Human Powered Helicopter

[aux1z11]

Pedal just a little bit faster you almost had it.

[grubwestatron]

i think by reading everyones comments you need a higher gear ratio

[jonnebanan]

It's all about RPM you know. Guess this is a good lesson about energy and how much it takes to do certain things.

[videotimesss1]

good exercise bike

[soypaisano]

high gear is true and some RISE AND BEANS

[renegade1alpha]

To anyone that ridicules this guy... you're idiots! At least he has attempted it, which is much more than I can say for many other people. Way to go Jim Douglas!

[Thisisnotmyrealname8]

What do you do when you get tired? Die?

[MsScruffy4]

What you are going to need here is a way for the pilot to store a lot of energy for the burst to get off the ground.

With a good spring, like a clock -- about a half your of peddling might store enough energy to make the thing take off and fly a bit.

then integrate the energy of fast peddling to aid the sprig while flying.

good luck.

[L10R]

maybe it'd fly if the two dudes weren't sitting on the framework.

[Godznrg4u]

A few more rpms on the pedals and that guy will be giving traffic reports.

[Louie1157able]

pedal, Jimmy, PEDAL!



[CCSinventions]

TAKE THE BIG GEAR THATS ON THE PROPPELER SHADT WITH ONE ON PEDALS AND FLIP THEM

[dagwood64]

WOW! good thing they were holding him down, they would of never found him.

[besony1]

NOT FAIR !!

Guy in blue was holding him down!! :D

[evilstephen902]

Da Vinci?

[FrekeOne]

that's optimism right there!

[homskoult]

Would have been funnier if you had fallen over and burst into flames. It would be sad, but funny too.

[brandondingman1]

increase gear ratio

[buddybleau]

Seems to me the drive sprocket was too large. A smaller diameter would mean less peddling speed. But then, what do I know?

[SuperPlaydohboy]

he needs a higer gear on his pedals.



[mrthebillman]

I think this is based on the original 'Flintstone' design

[Jonrobrt]

@mrthebillman Buahahahahahaha!! That's some funny stuff right there!

[EngineeringFun]

@shess0501 Excellent!!!!! Very funny!

[JRBeaman]

gear ratios are all wrong.

Get a better camera too.

[besony1]

@JRBeaman

That was top of the notch camera (in 1994, when the video was shot!)

[brandondingman1]

increase gear ratio



[cnone2b]

Even if this thing did lift off it would be impossible to control as it would spin uncontrollably. Good try though.

[iulian207]

Nice mecanism

[hcoptertx]

exercise bike with a big weather vain??

[SecureBorderIntel]

It's bad enough we all have to deal with bicyclists on the road we don't need them in the air!

[oksothatdidntworkbut]

The problem is that in order to reach the required rpm you have to do a lot of work that serves no other purpose than to build up to the required rpm. Why not make the rotor as part of a smooth disc that would have almost no wind resistance and could easily reach a high rpm. Then when the disc reaches a high enough rpm, deform the disc....what do you think?

[repawnd]

For this to have any chance of working you would need to much longer blades, at least 2 or 3 times longer. And then even if you did manage to lift off you would just spin with no hope of control.

[robvlob]

Well Duh it won't fly while there are two people holding it to the ground

[19or50]

guy in brown to the other, " u owe me 20 bucks."

[chickenpoper]

Damn you gravity!

[monasticbeing]

lol. isn't there some sort of physics law that's missing here? like a fly wheel that will increase the rotation efficiency of those legs? You should be able to get ten times more rotation per pump with the right flywheel design I would think.

[animalnt]

it predicts the weather

[superslingo]

jesus he needs to consider a oxegen system for that massive altitude

[Elliz92]

Gravity is a bitch huh?

[SHARPEYEis1337]

obviously this thing needs a gear cahnge

[benkenser]

He encircled the world...well, in his imagination when he passed out

[GlassEyeProject]

To bad theirs no Audio but if there was, I bet we would here the pilot screaming at those two men to "LET GO DAMN IT LET GO"!!!!

[moom1000]

Main propeller needs to be about 500x faster.

[bil4doe]

Lance Armstrong on STEROIDS couldn't fly this!

[Jonrobrt]

@bil4doe Actually, I think he was on steroids;)

[Jonrobrt]

@bil4doe Yes, but lets get one thing perfectly clear - Lance never used steroids;)

[1foodoflove]

C'mon John - pedal harder; can't you see you're letting the team down by not going up.

[Cypern]

Where did he go ?

[Jonrobrt]

@Cypern LOL!! No where...see, I got it;)

[Scorpion85629]

Hook it to your well and provide some water for a cool shower.

[OlDoinyo]

That must be the most inefficient way imaginable to spin the rotor; why no direct drive?!

[The67rockstar]

I think those 2 guys were holding down on it

[blackbirdphotography]

gotta give the guy props for trying, pretty cool looking rig, but... yeah, it can't work. Pretty neat though!

[sparky42]

if that sprayed a little water it would be perfect .make the girlfriend peddle whilst you lay on the ground after work

[KingKrabb999]

I miss the 90s…

[Jjames763]

Hey, human powered ornithopters(flapping) were said to be impossible, but the Canadians did it. I'm not saying this thing is going anywhere, though. Quite the contrary.

[emotevlog]

awesome, it's nice to see people still take the time to build stuff. Even if it didn't work it is still a testament to human persistence.

[YOYOEF]

That helicopter simply couldn't have flown. if he had got enough power at all, the copter would have been spinning around like a spinning wheel.

[SiskinOnUTube]

Very safe flight there. It looked fun.

[rmcdaniel423]

Thank god those guys were holding it down. It probably would have went flying out of control!!

[popmihai2000]

so this is the exercise machine called THE CHOPPER?

[bringdbeatback]

where is superman... he s missing his helicopter

[vistigioful]

I was hoping to see it in the air.

[superjezz]

He needed 2 people to hold him down. "just in case".

[JAMESWHEREARTTHOU]

WONDER WHAT HE WOULD HAVE DONE IF THE THING ACTUALLY DID TAKE OFF

[XpensiveHobbies]

you should of geared it,

[gnarleyjackie]

The first problem is the control of momentum, if you can't start and accelerate fast enough you're not using enough leverage AND not changing gears fast enough(presuming there's gears which there has to be)... also the gyration is bad, the only practicle way for this to work is in plane mode first, then helicopter mode. herp derp, it takes an 11 y/o to know.

[bjdelephant]

LEG CRAMP!!!!!!!

[bjdelephant]

LEG CRAMP!!!!!!!!!!! LEG CRAMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bjdelephant]

LEG CRAMP!! LEG CRAMP!! :0

[smelyalata]

gear ratio is way way off (you would need to pedal much much faster with your current config) and how will you compensate for gyro effect if and when you manage to get lift off. ?

[ishouldplayzelda]

that's not a helicopter it's a pedal powered spinning thingy

[ALLERTORLOVER69]

thats a whole lotta pedling

[Hondaridr58]

If this thing was able to get off of the ground, the propeller used to spin the rotor would cause so much imbalance and drag that the craft would shake very violently. Or so I would think. Thoughts?

[devancowper]

holy shit that was almost there just a few more turns should have done it ha ha back to the board mate

[tiankaiwen]

definitely not the first attempt, but im a freshman and im planning on entering in the Sikorsky competition.

[fillyerboots1]

No wonder it only took off for a split second - those two blokes are holding down!

[panchitolea]

call Superman to work the pedals!

[azzy314159]

great . good shot at getting off the ground in a chopper. Congrats for a good job. Keep trying. You will do it one day. Don't give up.

[1971SuperLead]

All it needs is a 10,000 gallon helium ballon attached to it.

[crazykidsdad]

No wonder why it wouldn't lift off the ground...those too people are holding it down!

[marknew91]

Just a couple of thoughts:

What if you had two (or more) people pedal Would you gain too much weight compared to gains in power? What if people were on the ground "pedalling" or pumping or whatever, with one person on the craft controlling attitude and maybe power transmission from the ground. Wouldn't that still count as human powered? Or what about "clockwork" wound gear springs. I mean, look at all the pedalling you did. What if instead of trying to take off, you used it to store energy?

[ogicabp4u]

@shess0501 ...attach 2 hoses to the rotors and you can use it to sprinkle the grass!!

[Jonrobrt]

@ogicabp4u lol! Alas, I success!

[ogicabp4u]

@Jonrobrt congratualtions...now you can sell the contraption on E-Bay as a environmentally friendly lawn sprinkler/ exercise machine. P.S. I want 5 % royalty for the idea. Many thanks.

[danikron]

you don't wanna get a cramp while in the air..., make sure you eat lots of bananas hehehehe...

[thedirtysouthofbc]

i think if they would have had smaller sprockets they would have had a better chance

[dynagravitomagnetic]

burning calories and staying in shape never looked so good!

[eggbertsmith]

Such speed! Truly miraculous!

[DigiTan000]

"...on second thought, let's take the bus."

[Jonrobrt]

@DigiTan000 lol!!

[TalulahsDaddy]

Spectacular!

[archon808]

If the rider *could* get the rpm up of the main rotor, it would wobble so badly, the vehicle would tip over. I see the counter weight, but that will not compensate for the thrust of the other side.

[JMILLERPRODUCTION]

Was it hard to pedal?

[wheelykingdotcom]

your almost there dude ! keep training those legs.

[Jonrobrt]

@wheelykingdotcom Trust me, that is funny...if you only knew!

[alelp]

gear relation failed...

[ZdenekJindra]

You stand no chance at making a man-powered heli. Even the airplane was a difficult professional project that involved advanced materials and months of designing and testing. And it barely flew with a trained fly-weight cyclist. A helicopter needs about 10 times more power than a plane. I hate to discourage you, but give it up. A 15hp engine would be a MINIMUM with the ideal materials.

[Jonrobrt]

@ZdenekJindra It has already been done. Google Yuri-1 on youtube!! I will never do it, but the Japanese already have!

[ZdenekJindra]

@Jonrobrt So I read it up. They did a good job, but it is clearly unusable and with so many catches. First of all, the pedaling person was _sprinting_ to achieve the lift; a man can give about three times more power momentarily than in the long run. And second, there is a "ground effect" that increases the lift near the ground for helicopters. This is also the reason why those record breakers did not also break their necks.

[kasooie]

Didn´t you mean "Human powered fan"?

[silexent]

Somebody call Lance Armstrong.

[1BustedMyth]

Was there a second attempt?

[Jonrobrt]

@1BustedMyth Nope!

[1BustedMyth]

@Jonrobrt ROL!

[MrHurricaneFloyd]

I can't believe that in over 100 years of trying some people still will not admit that a human does not have enough power to lift off the ground in this manner.

[Jonrobrt]

@MrHurricaneFloyd Already been done...Google Yuri-1

[jeremar]

you need bigger gear ratio to fly this thing

[cwren1022]

Interesting concept but the human body doesn't generate enough power for the required rotor rpm. Still the design is pretty sweet. Maybe you could try a fixed wing aircraft design next.

[Jonrobrt]

@cwren1022 Google Yuri-1

[xXComrade24Xx]

@lateboy4 I think its a little too late for that. The clip was taken in 1994...

[SoOth3rsMayLiv3]

Im no scientist but wouldn't the centrifugal motion of the tip prop slow the main prop down?

[hotshot090]

Are there any stability systems? Do the propeller/counterweight work as a fly bar? Interesting concept with the single tip prop.

[49karl49]

He would be better of linking the rotor blades directly to the pedals instead of the propeller cus a lot of energy is being lost the way he has it

[dirtbiker8120077]

give it much higher gearing and lance armstrong or jan ullrich and we will see if its even viable

[zcxvasdfqwer1234]

whoops he forgot to take it out of 1st gear

[RotorHead2652]

right im sorry but ive seen a few of these rediculous contraptions ... and they all seem to be the same people putting props and stuff on the blades this is causing way to much drag inoi about this stuff someone juyst need to do a simple mock up of a normal helicopter and work out a gearing system just like a bike pick up head speed and change gear ... and even tho there is a prop on the blades there is still tourqe from the anti rotation bearing

[Jonrobrt]

@RotorHead2652 Google Yuri-1

[pidy411]

you need to gear it so faster speed for less efort!

[geniegogo]

exactly 12 to 1 gear ratio. pedal twelve times per one full revolution of the blades. I don't think that human can generate enough watts to spin the weight of the propellers.

[christianjforbes]

Fair enough, I have never seen a config quite like this. So am I to understand that Newtons 2nd Law (equal and opposite reactions), and the Gyroscopic effects of Precession and Rigididy in Space have been overcome by the perpendicular prop? How about YAW control vs Lift Blade Speed? As a commercial pilot/flight instructor, this was never discussed in any of my Academy classes on aerodynamics and thrust dynamics. I would like to see a working electric model if you know of any posted.

[bendhoward]

I think I saw it lift off for a second!

[Jonrobrt]

@bendhoward Yea, me too:0)

[fran963852741]

@bendhoward holly shit you are right o.O

[cocodrilll]

@bendhoward

i think this is the next generation of nasa aircrafts

[yintontiddlyipo]

@bendhoward great exercise machine, gearing all wrong.

And to think we have had 107 years of successful flight.

[Jonrobrt]

@yintontiddlyipo 107? ..and this post is only 4 months old!!?

[justoutofjail]

Can you really be called a 'pilot' if there is no flight? Good historical vid. thanks 4 posting!

[christianjforbes]

In the event that this contraption gets off of the ground, (with help from somethng other than a human) how are the gyro effects going to be dealt with. As soon as it gets light on her feet, the cabin will spin outta control. The Gossamer Albatross this is not.

[Jonrobrt]

@christianjforbes Wrong my friend! Google "tip prop heli" and bone up!! But no worries, this baby is in a landfill!!

[rosswoof]

@Jonrobrt lol right back where you found it I guess? Probably would have been better on a rooftop showing wind direction! ;-) 10/10 for effort though.

[cdoftx]

@christianjforbes Its like, if you're holding a drill you can feel the reverse torque. With the motor on the blade though that force gets applied on the blade with the propeller, twisting it downward ever so slightly.

[HumanPoweredFlight]

@christianjforbes

The tip prop system eliminates torque - the only thing to deal with is bearing. This was used on DaVinci, which did manage to fly, but still not achieve the 60 seconds needed.

[youarecretorcreating]

@christianjforbes There is no counter torque, that is what you meant right? the driving of it is from the push of the prop at the end of the wing, so no counter torque. Gyro effect has t do with once something is moving in a circle fast enough and force is applied to it the result will be 90 degrees in the direction of rotation.

[AjBassIST6]

Well you could create one exhausting windmill if there aint no wind!

[dmgoedde]

Uhh, OK 1st gear is nice for like 10 seconds... then it is time to shift up.

[chris12123212]

addd more gearssssss.....make it like a 37 gear bicyclee......it will spin faster and not have to pedal that hard

[Melvarrius]

MORE COWBELL

[TheJurisDoctor]

I think the gearing might be wrong. :)

[89mikeymike89]

you are on your way. keep at it

[hintzofcolorconcepts]

I like how the two other guys thought they would get get to tag along without even helping...

[TroyOi]

@hintzofcolorconcepts I think those two other guys were there to keep the craft stable if, by some remote chance, it actually did rise up off the ground.

In technical terms, they're what we call... eternal optimists. ;-)

[Jonrobrt]

@TroyOi lol!!

[thedeem0N]

he would need to modify Gear Ratio's BIG TIME....So the Soprocket that's being driven is as large as humanly possible, & then the gear or sprocket that's directly responsible for the Object or thing that you want to "Spin" is a SMALL as humanly possible....

[g7vgg]

A human powered, heavier than air, helicopter is impossible, end of story!

[567pika]

dide make it have more rotations when u petal cuz lets face it petaling 10 times for 1 rotation wont get u vry far...

[1200com]

Like a mountain bike has gears. Did it seem like they didn't use gears in this contraption? the guy is pedaling too fast and yet no more rpm!

[steeltown98]

gears...

[roofy2k]

so how many people thought this worked before they saw the video?

[vox1philippines]

perfect work out !!! 

[grvyrd1]

i like how those guys were nice enough to help hold it on the ground

[gweazy420]

almost!

[garyU6969]

And no lift of

[KANCERII]

Is this video in slow motion? Where did he fly to? Go Go Gadget parachute!

[lepernz]

jim dont you have to fly to be called a pilot?

[Jonrobrt]

@lepernz Nope - its all done during the editing process

[glenmann62]

great for aero....bics!

[GRATZIANI2002]

maybe after half hour spinning this guy weight less and he really can fly..

[jacoherbst]

what a workout!

[nagrain]

great idea but the gears were off. might have done better on a 30 speed bike set up rather instead. worked for me.

[mmomsboy]

wow!! that is some keep-fit machine ..

[spyk3z]

He's going no where fast.

[561inurface]

AHHHHHHHHHH! DAMIT Y DONSENT ANY OF THESE SO CALLED "HUMAN POWERED HELECOPTERS" TAKE OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >:(

[CellisJacob]

he made six pack already

[harrold22]

Dude change gear!

[splortz]

The beer's going to be warm by the time you get it home.

[SMCsanet]

Only one thing that bothers me... The end of the video says "Pilot"....?

[Jonrobrt]

@SMCsanet It bothers you? Seriously? Its a 2 minute video - take it easy

[CurtisHalfHalf]

A human being as a replacement for an engine? Sure, no problem....

[joziguy]

You need about 4000rpm mate, then hold that, then...maybe. Jim Douglas you ain't a pilot till the thing lifts off mate ;)

[tolstopuz2006]

полая хуйня))))



[luke168a]

I could hang my undies on there!

[pseudotruth]

It was never going to fly.

A far better rotary winged design might be an autogyro, but I doubt even that would work because of drag, mass & available sustained human power. Although with untralight materials - perhaps.

At the moment human powered flight isn't practical, it's an engineering challenge. It looks to stay that way.

[Jonrobrt]

@pseudotruth Yuri-1 has flown over 40 seconds...do a search via YouTube and you will find it....

[frankensteinmoneymac]

@Jonrobrt I searched but could not find it. Could you share the end of the link (if ya just put it from WATCH on it will post otherwise it wont). All the clips I found was him barely taking off about a foot at the most, and only staying up for about 5 seconds if even that long.

[HX3D014]

@pseudotruth

FYI , not being sarcastic. Human powered flight is possible. It has been done across the English Channel. have a look at flugtag to understand another side of the craze.

@ Jonrobrt

it was never going to fly though ;)

try coaxial ?

Goodluck

[timstackii]

We need more cleric!

[Jonrobrt]

@timstackii I have no idea what that means brother...

[fantasmadellaopera]

@timstackii Hahaha! Lol... (it's a joke of rpg, i.e. role playing games). A cleric heals the group of players and grants it more power. :-)

[nial12345]

You just need to pedal 1.000.000.000.000.000.000 times faster to get airbone, jajajaja good work!!!!

[Altinget]

I'm surprised it didn't take off right away. :-)

You just have to body build some more and get bigger leg muscles. Ten times normal size muscles should do it.

[ima420nerd]

i dont think he went very far...