Gamera: A Human Powered Helicopter: In Pursuit of an Aviation Milestone - Hardcover

Vengalattore T. Nagaraj (author); Inderjit Chopra (author) & Darryll J. Pines (author)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 162410620X ISBN 13: 9781624106200

Publisher: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2021

Synopsis

Gamera: A Human Powered Helicopter – In Pursuit of an Aviation Milestone is an engineering history of the human powered helicopter creatively designed, skillfully built, and courageously flown by students of the University of Maryland. A majority of students were from the Department of Aerospace Engineering and the A. James Clark School of Engineering, joined by enthusiastic volunteers from other departments. Together, they conquered an ambitious aviation milestone: vertical flight by human power. The project was spread over four years and involved the efforts of over 100 undergraduate and 30 graduate students. Four distinct versions of the aircraft (Gamera I, Gamera II, Gamera IIXR, and Gamera IID) evolved during the program with increasing refinements in design, fabrication, and testing. Each version incorporated improvements that helped to obtain better performance, lower weight, and skilled innovations for improving the stability of the helicopter. Gamera still holds world records for human powered flight endurance of 97 seconds and height of 10.5 ft, approved by the FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, World Aeronautical Federation), as well the Guinness Book of World Records. The Gamera project excited the imagination of a great number of people and was covered by several national media outlets including print, television, and social media. The Gamera project was subsequently transformed from a human powered helicopter to a solar powered helicopter. This technical history is accessible to a general engineering audience at the college junior level. The concepts of helicopter aerodynamics, aeromechanics, and composite structures are explained using a minimum of jargon, without oversimplifying the explanations.ng. Each version incorporated improvements that helped to obtain better performance, lower weight, and skilled innovations for improving the stability of the helicopter. Gamera still holds world records for human powered fl ight endurance of 97 seconds and height of 10.5 ft, approved by the FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, World Aeronautical Federation), as well the Guinness Book of World Records. The Gamera project excited the imagination of a great number of people and was covered by several national media outlets including print, television, and social media. The Gamera project was subsequently transformed from a human powered helicopter to a solar powered helicopter. This technical history is accessible to a general engineering audience at the college junior level. The concepts of helicopter aerodynamics, aeromechanics, and composite structures are explained using a minimum of jargon, without oversimplifying the explanations.

About this title

About the Authors

Vengalattore T.. Nagaraj is Research Scientist in the University of Maryland Department of Aerospace Engineering. He holds a B.E. in civil engineering from the University of Mysore, India, a M.E. in aerospace engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, and a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from Loughborough University of Technology, U.K. He is a Member of the Vertical Flight Society.

Inderjit Chopra is Distinguished University Professor and Alfred Gessow Professor in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Maryland (UMD). He is also Director of the Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center at UMD. He pursues multidisciplinary research in rotorcraft aeromechanics with a focus on structural dynamics, vibratory loads, aeroelasticity; smart structures; and micro air vehicles, with a balance between analysis and experimental testing. He is a Fellow of the AIAA, and ASME. He is a Technical Fellow and Honorary Fellow of the Vertical Flight Society, and holds an Sc.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Darryll J. Pines serves as president of the University of Maryland as well as the Glenn L. Martin Professor of Aerospace Engineering. Formerly the Nariman Farvardin Professor of Engineering and Dean of UMD's A. James Clark School of Engineering, where he has been on the faculty since 1995, Pines amassed a record of academic leadership and research accomplishments that have dramatically elevated the school's rankings and stature nationally and internationally. In 2019, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for his “inspirational leadership and contributions to engineering education.” He is a Fellow of the AIAA, and ASME. He holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Edition details

• Publisher: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 162410620X
• ISBN 13: 9781624106200
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 148