Flying Truck

[turboplanner]

This design has some issues - trucks are flat sided cube shaped to meet road regulations, and the prop overhang requirement/ground power requirement would knock it out as a combination vehicle.

 

However, putting this in our face is going to get a whole lot of people thinking about an aerial freight module.

 

You don't really need the truck part, the freight containment device can be that, so a lot of weight is saved, and you don't need a driver/pilot so more weight is saved.

 

The top area between the props provide potential for a large area of solar panel.

 

This concept would fit very well with some freight applications for hovercraft which haven't worked out, particularly around bogs, marshes, rivers, and bays.

 

http://www.carsguide.com.au/news-and-reviews/car-news/flying_truck_revealed_83628_20140523

 

 

[aj_richo]

Its usefulness for carrying a payload would be negated by the amount of fuel it would have to carry..

 

They look like 4 cylinder Hirth 2 strokes, 1 carb per pot.. I reckon around 30-40 litres per hour per engine, 240-320 litres per hour in total !!!!

 

The noise would be incredible inside the cabin too..!

 

 

[turboplanner]

Electric motors with solar power battery charging should allow short distance haulage - so crossing bogs, lakes with thin ice etc.

 

Remote control becomes practical too for these applications.

 

 

[SDQDI]

Read up on it people they say it will run on diesel. Certainly looks interesting

 

 

[aj_richo]

Still thirsty!

 

 

[M61A1]

I don't get it, if it can takeoff and land vertically, it doesn't need to drive anywhere. They were right in the article where they mentioned "don't they have helicopters for that".

 

 

[SDQDI]

You are right m6 but it still would have some benefits, ie helicopters are relying on one drive source where this one has 8 so in a hostile environment it would have better 'survivability' (that is of course assuming that they have made it so that it can run without one or more engines)

 

 

[M61A1]

(that is of course assuming that they have made it so that it can run without one or more engines)

That is a big assumption.....one of the big disadvantages of have several different thrust lines, especially on a vertical lift, is if one goes down it will be very pear shaped, very quickly. Unlike a multi-engine heli, which drive through the same transmission. Depending on the load, things like a Blackhawk can fly happily on one engine, or at least have a controlled descent.

[Cosmick]

Short hop supplies to inaccessible areas.

 

 

[Guest Nobody]

That is a big assumption.....one of the big disadvantages of have several different thrust lines, especially on a vertical lift, is if one goes down it will be very pear shaped, very quickly. Unlike a multi-engine heli, which drive through the same transmission. Depending on the load, things like a Blackhawk can fly happily on one engine, or at least have a controlled descent.

A hexa copter can be run with an engine shut down. This thing might be able to do the same.

 

 

 

[kgwilson]

How many helicopters can drive down a road at 112 kmh? I think its' main purpose is to take the load as far as it can on the ground then hop over whatever obstacles are in the way to the delivery site.

 

 

[eightyknots]

FLOATING TRUCK:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CU5kEhUpnU

 

 

[M61A1]

How many helicopters can drive down a road at 112 kmh? I think its' main purpose is to take the load as far as it can on the ground then hop over whatever obstacles are in the way to the delivery site.

Kind of pointless though, when you can take it above the ground at whatever altitude you choose (within reason) at anything up to around 160kts, in a helicopter. They've invented another "wheel" that's less efficient and more complex.

 

 

[M61A1]

A hexa copter can be run with an engine shut down. This thing might be able to do the same.

If you think about the laws of physics here, if you lose one engine, you are also going to have to lose the opposite engine to maintain any directional control.

 

 

[eightyknots]

If you think about the laws of physics here, if you lose one engine, you are also going to have to lose the opposite engine to maintain any directional control.

Agreed!

 

The question is, can it still lift that load with the four remaining engines? Let's hope that this has been factored into the design.

 

 

[turboplanner]

This unit has 8 engines, so one out is -12.5% local thrust, and an algorithm could be written for a 12.5% thrust transfer from the other engines which could do it just by increasing and reducing speeds.

 

Vehicle design by the Henry Ford method will be virtually extinct in Australia within two years, but I'm hopeful it will return in cars and trucks with a "plug and play" type modular design system, and this "truck" has some great potential for that.