Helicopter

A helicopter is a type of aircraft that uses rotating wings called rotors to fly. Unlike an airplane or glider, a helicopter has wings that move and uses an engine to fly. A helicopter’s rotating wings or rotor allow it to perform maneuvers that an airplane cannot.

Leonardo da Vinci drew a helicopter with helical propellers in the second half of the 15th century. Ronois and Bienvene donated a rotorcraft made of bird wings to the French Academy of Sciences in 1784. This helicopter enabled Alphonse Pénault to design a more successful model in 1870.
The first scientific presentation of the principles that led to the helicopter’s success came in 1843 from Sir George Cayley, who is considered by many to be the father of fixed-wing aircraft. Two important developments took place in 1907. The first of these was on September 29, when the Breguet brothers designed a helicopter with a spider-web-like frame of the rotary plane and four sets of rotors using the 45 horsepower №1 gyroplane engine. Later in November, Paul Cornu performed a nearly 20-second
free flight reaching an altitude of 1 foot in a twin-rotor aircraft equipped with a 24-horsepower engine. Igor Sikorsky is considered the father of the modern helicopter, the history of the helicopter is believed to have begun with a painting by the 15th-century painter and inventor Leonardo da Vinci. Da Vinci’s 1488 invention, known as the ornithopter flying machine, is thought to have influenced modern-day helicopters, including the Sikorsky.

Helicopter systems provide certain flight characteristics to the helicopter. Rotors are rotating blades that provide lift much like the lift offered by wings in a fixed-wing aircraft. Air flows faster through the curved top surface of the rotors, causing an opposite tension and thus aeration. Changing the angle of the rotating blades allows the helicopter to ascend or descend. In addition, the helicopter also has airframe, fuselage, landing gear, powerplant and control system sections.

Rotor System

The helicopter’s rotor system is multiple rotating wings and a control system that generates aerodynamic lift that supports the weight of the helicopter and thrust that opposes aerodynamic resistance in forward flight. Each main rotor is mounted on a vertical mast at the top of the helicopter, unlike the helicopter’s tail rotor, which is connected by a combination of drive shafts and gears along the tail boom. Blade tilt is usually controlled by a swashplate connected to the helicopter’s flight
control unit. A helicopter is an example of a rotorcraft.

Fuselage

Like fixed-wing aircraft, helicopter fuselage and tail booms are usually half-timbered or semi-monocoque structures with stress-membrane structures. Steel pipes, aluminum pipes and aluminum coatings are often used. The hull design of modern helicopters also includes the increased use of advanced composite materials. Firewalls and engine decks are usually made of stainless steel. Helicopter fuselages vary widely, from those with lattice-frame, two-seat, doorless, and monocoque shell flight compartments to those with fully enclosed aircraft cabins such as those found in large twin-engine helicopters. Due to the versatile helicopter flight, a wide view from the cockpit is important. A large molded polycarbonate, glass, or plexiglass windshields are common.

Airframe

The basic structure of a helicopter can consist of metal or wood composites. Composite components typically consist of multiple layers of fiber-impregnated resin that combine to form a flat plate. The substructure of the tube and sheet metal is mainly made of aluminum, but stainless steel and titanium may be used in areas where stress and heat increase. Body design includes engineering, aerodynamics, material technology, and manufacturing methods to balance performance, reliability, and cost.

Landing Gear

The helicopter’s landing gear may simply be a series of tubular metal skids. Many helicopters have landing gear, some may have retractable wheeled landing gear.

Powerplant

The two most common types of engines used in helicopters are the reciprocating engine and the turbine engine. Reciprocating engines, also called piston engines, are generally used in smaller helicopters.

Control System

The helicopter has four controls: collective pitch control, throttle control, anti-torque control, and cyclic pitch control. Pitch control is usually on the pilot’s left hand. A lever that moves up and down to change the angle of attack of the main rotor blades. Raising or lowering the pitch control will increase or decrease the pitch angle of all blades by the same amount. Increasing the angle of attack increases the angle of attack, increasing both lift and drag, and slowing down the rotor and motor. The opposite happens when the pitch angle is small.

Lift is usually made by wings. Wings create lift because of a relationship called the Bernoulli Principle. The Bernoulli Principle describes how the speed of air and the pressure in the air are related. When the speed goes up, the pressure goes down and the opposite is also true. Wings are curved on top and flatter on the bottom. This shape is called an airfoil. That shape makes airflow over the top faster than under the bottom. As a result, there is less air pressure on top of the wing; this causes suction and makes the wing move up. A helicopter’s rotor blades are wings and create lift. An airplane must fly fast to move enough air over its wings to provide lift. A helicopter moves air over its rotor by spinning its blades. This allows the helicopter to take off.

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