The ''Vertigo'' was a
human-powered helicopter designed and built in the 1980s by Andrew Cranfield, an engineer with
Westland Helicopters.
Development
In 1980, Cranfield was a graduate apprentice with Westland Helicopters, when he was prompted by the
American Helicopter Society offering the
Sikorsky Prize for human-powered helicopters, to develop a design for that competition.
[
The design Cranfield developed was a ]coaxial
In geometry, coaxial means that several three-dimensional linear or planar forms share a common axis. The two-dimensional analog is ''concentric''.
Common examples:
A coaxial cable has a wire conductor in the centre (D), a circumferential ou ...
helicopter comprising two identical two-bladed rotors, each having a diameter of and blades with a constant chord. The lower rotor was set at 6° dihedral, and the higher rotor at 9° dihedral.[ In order to take advantage offered by ground effect, the rotors were set as low to the ground, and as closely together, as could be practically achieved, with the fuselage and pilot being located above the rotor assembly.][ The rotors were constructed of carbon fibre, styrofoam and Mylar. The blades were fixed, with the pitch and coning built into their design. Flight control was intended to be achieved by weight shift, with the pilot moving about to enable this. Power was transmitted by to the rotors by a set of bicycle pedals powering a set of ]bevel
A bevelled edge (UK) or beveled edge (US) is an edge of a structure that is not perpendicular to the faces of the piece. The words bevel and chamfer overlap in usage; in general usage, they are often interchanged, while in technical usage, they ...
and pinion gears.[
In 1987, in an article published in the journal ''Chartered Mechanical Engineer'', Cranfield described a series of trials with the ''Vertigo'', the last of which the pilot was able to achieve the 6 ]rpm
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines.
One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...
necessary for the craft to fly.[ It was reported that "the blades started to show signs of generating significant lift; this was confirmed as the aircraft began to skip around the floor."][ Cranfield reported issues with the transmission, and with rotor performance being affected by their being closely coupled together as needing further attention.][
In 1989, the remains of the ''Vertigo'' were donated to The Helicopter Museum, in ]Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...
, England, where they are currently on display.[
]
Specifications
See also
References
{{reflist, refs=
[{{cite journal , last1=Cranfield , first1=A. D. , title=Pedalling towards a vertical take-off , journal=Chartered Mechanical Engineer , date=September 1987 , volume=34 , pages=58–60 , url=https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/36294293/pedalling-towards-a-vertical-take-off-human-powered-helicopters , access-date=24 June 2023, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230624234355/https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/36294293/pedalling-towards-a-vertical-take-off-human-powered-helicopters, archive-date=June 24, 2023]
[{{cite web , title=Other 80's Planes - Vertigo , url=https://www.humanpoweredflight.co.uk/page/human-powered-flight-other-80s-planes , website=Human Powered Flight , access-date=June 24, 2023, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311034235/https://www.humanpoweredflight.co.uk/page/human-powered-flight-other-80s-planes, archive-date=March 11, 2023]}
[{{cite web , title=Interview with the man who built a human-powered helicopter (and worked with the legendary Edgley Optica), url=https://hushkit.net/2022/03/08/interview-with-the-man-who-built-a-human-powered-helicopter-and-worked-with-the-legendary-edgley-optica/ , website=Hush-Kit - The alternative aviation magazine , access-date=24 June 2023 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308185907/https://hushkit.net/2022/03/08/interview-with-the-man-who-built-a-human-powered-helicopter-and-worked-with-the-legendary-edgley-optica/ , archive-date=March 8, 2022 , date=March 8, 2022]
[{{cite web , title=Cranfield Vertigo , url=https://helimuseum.com/heli.php?ident=vertigo , website=The Helicopter Museum , access-date=24 June 2023 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126233619/https://helimuseum.com/heli.php?ident=vertigo , archive-date=January 26, 2021]
Human-powered helicopters
Coaxial rotor helicopters
1980s British experimental aircraft
1980s British helicopters
Unflown aircraft