[uvc-youtube id=”k7u8m0Qpn38″ width=”560″ height=”315″ autoplay=”0″ controls=”1″] Helicopter auto rotation can be a life saver.
Please share so i can buy my son another parachute (this is a joke…. but seriously…click link) http://on.fb.me/ChopperParachute .
What happens if the motor of a helicopter dies in mid flight, is that the end of the story for the pilot and the chopper? Apparently not if the pilot knows how to pull of the auto rotation maneuver, and if the blades are still intact. The falling helicopter will have a strong current of air flowing through the rotor blades which makes them turn according to the tilt/pitch of the blades, the competent pilot will set the pitch of the blades so that the rotor will spin rapidly like a windmill during the free fall, and at a appropriate point before impact the cool headed pilot will reset the pitch of the blades, using the kinetic energy of the rotor system to his advantage, to work the rotors to push against (thrust) the flow of air and therefore slowing the free falling helicopter to a sustainable landing.
Helicopter auto rotation has been tried and proven many times with success.
The auto rotation mechanical maneuver has prevented many crashes, close calls and disasters, instead of free falling like a rock out of the sky, a cool headed competent pilot can work the tilt of the blades to his advantage, using the kinetic energy of the rotor system to ensure a smooth soft landing and live on to tell the story.
Helicopter auto rotation is not for the faint heartened.
It can be the worst scenario for a passenger of a helicopter or inexperienced pilot. Flying high up in the air with the up lift of the rotors working hard to keep the high technical hunk of metals airborne, when suddenly the motors revs slow down and stop completely. Then it is a sense and a squeeze feeling in the bottom of the stomach, when the gravity takes hold of the chopper and sends it down towards Terra fir-ma. Yikes!…. going into the damage control, and to get immediate grip on the fall , it has to be second nature to be able to come out of it alive.
Someone once told me this the second we went over the edge of a cliff in the Grand Canyon, I was about 12. It took me another 13 years to find this video and finally figure out how it really works!
The little fella look devastated that the parachute got lost around the corner…..
I wish I could fly my helicopter that good :P
one correction. if the battery dies in that thing it crashes
compression of what? If you dont mind me asking. Just curious, hope Im not coming off as an ass
Cue curios amateur
I understand re entry vehicles are moving quite rapidly. At those speeds, a normal horizontal blade system would just splinter apart without a doubt. What if the blade system was not horizontal at first?
Think of it like an upside down umbrella. You start with the blades pointing up, and as you descend, you slowly bring the angle of the blades down to a horizontal plane, and then apply autorotation.
Im in my first year of college, dont tear me up too hard guys o.o
Dam Is all you need to say
That pilot man.
That pilot is amazing….
Carl’s a magician.
Loved this video series! Would be cool to see you up in a full size helicopter demonstrating some of this. Love all the different videos I. Flight you have on this channel keep it up!
nice piloting skills there. what kinda heli is that? looks like a trex 700.
in helicopters, “with power” is the term used to describe when the engine is turning the rotor. during an autorotation, “power” is removed from the rotor system by cutting the throttle to idle or if the engine fails. in some helicopters, the hydraulic system has a redundant feature called a pressure accumulator that in the case of engine failure, will provide limited use of the controls for an emergency landing.
Dustin, have you considered learning to fly rc heli? Small 100 class cp helis bounce real well and great for learning over grass. The fixed pitch v911 is fantastic for kids, real safe and almost invincible.
By the same theory you technically don’t need a parachute in a plane either. Planes do this magic thing called gliding…
Seen it done in a Sea Stallion or Sea Scorpion ? The Royal British Helicopters And A Huey
That sounds right to me
never knew that, very cool
So you reverse the blades as if they were pushing air up and then once you’re almost to the ground you then turn the pitch of the blades to force air down?
Momentum of the blades
There are servos that control the pitch of the blades, but there was no power to the motor during the maneuver. That’s the important thing.
on real helicopter its hydraulic or mechanical
Though autorotation would work in a normal atmosphere, I gather that during re-entry into the upper atmosphere, there is no aerodynamics to speak of and the heat is purely from compression. Disposing of the heat is a really tough challenge. Radiative tungsten rotor blades perhaps? 🙂
He used some power to “pitch” but in real life you are using your muscles (I think )