> I think it was a single-prop chopper, kept hovering and centered just by minutely controlling exactly when torque was created by the motor. Absolutely f..ing nuts.
I recall a video of someone sticking a RC chopper rotor to a fixed-wing model aircraft and turning it into a thrust vectoring propeller with software, giving the plane ability to pull some unique acrobatics.
> You need far greater reaction speeds for a viable quadcopter to remain stable than an ICE, much less a turbojet engine, is capable of.
You can split the problem in two: use ICE to generate thrust, vector it with passive elements on fast-reacting electric servos. Or, you can retain all the electric hardware, but replace the battery with an ICE generator and a gas tank - the main problem here is reducing weight, and gasoline has much better energy density than batteries.
I recall a video of someone sticking a RC chopper rotor to a fixed-wing model aircraft and turning it into a thrust vectoring propeller with software, giving the plane ability to pull some unique acrobatics.
> You need far greater reaction speeds for a viable quadcopter to remain stable than an ICE, much less a turbojet engine, is capable of.
You can split the problem in two: use ICE to generate thrust, vector it with passive elements on fast-reacting electric servos. Or, you can retain all the electric hardware, but replace the battery with an ICE generator and a gas tank - the main problem here is reducing weight, and gasoline has much better energy density than batteries.