday Prize Attempt
This Friday, February 8th, we will be making another attempt at the AHS Sikorsky Prize. Following our flight tests two weeks ago, we have made modifications to the truss in order to keep the rotors more level, and to prevent the bracing lines from going slack under the higher drive loads seen during a harder… Continue Reading
Prize Attempt Summary: Getting Very Close!
Yesterday, was an extremely exciting day! We did not end up making an attempt at the AHS Sikorsky Prize, but we were definitely getting close enough to taste it! In out trim flights leading up to the attempt we managed a steady 5 foot climb and a flight that lasted about 30 seconds. You can… Continue Reading
