Crowdfunding hope for human-powered helicopter project

Last September, the Gamera II team from the A. James Clark School of Engineering got so close to claiming the Sikorsky Prize of US$250,000 for human-powered helicopter flight that the American Helicopter Society must surely have been preparing to pull the dust covers off the safe and hand over the cash. Gamera II features a huge cross-shaped frame with enormous rotors at each of its four points, which are powered by sustained hand and foot pumping from a pilot at the center. It's a design that's been used by many of those attempting to nab the elusive prize (including AeroVelo's Atlas), but Georgia's Kenneth Huff has a rather more compact vision for success.

The project began in the spring of 2010, when Huff stumbled across some information about the Sikorsky competition while researching the building of an engine-powered single-seat helicopter that he was hoping to build after graduating from Middle Georgia State College.

"I am not sure how most people react to the question of human-powered helicopters, but I thought that it would be easy after reading about the competition," Huff told Gizmag. "I really didn't know what I was in for and after looking at Da Vinci III and Yuri I, I began to understand the nature of challenge."

A year later, he enlisted the help of two friends/fellow classmates (Neal Fischer, William Edwards) and requested a US$5,000 development grant from the College to work on a prototype and test the feasibility of building a human-powered helicopter that was much smaller than either Da Vinci III or Yuri I. At this point, the team had not come across the efforts of the University of Maryland's Gamera team, and AeroVelo hadn't yet embarked on its Atlas project.

Happily, the research proposal was accepted and work began on the first prototype. The aim was to develop a small coaxial human-powered helicopter that had the potential for reliable and practical recreational use, something that certainly can't be claimed for Gamera or Atlas. Banking on improvements in rotor efficiency allowing for a substantial reduction in the size of both frames and blades needed for lift, an additional grant in the spring of 2012 (along with a personal cash injection from Huff himself) allowed important design modifications to be made, along with the construction and testing of a new set of rotors.

The specs for the current prototype (and the next model) include a frame made of 6061 T6 aluminum, a 1:1 gearing ratio, and stacked rotors sporting a carbon fiber spar and S1223 airfoil with a weight of 15 pounds (6.8 kg) and total length of 12 feet (3.6 m). The total empty weight of the craft is 110 pounds (49.8 kg).

"The basic premise behind this design is that when the speed of an airfoil doubles, the lift quadruples," explained Huff. "We knew that we could reduce the area of the rotors by 75 percent when we doubled the speed. Take Yuri I for example, which had eight rotors all rotating at approximately 20 RPMs. If they had been able to double the RPMs to 40, then they could have eliminated six rotors or 75 percent of their rotor area."

"However, any aerodynamicist will inform you that drag also quadruples when the speed of airfoil doubles so there would be much more drag, which is completely true," he continued. "So we knew that our primary focus had to be to reduce the drag of the rotors (other teams are focused on reducing the power required by increasing the span of the rotor, which allows them to reduce the speed of the rotor needed to lift off of the ground). By using smaller rotors rotating at 60+ RPMs we knew that our rotors had to be as efficient as possible. So our efforts over the past two years have been to design the most efficient rotors that we possibly could without relying on previous designs or foregone conclusions about how a rotor should be designed."

Huff and the team now feel that they have developed one of the most efficient rotors ever designed, but have not been able to fully test it due to a lack of funds. They have another grant request in with the College, but impatience has got the better of them and they've headed to Kickstarter to both generate interest in the project and hopefully provide the cash injection needed to get their human-powered helicopter off the ground.

Though rotor testing has produced positive results, the simple aluminum frame topped by a pair of two-bladed rotors has yet to make it into the air. The maximum lift generated so far is 80 pounds (36 kg), while the minimum lift needed to get the craft to fly has been calculated at 240 pounds (109 kg).

"There is much more uncertainty about the feasibility our rotor design because it runs contrary to the design of all other successful human-powered helicopters," said Huff. "This uncertainty is compounded when coupled with the fact that we have been working on it for two years and have yet to have a successful flight. Furthermore, some aerodynamicists and human-powered helicopter enthusiasts may swear to the impossibility of our design but we believe that there is always room for improvement in any design and truly believe that practical human-powered vertical flight is possible and has the potential to one day be a recreational activity similar to hang-gliding, and we hope to prove it."

The developers are convinced that, with funding, the helicopter will be capable of lifting 300 pounds (136 kg) using 300 watts or less of power ? a fraction of that needed by other Sikorsky contenders. Direction of the current model will be controlled by shifting the weight of pilot, but plans are afoot for a cyclic control system that should offer more precision.

Kickstarter backers can pledge support for the project in return for various rewards (including framed posters, a 48-page book or a brass S1223 airfoil cutout), or can take a giant leap of faith and promise $10,000 or more, which will secure a fully functional, full-scale replica of the finished helicopter.

In the event of another team beating Huff and friends to the elusive Sikorsky Prize ? which requires a craft to stay in the air for 60 seconds, stay within a 10 meter (32.8 ft) square and rise to three meters (9.8 ft) at some point during the strictly human-powered flight ? development on the project will continue.

The Kickstarter pitch video is below.

Source: Kickstarter

Source: http://www.gizmag.com/kenneth-huff-human-powered-helicopter/26778/

Asteroid 2012 DA14 Reeva Steenkamp rubio Affenpinscher Dorner Banana Joe state of the union

Small Business Shout Out: Macaroni Kid Huron Valley - White Lake ...

The following answers were provided by Sarah Sims, Publisher of Macaroni Kid Huron Valley. If you have a business and want to participate in Patch's Small Business Shout Out you can fill out the form here.

When was the business founded?: I started the Macaroni Kid Huron Valley website and e-newsletter in March of 2011.

How did your business come to be?: When my twins were 1 1/2 I was searching online for things to do in the community. In my search I stumbled upon Macaroni Kid in another community. I immediately searched to see if Milford/Highland had an edition. I was disappointed to find that there wasn't one in our community. I then contacted the National Macaroni Kid to find out more about starting my own edition. I have loved publishing the newsletter ever since.

Why did you choose to locate to Highland?: I live in Milford and the town and areas around Milford make up such a great community. It is very family based, perfect for the Macaroni Kid newsletter.

What kind of services do you offer?: I offer a free resource to families in the Highland, Milford, White Lake and Commerce areas. I send the e-newsletter out every Thursday morning filled with articles, crafts, recipes and a list of local family friendly events. www.huronvalley.macaronikid.com. For business I offer advertising on the website and newsletter. Businesses that target local moms and families have great success reaching them with Macaroni Kid Huron Valley.

What's a fact about your business that most customers probably don't know?: Macaroni Kid has publications all over the U.S. When you visit other cities and states you should look up to see if that town has a Macaroni Kid in it. That local newsletter will have all the events for families in their area. You can even contact them for recommendations on what you should see while your there. Search www.macaronikid.com for all the national Macaroni Kid communities.

What do you want your business to be best known for?: I want to be known for being a trusted local resource for families in the Huron Valley community.

What's your most popular product or service?: What my readers love the most is the fact that I do all the work for them. I email them what is going on in Huron Valley and they don't have to spend a second wasting time finding out what to do with their children. Visit www.huronvalley.macaronikid.com to subscribe.

Source: http://whitelake.patch.com/articles/small-business-shout-out-macaroni-kid-huron-valley

bobby brown leaves funeral donnie mcclurkin whitney houston funeral live stream kevin costner whitney houston whitney houston funeral live pat buchanan slither

QFCA: Cross Border Taxation of Islamic Finance in the MENA ...

In order to achieve achieve economic outcomes which are similar to the economic outcomes achieved by conventional finance, transactions that are undertaken in Islamic finance typically require more component steps. These additional transactions are at risk of being subject to transfer taxes or to taxes on income or gains. The tax treatment of four common Islamic finance structures, commodity murabaha, sukuk, salaam and istisna in eight MENA region countries: Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and in the Qatar Financial Centre were reviewed in this report.

Source: http://www.islamicfinance.de/?q=node/4808

roses flower delivery e cards kate upton sports illustrated outback chaka khan taylor swift safe and sound

Correction: HP Shareholder Revolt story

NEW YORK (AP) ? In a story March 8 about mounting opposition to several members of Hewlett-Packard Co.'s board of directors, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services is recommending HP's stockholders oppose the re-election of director Marc Andreessen at the company's March 20 annual meeting. ISS is recommending a vote in favor of Andreessen.

The story should have reported that another advisory firm, Glass Lewis, is recommending HP shareholders oppose Andreessen's re-election and reported that ISS is opposing the re-election of HP Chairman Ray Lane, in addition to two other directors.

The story also should have had a San Francisco dateline.

A corrected version of the story is below:

NYC pension funds seeking ouster of 2 HP directors

New York City pension funds oppose re-election of 2 longtime Hewlett-Packard board members

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE

AP Technology Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? A group of New York City pension funds is joining the effort to oust the longest-serving members on Hewlett-Packard's board of directors for their roles in a series of costly decisions that have battered the company's stock.

The brewing rebellion is aimed at HP directors John Hammergren and G. Kennedy Thompson, two of the 11 directors seeking to be re-elected at the company's March 20 annual meeting.

Two influential advisory firms, Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis & Co., are helping to mount the opposition. In separate reports issued earlier this week, both firms recommended that HP shareholders vote against Hammergren and Thompson. The CtW Investment Group also has been urging pension funds that own HP stock to oust those two directors.

In a statement released Friday, New York City Comptroller John Liu said he has concluded Hammergren and Thompson bear responsibility for approving several soured acquisitions that saddled the world's largest personal computer maker with more than $17 billion in losses during the past year.

Liu also criticized them for participating in a "hasty" decision to hire former software executive Leo Apotheker in 2010. The board fired Apotheker less than a year later and replaced him with Hewlett-Packard Co.'s current CEO, Meg Whitman, who is also trying to win re-election to the board.

The New York City pension funds opposing the two HP directors collectively own 5.5 million shares of the company's stock. That's a stake of less than 0.3 percent, but their rebuke of Hammergren and Thompson could lead other frustrated HP shareholders to turn against them.

HP's board said Friday that it "fully supports" the re-election of all its directors.

Revenue at HP, which is based in Palo Alto, Calif., has been sinking amid a slump in PC sales driven by a growing preference for smartphones and tablet computers. To compound that problem the company has absorbed staggering write-offs to account for the diminished value three major acquisitions ? technology consulting service EDS, device maker Palm and business software maker Autonomy. The biggest headache has been Autonomy, which HP alleges had been embroiled in financial chicanery that drove up its acquisition price.

The turmoil has sapped HP's stock, which closed Friday at $21. That's 55 percent below its price in August 2010 before HP's board parted ways with then-CEO Mark Hurd in a dispute over his expense reports and his relationship with a company contractor. The downturn has wiped out $50 billion in shareholder wealth and raised questions about the future prospects of a Silicon Valley pioneer.

Hammergren, 53, and Thompson, 62, are prime targets for shareholder ire because they have been on HP's board the longest. Hammergren, the CEO of pharmaceutical drug distributor McKesson Corp., has been on the board since 2005 and Thompson, former CEO of the troubled bank Wachovia Corp., joined in 2006.

All the other HP directors joined the board within the past four years.

Hammergren chairs the finance and investment committee on HP's board and Thompson chairs the audit committee.

Institutional Shareholder Services also is recommending HP shareholders vote against the re-election of company Chairman Ray Lane. Glass Lewis also opposes the re-election of Marc Andreessen, a venture capitalist best known as the co-founder of Web browser pioneer Netscape Communications, and Rajiv Gupta, whose tenure on HP's board ranks third behind those of Hammergren's and Kennedy's.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-03-11-Hewlett-Packard-Shareholder%20Revolt/id-8cbe3d15b01942eb80abb6406a0a149f

albert pujols the shining mariano rivera mariano rivera jobs report tiger woods masters 2012 nikki haley