AMT 618

Helicopter Operation and Maintenance

Helicopter Flight Control and General
Aerodynamics
ASSIGNMENT NO.2

Submitted by: Baluyot, Johnzen Kim

1-D

Submitted to: Mr. Cristian Rosatazo

Instructor
Submission Date: September 17, 2018 Rate______
Helicopter Flight Controls
There are three major controls in a helicopter that the pilot must use during flight.
They are the collective pitch control, the cyclic pitch control, and the antitorque pedals
or tail rotor control. In addition to these major controls, the pilot must also use the
throttle control, which is usually mounted directly to the collective pitch control in
order to fly the helicopter.
Collective Pitch Control
The collective pitch control (or simply “collective” or “thrust lever”) is located
on the left side of the pilot’s seat and is operated with the left hand. The collective is
used to make changes to the pitch angle of the main rotor blades and does this
simultaneously, or collectively, as the name implies. As the collective pitch control is
raised, there is a simultaneous and equal increase in pitch angle of all main rotor blades;
as it is lowered, there is a simultaneous and equal decrease in pitch angle. This is done
through a series of mechanical linkages and the amount of movement in the collective
lever determines the amount of blade pitch change. An adjustable friction control helps
prevent inadvertent collective pitch movement.

Raising the collective pitch control increases the pitch angle, or angle of incidence, by the same amount on all blades.

Changing the pitch angle on the blades changes the angle of incidence on each blade.
With a change in angle of incidence comes a change in drag, which affects the speed or
revolutions per minute (rpm) of the main rotor. As the pitch angle increases, angle of
incidence increases, drag increases, and rotor rpm decreases. Decreasing pitch angle
decreases both angle of incidence and drag, while rotor rpm increases. In order to
maintain a constant rotor rpm, which is essential in helicopter operations, a
proportionate change in power is required to compensate for the change in drag. This is
accomplished with the throttle control or governor, which automatically adjusts engine
power.
Throttle Control- the function of the throttle is to regulate engine rpm. If the
correlator or governor system does not maintain the desired rpm when the collective is
raised or lowered, or if those systems are not installed, the throttle must be moved
manually with the twist grip in order to maintain rpm.
Governor/Correlator- a governor is a sensing device that senses rotor and
engine rpm and makes the necessary adjustments in order to keep rotor rpm constant. In
normal operations, once the rotor rpm is set, the governor keeps the rpm constant, and
there is no need to make any throttle adjustments. A correlator is a mechanical
connection between the collective lever and the engine throttle. When the collective
lever is raised, power is automatically increased; when lowered, power is decreased.
This system maintains rpm close to the desired value, but still requires adjustment of
the throttle for fine tuning.
Cyclic Pitch Control
The cyclic pitch control is usually projected upward from the cockpit floor,
between the pilot’s legs or between the two pilot seats in some models. This primary
flight control allows the pilot to fly the helicopter in any direction of travel: forward,
rearward, left, and right. The purpose of the cyclic pitch control is to tilt the tip-path
plane in the direction of the desired horizontal direction. The cyclic controls the rotor
disk tilt versus the horizon, which directs the rotor disk thrust to enable the pilot to
control the direction of travel of the helicopter.

The cyclic pitch control may be mounted vertically between the pilot’s knees or on a teetering bar from a single cyclic located
in the center of the helicopter. The cyclic can pivot in all directions.

Antitorque Pedals
The antitorque pedals, located on the cabin floor by the pilot’s feet, control the
pitch and therefore the thrust of the tail rotor blades or other antitorque system. The
antitorque pedals allow the pilot to control the pitch angle of the tail rotor blades, which
in forward flight puts the helicopter in longitudinal trim and, while at a hover, enables
the pilot to turn the helicopter 360°. The antitorque pedals are connected to the pitch
change mechanism on the tail rotor gearbox and allow the pitch angle on the tail rotor
blades to be increased or decreased.

Antitorque pedals compensate for changes in torque and control heading in a hover.

Heading Control- The tail rotor is used to control the heading of the helicopter
while hovering or when making hovering turns, as well as counteracting the torque of
the main rotor. Hovering turns are commonly referred to as “pedal turns.”
General Aerodynamics
Forces Acting on the Aircraft
Once a helicopter leaves the ground, it is acted upon by four aerodynamic forces; thrust,
drag, lift and weight. Understanding how these forces work and knowing how to control
them with the use of power and flight controls are essential to flight. They are defined
as follows:
• Thrust—the forward force produced by the power plant/propeller or rotor. It
opposes or overcomes the force of drag. As a general rule, it acts parallel to the
longitudinal axis. However, this is not always the case, as explained later.
• Drag—a rearward, retarding force caused by disruption of airflow by the wing,
rotor, fuselage, and other protruding objects. Drag opposes thrust and acts rearward
parallel to the relative wind.
• Weight—the combined load of the aircraft itself, the crew, the fuel, and the
cargo or baggage. Weight pulls the aircraft downward because of the force of gravity. It
opposes lift and acts vertically downward through the aircraft’s center of gravity (CG).
• Lift—opposes the downward force of weight, is produced by the dynamic effect
of the air acting on the airfoil, and acts perpendicular to the flightpath through the
center of lift.

Four forces acting on a helicopter in forward flight

Lift- is generated when an object changes the direction of flow of a fluid or when
the fluid is forced to move by the object passing through it. When the object and fluid
move relative to each other and the object turns the fluid flow in a direction
perpendicular to that flow, the force required to do this work creates an equal and
opposite force that is lift. The lift generated by an airfoil depends on such factors as:
• Speed of the airflow
• Density of the air
• Total area of the segment or airfoil
• Angle of attack (AOA) between the air and the airfoil

Production of lif
 Weight-is thought of as being a known, fixed value, such as the weight of the
helicopter, fuel, and occupants. To lift the helicopter off the ground vertically, the rotor
system must generate enough lift to overcome or offset the total weight of the helicopter
and its occupants. Newton’s First Law states: “Every object in a state of uniform motion
tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.” In this
case, the object is the helicopter whether at a hover or on the ground and the external
force applied to it is lift, which is accomplished by increasing the pitch angle of the
main rotor blades. This action forces the helicopter into a state of motion, without it the
helicopter would either remain on the ground or at a hover.

Thrust- is like lift, generated by the rotation of the main rotor system. In a
helicopter, thrust can be forward, rearward, sideward, or vertical. The resultant lift and
thrust determines the direction of movement of the helicopter. The tail rotor also
produces thrust. The amount of thrust is variable through the use of the antitorque
pedals and is used to control the helicopter’s yaw.

Drag- the force that resists the movement of a helicopter through the air and is
produced when lift is developed is called drag. Drag must be overcome by the engine to
turn the rotor. Drag always acts parallel to the relative wind. Total drag is composed of
three types of drag: profile, induced, and parasite.
• Profile Drag- develops from the frictional resistance of the blades
passing through the air. It does not change significantly with the airfoil’s AOA,
but increases moderately when airspeed increases. Profile drag is composed of
form drag and skin friction.
• Induced drag- is generated by the airflow circulation around the rotor
blade as it creates lift. The high pressure area beneath the blade joins the low
pressure area above the blade at the trailing edge and at the rotor tips. This causes
a spiral, or vortex, which trails behind each blade whenever lift is being
produced.
• Parasite drag- is present any time the helicopter is moving through the
air. This type of drag increases with airspeed. Non-lifting components of the
helicopter, such as the cabin, rotor mast, tail, and landing gear, contribute to
parasite drag. Any loss of momentum by the airstream, due to such things as
openings for engine cooling, creates additional parasite drag. Because of its rapid
increase with increasing airspeed, parasite drag is the major cause of drag at
higher airspeeds.
• Total drag- for a helicopter is the sum of all three drag forces. As
airspeed increases, parasite drag increases, while induced drag decreases. Profile
drag remains relatively constant throughout the speed range with some increase
at higher airspeeds. Combining all drag forces results in a total drag curve.
Airfoil
Helicopters are able to fly due to aerodynamic
forces produced when air passes around the airfoil.
An airfoil is any surface producing more lift than
drag when passing through the air at a suitable angle.
Airfoils are most often associated with production of
lift. Airfoils are also used for stability (fin), control (elevator), and thrust or propulsion
(propeller or rotor). Certain airfoils, such as rotor blades, combine some of these
functions. The main and tail rotor blades of the helicopter are airfoils, and air is forced
to pass around the blades by mechanically powered rotation. In some conditions, parts
of the fuselage, such as the vertical and horizontal stabilizers, can become airfoils.
Airfoils are carefully structured to accommodate a specific set of flight characteristics.

Powered Flight
In powered flight (hovering, vertical, forward, sideward, or rearward), the total
lift and thrust forces of a rotor are perpendicular to the tip-path plane or plane of
rotation of the rotor.

Hovering Flight
To maintain a hover at a constant altitude, the lift must equal the weight of the
helicopter. Thrust must equal any wind and tail rotor thrust to maintain position. The
power must be sufficient to turn the rotors and overcome the various drags and frictions
involved. Hovering is the most challenging part of flying a helicopter. This is because a
helicopter generates its own gusty air while in a hover, which acts against the fuselage
and flight control surfaces. The end result is constant control inputs and corrections by
the pilot to keep the helicopter where it is required to be.

Vertical Flight
Hovering is actually an element of vertical flight. Increasing the angle of
incidence of the rotor blades (pitch) while keeping their rotation speed constant
generates additional lift and the helicopter ascends. Decreasing the pitch causes the
helicopter to descend. In a no-wind condition in which lift and thrust are less than
weight and drag, the helicopter descends vertically. If lift and thrust are greater than
weight and drag, the helicopter ascends vertically.

Forward Flight
In steady forward flight, with no change in airspeed or vertical speed, the four
forces of lift, thrust, drag, and weight must be in balance. Once the tip-path plane is
tilted forward, the total lift-thrust force is also tilted forward. This resultant lift-thrust
force can be resolved into two components—lift acting vertically upward and thrust
acting horizontally in the direction of flight. In addition to lift and thrust, there is weight
(the downward acting force) and drag (the force opposing the motion of an airfoil
through the air).
Sideward Flight
In sideward flight, the tip-path plane is tilted in the direction that flight is desired.
This tilts the total lift-thrust vector sideward. In this case, the vertical or lift component
is still straight up and weight straight down, but the horizontal or thrust component now
acts sideward with drag acting to the opposite side.

Rearward Flight
For rearward flight, the tip-path plane is tilted rearward, which, in turn, tilts the
lift-thrust vector rearward. Drag now acts forward with the lift component straight up
and weight straight down.

Turning Flight
In forward flight, the rotor disk is tilted forward, which also tilts the total lift-
thrust force of the rotor disk forward. When the helicopter is banked, the rotor disk is
tilted sideward resulting in lift being separated into two components. Lift acting upward
and opposing weight is called the vertical component of lift. Lift acting horizontally and
opposing inertia (centrifugal force) is the horizontal component of lift (centripetal
force).

Autorotation
Autorotation is the state of flight where the main rotor system of a helicopter is
being turned by the action of air moving up through the rotor rather than engine power
driving the rotor. In normal, powered flight, air is drawn into the main rotor system
from above and exhausted downward, but during autorotation, air moves up into the
rotor system from below as the helicopter descends. Autorotation is permitted
mechanically by a freewheeling unit, which is a special clutch mechanism that allows
the main rotor to continue turning even if the engine is not running. If the engine fails,
the freewheeling unit automatically disengages the engine from the main rotor allowing
the main rotor to rotate freely. It is the means by which a helicopter can be landed safely
in the event of an engine failure; consequently, all helicopters must demonstrate this
capability in order to be certified.