Libelula rocket-powered helicopter backpack redefines danger
By Donald Melanson 
posted May 2nd 2008 12:37PM
posted May 2nd 2008 12:37PM
Sure, you can get yourself a personal helicopter or, if you're particularly daring, a jet pack, but what about those that crave yet more danger in short 30-second bursts? As in, rocket-propelled helicopter blades a few inches from your head-type danger. Thankfully, the folks at Tecnologia Aeroespacial Mexicana (makes of some of the aforementioned jet packs) have come to the rescue (so to speak), with their latest high-flying concept, the Libelula rocket-powered helicopter backpack. Apparently, the rockets on the tips of the blades are necessary to keep the whole rig counter-balanced, a job that would normally be done with a tail rotor on an ordinary helicopter. Of course, as you can no doubt surmise by the detailed illustration above, this one's still a ways away from getting its first test flight, but the folks at TAM do have a proven track record, so we wouldn't put it completely past 'em to get it off the drawing board sooner or later.
[Via Tech Digest]
[Via Tech Digest]
"Aeroespacial Mexicana"? - Ok, if we thought a chevy truck full of Mexicans were hard to stop, can you imagine how much harder it will be to stop these things from flying across the border and landing at the Home Depot?
Maybe it will be easier to spot. Since we are also going see full of Mexicans holding on one of these to get most out from one flight.
Anyone else having flashbacks of those Icarus things in Quake II?
Man, I hated those things... until the Railgun.
@Vic20
oh snap a quake 2 reference. gotta give props for that. i think about 6 people actually played through the single player campaign...
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/22/Quake2a.jpg
Podaman,
Word. Sweet screenshot.
See that Tank in the background? He's got Border Patrol written all over him.
It wouldn't be hard to stop if the border patrol were equipped with Bofors 40mm or truck mounted M55 Quad .50.
Go-Go-Gadget...
Exactly. Plus the first guy to fly that thing will likely end up with as many artificial parts as Inspector Gadget.
bitch be need'n some new go-go-gadget-arms if he raises them while flying that thing.
Maybe the should just encase the rotorblades with a lightweight cage ala conventional fans designed for hot summers..
Well, just be careful not to raise your arms above your head if you yawn.....
I was just thinking that.
This should come with a seat and a roof to protect your arms... Hell, just get your ass in a helicopter!
Comments like these make me long for the good ol' days of Highest Ranked.
Si, si! Soy loco por los Cornballers!
Haha, at least *I* got it.
yea.... good target practice for the guards i guess... anyways, i didnt know they had that kind of technology!
Price?
Price of what? 3D modeling software?
www.blender.org
A midair decapitation would be an impressive way to go out I suppose.
*facepalm*
Idiocy is not impressive. Spectacular perhaps, but not impressive.
wow that looks cool...
Rockets AND helicopters.. man, let's toss all of our ideas into one big machine..
Load 'em up with laser sharks gentlemen, and we've got us some overlords to welcome...
make them machines that can self replicate and made up of nanobots.. that will be truly indestructible.. or unable to put out of commission permanently
If you've already got rockets, why not just point them downwards!
Or could use rockets to turn a generator which drives a heater that produces steam that turns a turbine that...
Helicopters with jet engines on the blades are not anything new. I know Hiller Helicopter, one of the first helicopter manufacturers made some helicopters with jet engines on the tips They had some huge heavy lift helicopters and some little personal helicopters.
http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/helicopters/q0141.shtml
I don't know about flying, but I bet you can mod it to make one helluva margarita machine!
Cinco de Fly-O!
Vic Morrow would most definitely not approve of this.
You get points for spot-on Dennis Miller-esque obscure yet apropos celebrity helicopter death reference.
It's funny because, in spite of the harness, it still appears to lift you up by your head.
I reckon this might work.
if by work you mean hang someone to death then yeah
This reminds me of Seinfelds act on helmets and the stupidity of mankind..
So where's the rudder action coming from? I just see this thing going up and spinning out of control.
I'm guessing some tilt control.. some how.. they couldn't have possibly NOT thought about that.. even for just a 3D design concept.
I'm guessing some tilt control.. some how.. they couldn't have possibly NOT thought about that.. even for just a 3D design concept.
ARGH! Double action Surkaz!.. Load once but fire twice?
sorry for that double comment.
Yes, this is a machine for lifting your feet slightly off the ground, then spinning up your body, then setting your spinning body back down when the rotors lose lift. Seems like there have to be cheaper and easier ways to break an ankle.
You Fart...
When operating, be careful not to raise your arms up too high.
30 second burst? Just enough time to get into the air and...oh sh@#!
I think a pure jet pack is 30 seconds. This should have a longer flight time because the jets do no provide all of the lift. The wing of the blade is providing the lift which means your fuel efficiency goes way up.
The dome over the guy's head looks like the most dangerous part... why not wear a normal helmet??
Landings going to be a b***ch. If you fall over you're going to be in a world of hurt when the spinning rotor blades hit the ground and the back pack flips around
You missed how this works. No torque transfer between backpack and rotors, so that can't happen. The blades spin using small rocket engines at the tip of each.
Now if only we could power it with cow crap we'd really be onto something. I'm all about dangerous devices that serve no purpose, but not if they burn our precious gas!
Yeah, nothing like cow power:
http://impatientsufferance.com/2008/04/22/you-can-run-a-business-on-that-crap-184/
I'M GOIN' FAST! I'M GOIN' FAST!
*sigh*
Well.. I beat the initial flights would a slow lift.. like 10 feet of the ground... then time to come back down..
rockets or no rockets, if you spin the rotor one way your body will spin the other - no tail rotor and no counterrotating rotors means a very dizzy pilot
EXACTLY - the design doesn't make sense. If the rockets are connected to the blades, then they must be moving towards the leading edge in order to create lift.
There is torque - but, no countertorque. The only way to create countertourqe is a SECOND PAIR OF BLADES above the first spinning at an equal and opposite rate of the bottom pair.
Oh... forget my last post. I understand what they did here.
There is no engine here producing torque in the centerline - it is a jet impulse only at the tips. Therefore, it produces no torque.
My question is, how hard would a landing in this thing be on my knees?
Unless you have a zero-friction interface (not likely) then the passenger will tend to spin in the direction of the rotors. Maybe you could put counter-thrust rockets on your shoes?
Not true, if the power comes from the rockets on the edge of the blades and not a shaft connected to the main body there should be no torque effect to spin the pilot.
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's......
A flying beaner!
easy target
He's wearing all red too hide all bloody mess when his arm gets chopped off.
Just don't wave to mom.
These are old news... Gluhareff made these a long time ago.
http://www.tipjet.com/
So where is counter-torque force against the rotating blades?
Tail wing and forward motion combined with the jets on the tips means no torque from the engine and moving forward should be enough to counter any friction
Someone's already made a coaxial helicopter backpack
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPA2k3qPe-4
Man Heli-One: "Tower, this is Man Heli One over".
Tower: Go Ahead Man-Heli One".
Yeah tower, uh, well, OK, so far I'm going up, up, up, up and uh-oh, seems to be....yes definately shutting down, I hear and feel sputtering about 100ft up, OK, whew, now I'm coming down, down, down OH S##T!! down REALLY FAST, SPINNG OUT OF CONTROL, and FASTER, GRAVITY!!!, I repeat GRAVITY!!!, no fuel left!! still spinning, and metal coming at my neck, and ohhh...pulling Chute, oh crap, no chute!!! OH SH$T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No WAY IN HELL I'm strapping on that deathtrap!! LMAO
Faslane
Where's the tail rotor? I'd prefer not to spin around as well, I'd get pretty sick.
It has no torque from an engine because it uses the engines on the tips. The forward motion and the tail on it would be enough to keep the copter from rotating. You do not need to have the tail rotor.
"Oh shit... where'd my hands go?"
Ah, but does it BLEND?
I guess the first person to try this thing will find out, eh?
Can't wait to see this epic failure in real world action. Jeez. Let's strap some unwanted humans to THIS device.
Notice that this is a rendering because no one would be stupid enough to actually get on one of these flying guillotines, even if they aimed this thing across the border.
I'm always surprised at how novel people think this sort of thing is. They had this technology since WWII... See http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/baumgartl_heliofly-1.php
This is head and shoulders over ..Texas...New Mexico...if your lucky maybe Colorado.
They should just stick a tail rotor support up his behind and that would stop him from counter-rotating.
I believe this is a leaked promotional shot from the upcoming movie, 'Bleed Racer'...
This is a 'rendering' on so many levels!