I started this project a few years ago but let it sit dormant. I've started it up again and figured it would be good to track its progress and start getting some feedback (though there's not much to critique yet).
This is going to be a tandem helicpoter loosely based on the Chinook. I'm especially interested in mimicking the Chinook's flight controls and expect this to be the biggest challenge. The real helicopter's controls uses a sophisticated, for its time, hydraulic system to mix inputs from the throttle, stick, and pedals into outputs to the rotors so that it "feels" to the pilot that they're flying a more traditional helicopter.
Though I briefly considered using pneumatics to create the control system, the lack of pressure variability made it an unappealing option. Instead, I'm working-out a mechanical gear and axle system to combine and actuate the controls. I may convert to an rc/servo system in the future, but plan on only motorizing the rotor's spin for now.
The crude testbed / proof-of-concept mockup that I'm starting with.
I'll upload some more images over the next few days.