Why don't helicopters have auto hover

[Drestin Black]

Our little $1200 retail drone has the ability to lock onto upto 20 GPS satellites and hover in place, less than a foot of "wobble."

Forgive my ignorance; why can't or don't helicopters in the fly by wire class (I'm guessing we're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars) have a system that does the same?

Related: I understand how helicopters fly and the controls they use. I've flown drones using two joysticks. I don't think there is anything a set of helicopter controls can do that I can't do, Much easier, using the two joysticks. Why has no one (that I'm aware of) switched to using this system . What's wrong with it?


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots

 

[planedr]

They do, the higher end ones with autopilot have it. A few are, the AW-101, Bell 412, Bell 525, S92 Chinooks and many more. And they don't have to be fly by wire to have it as long as they have autopilot.

 

[CCrew]

Agreed, they do. And considering that the military can put a cruise missile in a building window if they want the stuff we use is indeed child's play.

 

[BigAl07]

Why don't they? Many have had this feature for many many years.

When you're flying IN the aircraft there is a lot to do than just 2 "sticks" and when flying the manned aircraft you have the stick(s), buttons, knobs, and don't forget about the PEDALS all going at the same time.

In reality you'd be surprised what the average manned aircraft pilot does while flying the aircraft. 2 sticks just wouldn't come close to cutting it.

 

[Philltayl]

Following on from that, why are there no manned quad 'copters around?????

 

[Drestin Black]

Why don't they? Many have had this feature for many many years.

When you're flying IN the aircraft there is a lot to do than just 2 "sticks" and when flying the manned aircraft you have the stick(s), buttons, knobs, and don't forget about the PEDALS all going at the same time.

In reality you'd be surprised what the average manned aircraft pilot does while flying the aircraft. 2 sticks just wouldn't come close to cutting it.

Everything that needs to be done to fly a drone is done with screen taps and two joysticks. Those two joysticks so everything current helicopter pedals and sticks do.

Still no answer on why not? It's a far simpler and safer system as far as I can tell


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

 

[Mako79]

If I was a passenger, I would want my heli pilot to have his/her hands on the sticks at all times.
Imagine your chopper pilot showing off, "Hey mum, look no hands".

And I think, if a heli pilot is under a certain altitude, his/her hand must be on the collective at all times. This stops the chopper from losing altitude when pitching.

PS. Some big-*** planes can autoland. Would you want to know if your Dream Liner was landing by itself??

 

[BigAl07]

Following on from that, why are there no manned quad 'copters around?????

There is one from China but keep in mind that a quad copter has no redundancy built in. At least with a single rotor (helicopter) you could auto-rotate if you lost power but with a quad you need all four to stabilize.

In time we may see more "production" manned aircraft but remember we're still cutting edge and it takes a lot of time, testing, and certification for manned aircraft. I say "production" because there have been a few "inventors" create some pretty cool (yet crazy looking) manned multirotors to date.

 

[Mako79]

Following on from that, why are there no manned quad 'copters around?????

I think there is one under development. Its called the EHANG 18something. Carries 1 person for 20 min. You have NO controls though, just an display with a map.
Issue is the civil aviation laws in each of the countries.

 

[BigAl07]

Everything that needs to be done to fly a drone is done with screen taps and two joysticks. Those two joysticks so everything current helicopter pedals and sticks do.

Still no answer on why not? It's a far simpler and safer system as far as I can tell


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

It's simpler because it's not manned aircraft. Also there's more going on in a helicopter than what's happening in a quad. They have Constant Pitch rotors, tail rotors, and a whole lot more going on which require more than "tap tap tap".

And no my friend this isn't accurate "Those two joysticks so everything current helicopter pedals and sticks do." You're comparing apples to mud puddles.

 

[dirkclod]

I think there is one under development. Its called the EHANG 18something. Carries 1 person for 20 min. You have NO controls though, just an display with a map.
Issue is the civil aviation laws in each of the countries.

Here ya go