Privately funded Pakistani engineers have developed an ultra light weight helicopter/ gyrocopter which have a seating capacity for two persons. This gyrocopter was first flown by them in front of the Pakistani media on Wednesday.
Mujibur Rehman, Rehan Janjua and Shakir Ayub were the engineers involved in this privately funded project. Manufactures have claimed their ultra light helicopter/ gyrocopter will be able to fly as high as 17,000 feet and will be capable a top speed of 190 km/h.
From the looks of this machine, it is clear that it is a gyrocopter as it looks to be using an unpowered rotor in auto-rotation to create lift to stay in air and uses a propeller at the back connected with an engine to push the gyrocopter forward.
Once the machine starts moving forward, air start passing up and through the rotor and unpowered rotor starts rotating. This rotation of the unpowered rotor provides lift which allows the gyrocopter to stay in the air.
Engineers have also said that their machine uses fly-by-wire (FBW) systems instead of mechanical flight control systems used in similar machines. In FBW systems electronic signals are sent through the electrical wiring and then flight control computers interprets those signals and decides which control surface needs to be moved.
Engineers have said that they are going to produce atleast eighty such helicopters/ gyrocopter which they want to sell to the public sector forces. Initial investment for this helicopter/ gyrocopter was 9 million rupees.
While designing and development gyrocopter shows a great level of talent and skill of the Pakistani engineers and how even privately funded and motivated team of individuals can achieve their goals, it is highly unlikely that this gyrocopter will make it through to the Pakistani armed forces.
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