How do they engineer miniguns to shoot straight when the barrels are revolving at 3000+ rpm?

Question

It seems like the bullets would be flung out at an angle and not go where you're aiming. (Perhaps they are, and the sights are just adjusted to compensate for it?)

Answer 1

They are rotating on a near 0 degree axis.

Answer 2

The bullet moves at about 500m/s. If the barrel is 0.5m long, it spends 1ms in the barrel. Rotating at 3600 RPM, which is 60 per second, or 16ms per revolution. So the bullet is in the barrel for 1/16 of a rotation, or 22 degrees.

But that is if the barrel is continuously rotating, and I don't think it is. I think it moves in jerks, and stays stationary long enough for the bullet to leave the barrel, then quickly moves the next barrel into position.

Answer 3

This is a swag.  But I think each barrel does not fire until it reaches the apex.  Even though the barrels are rotating, they are still straight and the trajectory of the round is based on the length and rifling of the barrel. The amount of powder in the round might play a role as well, but the motion of the barrel has no baring on the round firing straight.  

Don't believe this Angelina Jolie movie where they curve a bullet's trajectory by swinging their arms as they fire a round, that's bull

Answer 4

They do fire with the barrels on the move, the rotation is at a steady speed, not start and stop.

The sideways speed is something like 30ft/sec. However, considering how fast the bullet goes, about 2500+ ft/sec, about 1/2 of one degree, so it does not change the angle much. The guns are sighted in to actual performance, so it's automatically adjusted. Many are on fast moving vehicles, so they like to use tracers to see where they are hitting. The volume of fire is so high that accuracy is not critical anyway.