Maneuverable suspending capsule for helicopters (VED)

https://grabcad.com/library/detailed-helicopter-model-1

3D model available for download above

Pochari Technologies’s Vertical embark disembark (VED) technology for conventional rotorcraft aims to radically transform the way we utilize VTOL aircraft. Pochari’s VED enables the rotorcraft to drop off passengers or equipment and cargo without needing to land the primary aircraft. A rotorcraft in the 3.5 ton class will typically have a total front to rear length of over 45′, not including a safe margin on each side. It’s fair to assume a landing site of 60 feet is ideal for safe operation, giving a margin of only 7.5 feet on each side. The suspending VED capsule for the 3.5 ton rotorcraft is sized for a stretcher in the longitudinal direction with enough room for a flight nurse sitting beside the stretcher. The total area required for the capsule is only 5 feet, or 8% of the area required to land the main rotorcraft, this is what makes VED so attractive. During EMS operations, the stretcher extends through the cabin on one side, a special door is installed providing additional room for the stretcher. When EMS operations are not planned, the door is removed and replaced with a normal door.

The impetus for developing VED is simple. The sheer size of most medium sized rotorcraft makes it incredibly difficult and dangerous to land in confined areas such as suburban neighborhoods, urban city centers, or wooded areas, or any area with a significant number of obstacles, such as trees, buildings or telephone poles. The exposed rotors are highly susceptible to collision with nearby obstacles as well as foreign object damage from flying debris. In addition elevated noise levels from the main rotor system and tail rotor have resulted in conventional rotorcraft having fared poorly in urban environments. Conventional rotorcraft with their theoretical potential to land almost anywhere, have in reality been constrained to public heliports or airports, thereby defeating the vertical take off and landing potential of the aircraft. It’s fair to say the conventional rotorcraft has been unable to deliver on its promises in civilian transportation. VED For Rotorcraft™ promises to unleash the potential of low disc loading vertical flight to better enable urban and confined area operations. While there is much focus today on compact high disc loading forms of vertical flight, Pochari Technologies believes the inherent high efficiency, stability and built-in redundancy make conventional rotorcraft highly attractive for passenger transportation. The renewed interest in high disc loading multi-copter flight reflects the failure of the traditional helicopter to deliver in areas such as urban commuting. In finding a solution we may have taken the wrong course. One must realize that high disc loading multi-copter VTOLs do not have any built in aerodynamic redundancy like the ability to autorotate. If the primary goal is to transport passengers, safety is of utmost importance, so why focus on an inherently less safe form of flight? Pochari Technologies’ VED incorporates a small highly compact crash resistant capsule with 4 high thrust electric ducted fans for directional stability. The electronic ducted fans provide sufficient thrust to operate the system in up to 40 MPH winds. The electronic ducted fans are powered by a high power density micro gas turbine driving a compact DC generator. The capsule is suspended via dual 1/4″ ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene cables each with an ultimate breaking strength of over 7000 lbs, giving an overall single cable safety factor of over 4.5X. EDF stabilization can prevent uncontrolled spinning in up to 50+ mph winds if slow spinning is tolerable. One must remember that compared to long lining or winching this technology is much safer as a crash resistance capsule protects occupants from the elements, collision and provides precise control upon landing via the EDF system. The capsule can seat 3-6 persons with a maximum payload of 2000-4000 lbs depending on the size of the primary aircraft. One to four high speed winches with a built-in automatic locking system enables speedy raising and lowering of the capsule. A maximum repelling height of 300 feet is envisioned, 100 feet is ideal for most disembarks. VED allows for a significant reduction in landing gear weight for tiltrotors, tiltwings, heavy lift helicopters and even medium helicopters as heavy cargo can be loaded into the aircraft while in hover and unloaded prior to landing, alleviating stress on the landing gear system.

Pochari Technoligies’ VED For Rotorcraft™ would provide numerous advantages to civilian, commercial and government operations. Civilian operations would be able to pick up and drop off passengers directly at their homes, apartments or virtually any location instead of at a centralized location like a heliport or airport, yielding a considerable time saving by avoiding the commute to the nearest airport or heliport, which in many cases is located a substantial distance away from the final destination. These heliports or airports are obviously limited in number and are often highly restrictive and charge high landing fees. The revolutionary aspect of Pochari Technoligies’ VED For Rotorcraft™ should not be overlooked. For the first time in the short history of aviation, aircraft have been freed from the constraint imposed by airports or heliports. It will allow for a complete decentralization of aviation, by eliminating traditional hub to hub operations, where aircraft take off and land from a limited number of highly regulated commonly government owned sites. These locations typically impose ridiculously high landing fees, impose draconian restrictions on the time and day the aircraft can operate, and face constant noise complaints from special interest groups. On the other hand the airspace is considered “public property” free for any American citizen to use. As long as the aircraft remains in the public airspace, and the capsule is placed on private property, the aircraft could be utilized virtually anywhere. By using VED For Rotorcraft™ individuals could live further away from expensive, crowed and polluted urban centers and rapidly commute to their workplaces at a fraction of the time of ground transportation or even conventional airport based aviation. You could go as far as claiming our technology is attempting to make airport based aviation obsolete and render it totally uncompetitive when compared to VED. Pochari Technoligies’s VED For Rotorcraft™ could also provide rapid package/parcel delivery. The rotorcraft has the ability to carry a payload many folds greater then any quadcopter drone in existence. Combined with much greater range and speed, the conventional rotorcraft equipped with VED could prove to be an invaluable resource for express package delivery.

Another major benefit Pochari Technoligies’ VED For Rotorcraft™ offers rotorcraft operators is the ability to operate the aircraft in unforgiving and otherwise dangerous terrains, such as steep, muddy, unstable, rugged and rocky terrains that would prove incredibly difficult for standard wheeled or even skid rotorcraft to land on.

Military and commercial operators will quickly see the benefits of this technology as well.

Military operators of medium disk loading rotorcraft have faced a historically insurmountable challenge when attempting to land in dust prone environments. This problem is commonly referred to as “brownout” where the high-velocity downwash of the main rotor blades create an enormous cloud of fine particles of sand or dirt which severely impair visibility and greatly increases the chance of an accident. Why would our technology solve this? For a very simple reason. The velocity of the rotor downwash slows down rapidy with distance, at less than 50 feet there is very little to no rotor downwash. Since we consider 100 feet as an ideal height to begin descending the VED capsule, at this height the downwash would have almost completely dissipated. Thus military operators would be able to safely unload personnel or equipment in highly dust sensitive areas. Moreover recent advancements in high disc loading tilt-rotor aircraft have exacerbated the “brownout” issue to a degree that it’s almost impossible to land a high disc loading tilt-rotor in a dusty environment, rendering them useless and prone to collision with terrain in these types of environments. The downwash velocity of a conventional medium disc loading rotorcraft peaks at around 40-50 MPH. A tilt-rotor can approach 200 MPH. Pochari Technoligies’s VED is highly suitable for small to medium size tilt-rotors. In addition to imposing visibility constraints, brownout imposes massive maintenance requirements on turboshaft hot section components from fine particles of sand being ingested into the turboshaft causing erosion. In addition, high mass air flows inherent to turbines limit the filtration that can be effectively provided by IBF systems.

In addition to eliminating the major issue of “brownout,” is the ability to drop off personnel or equipment and cargo in highly confined areas. This is commonly found in urban warfare settings which is currently nearly inaccessible with standard rotorcraft. Another major advantage VED offers militaries is the greater ability to avoid rocket propelled ground fire. When a conventional rotorcraft lands it is unable to immediately take off again as the main rotor blades need to increase in speed from idle. Even if the rotor blades are left at full speed, it simply takes time for the aircraft to gain sufficient altitude in order to avoid potential threats. The result is the aircraft is stuck on the ground for a period of time and left highly vulnerable to attack. A VED equipped aircraft, in comparison, remains in flight at all times, being able to instantly disconnect the capsule and potentially outmaneuver ground fire. Although Pochari Technologies is not claiming to have discovered a way to make rotorcraft immune from ground fire, our technology does offers the opportunity to increase the chance of avoiding losses from ground fire if the aircraft is operated at the maximum 300 foot capsule decent height. Operating at a 300 foot altitude would give the pilot enough time to deploy anti-missile flares or simply fly out of harm’s way. This advantage paired with greater ability to operate in rugged terrains unconducive to rotorcraft will make any military who utilizes VED technology significantly more competitive than their peers with standard rotorcraft. Marine based operators would realize tremendous benefits from our technology. To operate a rotorcraft from a ship, the ship requires a large helipad that can be in excess of 50 feet in diameter, requiring a large ship, taking up precious space and adding significant cost. By utilizing VED, rotorcraft can more easily operate from small vessels, allowing it to be even more versatile in a wide range of marine application.

Although this technology offers enormous opportunity to greatly improve commercial or military operations we hold the opinion that its ultimate success will be in personal civilian transportation. As this technology was originally conceived by its inventor in a personal transportation setting. Highly urbanized areas where the majority of the world’s population resides, still remain highly congested and ground transportation falls short for anyone wanting a more effective and comfortable form of transport. Conventional air transport falls short as well. The often considerable distance between the available aviation infrastructure and the person’s destination leads to a situation where the time accrued in commuting to and from these locations often exceed the flight time for short to medium flights. These reasons make conventional aviation impractical for short to medium distance personal commuting. We believe Pochari Technoligies’ VED For Rotorcraft™ will not only solve this problem but also unleash a revolution in the way people commute. The rotorcraft remains the most elegant and versatile flying machine ever created. Coupled with our technology the conventional rotorcraft becomes an unstoppable force that will completely revolutionize transportation. Only governments, bureaucrats, elites and special interest groups will pose a challenge to its future proliferation, not technical hurdles or feasibility.