The Swarm – Manned Vehicle Multirotor Super Drone Flying
Automobile companies have been trying to find a solution that might fulfill the fantasy of having an air-borne vehicle that is practical enough to operate while being in an ‘acceptable’ price range. After a series of disappointing trials, yet another attempt has been made to achieve the above-mentioned. A ‘youtube’ user named ‘gasturbine101’ recently uploaded a video where he is airborne on a manned multi-rotor vehicle, entitled The Swarm. The homemade helicopter is a sleigh-like structure that has been attached to a garden chair having an umbrella providing protection to the pilot. The video shows the test flight and although it isn’t able to reach the height of more than fifteen feet off the ground, it still looks interesting with an apparent maneuverability.
Introducing his own creation the creator comments: “The Swarm man carrying multi-rotor airborne flight testing montage. 54 counter-rotation propellers, six grouped control channels with KK2.15 stabilization. Take-off weight 148kg, max lift, approx. 164kg. Endurance 10 minutes. Power approx. 22KW.” Although the attempt is not a concrete milestone towards the goal of being able to provide a flying vehicle, it still represents the persistence of our race that does not believe in the theory of giving up. The creator himself admits the flaw while saying, “That is the large number of props running at high speed means the net torque reactions are relatively low, so the craft has little yaw authority. So it probably needs a tail rotor for spot turns.” Rather than criticizing his techniques and flaws, we should take it as a sign that the tenacity of young and motivated minds may very well end up being the answer to present conundrums and therefore should encourage such ambitious attempts. 
By: Vaibhav Sharma
