Ive been keeping an eye on this company for the past 3 years or so.  This has got to be one the most, well, different things in a while.  Imagine the uses for jack rabbit hunting.

[url]www.solotrek.com[/url]

Looks like great fun, but a power failure would present serious problems!

Buy it on e-bay; Moshier's DARPA money ran out recently and the machines are up for sale.

[url]http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=419&item=2153209735[/url]

The current bid is $5 million - the bidder must be a moron with more money than good sense - whatever.

... No shit! Seeing how you can buy an MD902 NOTAR for about $3.1 million. (shameless plug for one of my babies)
[img]http://www.helispot.com/images/03286.jpg[/img]

Winston, do you build choppers?

IF EVER I HAVE SEEN (PURE DEATH),THAT'S IT..1000+ Skydives,1000's Flying,even with a canister deployed parachute,if that thing coughs,your head over heals to the GROUND..EWWW!
(P.S.Nice Chopper,these have the ridgit rotor system,thus rolls,loops are possible..right??)

... Yes [b]schapman43[/b], [u]design[/u] and build, but right now I can't sleep. Tossing and turning got me out of bed.

... Partly because I may be flying to the Gulf for the Customer Support effort soon, nerves have been on edge about the possibility.

... It's a good thing

... The MD900, 901 & 902 series Explorer are twin engine, fully articulated five bladed rotor systems. They are the first helicopters in the United States certified with an all composite rotor hub. Meaning the blade retention strap (Flexbeam), torsional pitch control housing (Pitchcase} and main rotor blade are all composite, There are no "conventional" metallic lead-lag, flap or feathering hinges. The composite material is designed and tuned to provide the right properties (virtual hinges) in flight needed to perform. It is truely the finest soft in-plane rotor in the world. It's like flying the Ferrari of the sky. That's the ultra-short readers digest version answer to your question. I spent eight years of my career designing from art to part that system. It was one of the most rewarding projects I was lucky enough to participate in. The aircraft has no tail rotor hence the name NOTAR, but that's another thread altogether.

WOW, that is one cool machine the NOTAR that is. Winston_Wolf, you have a cool job bro.

Ever since I was a little kid, I always wanted a jetpack.  Back then, I thought we'd have them by now, being it's the 21st century.  I mean, a cost effective commercial model that can get you to work and back.

... Here ya go! [url]http://www.vtol.co.il/page1.html[/url]. Some assembly required.

what powers that NOTAR???

It looks too small to have gas engines, and I couldn't trust batteries for that application.


BISHOP

... The transmission diverts power from the jet engine(s). Same principle on all MD520, MD600 & MD900 series aircraft.

[img]http://www.kulikovair.com/NOTAR.gif[/img]

[url=http://www.kulikovair.com/Notar2.htm]More Detail Here[/url]

... No, it referred to as the "Coanda Effect". By initiating airflow over the tailboom through the slots shown in the diagram above, the rotor downwash flows over the boom in the same manner as a wing, in effect creating lift. This action is the primary anti-torque mechanism in the NOTAR system, the thruster controls yaw primarily, not anti-Q.

... This graphic below somewhat illustrates what I'm trying to describe. The intake for the fan is near the swashplate "dog house" fairing.

[img]http://www.kulikovair.com/notara.jpg[/img]