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Essay on Helicopter Aerodynamics
An Introduction to the Helicopter
The helicopter began as a basic principle of rotary-wing aviation and evolved into something much greater as human ingenuity and technology in America and elsewhere contributed to its development. The precision of parts due to the Industrial Revolution enabled the helicopter to evolve into the modern machines we see flying today. At the beginning of the new Millennium, there were in excess of 40,000 helicopters flying worldwide.
Over the last forty years, sustained scientific research and development in many different aeronautical disciplines has allowed for large increases in helicopter performance, lifting capability of the main rotor, high speed cruise efficiencies, and mechanical reliability.
Continuous aerodynamic improvements to the efficiency of the rotor have allowed the helicopter to lift more than its empty weight and to fly in level flight at speeds in excess of 200 kts (370 km/h; 229 mi/h). Its civilian roles encompass air ambulance, sea and mountain rescue, crop dusting, fire fighting, police surveillance, corporate services, and oilrig servicing. Military roles of the helicopter are extensive, including troop transport, minesweeping, battlefield surveillance, assault and anti-tank missions. In various air-ground and air-sea rescue operations, the helicopter has saved the lives of over a million people.
(A History of, 2000)
The first vertical flight machine in the United States seems to have been developed by Emile Berliner and John Newton Williams. Berliner designed what may have been the first production rotary aircraft engine, the 36-horsepower (27-kilowatt) Adams-Farwell engine. (Helicopter Development, nd.)
The usefulness of the modern helicopter lies in its unique ability to take-off and land vertically, to hover stationary relative to the ground, and to fly forward, backward, or sideways. These unique flying qualities, however, come at a price including complex aerodynamic problems, significant vibrations, high levels of noise, and relatively large power requirements....
