Helicopter - Helicopter models and identification

A helicopter is an aircraft which is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors (propellers). Helicopters are classified as rotary-wing aircraft to distinguish them from conventional fixed-wing aircraft. The word helicopter is derived from the Greek words helix (spiral) and pteron (wing). The engine-driven helicopter was invented by the Slovak inventor Jan Bahyl. The first stable, fully-controllable helicopter pl ...

Including:

• Helicopter - Applications
• Helicopter - History
• Helicopter - Generating lift
• Helicopter - Conventional layout
• Helicopter - Alternative layouts
• Helicopter - Controlling flight
• Helicopter - Stability
• Helicopter - Limitations
• Helicopter - Landing
• Helicopter - On a ship
• Helicopter - Hazards of helicopter flight
• Helicopter - Helicopter models and identification

Read more here: » Helicopter: Encyclopedia - Helicopter

In identifying conventional helicopters during flight it is helpful to know that when viewed from below, the rotor of a French, Russian, Soviet or Ukrainian designed helicopter rotates counter-clockwise, whilst that of a helicopter built in Italy, the UK or the USA rotates clockwise. Further information: List of helicopter models Some companies, notably Schweizer Aircraft Corporation in the USA, are developing remotely-controlled variants of light helicopters for use in future battlefields. Rotomotion is currently selling a line of small (less ...

See also:

Helicopter, Helicopter - Applications, Helicopter - History, Helicopter - Generating lift, Helicopter - Conventional layout, Helicopter - Alternative layouts, Helicopter - Controlling flight, Helicopter - Stability, Helicopter - Limitations, Helicopter - Landing, Helicopter - On a ship, Helicopter - Hazards of helicopter flight, Helicopter - Helicopter models and identification

Read more here: » Helicopter: Encyclopedia II - Helicopter - Helicopter models and identification

In identifying conventional helicopters during flight it is helpful to know that when viewed from below, the rotor of a French, Russian, Soviet or Ukrainian designed helicopter rotates counter-clockwise, whilst that of a helicopter built in Italy, the UK or the USA rotates clockwise. Further information: List of helicopter models Some companies, notably Schweizer Aircraft Corporation in the USA, are developing remotely-controlled variants of light helicopters for use in future battlefields. Rotomotion is currently selling a line of small (less ...

See also:

Helicopter, Helicopter - Applications, Helicopter - History, Helicopter - Generating lift, Helicopter - Conventional layout, Helicopter - Alternative layouts, Helicopter - Controlling flight, Helicopter - Stability, Helicopter - Limitations, Helicopter - Landing, Helicopter - On a ship, Helicopter - Hazards of helicopter flight, Helicopter - Helicopter models and identification

Read more here: » Helicopter: Encyclopedia II - Helicopter - Helicopter models and identification

A conventional aircraft is able to fly because the forward motion of the angled wings creates lift by seperating the air into two streams. One stream of air goes over the wing and one goes under. Because the air traveling over the top of the wing has a longer distance to travel, due to the curve on the upper part of the wing, (called camber) and because the air traveling over the top and bottom of the wing wants to meet at the same time, the air flowing over the top of the wing has to travel at a faster rate than the air flowing over the bot ...

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Helicopter, Helicopter - Applications, Helicopter - History, Helicopter - Generating lift, Helicopter - Conventional layout, Helicopter - Alternative layouts, Helicopter - Controlling flight, Helicopter - Stability, Helicopter - Limitations, Helicopter - Landing, Helicopter - On a ship, Helicopter - Hazards of helicopter flight, Helicopter - Helicopter models and identification

Read more here: » Helicopter: Encyclopedia II - Helicopter - Generating lift

In conventional aircraft, the wing profile (called airfoil) is designed to have a shape where the bottom surface has a shorter path than the top surface. The longer path that the fluid (in this case air) must travel across the top surface equates to a higher speed. The higher the speed of a fluid, the lower the dynamic pressure (as opposed to static pressure) on the surface. Thus, by causing the air to flow faster over the top surface than the bottom, the airfoil causes a pressure difference directed upward. This pressure difference integrat ...

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Helicopter, Helicopter - Applications, Helicopter - History, Helicopter - Generating lift, Helicopter - Conventional layout, Helicopter - Alternative layouts, Helicopter - Controlling flight, Helicopter - Stability, Helicopter - Limitations, Helicopter - Landing, Helicopter - On a ship, Helicopter - Hazards of helicopter flight, Helicopter - Helicopter models and identification

Read more here: » Helicopter: Encyclopedia II - Helicopter - Generating lift

Fixed wing aircraft are usually inherently stable. If a gust of wind or a nudge to one of the controls causes a fixed wing aircraft to pitch, roll, or yaw, the aerodynamic design of the aircraft will tend to correct the motion, and the aircraft will return to its original attitude. Many small, fixed wing aircraft are stable enough that a pilot can let go of the controls while looking at a map or dealing with a radio, and ...

See also:

Helicopter, Helicopter - Applications, Helicopter - History, Helicopter - Generating lift, Helicopter - Conventional layout, Helicopter - Alternative layouts, Helicopter - Controlling flight, Helicopter - Stability, Helicopter - Limitations, Helicopter - Landing, Helicopter - On a ship, Helicopter - Hazards of helicopter flight, Helicopter - Helicopter models and identification

Read more here: » Helicopter: Encyclopedia II - Helicopter - Stability

Helicopters have many uses, both military and civil, including troop transportation, infantry support, firefighting, shipboard operations, business transportation, casualty evacuation (including MEDEVAC, and air/sea/mountain rescue), police and civilian surveillance, carrying goods (some helicopters can carry slung loads, accommodating awkwardly shaped items), or as a mount for still, film or television cameras. Unmanned helicopters are used in industrial and military applications i ...

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Helicopter, Helicopter - Applications, Helicopter - History, Helicopter - Generating lift, Helicopter - Conventional layout, Helicopter - Alternative layouts, Helicopter - Controlling flight, Helicopter - Stability, Helicopter - Limitations, Helicopter - Landing, Helicopter - On a ship, Helicopter - Hazards of helicopter flight, Helicopter - Helicopter models and identification

Read more here: » Helicopter: Encyclopedia II - Helicopter - Applications

Helicopter - On a ship. A helicopter deck (or helo deck) is a helicopter pad on the deck of a ship, usually located on the stern and always clear of obstacles that would prove hazardous to a helicopter landing. In the U.S. Navy it is commonly and properly referred to as the flight deck. In the Royal Navy, landing on is usually achieved by lining up slightly astern and on the port quarter, as the ship steams into the wind and the aircraft ca ...

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Helicopter, Helicopter - Applications, Helicopter - History, Helicopter - Generating lift, Helicopter - Conventional layout, Helicopter - Alternative layouts, Helicopter - Controlling flight, Helicopter - Stability, Helicopter - Limitations, Helicopter - Landing, Helicopter - On a ship, Helicopter - Hazards of helicopter flight, Helicopter - Helicopter models and identification

Read more here: » Helicopter: Encyclopedia II - Helicopter - Landing

Since around 400 BC the Chinese had a flying top that was used as a children's toy. This toy eventually made its way to Europe via trade and has been depicted in a 1463 European painting. "Pao Phu Tau" was a 4th century book in China that described some of the ideas in a rotary wing aircraft. The first somewhat practical idea of a human carrying helicopter was first conceived by Leonardo da Vinci around 1490, but it was not until after the invention of the powered aeroplane in the 20th century that actual models were produced. Develop ...

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Helicopter, Helicopter - Applications, Helicopter - History, Helicopter - Generating lift, Helicopter - Conventional layout, Helicopter - Alternative layouts, Helicopter - Controlling flight, Helicopter - Stability, Helicopter - Limitations, Helicopter - Landing, Helicopter - On a ship, Helicopter - Hazards of helicopter flight, Helicopter - Helicopter models and identification

Read more here: » Helicopter: Encyclopedia II - Helicopter - History

Helicopters have many uses, both military and civil, including troop transportation, infantry support, firefighting, shipboard operations, business transportation, casualty evacuation (including MEDEVAC, and air/sea/mountain rescue), police and civilian surveillance, carrying goods (some helicopters can carry slung loads, accommodating awkwardly shaped items), or as a mount for still, film or television cameras. Helicopters suffer from significantly higher operating and maintenance costs compared with fixed wing aircraft. The costs ar ...

See also:

Helicopter, Helicopter - Applications, Helicopter - History, Helicopter - Generating lift, Helicopter - Conventional layout, Helicopter - Alternative layouts, Helicopter - Controlling flight, Helicopter - Stability, Helicopter - Limitations, Helicopter - Landing, Helicopter - On a ship, Helicopter - Hazards of helicopter flight, Helicopter - Helicopter models and identification

Read more here: » Helicopter: Encyclopedia II - Helicopter - Applications

Useful flight requires that an aircraft be controlled in all three dimensions (see flight dynamics). In a fixed-wing aircraft, this is easy: small movable surfaces are adjusted to change the aircraft's shape so that the air rushing past pushes it in the desired direction. In a helicopter, however, there often isn't enough airspeed for this method to be practical. For rotation about the vertical axis (yaw) the anti-torque system is used. Varying the pitch of the tail rotor alters the sideways thrust produced. Dual-rotor helicopters hav ...

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Helicopter, Helicopter - Applications, Helicopter - History, Helicopter - Generating lift, Helicopter - Conventional layout, Helicopter - Alternative layouts, Helicopter - Controlling flight, Helicopter - Stability, Helicopter - Limitations, Helicopter - Landing, Helicopter - On a ship, Helicopter - Hazards of helicopter flight, Helicopter - Helicopter models and identification

Read more here: » Helicopter: Encyclopedia II - Helicopter - Controlling flight

Fixed wing aircraft are designed to be inherently stable. If a gust of wind or a nudge to one of the controls causes a fixed wing aircraft to pitch, roll, or yaw, the aerodynamic design of the aircraft will tend to correct the motion, and the aircraft will return to its original attitude. A small, fixed wing aircraft can be stable enough that a pilot can let go of the controls while looking at a map or dealing with a radio, and ...

See also:

Helicopter, Helicopter - Applications, Helicopter - History, Helicopter - Generating lift, Helicopter - Conventional layout, Helicopter - Alternative layouts, Helicopter - Controlling flight, Helicopter - Stability, Helicopter - Limitations, Helicopter - Landing, Helicopter - On a ship, Helicopter - Hazards of helicopter flight, Helicopter - Helicopter models and identification

Read more here: » Helicopter: Encyclopedia II - Helicopter - Stability

The single most obvious limitation of the helicopter is its slow speed. The current record is around 400 km/h set by the Westland Lynx. There are several reasons why a helicopter cannot fly as fast as a fixed wing aircraft. When the helicopter is at rest, the outer tips of the rotor travel at a speed determined by the length of the blade and the RPM. In a moving helicopter, however, the speed of the blades relative to the air depends on the speed of the helicopter as well as on their rotational velocity. The airspeed of the forw ...

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Helicopter, Helicopter - Applications, Helicopter - History, Helicopter - Generating lift, Helicopter - Conventional layout, Helicopter - Alternative layouts, Helicopter - Controlling flight, Helicopter - Stability, Helicopter - Limitations, Helicopter - Landing, Helicopter - On a ship, Helicopter - Hazards of helicopter flight, Helicopter - Helicopter models and identification

Read more here: » Helicopter: Encyclopedia II - Helicopter - Limitations

As with any moving vehicle, operation outside of safe regimes could result in loss of control, structural damage, or fatality. For helicopters the hazards are particularly acute since they are flying at relatively low altitude, with little time to react to a sudden event. The following is a list of some of the potential hazards: Retreating blade stall Settling with power Ground resonance Low-G condition Operating within the shaded area of the height-velocity diagram Vortex ring ...

See also:

Helicopter, Helicopter - Applications, Helicopter - History, Helicopter - Generating lift, Helicopter - Conventional layout, Helicopter - Alternative layouts, Helicopter - Controlling flight, Helicopter - Stability, Helicopter - Limitations, Helicopter - Landing, Helicopter - On a ship, Helicopter - Hazards of helicopter flight, Helicopter - Helicopter models and identification

Read more here: » Helicopter: Encyclopedia II - Helicopter - Hazards of helicopter flight