Well then gentlemen, it seems a decision is indicated. Thank you all for your thoughts and suggestions. Upon reading through them all however it appears that, broadly speaking, my audience is split fairly evenly in it's enthusiasms between those supporting the various helicopter schemes and those in favour of various kinds of flapping wings. It therefore falls to me to make the 'casting vote' as it were, and after much deliberation, nay procrastination, I have decided upon Option Three, namely the helicopter with co-axial three-bladed rotors.
My decision is fundamentally based upon the general principle that this option is the easiest one to pursue, and given my lamentable record in finishing projects over the last twelve months, this relative ease greatly increases the probability of this project reaching completion before the relevent deadline. Please note however, that it does not neccessarily raise that probability higher than say, fifty percent...
Two specific issues have also influenced me in this choice.
Firstly, I am able to greatly reduce the time and effort required to build the rotor mast and hubs by simply purloining said items from a model of one of Mr. Kamov's splendidly eccentric creations, namely the Airfix kit of the Ka-25, known unto NATO by the nomenclature 'Hormone'. I have two examples of this product in my kit repository, so if I am ever inclined to build one as it's designer intended, I am still able to do so. Also, the donor appears to have much potential for conversion to some other form of vertical take-off of science-fiction conveyance, and thus will also not go to waste.
Secondly, the leg shields seen in front of the seats in the mockup photographs can be assembled in one of two ways. As illustrated, they form a 'tunnel' down the centre of the craft, which I considered neccessary to accomodate a shaft taking drive to the forward flapping mechanism of an ornithopter. However, in this configuration, they also create a difficulty in that they obstruct the leg of the pilot in such a manner as to prevent him from sitting straight upon his seat, a problem to which the only apparent solution would be surgery to change his stance, of a nature to make Dr. Frankenstein shudder. The helicopter design, by contrast, does not need this shaft, and so the leg shields can be modified to form but a thin vertical wall down the centreline of the craft, thus allowing the operator to maintain his current posture without modification.
I must also relate that a most propitious example of good luck has occurred. The Nieuport model which I was initially considering as a parts donor came from a collection of childhood modelling and wargaming items most kindly donated to me by a good friend. Upon further examination of this hoarde, I discovered a Revell Sopwith Pup box, the significance of whose triply-identical wings to the helicopter option was immediately apparent. However, on opening the box, I discovered that the model had already been completed and painted to a most passable standard, and I found that I could not, in all conscience, bring myself to destroy another modeller's work, even though they had abondoned it many years before and given it to me in the explicit knowledge that that might be it's fate. Accuse me of excessive sentimentality if you wish gentlemen, however it is a failing that I will acknowledge, but am inclined neither to apologise for nor correct.
I therefore purchased another, uncompleted Sopwith Pup via the Ebay website. Upon it's arrival, I noted that the kit is provided with two forms of horizontal tailplane, representing early and late production examples of the type. I then recalled that my friend had included in his gift a bag of sundry spare parts. I examined the same, and was delighted to discover, the corresponding spare tailplane from his old build of decades before! I therefore find myself in possession of two of these items, which will enable me to construct a most appropriate tail surface for the helicopter without preventing the completion of the equivalent surface on the Pup, which will, in turn, make it possible to use the latter as the basis of an autogyro or similar creation upon some future occasion. All in all, a most gratifying outcome!
