For the past year Raamco Avionics has been investigating the possiblity
of developing a practical radio-controlled flying saucer. It is our
belief that if alien flying saucers are real and have been seen, that
their shape contributes no aerodynamic lift at all in the conventional
sense, but rather that they operate on some form of antigravity.

We have studied some scientific literature related to gravity, and it
seems that even though Newton developed a mathematical relationship to describe gravity some 300 years ago (F=gm1m2/r^2), modern science really
has no idea what gravity is or how it works, only that it has some relationship to mass. Just like the layman, scientists consider the
problem solved, and take gravity for granted.

We have not solved the problem of gravity, and unless the government
comes clean with any knowledge it has of alien craft, or some bright scientists actually determine what the real mechanism of gravity is and
how to defeat it, we will have to use more conventional means of
propulsion in our flying saucer design.

The flying saucer has several advantages over our conventional flying
craft. Like a helicopter, they can hover. However they don't have the
large rotor blades that cannot be safely operated near buildings,
people, power lines, etc. Airplanes require forward velocity to remain
aloft, and become dangerous in the case of engine failures in
mountainous regions where there is no way to land safely.

A practical flying saucer would eliminate these problems and potentially
be the safest form of flying.

Conventional forms of propulsion that could be used include: piston-
engine ducted fans, rotary-engine ducted fans, turbine engines, or
liquid fueled rockets. Since we are generating no lift from an
aerodynamic surface such as a wing or a rotor, almost all the power
developed will be used to defeat gravity. This requires the thrust to
weight ratio to be greater than one, and such a machine will require
more fuel than conventional aircraft. However this is compensated by a smaller, more compact aircraft that has vertical takeoff, landing, and hovering ability. Forward velocity may be limited, but drag should be
low.

Ducted fans actually represent a very attractive choice. They are
enclosed, out of sight, and thus allow us to create a very "realistic"
saucer. They are also more cost effective than the other choices, but
deliver less thrust. One problem associated with ducted fans in
conventional aircraft is that they lose thrust as the aircraft gains
forward speed. Since our fans will be oriented vertically, and a very
large percentage of the thrust generated will be used to overcome
gravity, the forward (upward) velocity as seen by the fan is very small.
This will allow the fans to be designed for maximum static thrust.

For the initial design of such a craft, we propose using 6 ducted fans arranged around a central core that contains fuel, controls, payload,
etc. All six units operating together provide enough thrust to elevate
the craft to a predetermined service ceiling, where the effiency of the
fan unit and engine can no longer accelerate enough air through to
offset the force of gravity. This service ceiling will be specified in density altitude. Forward and sideways motion is accomplished by
varying the thrust of various combinations of the six fans. To
eliminate a torque that would cause the craft to rotate around its
vertical axis, the three fans on the left side should rotate in the
opposite direction to the three fans on the right side.

A design is available from Raamco that has been prototyped. It is
constructed of aluminum, balsa wood, and fiberglass, and is powered by
six electric ducted fans. Rather than use mechanical servos as most R/C models, this design uses a total electronic system. The receiver
obtains forward, reverse, left, right, up, and down commands from the ground-based transmitter, and these commands are converted to variable-
voltage signals to drive the six ducted fan motors. This electronics
unit is under development and will be available from Raamco by January
1995. Eventually a complete kit will be available.

In the future, larger designs will be built, possibly using piston or
rotary engines driving fans. In the case of these, the receiver/
controller electronics will drive servos that differentially control the throttles of each engine. We eventually will develop a version large
enough to carry a pilot, that could be built from plans or a kit under
the FAA Experimental Amateur-built category.

Since the ducted fan saucer is a new development, there will be
continuous changes and improvements to these plans. These updates will
be sent free of charge as quarterly newsletters for the first year to
all plans purchasers. After one year, a small fee will be charged to
cover printing and mailing costs of the updates, and it will be
necessary to subscribe if you wish to receive them. The newsletter will include feedback from subscribers/builders, who will have good ideas and experiences to improve the design.



For more information call Perry at Raamco Avionics.

Raamco Avionics, Inc.
28815 Airport Road
Eugene, OR 97402

(503) 689-1801 (voice, no data)
(503) 689-1802 (data, by prior arrangment on -1801)
(800) 863-1801 (orders only)

Plans + First year newsletter: $34.95
Visa, Mastercard, Amex accepted; or send check.

Eddie,
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http://ricksbbs.synchro.net:8080
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