How Do Helicopters Work?
How Do Helicopters Fly?
How do helicopters work? Helicopters are the most versatile flying machines in existence today. This versatility gives the pilot complete access to three-dimensional space in a way that no airplane can. If you have ever flown in a helicopter you know that its abilities are exhilarating!
The amazing flexibility of helicopters means that they can fly almost anywhere. However, it also means that flying the machines is complicated. The pilot has to think in three dimensions and must use both arms and both legs constantly to keep a helicopter in the air! Piloting a helicopter requires a great deal of training and skill, as well as continuous attention to the machine.
In this article, you will learn about all of a helicopter's different capabilities and how it's able to do such amazing …show more content…
It must also be able to adjust the angle of the rotor blades with each revolution of the hub. The adjustability is provided by a device called the swash plate assembly, as shown in this photograph:
The swash plate assembly has two primary roles:
Under the direction of the collective control, the swash plate assembly can change the angle of both blades simultaneously. Doing this increases or decreases the lift that the main rotor supplies to the vehicle, allowing the helicopter to gain or lose altitude.
Under the direction of the cyclic control, the swash plate assembly can change the angle of the blades individually as they revolve. This allows the helicopter to move in any direction around a 360-degree circle, including forward, backward, left and right.
The swash plate assembly consists of two plates -- the fixed and the rotating swash plates -- shown above in blue and red, respectively.
The rotating swash plate rotates with the drive shaft (green) and the rotor's blades (gray) because of the links (purple) that connect the rotating plate to the drive
How do helicopters work? Helicopters are the most versatile flying machines in existence today. This versatility gives the pilot complete access to three-dimensional space in a way that no airplane can. If you have ever flown in a helicopter you know that its abilities are exhilarating!
The amazing flexibility of helicopters means that they can fly almost anywhere. However, it also means that flying the machines is complicated. The pilot has to think in three dimensions and must use both arms and both legs constantly to keep a helicopter in the air! Piloting a helicopter requires a great deal of training and skill, as well as continuous attention to the machine.
In this article, you will learn about all of a helicopter's different capabilities and how it's able to do such amazing …show more content…
It must also be able to adjust the angle of the rotor blades with each revolution of the hub. The adjustability is provided by a device called the swash plate assembly, as shown in this photograph:
The swash plate assembly has two primary roles:
Under the direction of the collective control, the swash plate assembly can change the angle of both blades simultaneously. Doing this increases or decreases the lift that the main rotor supplies to the vehicle, allowing the helicopter to gain or lose altitude.
Under the direction of the cyclic control, the swash plate assembly can change the angle of the blades individually as they revolve. This allows the helicopter to move in any direction around a 360-degree circle, including forward, backward, left and right.
The swash plate assembly consists of two plates -- the fixed and the rotating swash plates -- shown above in blue and red, respectively.
The rotating swash plate rotates with the drive shaft (green) and the rotor's blades (gray) because of the links (purple) that connect the rotating plate to the drive