Eli5: what are the benefits of a normal helicopter design vs a quadcopter we see on drones?
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Not knowing very much about helicopters, though I do know some about product design.
Generally you want to go by the keep it simple principle, having 4 rotors means you need 4x everything, engines, steering, rotors, etc. Also you need a system which will be very complex to ensure everything is working together.
There’s is no need to 4x all of your costs to your entire supply chain, not to mention huge amounts of time spend on research and development if the current way a helicopter works, works well enough for all required use cases.
There also seems to be a common case where combustion engines is involved. Usually you want 1 engine moving as much stuff as possible. It’s the same reason we use 1 truck and not 4 vans, 1 container ship and not 600 boats, 1 train with 20 carts. It’s just way more efficient.
Though I guess there could be a case where there is a niche requirement for a quad copter, because of faster steering, stability or whatever they do really well. In that case there would be an argument for it, if the requirement deems it worth the effort. Though in niche areas, it’s probably much cheaper just using 3 helicopters hoping one succeeds rather than reinventing a helicopter.
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