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What is a torque event?
A Torque Event is defined as the transition to a hover from forward flight or any external lift operation. For this definition of TE, forward flight is considered to be flight at any airspeed in any direction after attaining transitional lift.
What is torque in a helicopter?
With a single main rotor helicopter, a torque effect is created as the engine turns the rotor. This torque causes the body of the helicopter to turn in the opposite direction of the rotor (Newton’s Third Law: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, as explained in Chapter 2, Aerodynamics of Flight).
What are the forces acting on a helicopter?
There are four forces acting on a helicopter in flight. They are lift, weight, thrust, and drag. See figure 2-1.
What is a rotorcraft in aviation?
A helicopter uses one or more powered rotors or rotary wings to fly and maintain directional control, while a gyroplane uses a traditional engine and propeller for thrust, and an unpowered rotor for lift. …
Is a rotorcraft an aircraft?
A rotorcraft or rotary-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft with rotary wings or rotor blades, which generate lift by rotating around a vertical mast. Rotorcraft generally include aircraft where one or more rotors provide lift throughout the entire flight, such as helicopters, autogyros, and gyrodynes.
What causes an increase in rotor rpm in a helicopter?
As long as the line of cyclic movement is parallel with the flight path of the helicopter (trimmed), the aft movement of the cyclic also creates greater air flow up through the bottom of the rotor disk and contributes to an increase in rotor rpm.
How are the blades of a helicopter driven?
In effect, the blades are “gliding” in their rotational plane. Autorotation. In a helicopter, an autorotative descent is a power-off maneuver in which the engine is disengaged from the main rotor system and the rotor blades are driven solely by the upward flow of air through the rotor.
What causes a helicopter to have a hard landing?
Holding the helicopter in the air by using all of the rotor rpm kinetic energy usually causes the helicopter to have a hard landing, which results in the blades flexing down and contacting the tail boom.