Title:

Pontoon Boat Helipad

Bylaws of Dover, NH prevent homeowners from landing helicopters on their property, provoking PD Aviation, LLC’s ambitious workaround—a Pontoon Boat Helipad (PBH) used to land an aircraft on public waterways. The PBH is a three panel deck with hinges to fold the outer two panels toward the center, and underneath consists of an aluminum reconstructive frame with pontoons attached. In its initial design, a winch system enables the folding of the two outer panels of the "PBH" for storage and transportation. With a functional prototype and a fulfilled proof-of-concept, the scope of the previous nine months of work can be described by product enhancement. While functional, the winch system presents a safety hazard and usability hurdle—both of which our team designed around with the introduction of hydraulics to fold the outer sides of the PBH. Dynamic analysis of the PBH folding sides defined hydraulic and mounting bracket specifications to satisfy the desired system. Furthermore, finite element analysis (FEA) of varied bracket designs in tandem with the aforementioned dimensions gave way to the final system description.

Name

Comment*

Comments are viewable only by submitter

Captcha*