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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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Introduction to helicopter dynamics 67<br />

Fig. 3.5 (a) How lift and drag change with angle <strong>of</strong> attack. Initially lift is almost proportional whereas drag<br />

changes with <strong>the</strong> trend shown. As <strong>the</strong>re is pr<strong>of</strong>ile drag at all angles <strong>of</strong> attack, <strong>the</strong> curve does not start from zero.<br />

<strong>The</strong> most efficient use <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> airfoil will be where <strong>the</strong> L/D ratio is greatest. At steady large angles <strong>of</strong> attack <strong>the</strong><br />

airfoil stalls. (b) Stall does not occur instantaneously and for a short time after a large angle <strong>of</strong> attack is applied,<br />

lift increases. With <strong>the</strong>ir rapidly fea<strong>the</strong>ring blades, helicopters can exploit this phenomenon.<br />

For a given engine power, <strong>the</strong> greatest lift in <strong>the</strong> hover would be obtained by operating<br />

<strong>the</strong> blades at <strong>the</strong> maximum lift over drag ratio. However, a practical helicopter cannot<br />

operate in this condition because it would be unsafe in forward flight. Many manoeuvres,<br />

such as a banked turn, require <strong>the</strong> rotor to produce a thrust which exceeds <strong>the</strong><br />

static weight <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> machine. <strong>The</strong> ratio <strong>of</strong> thrust to static weight is called <strong>the</strong> load factor.

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