
Flynano - Personal Flying Machine - evo_9
http://www.flynano.com/
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raquo
US definition of Ultralight requires that engine-off stall speed be at most
45km/h, and max speed at most 102km/h at full power in level flight.

flynano's "landing speed" is 70km/h, and "cruising speed" is ~140km/h, so it's
not going to happen as an ultralight in US. It will probably be classified as
an LSA (light-sport aircraft), which makes more sense, but requires a pilot's
license.

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Retric
I don't understand all the hate around getting a pilot's license. Flight is
dangerous and even with a fair amount of regulation and training plenty of
people still mess up and die. There are many situations where the natural
reaction of even a seasoned pilot will get you killed. EX: Letting go of the
stick can be the correct thing to do, try thinking of that while spinning
wildly and falling rapidly.

The LSA pilot's license is fairly easy to get. It takes 20 hours of
instruction and some solo flights which you can for around around 2-3k. And a
written test which seems reasonable before you fly something at 120km/h.

~~~
raquo
Absolutely no hate here. I myself wouldn't fly that thing without some
considerable preparation. I just mentioned it because the aircraft was
designed to fit into Europe's restrictions for the lightest aircraft category
there, but it doesn't fit into US definition of ultralight, and the Engadget
article linked in another comment says it does.

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Entlin
Here are more photos and some additional infos:

 _<http://www.eaa.org/news/2011/2011-04-14_aero.asp> (scroll down a bit)

_[http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/23/flynano-plane-is-super-
li...](http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/23/flynano-plane-is-super-light-pretty-
cheap-a-little-scary/)

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ColinWright
I'd rather go for a real 'plane:

<http://www.google.co.uk/#q=cri-cri+aircraft>

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colomban_Cri-cri>

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGRB2UsH3AE>

<http://www.flight.cz/cricri/english/>

Quoting from WikiPedia:

    
    
        The MC-10 Cri-Cri has a cruising speed of 170 km/h
        (92 knots, or 105.6 miles per hour) and a range of
        750 km (466 standard miles, 405 nautical miles).
    
        The MC-12 model has a cruising speed of 185 km/h
        (100 knots, or 114.9 miles per hour) and range of
        500 km (310.6 standard miles, 270 nautical miles)

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jerrya
Ooh, I like the design where there is no canopy and a propeller right in front
of your face. There's a nice protective pillar.

I'm certain it's safe.

~~~
ratsbane
Sitting right behind that propwash with no windshield isn't going to be fun
either. Even if you're cruising at 70 the wind is going to feel more like 140.

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ck2
Far edge of that wing hits the water first, you are going for a 180 degree
tumble at full momentum.

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adlep
What about some visual demo - maybe a YT movie or few pictures on the web
site. The idea sounds fantastic, but will it actually work well in practice?
Good Luck.

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sirclueless
Anyone have a video of these in action? They look like fun.

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veritgo
_Everyone’s dreamt of flying free as a bird. Nano is for the fun of flying_

Interesting how true this must be. We've heard promise of practical personal
flying machines for _decades_ , usually complete with artists renditions or
renders, but few have seemed to materialize yet.

Ultralights are probably the closest, fairly cheap and requiring little
infrastructure. Just a seat with a big fan attached to a parachute really.

Even these though take a surprising amount of work to be able to operate
safely.

~~~
savrajsingh
Iconaircraft.com is a realistic attempt at making flight more widely
available. They are designing their aircraft around the "sport flight" rules
of recent years, which mean you need less training but you can only fly in
good conditions. They haven't shipped yet, however.

~~~
veritgo
Thanks for posting this, it looks fantastic, and as if it will actually hit
the market.

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Gianteye
I'm not quite clicking with the design. I'd figure you'd need at least the
wing span of an ultralight to get that off the ground, plus a bit more for the
weight of its fully paneled body. I'm just not seeing how you fit an engine
and enough fuel for a reasonable flight in that package. The doubled wings buy
you a little span, but it just doesn't seem to have enough surface area.

~~~
edu
It seems it'll have a theoretical range of 70km. It's more a toy than a real
plane (like JetSky vs. real boats).

Probably fun though!

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watmough
I don't see ailerons, but I do see wing sweep, so are they expecting this to
be a steer left/right only type aircraft?

What about pitch control? There's going to be quite a pitch down moment with
that high mounted engine.

And with the small wing giving a high wing loading, this aircraft looks like
quite a little handful to fly.

That's worrying enough, without even thinking about stall / spin behavior.

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guelo
That's not a good sign when there's not even a picture of the thing.

~~~
edu
Check Entlin's previous comment: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2478475>

~~~
hugh3
A video of it actually flying would be nice.

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gaius
Looks a bit Romulan if you ask me.

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nosse
You may not believe this, but I invented all of these concepts independently
of these guys.

Someone want to hire me? I'm really innovative young engineer...

