Mechanical gyroscopes for vehicles examples wtd

[amorrison]

I want to build a gyro from a motorcycle wheel - maybe about 30lbs including motor to maintain gyro rpm.
Does anyone have any examples of similar size/capability?
Thanks.

 

[IRstuff]

Moller hasn't updated their website in a year or so, and there's really been no obvious progress in the last few years:

http://moller.com/dev/

TTFN
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[drawoh]

IRstuff,

Has the volantor actually flown? In the YouTube videos, it clearly is dangling from a cable, and swinging in the direction opposite to which the fans should be pushing it. Note how the website is written in the present tense, indicating that the Volantor is a developed, functioning product.

--
JHG

 

[IRstuff]

Two companies ago, I was very interested in Moller, since they claimed they were only a few years away from production. That was 17 yrs ago, and they're still a few yrs from production. They were claiming FAA-approved vehicles in production 4 yrs from their 2012 posting, which is now only two yrs away, and there's bupkis on their website.

If you read their shareholder meeting minutes:

http://moller.com/dev/images/pdf/Minutes 2012-11-17.pdf,

which is also c. 2012, they were still looking for investment, meaning that they're still not at the point of producing product, which is consistent with their c. 2012 FAW page:

http://moller.com/dev/index.php/about-us/faq

The only thing they seem to be selling at all is their motor, which appears to be a derivative of a Wankel:

http://www.freedom-motors.com/

TTFN
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[IRstuff]

Oh, I was going to say that I think the car is tethered for safety reasons, and the oddity of the flight pattern is probably that they can't seem to afford to hire a real FBW/autopilot programmer.

TTFN
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[3DDave]

That Moller fellow keeps parking his &*#*& Volantor right next to my Tom Swift Motors Triphibian Atomicar. There's plenty of room, but he keeps pushing it.

 

[moon161]

I remember a fawning article in discover magazine, ca. 1986, it was just around the corner. I used to work with a guy he lived near bell aerospace when they were testing the X22.

http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/bell_x-22.php

Very loud he said it was.