Helicopter Pilot's Manual Vol 1 E-Book

Norman Bailey

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

This manual has been produced for students undertaking their basic helicopter training. It concentrates on explaining not only how and why the helicopter flies but also on the correct handling techniques needed to master the flying exercises required to obtain a helicopter pilot's licence. The simpliflied text together with an abundance of diagrams will greatly assist the student to become a better and safer helicopter pilot. This is a revised and updated new edition for 2007.A manual for students undertaking their basic helicopter training, covering principles of flight and helicopter handling. Illustrations throughout.

Leseprobe

THE

HELICOPTER

PILOT’S MANUAL

VOLUME 1 Principles of Flight and Helicopter Handling

Norman Bailey

THE CROWOOD PRESS

First published in 1996 by Airlife Publishing, an imprint of The Crowood Press Ltd Ramsbury, Marlborough Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2014

New edition 2008

© Norman Bailey 1996 and 2008

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 84797 923 0

CONTENTS

Introduction

1  THE PRINCIPLES OF HELICOPTER FLIGHT

The Lifting Force of the Rotor

Helicopter Systems

Helicopter Controls

Rotor Freedom of Movement

Flapping to Equality

Phase Lag and Advance Angle

Hovering

Power

Limited Power

Forward Flight

Ground Resonance

Vortex Ring

Autorotation

Flying for Range and Endurance

Weight and Balance

Stability

Typical Examination Questions

2  GENERAL HANDLING

Safety Around Helicopters

The Height/Velocity Diagram

Pre-Flight Inspection

Environmental Flying

Icing

Disorientation

Airports and Heliports

Emergency Procedures

Abnormal Vibrations

Weight and Balance

VHF Radio

Transponders

Night Flying

3  AIR EXERCISES

General Notes for Student Helicopter Pilots

Familiarization with the Helicopter and Air Experience

Effects of Controls

Attitude and Power Changes

Straight and Level Flight

Climbing and Descending

Level, Climbing and Descending Turns

Basic Autorotations

Hovering Flight

Vertical Take-Off and Landing to and from the Hover

Basic Transitions

Circuits

First Solo Flight

Sideways and Backward Flight

Spot Turns

Vortex Ring Recovery

Engine-Off Landings

Advanced Autorotations

Forced Landings

Precision Transitions

Quick Stops

Pilot Navigation

Out-of-Wind Manoeuvres

Sloping Ground

Limited Power and Advanced Transitions

Confined-Area Operations

Basic Instrument Flying

Night Flying

Index

INTRODUCTION

The whole process of learning to fly helicopters will be much easier if first you take the time to read about and understand the basic aerodynamic forces that act on a helicopter.

Helicopters lack the aerodynamic control feedback and built-in stability of fixed-wing aircraft. Flying them draws on a pilot’s kinaesthetic senses and ability to extrapolate in four dimensions in real time. This is not something that can be learned overnight, but this book should help you progress more quickly through your initial training.

Few other books offer this combination of helicopter aerodynamic theory and practical hands-on advice in such an easy-to-read style. The first edition proved very popular and now is used by most helicopter training schools because of its simplified approach to learning to fly helicopters.

This new edition provides an update on current training rules and exercises while retaining the easily understood style.

Good luck with your flight training, and I hope you have many safe and enjoyable hours of helicopter flying.

Norman Bailey, DFM

1 THE PRINCIPLES OFHELICOPTER FLIGHT

Helicopters and other related rotary-wing aircraft are widely varied in their concept and configuration. This book concerns primarily the single-rotor helicopter, of the type that employs a compensating tail rotor.

Although the aerodynamics of the helicopter are based on the same laws that govern the flight of a fixed-wing aircraft, the significance of some considerations is somewhat different.

Both rely on lift produced from air flowing around an aerofoil, but whereas the aeroplane must move bodily forward through the air, the helicopter’s rotors (‘wings’) move independently of the fuselage and can produce lift with the aircraft remaining stationary (hovering).

Both autogyros and helicopters have rotating wings (rotor blades), but those of the autogyro are not driven. Instead, they rotate freely in flight under the single influence of the airflow. The helicopter’s rotor blades are engine driven in powered flight, giving it the ability to hover.

Before considering the principles of helicopter flight, it is necessary to explain some terms and definitions.

The principles of helicopter flight.

Aerofoil (Airfoil in USA) An aerofoil is any surface designed to produce lift when air passes over it. On a helicopter, the rotor blades are the aerofoils and normally are classed as symmetrical, because the blade’s upper and lower surfaces have the same curvature.

Aerofoil section.

Chord line This is an imaginary line joining a rotor blade’s leading and trailing edges.

The chord line.

Axis of rotation An actual or imaginary line about which a body rotates.

Plane of rotation This is normal to the axis of rotation and parallel to the rotor tip-path plane. It is at right angles to the axis of rotation.

Tip-path plane The path described by the tips of the rotor blades as they rotate.

The tip-path plane.

The rotor disc The area contained by the tips of the rotor blades.

The rotor disc.

Pitch angle The angle between the chord line and the plane of rotation.

The pitch angle.

Coning angle The angle between the spanwise length of a rotor blade and its tip-path plane.

Coning angle.

Coning Movement of the rotor blades aligning them along the resultant of centrifugal force and lift. An increase in lift would increase the coning angle; conversely, an increase in rotor rpm would decrease the coning angle.

Feathering The angular movement of a rotor blade about its longitudinal axis.

Feathering.