Can you fly a helicopter without a tail?
One significant advancement in the last decade has been the no-tail rotor, or NOTAR, helicopter. As you now know, vertical-lift flight is impossible without a tail rotor to counteract the torque produced by the main rotor.
What is the main function of tail rotor in helicopter?
A helicopter tail rotor serves two essential functions. It provides a counteracting force to the helicopter’s main rotor; without the sideways thrust produced by the tail rotor, the torque generated by the main rotor would spin the helicopter’s body in the opposite direction.
Is it possible to make an emergency landing in a helicopter?
Yes, it is possible to make an emergency landing in a helicopter should a tail rotor failure occur. The procedure is that same as that of a engine failure and it’s called an autorotative landing. Essentially a powerless helicopter becomes an autogyro (gyrocopter) in flight and can be flown as such.
What happens when the tail rotor of a helicopter fails?
The right rotation stops instantly and depending on timing and hover height the nose reverses direction and turns left. Rotor rpm will decay as the helicopter sinks. Collective lever is raised using residual rotor rpm to control sink rate and cushion the touch-down.
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.
When to reduce speed after tail rotor failure?
Tail-rotor failure invariably follows a period of increasing and worsening vibration felt through the yaw pedals. This vibration is a warning. If alerted in this way, the pilot must not reduce speed, because at 60 knots the angle of right yaw is easily controllable. In level flight at lower speeds it is not.