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The Art of the Helicopter John Watkinson - Karatunov.net

The Art of the Helicopter John Watkinson - Karatunov.net

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116 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Art</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Helicopter</strong><br />

generally constructed in such a way that <strong>the</strong> mass centroid and <strong>the</strong> centre <strong>of</strong> bending<br />

stiffness is well forward on <strong>the</strong> chord. <strong>The</strong> result is a section where <strong>the</strong> structural mass<br />

is concentrated in a D-shaped structure at <strong>the</strong> leading edge, with <strong>the</strong> trailing part <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> section being comprised <strong>of</strong> a low density structure.<br />

Blade taper is not always employed because in practice <strong>the</strong> penalty <strong>of</strong> a constant<br />

chord blade is only a few per cent. Taper prevents constructional techniques such as<br />

extrusion that requires a constant section. Blade twist is advantageous in hover, but <strong>the</strong><br />

ideal amount for hover will be detrimental in translational flight because <strong>the</strong> application<br />

<strong>of</strong> cyclic pitch may cause <strong>the</strong> finely pitched blade tips to go to a negative angle <strong>of</strong> attack.<br />

<strong>The</strong> exception to this restriction is in <strong>the</strong> tilt rotor aircraft that both hovers and cruises<br />

with axial inflow. This gives <strong>the</strong> designer more freedom to use blade twist and this is<br />

clearly visible in rotors <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Bell-Boeing Osprey.

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