Helicopter Midterm Reviewer
diameter; low disk loading to
● Helicopter - aircraft that uses
rotating wings to provide lift,
propulsion, and control
Note:
- Efficient vertical flight means a
low power loading (ratio of rotor
power required to rotor thrust).
- For a rotary wing, low power loading
can be achieved with low disk
loading (ratio of rotor thrust to disk
area)
- Conservation of momentum.
Accelerates air downward to achieve
lift, due to reaction.
● Induced power loss - Kinetic
energy used on the air in the wake
of the rotor is supplied by a power
source to retain flight equilibrium
● For rotary wing in hover - induced
power loading is proportional to
square root of rotor disk loading.
Efficiency of rotor thrust
generation increases as disk
loading decreases.
● Induced power is inversely
proportional to rotor radius.
Helicopter is characterized by a
large disk area.
● For such application (rotor for
aircraft propulsion), high disk
loading is used due to high axial
velocity and at a thrust equal to a
fraction of the gross weight.
- High disk loading
compromises vertical flight
though
- Helicopter uses low disk
loading in all of VTOL, most
efficiently
- Helicopter use large
produce lift
● By tilting the thrust vector forward,
translational velocity is achieved
● Rotor is the source of forces and
moments that control its position,
attitude, and velocity.
● Helicopters have HIGH power
required due to vertical flight. Large
transmission needed for high torque
at low speed.
Helicopter Rotor
● Rotor - consists of two or more
identical equally spaced blades
connected to a central hub, rotated
by shaft torque from the engine.
● Diameter is large for vertical flight.
High aspect ratio for good
aerodynamic efficiency. This results
in blades being more flexible than
high disk loading propellers.
● Rotary motion produces high
stress, large moments at the root,
which is transmitted to the hub.
Centrifugal stiffening is done.
● Another solution is to use hinges at
the blade root. Allows free motion
of the blade normal to and in the
plane of the disk. Zero moment at
 the hinge, so nothing is transmitted
to the root.
● If there is no hinge to involve
structural bending, it must be
flexible.
Read separately for with hinge
● Motion of a hinged rotor blade
involves rigid body rotation about
each hinge.
● Restoring moments are generated
by centrifugal forces acting on the
rotating blade.
● Flap motion results from motion
about the hinge located in the rotor
disk plane, causing out-of-plane
deflection of the blade.
● Lag motion, also known as
lead-lag, occurs when the blade
moves about the vertical hinge,
leading to deflection within the
plane of the rotor disk.
Read separately for without hinge
● For a blade without hinges the
fundamental modes of out-of-plane
and in-plane bending define the flap
and lag motion
● High centrifugal stiffening, root has
high bending.
● Ability to change pitch is required to
control rotor
● This change in pitch alters angle of
attack. Feathering motion.
Classification of rotor types
● Articulated rotor - blades attached
to hub with flap and lag hinges
● Teetering rotor - Two blades
attached continuously with a
teetering hinge or seesaw
arrangement, have no lag hinges.
Similarly, a gimballed rotor has 3 or
more blades attached to hub w/o
hinges, the hub is attached to the
shaft with gimbal or universal joint
arrangement.
● Hingeless rotor - No flap or lag
hinges. May have a feathering
bearing or hinge. Blade attached to
hub with cantilever root restraint,
bends at root. Called a rigid rotor.
Helicopter Configuration
2 methods to balance torque in steady flight
● Single main rotor and tail rotor
configuration - uses a small
auxiliary rotor to provide torque
balance and yaw control. Located
on the tail boom. Normally vertical.
● Twin main rotor - Uses two contra
rotating rotors of equal size and
loading. No net yaw moment. No
need for a power absorbing auxiliary
rotor.
Note: Most frequent twin rotor arrangement
is the tandem helicopter configuration. Fore
and aft placement.
Helicopter Operation
● No vertical or translational is called
hover.
● Safe operation after loss of power is
achievable by descending at a
shallow angle.
● Power off descent is called
autorotation. Using the airflow from
descent. Establish equilibrium flight
at minimum descent rate.
● Near the ground, the helicopter is
flared. Using rotor stored kinetic
 energy to remove translation and
vertical velocity before touchdown
● In vertical power off descent, the
rotor acts like a parachute of the
same diameter as the rotor disk.
● Half the descent rate achievable in
forward flight.
● Autogiro - Rotary wing that uses
autorotation as normal state. No
power or shaft torque is supplied to
the rotor unlike a helicopter. Power
and propulsive force to sustain
forward flight is provided by a
propeller or another propulsion
device. Only provides lift.
● Rotor has a good lift to drag ratio,
although not as good as a fixed
wing. Provides lift/control at much
lower speeds.
History and Development of Helicopters
3 major challenges
- Light and reliable engine, first using
the reciprocating engine, then
adopted the turboshaft engine.
- Light and strong structure for the
rotor, hub, and blades while
maintaining aerodynamic efficiency
- Means of controlling the helicopter,
including balancing the rotor torque
Timeline
● Chinese flying top (400 BC) - Toy
spun by hands and released
● Leonardo Da Vinci’s work (late 15th
century) - Sketches of machine for
vertical flight using screw-type
propeller
● Mikhail V Lomonosov (1754) -
Spring powered model to russian
academy of sciences
● Launoy and Bienvenu (1784) -
Spring powered model to the
French academy of sciences. Had
two contra-rotating rotors of four
blades. Powered by flexed bow
● Sir George Cayley (1790s) - Models
with plastic elements
Attempts to use steam engine
● W.H. Philips (1842) - 10 kg steam
model
● Viscomte Gustave de Ponton
d'Amecourt (1863) - small team
driven model, invented the word
“helicopter”
● Alphonse Penaud (1870) -
experimented with models
● Enrico Forlanini (1878) - 3.5 steam
model
● Thomas Edison (1880s) -
Experimented with models.
Recognized lack of adequate
engine. Need weight to power ratio
below 1 to 2 kg/hp.
Attempts to use reciprocating gasoline
engine
● Renard (1904) - helicopter with 2
side by side rotor using 2 cylinder
engine. Introduced flapping hinge.
● Breguet-Richet - Gyroplane No. 1
had 4 rotors with 4 biplane blades.
Made a tethered flight with 1
passenger for 1 minute at 1 meter.
● Paul Cornu (1907) - First flight with
pilot. 2 contra-rotating rotors.
Controlled by vanes in slipstream.
0.3m for 20 seconds.
- Problems of stability and
mechanical
 ● Emile and Henry Berliner (1909) - 2
engine coaxial helicopter.
Untethered.
● Igor Sikorsky (1910) - 2 coaxial three
bladed rotors. Lifts 180 kg.
● Boris N. Yuriev (1912) - 2 bladed
main rotor with anti torque tail
rotor.
● Petroczy and Von Karman (1916) -
Tethered observation helicopter. 50
meters with payload.
Better engines after WWI
● George de Bothezat (1922) -
Helicopter with four six-bladed rotors
at the end of intersecting beams.
Good control, utilizing differential
collective. First rotorcraft ordered
by US Army
● Etienne Oemichen (1924) - Machine
with four two bladed rotors, 7.6
meters in diameter. 120 HP Le
Rhone Engine
● Marquis Raul Pateras Pescara
(1924) - Two coaxial rotors with four
biplane blades. Warps blades to
change pitch angle, first to
demonstrate effective pitch cyclic
control.
- Cyclic Pitch: sinusoidal, once
per revolution change made
in blade pitch to tilt
● Emile and Henry Berliner
(1920-1925) - Two rotors positioned
on tips in side by side configuration/
Used rigid wooden propellers.
● Louis Brennan - Rotor turned by
propellers, eliminates torque
problem. Too complex. Warps
blades with control tabs.
● A.G. von Baumhauer (1924-1929) -
a single main rotor and a vertical tail
rotor for torque balance. Cyclic pitch
control using swash plate. Used
teetering rotor
● Corradino d'Ascanio (1930) - Two
coaxial rotors. Had flap and
free-feathering hinges. Control by
servo tabs.
● M.B. Blecker - Four wing-like
blades.
● The Central Aero-Hydrodynamic
Institute of the Soviet Union (1931) -
Series of single rotor helicopters
under Yuriev
Development of autogiro - first practical
use of direct-lift rotary wing. Term coined by
Juan de la Cierva
- Windmilling rotor, capable of very
slow flight.
● Juan de la Cierva (1919) - airplane
crashed due to a stall near the
ground. Rearward tilt of rotor for
good lift to drag ratio.
● Cierva (1922) - C-3 Autogiro with 5
blade rigid rotor. Tendency to fall
over sideways. Flexible and
articulated rotor blades.
- Flap hinge eliminated the
rolling moment
- In 1923, C-4 autogiro was
built. Controlled with
aerodynamic control
surfaces
● 1924 - C6 Autogiro with flapping
rotor blades. Avro 504K aircraft
fuselage. Demonstrated in 1925
● 1925 - Cierva founded his Cierva
Autogiro Company, producing 500
autogiros.
A crash in 1927 led to development of lag
hinges due to flapping loads.
 ● 1932 - Cierva added rotor control to
replace control surfaces for lateral
and longitudinal control. Not
effective at low speeds.
● Raoul Hafner (1935) - Spider
control mechanism for cyclic pitch
control
● E. Burke Wilford (1930s) -
hingeless rotor autogiro that also
used cyclic control
● Louis Breguet and Rene Dorand
(1935) - Coaxial two bladed rotors.
Had an articulated hub (flap and lag
hinges). Cyclic control for pitch and
roll, differential torque for directional.
● E.H. Henrich Focke (1936) - Three
bladed rotors mounted on trusses.
Articulated hub and tapered blades.
● Anton Flettner (1938-1940)
Synchropter design. Inter meshed
side by side configuration.
● C.G. Pullin (1938) - Side by side
configuration W-S, SO Hp.
● Ivan P. Bratukhin (1939-1940) -
Omega I helicopter.
Considerable effort in rotary wing
development during World War 2 by
Germany.
● 1941 - Focke Achgelis FA 223. First
successful helicopter is FA 61
● Igor Sikorsky (1939-1941) - ●
Returned to helicopter development
in 1938, Russia and US
● 1941 - Sikorsky built VS 300.
Auxiliary rotors reduced to two. First
practical helicopter
● Sikorsky’s eighteenth with single
main rotor and tail rotor configuration
has become the most common
helicopter type.
● Vibration in two bladed main rotors.
● 1942 - R-4 VS 316, derivative of VS
300.
● Lawrence Bell (1943) - two bladed
teetering main rotor and tail rotor.
Uses a gyro stabilizer bar
developed by Arthur Young.
● 1946 - Bell Model 47
● Frank N Piasecki eventually became
Boeing Vertol Company
● Louis Breguet (1946) - Built the G-11
E. 2 coaxial contra-rotating rotor.
Fully articulated hub with flap and
lag damper
● Stanley Hiller (1946-1948) -
Developed control rotor, gyro
stabilizer bar. Model 360 in 1947.
● Charles Kaman (1946-1948) -
- Kaman Aircraft in the US. Developed
servo-tab control method of rotor
pitch control. Twist blade.
● Mikhail Mil' (1949) - Series of
helicopters with single main and tail
rotor.
● Nikolai I Kamov (1952) - Ka-15
Helicopter
● Alexander Yakolev (1952) - Yak-24
helicopter.
● Kaman Aircraft Company (1951) -
First helicopter with turbine power,
single turbo shaft engine in K-225
helicopter.
1954 - First twin-engine turbine
powered helicopter. HTK 1
Synchropter with two boeing
engines.
Turboshaft has become standard for
helicopters.