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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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8.7 Climbingand descending<br />

<strong>Helicopter</strong> performance 335<br />

At airspeeds above 30 knots or so, <strong>the</strong> parasite power and <strong>the</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>ile power and induced<br />

power <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> rotors are affected only slightly by a change <strong>of</strong> disc inclination due to climb<br />

or descent. Hull drag will change slightly. Consequently it is reasonable to assume that<br />

any power margin in Figure 8.5 is available for climbing. Figure 8.9 shows a graph <strong>of</strong><br />

power margin against airspeed. Effectively <strong>the</strong> upper curve is <strong>the</strong> difference between<br />

available power and power needed at constant altitude as a function <strong>of</strong> airspeed. By<br />

subtracting <strong>the</strong> available power from this curve, a lower, zero-power curve is obtained.<br />

<strong>The</strong> curves must terminate on <strong>the</strong> right at Vne and as a result <strong>the</strong> region in which flight<br />

is possible is bounded by <strong>the</strong> two curves. <strong>The</strong> upper curve shows <strong>the</strong> rate <strong>of</strong> climb<br />

available if <strong>the</strong> entire power margin is converted into potential energy. <strong>The</strong> lower curve<br />

shows <strong>the</strong> rates <strong>of</strong> descent possible in autorotation.<br />

Figure 8.9 shows <strong>the</strong> best rate <strong>of</strong> descent without power is at <strong>the</strong> same speed as <strong>the</strong><br />

best rate <strong>of</strong> climb with power. However, in <strong>the</strong> case <strong>of</strong> power loss <strong>the</strong> goal is to reach<br />

a safe landing area ra<strong>the</strong>r than to descend at <strong>the</strong> minimum rate. <strong>The</strong>re will be more<br />

possibilities if <strong>the</strong> machine is autorotated at <strong>the</strong> airspeed that gives maximum range.<br />

That airspeed is also derived in Figure 8.9. As before, <strong>the</strong> origin needs to be <strong>of</strong>fset<br />

for head or tail winds. In autorotation <strong>the</strong> power comes from <strong>the</strong> release <strong>of</strong> potential<br />

energy as <strong>the</strong> machine descends. In <strong>the</strong>ory, <strong>the</strong> heavier <strong>the</strong> machine, <strong>the</strong> more power<br />

is liberated, so it should be able to fly fur<strong>the</strong>r. Under certain circumstances this will<br />

be observed. Where an emergency dictates maximum range in autorotation, <strong>the</strong> pilot<br />

Fig. 8.9 Power margin diagram shows performance envelope at full and zero power.

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