What does a swash plate do on a helicopter?
A swashplate is a device that is used to transmit the pilot’s commands from the non-rotating fuselage to the rotating rotor hub and blades. The fact that the rotor blades are rotating at a very high speed makes the swashplate mechanism’s task more challenging.
What is the prop on a helicopter called?
rotor
A helicopter main rotor or rotor system is the combination of several rotary wings (rotor blades) and a control system that generates the aerodynamic lift force that supports the weight of the helicopter, and the thrust that counteracts aerodynamic drag in forward flight.
What is thrust in helicopter?
Thrust, like lift, is generated by the rotation of the main rotor disk. In a helicopter, thrust can be forward, rearward, sideward, or vertical. The resultant lift and thrust determines the direction of movement of the helicopter.
What are the things on the bottom of a helicopter called?
Landing gear comes in different forms but skids and wheels are the most common. Bear paws, floats and pontoons are also fairly common. Bear paws are attached to the skids and used for helicopters landing off airport on uneven, unstable and soft terrain helping with overall stability.
Why is it called a swash plate?
ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD SWASH PLATE From swash (obsolete n) an oblique figure or ornament, from aswash: see swash letter. Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.
Do helicopters use lift or thrust?
In most cases, the lift for an aircraft is created with its wings. For a helicopter, a lift is generated by the way the main rotor blades are formed so the air is pushed in a downward movement when the blades spin. As the air pressure changes, the helicopter lifts up.
What does a helicopter sit on?
Most helicopters these days have a collective for each seat, located on the left, so the pilot wants to use the hand in the middle of the cockpit to work the radios and things. Hence, they sit on the right side, which places the collective hand in the middle of the cockpit.
How does the swash plate work on a helicopter?
The vast majority of helicopters maintain a constant rotor speed (RPM) during flight, leaving the angle of attack of the blades as the sole means of adjusting thrust from the rotor. The swash plate is two concentric disks or plates.
What is a rotor system in a helicopter?
The rotor system, or more simply rotor, is the rotating part of a helicopter that generates lift. A rotor system may be mounted horizontally, as main rotors are, providing lift vertically, or it may be mounted vertically, such as a tail rotor, to provide horizontal thrust to counteract torque from the main rotors.
What is the collective pitch of a helicopter’s rotors?
When a helicopter is in a free air hover in still air conditions, for a given rotor rpm (Rrpm) a certain value of collective pitch, say 8°, will be required to support it in the air.
What is a helicopter?
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally.