Comment by gspr

I know very little of the field, but aren't there applications where the ability to carry ad hoc payloads doesn't matter? Integrating a fixed sensor suite into the ring and balancing it ahead of time is possible then, right?

And what can be learned from full-scale classical helicopters that frequently carry underhanging payloads?

(I don't at all wanna be the typical HN person who thinks their questions about a field they know nothing about are in any way insightful. I'm just trying to learn.)