GAL Helicopter

[Weaver]

This will be a WWII British helicopter project, based on a General Aircraft Limited Hotspur glider, with a rotor on each wingtip, driven by a piston engine in the fuselage. Kits are a Frogspawn Hotspur and two Airfix Gazelles as rotor-donors.

The inspiration is the US Platt-LePage XR-1 helicopter:



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platt-LePage_XR-1

[Weaver]

Obligatory parts pic. No box, decals or instructions because I haven't got them: the Hotspur was bagged in a bin at a show for £3.00. There's a few bits I haven't found yet. I'm not guaranteeing it, but I may be able to work a little tribute to the late, great Brian de Basher into it too.

[sandiego89]

Nice, have a soft spot for early rotor craft.

[kerick]

I love that those two guys can hold that whole aircraft up using just one main gear leg! They must be really strong!

Could you imagine the looks on the safety and health people if someone did that today?

[NARSES2]

They probably are the health and safety people from back in the day 

[Weaver]

No building yet because I've been trying to resolve a couple of outstanding issues before I start:

Enclosed or exposed gearboxes?
The first XR-1 had exposed ones and the second XR-1A had enclosed ones. Partly this was an issue of what parts I've got, but it's also an issue of how I'm going to get the rotor masts vertical when I'm bulding it. I've ended up going for enclosed: got the pods, and I've worked out a technique (I think).

Extra cockpit glazings.
Helicopter pilots generally need to be able to seen down at some fairly steep angles in order to judge their landings, however provisions were sometimes sub-optimal in early attempts. I can't find anything suitable to make a glazed nose, so I think I'm going to go with extra clear side panels, made from Gazelle windows.

Something I've learnt about myself the hard way is that I shouldn't rely on being spontaneous during a build, i.e. the "oh I'll work something out when I get there" approach. Too often I get stuck on a problem that I can't fix to my satisfaction, and if that coincides with the inevitable mid-project slump in enthusiasm, it greatly increases the chance of me abandoning the the project all together. I need a solid plan FIRST: all the parts sourced, build planned out, alternatives pre-considered. None of this means that I can't be flexible and creative mid-build, it just means that I shouldn't rely on it.

[NARSES2]

Extra cockpit glazings.
Helicopter pilots generally need to be able to seen down at some fairly steep angles in order to judge their landings, however provisions were sometimes sub-optimal in early attempts.

A few early helicopter projects didn't even bother with glazing, they stuck the pilot out at the front sat on some framework

[zenrat]

...Something I've learnt about myself the hard way is that I shouldn't rely on being spontaneous during a build, i.e. the "oh I'll work something out when I get there" approach. Too often I get stuck on a problem that I can't fix to my satisfaction, and if that coincides with the inevitable mid-project slump in enthusiasm, it greatly increases the chance of me abandoning the the project all together. I need a solid plan FIRST: all the parts sourced, build planned out, alternatives pre-considered. None of this means that I can't be flexible and creative mid-build, it just means that I shouldn't rely on it.

I'm the opposite.  If I try to work out all the details before I start then quite often I don't start because i'll decides something its too difficult.  Coming across an issue I hadn't thought of, or assumed I could get round easilly, forces me to put my brain into gear and work out a solution.  Of course there is also a tendency to put them aside if they prove too difficult.