Aircraft design question?

Enriqueta Steffen: well, if the aircraft spun i was wondering whether the amount of revolutions could power the ctraft in some way, or if not power it completely it could provide some energy for the craft. also in the same way that the powerball has a gyroscope in the middle the pod where someone was to sit could stay still while the body rotated. I know this to be unfeasable at our technology levels at the moment but is it possible for this craft to stay up.... alsoo would this aircraft be more feasable outside of our atmosphere where there is no gravity. and as for steering the craft i dont know im not too sure im just curious im not trying to make one haha...Show more

Robt Betker: While the whole idea might be technically feasible at some point what would happen if something went wrong and the entire machine started to spin? The pilot would be incredibly dizzy within a matter of seconds. The vertigo factor would render him worthless and the craft could not be con! trolled. "Heads up, down there".

Frances Macky: An aircrafts wing is shaped exactly like a Frisbee. This is why a Frisbee flies and imparting the spin only adds stability, much like the spin of a thrown football. Stability in the air come from the tail plane of fixed wing craft and the tail rotor of rotary wing craft. If you look up the flying wing concept, this is actually as close as designers have come to fielding a flyable Frisbee like craft. While it flew gracefully there were control issues that could not be worked out until the advent of fly-by-wire systems that allowed the flying wing concept to be utilized on the "stealth bomber". In general, as they found out with the flying wing, Frisbee like aircraft have unpredictable and in some cases, unrecoverable stall behavior characteristics....Show more

Gaynell Pizzaro: Probably not, but it's somewhat feasible.

Joie Libutti: That is what a helicopter is for

Somer Distilo: Are you daft or something! did i ask if a helicopter was possible to fly?? No i didnt if! you werent so simple minded and could string together a proper sentance, you may be able to understand that i was talking about " a frisbee shaped aircraft" stop trying to be smart you dumb fool

Patricia Dornbos: No, it would not work.As such a spinning body would drag the air above and below in a rotating fashion, but there would not be any way to reduce the pressure on the upper surface to a lesser degree than on the lower surface. So, the body would not be capable of actual lift, unless something would remove the air above to push it down below. A frisbee manages to stay ariborne because it also has forward motion, thus acting like a conventional wing, with the spinning only providing it with the necessary stability.And the spinning action is not a source of power, actually the opposite. Dragging the air around, even if it results in no actual lift, would incur some drag losses, and the spinning would slow down, unless there was a system to keep adding energy to t! he disc.A powerball gest is gyroscopic power from the motion given to it by the person holding it; again not a source of energy, just a mean to put power in a system that is returned in a way that runs against the force of the person holding it, just like when you would compress the springs in a training device that would provide resistance on the return motion....Show more

Augustus Sarria: The problem would be keeping it spinning, a Frisbee slows down as it travels and looses momentum, how would you keep this aircraft spinning?The point of a helicopter is that the fuselage is your fixed point, held there by the tail rotor, above which the disc can spin. If you don't have that fixed point I don't see how you can make it spin.You would nee some sort of gyroscope to maintain level flight, but would then need to be-able to tilt it for direction. To be honest, using today's technology, I don't think it would be possible....Show more

Chi Alfero: Just a couple of si! mple issues, how would you "steer" this frisbee aircraft? The ones yo! u throw on the ground can be somewhat controlled by the tossing angle but how, in an aircraft version, would you change that angle on the spinning disk while in flight? Yes changing the angle will cause it to change its direction, and yes if it is "pitched" up too far it will loose lift, and yes that is a big big issue.The other issue is what exactly keeps the "dome" from spinning along with the "disk"? Basic physics is why you are getting the "helicopter" comparisons. Without something to stabilize the "dome" and keep it from spinning with the disc it will spin right along with the "frisbee"....Show more

Damion Oleksa: i think of it would be exciting to be certain a delta-wing layout (like that of the now retired Concorde, yet with the concentration on endurance as hostile to hurry. i ask your self how nicely the layout would have worked with a greater commonly used looking nostril section, broader wings with winglets, and not somewhat as rakish a sweep to the wing! s. i'd think of a layout that would desire to be a hybrid between the flying wing layout of a B-2 Spirit (stealth bomber) and the Concorde would grant a number of the overall performance advantages of the two, extremely in easy of fly-by-twine avionics structures....Show more

Rebeca Mckin: The spinning of a frisbee does not produce lift. The spin just stabilizes the frisbee so if flies straight. So even if you spun an aircraft shaped like a frisbee it would still just sit on the runway. You'd still need engines to provide thrust. And assuming it would function at all, it would be very difficult to manoeuvre, the gyroscopic effect would resist any change in attitude.

Magda Vandergriend: like others said, the spin if there for stability, not for the lift.besides, i think passengers wouldnt like the spinning :)

Curtis Josef: No. The lift comes from the shape of the frisbee itself, not from the spinning. Spinning only provides gyroscopic stability. There ! have been "frisbee" shaped aircraft, none very successful.