Will Personal Mini-Helicopters Be a Reality Soon? Danny Hakimjune - The New York Times
go to original June 22, 2014

Simulated PAV flight (MyCopter)

Six research institutions across Europe are studying the feasibility of small commuter helicopters, helped along by a $4.7 million grant from the European government in a project dubbed “MyCopter.”

The initial project is almost complete, and a second phase is being considered. Scientists and engineers at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany, and here, at the University of Liverpool’s engineering school, are among those leading the research.

At a high-ceilinged laboratory at the university’s Center for Engineering Dynamics in downtown Liverpool, I recently strapped in for a test flight in an orb-shaped flight simulator. The university has long expertise in flight simulation, including a project that aims to develop flying buses that don’t need a runway.

For MyCopter, researchers here are trying to figure out how to make personal helicopters easy to fly for ordinary people. They started by collaborating with former military test pilots, and have moved on to testing their flight systems with people who have no flying experience.

Read the rest at The New York Times

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!