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Hummel concept helicopter folds up into a compact block

Hummel concept helicopter folds up into a compact block

It's a bird! It's a, uh, bee! It is, in fact, a helicopter named for a bumble bee — which is what "hummel" means in Rosenheim-born industrial designer Daniel Kocyba's native German. The small wheels and support of the 'copter fold up for a flat base, and its rotors swing down against the chassis so that it ends up in a nice, compact block.

From the designer:

The "Hummel" ("bumble bee") is a light helicopter for [a total of] two passengers. It can be used for passenger transport (air taxi), as well as for e.g. emergency transports like organs or units of stored blood and of course for conventional tasks of a helicopter like monitoring (e.g. coast guard, police, army, scientists) and to be mobile. The tandem rotor design guarantees a more efficient aircraft performance as the main-tail rotor design, without wasting fuel.
Check out more of Daniel Kocyba's Hummel concept helicopter in the gallery below.






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Zoobota, via The Design Blog

 
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(8) COMMENTS

Capt Lockheed:
"could it be both fans spin in opposite directions?!" I believe that the contra-rotating tandem ducted rotors nega...More »


Comments

By Future Tech at 8:48 PM ON 04/30/09

Throw some gatling guns on that and you basically have a Hornet from Halo 3

By KatsuKaze at 1:24 PM ON 05/01/09

COBRA!!!!

By Brass Orchid at 2:57 PM ON 05/01/09

Lego!

By Dunebuggy at 11:52 PM ON 05/02/09

Or a ornithopter from Frank Herbert's Dune!

By Guest at 1:24 AM ON 07/11/09

I'll pass, doesn't look like it can autorotate.

Splat.

By Phil E. Drifter at 3:17 AM ON 07/15/09

I want one!!! Red/black, please!

By Phil E. Drifter at 3:20 AM ON 07/15/09

I wonder though what prevents the entire machine from spinning clockwise (angular momentum); that's what the little rotor on helicopters does. This thing doesn't have one... could it be both fans spin in opposite directions?!

By Capt Lockheed at 3:56 PM ON 07/16/09

"could it be both fans spin in opposite directions?!"

I believe that the contra-rotating tandem ducted rotors negate the need for a tail rotor.

I would love one of these


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