CellCraft's Idea

The CellCraft G450 and G455, as well as the previous sisters were basically made up of three basic elements: the main body that also houses the motors-generators; respectively one in the front area and the other in the rear.
Two lifting surfaces, which are generally constituted by two front wings supporting both front rotors, and a second situated in a central position, slightly frontward. Finally, four ducted-rotors having a radical different architecture between the two main projects described in this site.
Both rotors - which either the G450 and G455 are equipped with - were designed having a ring structure capable of producing a tilting movement with a total angle of 120 °. This is after all the basic architecture of both machines. Rotors can perform a rotation of 90 degrees forward, and an opposite rearward within 30° respect to the horizontal plane.
Each of ducted-rotor is provided with two electric motors connected to a single articulated rotor like in the in G450. G455 instead has a smaller rotor diameter since it is made of two counter rotating rotors. On both projects blades are suspended on an flexible bearing which ensures a limited movement of both flapping and pan tilting. It also guarantee a rotary movement on the longitudinal axis of the blades, which provide an articulated rotation allowing variations of the angle of attack exactly like happen on a common helicopter. The maximum excursion angle of attack wouldn’t be greater than 5° on the horizontal plane of rotation, which allow a particularly excellent maneuverability in hovering flight.

These type of aircraft are designed to be multi-role capable of a wide versatility and numerous applications. CellCrafts can carry up to five passenger; with an average speed of 480 Km/h (260 Miles), more than twice faster than a conventional helicopter. It can land vertically over almost any kind of surface, making this aircraft having a very high potential applications in the aerospace market. Among the possible role in addition to private transportation, the employment in emergency medical rescue or logistical missions like in police operation for example could be a very actractive opportunity as well in some military activities; though I prefer conceiving my aircrafts primarily for civilian application rather than for military-strategic applications.

Both aircrafts, the G450 and the G455 as well as all previous projects, were designed with different materials that would guarantee flexibility, strength and endurance. Every single detail of the aircraft use a variety of components depending on the application and the role for wich the aricraft has been designed, responding to defined functions according to mechanical stress which any given element is adapted to bear.
The main body of the machine is supported by a steel and aluminum frame settled at the base of the aircraft intended to support the two turbo-generators or MPU (Main Power Unit) respectively one in the bow, the other in the queue of the aircraft. The CellCraft is absolutely transmission-less type, it has no shaft of any kind or other similar mechanisms which are absent in this latest version exactly as it was on the G150, therefore no vibrations; sacrified weight or precious space.

The fuel tanks are housed in the central area of the fuselage, they are mainly two, one for each side and are connected via a hydraulic system which provides for the automatic transfer of fuel, ensuring a correct distribution of the weight and balance.
At the center of the fuselage below the floor, between the front and the rear seats there is the stabilization system, consisting of an identical pair of gyroscopes connected with the AFC (Automatic Flight Control). Finally eight accelerometers in a pair of two are housed in the bottom of each wing basement. Along the horizontal axis of the aircraft there is placed, power cables coming from the rear turbo-generator, and the optics cable connecting the digital gyroscopes controller and finally the accelerometers, eveything connected to and from the AFC. All that pretty well distributed within the aircraft body.
All those equipments are connected to both, the numerical control system and power distribution, respectively the RRC and the AFC.

The RRC (Rotor Revolution Control) is connected with the main computer systems located in the inner shell of the instrument panel of the aircraft: the AFC (Automatic Flight Control). The RRC sends constantly electric impulses to the eight electric motors, since it is the main computer control of the electric propulsion system.
The information streaming coming from all the sensors arranged in different points of the fuselage, including the rotors, flows in a form of a digital stream through optical cables. Optical cables are pretty light and able to carry a large quantity of information, processed by the digital control system along various program’s steps, while computing several operation per second.

Flight Management System (AFC)

The aircraft is designed taking into account a number of variables that identify the use and architecture for each one of the models. Both aircraft, the G450 and G455 are propelled with a total of eight three-phase induction electric motors, electronically controlled through a system that manages both the power and the pitch angle of each rotor’s blade, in accordance with the position of the machine in the space, computing the right amount of power required to guarantee the flight.
The control system of the rotors R.R.C. (Rotor Revolution Control) ensures a rapid response to any request of variation in RPM speed of each rotor, since they are independently controlled and managed in accordance with the main control system; a platform that mantain the stability of the aircraft in the space: the AFC (Automatic Flight Control).
This device is already present in previous CELLCRAFT’s project throughout its history until today since the first model the G150. Its main task is to guarantee a very high quality in terms of stability, performance and of course security of the whole aricraft.
The RCC and the AFC interact simultaneously according to a precise hierarchy through a dedicated software’s instructions to maintain the aircraft up into the air, distributing the thrust optimally on each individual rotor, during forward flight but also throughout the entire transition phase, from vertical flight to horizontal trajectory and vice-versa. Both system are crucial also in case of emergency procedure or in any kind of extreme situation that might unpleasantly occur suddenly during the flight.

The RRC can compute both the number of revolutions of each individual rotor per minute, correcting any anomalies, acting on the variation of the pitch angle of the blades of each rotor, having a maximum excursion of the angle of attack of not more than five degrees, sufficient to provide excellent quality of service for any maneuver, in any possible conditions.
This device is particularly useful during hovering operations when the asset would result a bit unbalanced if an inappropriate weight distribution will be settled aboard the aircraft, as it happens frequently on conventional helicopters, when pilot is forced to a constant correction on the cyclic trim in order to keep the rotorcraft properly leveled on the horizon.
Unlike a conventional helicopter whose the center of gravity is concentrated in a limited area below the rotor, within a single point of lever that is represented by the rotor-mast, in the CellCraft the center of gravity excursion will be instead much wider, since the trust produced by the four rotors - that are in a such position outward the center of gravity - makes the machine more stable if compared to a single-rotor aircraft in the same condiction.

It is therefore not very difficult to imagine a situation in which part of the load shall be distributed a bit towards or on one side of the fuselage rather than well positioned within the excursion limit indicated by the flight manual. Such a situation would be however easily to be corrected, since the machine is equipped with two separate devices which act independently, should the CellCraft lieyin on the ground, or whether it is in a hover flight.

Dynamic Stabilizer

CellCraft has two basic systems of stability control, they are related to the stability either while still on the ground, or while in flight. The correction of the stability while on the ground occur through the shock absorbers of the aircraft, equipped with special sensors which send information related to the excursion of each of them to the AFC which calculates the load individually, establishing the asset of the aircraft drawing a virtual triangle included among the three support points on the ground (landing gears).
The main computer for the computation of the stability, the AFC, shall then correct through a proportional thrust the intervention of the RRC which then will act independently on each rotor by varying the revolution as well the blades pitch, maintaining the aircraft in a position of pre-takeoff well leveled all along the whole phase of detachment from the ground, until the machine begins physically floating in the air.
Once the aircraft is in a steady flight the AFC will continue to work keeping the aircraft in a constant and invariable asset on the horizon. Once the aircraft will be out of the ground the information related to the position in the space of the machine at that point, won't come anymore from the dynamic dampers but rather from a device located at the center of the aircraft, consisting of an inertial gyro platform interfaced with accelerometers as described above, which send all the information related to the asset of the machine in the air with respect to the horizontal plane.

The AFC intervenes through the control of the power generators: the MPU. Varying the speed of rotation of each individual motor so as to ensure the necessary power to maneuver, and this will take place along the whole phase of the flight: from the engine starting until the shout-down procedure. In other words, the entire system is capable of autonomous corrections of any anomalies. It is a sort of intelligent system, capable to interact with both experienced pilots as well with beginners in a moltitude of situations, like in training operation or even dangerous contests.
Pilot have simply check that the power applied to the rotors is sufficient to maintain the aircraft at the correct altitude, acting on the control of the power-lever that intervenes on both, speed of rotation as well a more or less variation of the blades pitch. All that in a sort of a perfect synchronized combination according with the action of the RRC and the AFC system.