Steve, What do you think of this idea.

Since we will not be flying forward in helicopter mode for long or at high speed
the leading and lagging hinges can be done away with. Same goes for the flapping
hinges. I think we can use GRP for the hub. Same as several European helicopters
use. GRP has high tensile strength and a low modulus of elasticity allowing it to
flex without failing. Same as the Long EZ main landing gear. The innovative feature
of having a one piece carbon fiber blade with internal outer bearing race and pitch
change arm is also a major weight and cost saving feature. The bearing balls are
Torlon which are widely used in off shore sail boat racing. These are subject
to the worst possible environmental conditions and survive. The connection
between blade and hub is achieved by the bearing balls and they are fed
into the races by one access hole on each side. We have used this
feature in the past of an aircraft propeller and it works well.