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

(a)<br />

(b) (c)<br />

(d)<br />

Fig. 5.4 (a) In <strong>the</strong> hover <strong>the</strong>re is a toroidal flow around <strong>the</strong> edge <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> main rotor in which <strong>the</strong> tail rotor<br />

operates. (b) A wrong-way tail rotor has its effective speed <strong>of</strong> rotation reduced by <strong>the</strong> main rotor flow. (c) A<br />

right-way tail rotor has its effective speed <strong>of</strong> rotation increased by <strong>the</strong> main rotor flow and will thus have greater<br />

authority. (d) Owing to wake contraction, it is more efficient to use a ‘blower’ tail rotor that takes in air over <strong>the</strong><br />

mounting structure. If <strong>the</strong> tail rotor is on <strong>the</strong> wrong side <strong>the</strong> structure blocks a larger proportion <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> wake.<br />

As was seen in Chapter 3, with axial flow in <strong>the</strong> hover <strong>the</strong> wake <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> tail rotor<br />

contracts and speeds up just as it does in <strong>the</strong> main rotor. This means that <strong>the</strong>re is<br />

a right way and a wrong way to mount <strong>the</strong> tail rotor with respect to its supporting<br />

structure, which inevitably causes some blockage. <strong>The</strong> supporting structure may be a<br />

slim tube or a substantial tail fin. Figure 5.4(d) shows that if <strong>the</strong> tail rotor slipstream<br />

is directed away from <strong>the</strong> fin, a so-called ‘blower’, <strong>the</strong> proportion <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> inflow which<br />

is blocked is reduced. <strong>The</strong> relative airspeed at <strong>the</strong> blockage is also lower. If instead<br />

<strong>the</strong> thrust is directed away from <strong>the</strong> fin, this blocks a larger proportion <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> now

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