Help::Auto-Download
What's this slidery thing next to the download link?Mod
Parts
Action Groups
Action Group info has not been setYour craft has downloaded
Not sure how to install a craft file?
Here's howPut the craft file you've downloaded into the SPH sub folder in the Ships folder in your save;
<ksp_dir>/saves/<your-save>/Ships/SPH
Put the craft file you've downloaded into the SPH sub folder inside Ships in the root of KSP;
<ksp_dir>/Ships/SPH
Back to Main Craft's Page
Or find other craft; - that are also pure stock
Paste a url where
this mod
can be downloaded

Description
The aircraft aims to simulate the basic flight maneuvers of a gyrocopter using an engine-driven propeller for forward thrust and an independent, unpowered rotor in a state of autorotation to generate lift. The main rotor is actively driven or prerotated only for a short duration, in preparation for takeoff. Unfortunately, due to the aircraft’s size, instead of implementing some sort of tilting mechanism for the rotor, I opted for reaction wheels to provide directional control. This choice imparts somewhat unrealistic, hyper-maneuvering capabilities, but, on the other hand, it adds more fun and aerobatic possibilities.
Details
- Type: SPH
- Class: aircraft
- Part Count: 65
- Pure Stock
- KSP: 1.10.0
Built in the SPH in KSP version 1.10.0
Versioning
- rev.B - reduced blades pitch and rotor size diameter, resulting in higher rotor rpm during flight and stability improvement.
To fly:
. This is necessary mostly during the takeoff phase
The never exceed speed, at which the main rotor exits from autorotation, becoming unable to maintain lift, is about 50m/s. This typically occurs during descents when pushing too hard on the stick without reducing the engine’s power accordingly.
The aircraft is quite stable and flies well even without SAS, but it handles differently and demands more control inputs than an airplane. Playing with the throttle and monitoring the rotor rpm are key points in flying this autogyro. These are also the features that make this craft insanely fun to fly. Give it a try, and don’t hesitate to let me know what you think.
In case of customization don’t be surprised that even the slightest change of the parts will completely alter the flight behavior or make it totally unstable.
A side note regarding KSP physics:
As you may already know, the KSP physics engine completely ignores the concept of airfoil. It takes into account only the angle of attack when calculating lift. This is particularly significant when it comes to autorotation in helicopters or autogyros (gyrocopters) because the rotor blade turns backward compared to reality, solely as a result of air deflection.
As a consequence of this, a variety of things or phenomena cannot be accurately replicated or behave strangely. For example, in the real world, the blades of a helicopter in a state of autorotation continue to rotate or even increase their speed in the same rotational direction as in powered flight, even if the airflow is now reversed through the rotor disk. In KSP, given the same scenario, the reversed airflow starts to decrease the blades’ rpm and eventually completely reverses their spin direction.