SportCopter GyroPlane Designed in SolidWorks, No Turret Guns

by Josh on June 3, 2008 · Comments

Out of the 50 or so things I fear the most, one of the top is, not flying or crashing in a plane, but being hit head-on by a plane, and even more, by a GyroPlane. The one you see here just happens to be designed in SolidWorks.

These planes typically look like a small motor, rotor and wheels strapped to a chair… that get strapped to a human. This one has a little more flair and a very nice protective shell to fall in and out of. I’d have to say, if I was ever going to get a GyroPlane, this would be the one I’d buy.

Of course, you would have to add some P40 lookin’ shark-teeth decals on the front, some flames shootin’ out the back… and some turret guns.

More info at the SportCopter GyroPlane Site and a podcast (mp4) at SolidWorks.

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Tagged as: aircraft, design, product

  • Rod Uding
    Cool design! Be nice to have to to play with on the weekends.

    I am glad to hear that I not the only person who also has the fear of planes crashing on me.
  • Josh-

    With such a small lifting surface (the small rotating blades), that plastic egg shell will drop like a rock when it fouls a spark plug. It looks a little shy when it comes to any type of safety protection. I would never get into a pipe dream like that.

    Devon
  • Blair
    A man in Cranbrook, BC, I believe was just killed a couple of weeks ago by a helicopter that crashed on him. He was walking to pick up the mail.
  • Josh
    It's definitely a design improvement, but like 'Orville' says, I'd hate to be on it if a rotor stopped. Still, it would be fun to fly and to get outta dodge if you needed to quickly.
  • Mike
    The main rotor of a gyroplane is unpowered and rotates as air is forced through it and is always in autorotation. In the event that the engine quits, the rotors will continue to turn as air is forced through the blades as the aircraft starts to descend (in fact they will speed up) and a perfectly safe landing can be made. The angle of descent will be fairly steep but gyro pilots routinely make approaches with a 30 degree glide slope (compared to a standard 3 degree slope for fixed wing aircraft). Rotors will not stop turning in normal flight envelopes and should the gyro be put into a situation where the rotor RPM declines significantly, lack of rotor disk rigidity will have serious consequences well before the rotor stops. The Sportcopter is not an approved type in the UK, but I for one am looking forward to trying it out on my next Stateside visit.
  • This plane is cool lookin. Somethin you can store in you garage, roll down the driveway and take-off down the neighborhood street. This would be a sweet funny t-shirt or vector t-shirt design.
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