The Technical, Aerodynamic & Performance Aspects of a Helicopter: A Manual for Helicopter Pilots and Engineers Who Want to Know More

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SECTION 1

THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF A HELICOPTER

1.1 - STRUCTURES

1.1.1 - STRUCTURES

In most aircraft, the fuselage is a semi-monocoque construction where the skin is riveted to a light frame consisting of ribs that form the cross-sectional shape, and stringers that run between the ribs. In this type of construction, the frame carries much of the stress.

Another method of construction that doesn’t use a frame is called a monocoque construction. With this style of construction, the skin is generally thicker, and forms the shape of the structure without any ribs or stringers, this means the skin is taking all the loads, and therefore the allowable damage limits are far more stringent.

The word monocoque comes from the Greek word ‘mono’ meaning one, and the French word ‘coque’ meaning shell (one shell). The ideal monocoque construction is an egg shell.

The skin of a monocoque construction can be aluminium alloy (H300, R22 & R44 tail booms), a ‘fibreglass style’ of composite construction (AS350 cabin), or ‘sandwich’ panels where the skins can be either metal or composite, and the centre section is a honeycomb structure (Bell 206).

Using the tailbooms as an example, the tailboom of the B206 and AS350 are a semi-monocoque construction with ribs and stringers, the tailboom of the H300 and those fitted to the R22 & R44 are monocoque constructions. The H300 tailboom is a piece of extruded aluminium alloy tube, and the R22 & R44 tailbooms are aluminium alloy sheets, rolled to the appropriate shape and riveted together to form a conical tube. The double skin where the sheets overlap and are riveted together does provide addition support, as would a rib in these areas. Damage that would make one of the monocoque tailbooms unserviceable may well be considered ‘cosmetic’ damage on one of the semi-monocoque tailbooms.

If you manufactured the tailboom in the above illustration without the ribs and stringers, the skin would be taking all the load and it would be a monocoque tailboom

1.1.2 - STRESS & STRAIN

Stress

Any piece of material can be stretched with a tensile force, squeezed with a compressional force, or twisted with a torsional force, and if any of these external forces are applied to the material, stress is generated.

The amount the material deforms is directly proportional to the type of material, and the stress generated.

Above a certain level of stress, known as the elastic limit or the yield strength of the material, the material may deform irreversibly.

Strain

Strain is the deformation in a material caused by a stress.

Strain is generally quantified as the ratio of the change in the dimension of the object with respect to its original dimension.

1.1.3 - TORSION, TENSION & COMPRESSION

Torsion

Torsion is the twisting of an object due to an applied torque.

If the torque applied is within its design quantitative or repetitive limits, the object will return to its original size and shape.

If either the torque is excessive, or the number of times the designed torque is applied is excessive, the object will deform (it won’t return to its original size and shape).

Tension

Tension is a pulling force.

Newton’s First Law of Motion states that a body will remain at rest, or in uniform motion, unless it’s compelled to change that state by a force applied to it. A tension force will cause an object to move through a pulling action.

Applying tension to an object will cause internal stresses in the material. A very flexible object, such as a rubber band, will stretch a great deal when a tension force is applied. Less flexible materials, like those used in the construction of an aircraft, also elongate when a pulling force is applied, but in much smaller amounts. If the applied force is high enough, the internal stress may become excessive and cause permanent elongation, or a complete failure to occur.

Compression

Compression is a pushing or pressing force that’s directed toward the centre of an object.

When an aeroplane wing or a helicopter rotor blade bends upward, the upper skin is under compression and the lower skin is under tension.

This wrinkling can be seen if a main rotor blade of a helicopter is pulled down, putting the lower surface under compression.

1.1.4 - FAIL SAFE CONSTRUCTION

In aviation, weight constraints mean it’s impossible to produce something that will never fail.

The term ‘fail safe’ construction means each component is designed in such a way that, should it fail, the remaining structure(s) can withstand reasonable loads without failure until scheduled inspections would detect the damage.

1.1.5 - STRUCTURAL FATIGUE

Although metal fatigue isn’t strictly part of a pilot’s required knowledge, it’s something that every pilot, particularly helicopter pilots, should be aware of.

Fatigue is the weakening of a structure over time that can lead to failure of the component.

There’s a level of stress and vibration below which there would be no fatigue, but because of weight constraints, it’s impractical to make most of the critical aircraft components strong enough to ensure they would never suffer from fatigue.

This means that the levels of vibration must be kept below their design limit, and each component must be replaced before reaching its fatigue limit. If the designed level of stress is exceeded, the time to failure decreases rapidly.

1.1.6 - DESIGNED LOAD FACTORS

These are set by the manufacturer and must meet the minimums for the category in which the aircraft is certified. Commercial aircraft are generally certified in categories according to the maximum positive and negative ‘G’ loads they were designed for.

The American FAA regulations, under which most light aircraft are manufactured, use the following requirements for the certification of helicopters, and most other regulatory bodies follow the same system.

If the aircraft is used for operations outside of what it was designed for - e.g. continuous external lift operations in a helicopter, or using a long haul aeroplane on short haul operations, the designed life cycle of the aircraft and its components will be exceeded, and therefore the life limits must be amended.

NOTE - These are structural limitations, not controllability limitations.

Both the NORMAL and TRANSPORT category helicopters have the following FAA LIMIT MANOEUVRING LOAD FACTOR :-

The rotorcraft must be designed for :-

•a limit manoeuvring load factor ranging from a positive limit of 3.5 to a negative limit of -1.0; or

•any positive limit manoeuvring load factor not less than 2.0 and any negative limit manoeuvring load factor not less than -0.5 for which :-

•the probability of being exceeded is shown by analysis and flight tests to be extremely remote; and

•the selected values are appropriate to each weight condition between the design maximum and design minimum weights.

1.1.7 - RETIREMENT LIVES

All helicopters have a retirement schedule that must be adhered to. Some components have a retirement life, and others have an overhaul life.

These limits are sometimes established by destructive testing, and some are established by computer testing prior to initial certification, and are modified (shortened or extended) as more information is gained during the life of the fleet.

1.1.8 - AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES

These are issued by the local regulatory authority to impose additional inspections on various parts and/or components of a particular model of aircraft, or serial number batches of an aircraft model.

These directives are often cancelled when the suspect component has been successfully modified.

1.1.9 - AIRCRAFT LOGBOOKS

Helicopters will generally have a separate logbook for the airframe and each engine.

Component cards for all the lifed components that make up the engine and airframe are either contained within the logbook, or filed separately.

When a component is replaced, an entry is made in the appropriate logbook, and the card for the new component is filed in its place. The card for the old component follows it through the overhaul process and onto the new aircraft when the component is used again, or stored if it was a retirement item.

1.1.10 - BONDING

In flight, a build-up of static electricity can occur, particularly during flight through moisture laden air, or sand or dust storms. As this static electricity passes through the aircraft, if it comes to a joint between sections of the aircraft that have a different electrical potential (they’re not properly bonded), a spark will occur as the electricity jumps the gap. This spark can cause anything from a minor source of annoyance such as static in the radio to a fire. If the bonding isn’t sufficient, the spark jumping from one panel to another can create minor corrosion at the skin joint as well as static in the radios.

To prevent this hazard, all metallic parts of an aircraft that aren’t riveted or bolted together must be joined by bonding leads to ensure all parts are at the same electrical potential, and the static electricity has an uninterrupted path from its source to its exit point.

Static discharge wicks are often fitted to the trailing edge of wings and control surfaces of aeroplanes to dissipate any build-up of static charge during flight, thus avoiding radio interference as a result of static electricity.

Most aircraft tyres are impregnated with a substance that can transfer excess static electricity to the ground on landing.

It’s also important that the aircraft is earthed prior to refuelling to discharge any static electricity that may be stored in the aircraft, and the refuelling nozzle is bonded to the fuel tank, in order to prevent a spark jumping between the aircraft and the refuelling nozzle.

The static build up in a helicopter hovering to pick up a sling load in moist or dusty air is sufficient to throw a loader to the ground if they don’t earth the helicopter first by standing on a piece of wire and touching the other end of the wire to the hook before touching it themselves.

Revision questions – Section 1.1

1/ A method of aircraft construction where the skin takes part of the load is called a

a) - monocoque construction.

b) - semi monocoque construction.

c) - stressed skin construction.

d) - strut and fabric construction.

2/ A method of aircraft construction where the skin takes all of the load is called a

a) - monocoque construction.

b) - semi monocoque construction.

c) - truss construction.

d) - strut and fabric construction.

3/ The stringers in an aircraft fuselage

a) - carry the pressurisation loads

b) - support the skin and assist in absorbing the longitudinal traction and compression stresses.

c) - withstand the shear stresses.

d) - perform no structural role.

4/ Strain is defined as

a) - the yield point.

b) - deformation due to stress.

c) - the ultimate load.

d) - expansion due to temperature rise.

5/ The difference between ‘torsion’ and ‘tension’ is that

a) - torsion is caused by twisting and tension is a crushing force.

b) - torsion is caused by twisting and tension is a force resisting an attempt to pull the material apart.

c) - tension is caused by twisting and torsion is a force resisting an attempt to pull the material apart.

d) - torsion is caused by two layers of a material being forced to slide apart, and tension is a force resisting an attempt to pull the material apart.

6/ Fatigue is defined as

a) - one-of loading that breaks the material.

b) - a break in the material due to repetitive loading and unloading of the material with the same load, even though the load isn’t sufficient to break the material in a one-off application.

c) - a permanent damage that gets progressively worse each time the material is loaded and unloaded.

d) - a deformation of the material that returns to its original shape when the load is removed.

7/ Long haul aircraft shouldn’t be used as short haul aircraft because

a) - their checklists are too long.

b) - they would use too much fuel.

c) - some fuel tanks would need to be empty for the entire flight, imposing a high level of strain on the airframe.

d) - the fatigue life of their structures was based on their intended use.

8/ A fail-safe structure relies on

a) - components failing gradually.

b) - components not failing.

c) - regular inspections detecting faults before a failure occurs.

d) - other components when a component fails.

9/ An aircraft is bonded in order to

a) - maintain a constant electrical potential throughout the aircraft.

b) - prevent lightning strikes.

c) - provide an earth return circuit.

d) - operate multiple components off the one circuit.

10/ The purpose of static wick dischargers is to

a) - be able to fly higher because of less electrical friction.

b) - dissipate static charge from the aircraft skin after landing.

c) - dissipate static charge of the aircraft in-flight thus avoiding radio interference as a result of static electricity.

d) - provide a path to ground for static charges when refuelling.

The answers to these questions can be found by visiting www.OnlineAviationTheory.com and signing in as a member using ABCDE as the username and 12345 as the password. You then scroll down and click on ‘Book Questions’ and follow the links to the required section.

1.2 - POWER TRAIN

1.2.1 - GENERAL

The power train consists of the entire drive system from the engine to the main gearbox, and from the main gearbox up to the main rotor and back to the tail rotor.

The drive between the engine and the main gearbox must be transferred via a freewheel (sometimes called an over-running clutch) to ensure the rotor can turn freely after an engine failure.

In a piston engine helicopter, engine power is transferred to the freewheel by either a belt drive system or a centrifugal clutch, thus allowing the engine to be started without turning the rotor.

In a helicopter with a fixed turbine engine, the power is also transmitted via a clutch whereas in a free turbine engine there’s no need for a clutch as there’s no direct connection between the gas producer section of the engine (the section you start) and the power turbine (the section that drives the main gearbox). As the compressor RPM increases during the start, the airflow gradually builds up through the ‘power’ turbine and causes it to turn, and in doing so, turns the main gearbox.

The main gearbox drives both the main rotor drive shaft and the tail rotor drive shaft to ensure the tail rotor continues to be driven if the engine fails. The tail rotor drive shaft is connected to a tail rotor gearbox that generally has its output shaft at 90° to its input shaft.

A more detailed description of the major components follows.

1.2.2 - ENGINE

Most helicopters are fitted with an engine that the helicopter manufacturer has de-rated by stipulating power limitations in the Flight Manual. Because there are no physical limitations on the power that can be used, it’s up to the pilot to ensure the placarded limits aren’t exceeded. For example, the R22 Beta 2 has a 180 HP Lycoming engine fitted, but the manifold pressure limitations imposed by Robinson are designed to limit the 5 minute take-off power to 131 HP and the maximum continuous power to 124 HP in this installation. The Bell 206 B3 is fitted with a 420 HP ALLISON 250 C 20B engine that’s de-rated to 318 HP.

De-rating an engine increases its reliability (and usually its overhaul life) because the engine is never operated at its maximum designed power. It also allows the helicopter to maintain maximum allowable power up to the height where the normal degradation of power takes over. From that height up, full throttle height in a piston engine and TOT limits in a turbine engine, the engine will no longer produce full power.

In reality, what the manufacturer is doing is fitting a transmission and drive train that won’t accept full sea level power from the engine.

If the drive system was able to accept full power, the manufacturer could use it to increase the helicopter’s performance at sea level, but this would require a larger transmission and drive train to transmit the power, and a larger main rotor and tail rotor to absorb the power. Although this would provide additional performance at sea level, it would add considerably to the weight and cost of the helicopter, and cause an immediate reduction in performance as it climbed above sea level.

The power from the engine can be delivered with a high torque at a low RPM, or a low torque at a high RPM, therefore, if the RPM remains constant, as in a helicopter drive system, torque is a direct measurement of power.

Figure 1.2.2.a shows a 300 HP engine that’s been de-rated to 250 HP. As you can see, 250 HP is available from sea level up to 4,000’ (full throttle height in a piston engine or TOT limits in a turbine engine), and above this height the power available decreases as the altitude increases (200 HP at 6,000’ in this example).

In most helicopters with a de-rated piston engine, there’s a yellow arc on the manifold pressure gauge; if you intend to operate within this yellow arc, you must consult the Flight Manual (or the placard in the cockpit) to determine whether you’re allowed to use the intended manifold pressure at the applicable density altitude.

The Allison 250 engine in a Bell 206 B3 will usually be torque limited at its de-rated power up to around 6,000’, at which time it’ll become TOT limited as it can no longer produce its placarded (de-rated) power without over-temping the engine. If the climb is continued, as the air density continues to decrease, the compressor has to turn faster to pump the required amount of air, and the engine will become N1 limited, and can’t produce any more power without exceeding this structural limitation.

1.2.3 - POWER DISTRIBUTION

The engine must be able to supply the main rotor with enough power to maintain the R/RPM throughout the entire flight envelope. Whilst doing this, it must also drive many other components.

A breakdown of power distribution for a typical helicopter in the hover is shown in this illustration.

1.2.4 - CLUTCH MECHANISM

Piston engine helicopters must have a clutch in the drive system between the engine and the main gearbox for two reasons :-

To relieve the load on the starter motor when it’s engaged. Without a clutch, the starter would have to turn the engine, the main gearbox, the main rotor and the tail rotor. This would require a prohibitively large starter motor. This also applies to a fixed turbine engine.

To relieve the stresses on the drive system when a piston engine coughs and splutters during start up. These oscillating loads would create extreme levels of stress in the drive train and rotor blades.

The clutch can be either a belt drive system that’s capable of being de-coupled before starting the engine, or a centrifugal clutch that doesn’t start to engage until the engine has been started and brought above idle RPM.

In the unlikely event of a clutch system disengaging in flight, the drive to the main gearbox would be lost and the engine would suffer a massive overspeed as it became uncoupled.

1.2.5 - BELT DRIVE SYSTEM

With the belt drive system de-coupled, the engine can be started and warmed up without engaging the rotor.

The H300 has eight individual ‘V’ belts with an idler pulley that’s pulled out by an electric actuator to tension the belts and engage the rotor.

The Robinson R22 has two belts and the R44 has four belts, each one being a ‘double V’. An electric actuator raises the top pulley to tension the belts in these helicopters.

The Enstrom has a single flat belt with a manually operated idler pulley.

1.2.6 - CENTRIFUGAL CLUTCH

The centrifugal clutch in a piston engine helicopter is designed to allow the engine to be started, but not run, without turning the rotor, whereas a centrifugal clutch in a helicopter with a fixed turbine engine is designed to allow the engine to run at idle without engaging and turning the rotor.

The engine drives either a set of weighted clutch shoes (Bell 47), or a mercury filled bladder (Hiller). Both systems have friction linings (like automotive brake pads) bonded to the outside of them.

As the engine RPM increases, centrifugal force throws the friction linings outward where they make contact with a ‘drum’. The friction that’s generated drives the drum, which drives the main rotor gearbox.

With any centrifugal clutch system, it’s important to use the manufacturers recommended RPM during engine start and rotor engagement to prevent excessive clutch slippage and the subsequent glazing of the clutch shoes. Once these shoes glaze, it’s difficult to rectify the situation without dismantling the gearbox.

1.2.7 - FREEWHEEL

This unit automatically disconnects the engine from the rotor in the event of an engine failure. If this didn’t occur, the main rotor would have to drive the ‘dead’ engine in autorotation, which would make autorotation impossible.

The freewheel ensures the main rotor only has to drive the main gearbox, which drives the tail rotor and essential accessories such as hydraulic pumps for the flight controls, and the generator to provide normal electrical services during an autorotation at night.

The freewheel works by having a driving section and a driven section, with either rollers or sprags in between.

In a ‘roller type’ freewheel (Bell 47), the driving (inner) section has ramps around its circumference, and when the engine is driving, the ramps carry the rollers into the narrow section of the ramp where they wedge themselves between the driving and driven section, thus forcing the driven section to rotate.

If the engine fails, the driven (outer) section, which is connected to the gearbox, ‘runs away’ from the rollers, causing them to return to the wide section of the ramps, which disconnects the engine from the gearbox.

Most modern helicopters have a sprag clutch. These clutches have an inner and outer cylindrical section with no ramps. The sprags are usually a ‘figure 8’ shape, and are installed at an angle between the inner and outer sections; these sprags are longer than the gap between the inner and outer section, and when the engine is driving the inner shaft, the sprags try to ‘rock over’, and in doing so, they become wedged between the inner section and the outer section, forcing the outer section to rotate. If the engine fails, the outer section moves freely past the angled sprags to disengage the drive between the engine and the gearbox.

Because the freewheel disengages the engine from the rotor whenever the engine RPM drops below the equivalent R/RPM, an engine fitted to a helicopter will stop if there’s a temporary interruption to the operation, such as carburettor ice or leaning the mixture too far. Some helicopters are fitted with automatic mixture controls to alleviate the pilot of this responsibility, other manufacturers accept that the mixture strength will increase as the helicopter climbs, but as these types rarely operate above 4,000’, this isn’t a significant issue. If the same engine was fitted to an aeroplane, the aerodynamic loads on the propeller in forward flight, would keep the engine turning and, as long as the interruption clears, the engine would re-start itself.

The freewheel is checked before each flight by closing the throttle during the pre-flight engine run and noting that the engine RPM drops to idle immediately and the Rotor RPM drops at a slower rate (the needles have split).

1.2.8 - MAIN GEARBOX

A helicopter main rotor must operate at a much lower RPM than the engine. The main gearbox (also referred to as the MGB or main transmission) reduces the relatively high RPM of the engine down to the relatively low RPM of the main rotor. In some cases it also changes the direction of the drive from horizontal to vertical.

Helicopter gearboxes are designed to operate safely up to a maximum torque setting, and as the helicopter operates at a constant rotor RPM, torque (Tq) or manifold pressure (MP) can be taken to be a power limitation. This limitation, along with the ability of the main rotor, tail rotor, and tail rotor drive system to absorb power determines the take-off and maximum continuous power limitations of the engine, either fully rated or de-rated.

A main gearbox seizure would be one of the most frightening of all ‘controllable’ component failures, and some early transmissions had a ‘shear’ section incorporated to cater for this eventuality. This consisted of either a ‘waisted’ diameter in the main drive shaft (below the thrust bearing of course) or ‘shear bolts’.

These practices are no longer in use as modern transmissions are ‘run dry’ tested during certification to ensure they’re capable of continuing to operate safely for some time (usually 15 minutes) after the loss of oil pressure. This is fine as long as the loss of oil pressure wasn’t caused by a major failure within the gearbox.

In the Bell 47 and Hiller 12 series helicopters, the main gearbox is bolted directly to the top of the engine, and is lubricated by the engine lubrication system.

If you have a loss of transmission oil pressure, an unusual ‘growling’ noise, or a chip light on, land as soon as it’s safe to do so, and investigate. If there’s nowhere to land (you’re over water, or a forest with no clearings, etc) think about what the transmission does, and what a lack of lubrication would do to it.

Without lubrication, the condition of the gears that transmit the power would deteriorate rapidly, and the gearbox would absorb a lot more power within itself. If you had a gearbox oil pressure and oil temperature gauge, they would show an increase in temperature and a decrease in pressure as the gears got hotter and passed this heat off into the oil (as long as there was sufficient oil left in the gearbox to transmit this heat to the temperature sensor).

If I was in this situation with no oil pressure, or some other sign of a possible gearbox problem, and I had nowhere to land, I would descend to a low height (15-20’ AGL) and adopt normal cruise power (after making the appropriate radio calls of course).

I would then take very careful note of the R/RPM and airspeed for a given power setting, along with the gearbox oil pressure and oil temperature (if fitted). If these parameters remained constant, I would be reasonably confident that the gearbox wasn’t about to seize.

However, if the oil temperature continued to rise and/or the oil pressure continued to drop; or if I had to consistently use more and more power to maintain the same R/RPM at the same airspeed (remember the effect of airspeed on power), I would make a forced landing while I still had enough R/RPM to control the helicopter.

1.2.9 - MAST BEARING

The main rotor thrust bearing (mast bearing) is attached to the mast by its inner race, and when the mast assembly is fitted into the top of the main gearbox (MGB), the outer race of the bearing is secured to the gearbox casing.

The entire weight of the fuselage is suspended underneath the main rotor by this bearing, therefore the drag within the bearing is always applying a turning force in the same direction as the main rotor (trying to drag the outer race around with it), regardless of whether the helicopter’s in powered flight or in autorotation.

In powered flight, the more pitch that’s applied to the main rotor, the more it resists turning, and therefore the more power it takes to drive it at the same RPM. This means the mast, which is being driven at the bottom and resisting turning at the top, twists in proportion to the power applied. Some large prop-jet engines measure the amount of twist and display it as propeller torque.

This resistance to turning is transferred through the mast to the gears within the MGB, and as the MGB is attached to the fuselage, this turning force is transmitted through to the fuselage, overcoming the bearing drag and causing the nose to turn right (in the opposite direction to the main rotor).

In autorotation, the only power being transmitted through the mast is that required to overcome the friction of the gears within the MGB, plus the power required to drive the tail rotor and the ancillaries that are driven by the MGB. Therefore, the amount of torque being transmitted through the mast in this situation (let’s call it gearbox torque) is far less than in powered flight, and being in the opposite direction, it assists the bearing drag in turning the nose of the helicopter to the left (in the same direction as the main rotor). In any form of stabilised flight (powered or autorotative), the TRT must be equal to the weight of the helicopter; if it wasn’t, the ROD or ROC would have to be either increasing or decreasing.

Bearing drag within the main rotor thrust bearing occurs because the main rotor is pulling up on the inner race of the bearing (which rotates with the mast), and the weight of the helicopter is pulling down on the outer race (which is held stationary within the MGB casing). The balls between these two races are carrying the load as they spin within individual pockets of the brass bearing cage (which prevent the balls touching each other).

The friction within the bearing can’t be eliminated completely, and increases with an increase in load. This could be either more TRT (an upward force on the rotating inner race), or a positive ‘G’ manoeuvre, which increases the effective weight of the helicopter (a downward force on the stationary outer race). Either of these scenarios increase the load the balls are carrying, which causes the stationary race to be dragged around further in the same direction as the main rotor, regardless of whether the helicopter is under power or not.

When the helicopter is under power, this amount of bearing drag is insignificant in relation to the rotor torque acting in the opposite direction, but in autorotation it assists the gearbox torque in turning the nose of the helicopter to the left. When the collective is raised to cushion an engine-off landing, the TRT increases, which increases the drag on the main rotor thrust bearing, turning the helicopter further to the left, requiring more right pedal during the cushioning pitch pull for landing.

1.2.10 - ROTOR BRAKE

Helicopters are often fitted with a rotor brake to slow the rotor down after the engine has been shut down, or in some cases, when the clutch disengaged. When the brake is applied, it should be applied fully until the rotor has almost stopped to ensure the brake pads don’t glaze.

The rotor brake is usually in the form of a disk brake similar to that fitted to a motor car, and on most light helicopters, the disk is attached to the MGB output shaft prior to its connection to the tail rotor drive shaft.

In some twin turbine engined helicopters, one engine is started with the rotor brake engaged, and then the engine RPM is increased and the rotor brake released to ensure a relatively rapid acceleration of R/RPM.

Rotor brakes usually have a maximum R/RPM for application of the brake.

1.2.11 - TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT

This is a long shaft that’s either segmented, with each section secured to the tail boom by bearings and joined to each other with a flexible coupling (Bell 206), or it’s a single piece shaft that usually has a ‘damper’ near the middle of the shaft to minimise flexing of the shaft (H300, R22 & R44).

In either case, the shaft must be able to transmit the drive to the tail rotor gearbox as the tailboom flexes from side to side with variations in tail rotor thrust.

In many cases, the caution band on the rotor tacho (that yellow band you must avoid operating in) is to prevent a harmonic vibration from ‘whipping’ the tail rotor drive shaft.

The yellow band on the R22 indicates a range of RPM where the harmonic vibrations that are caused by a resonance between the main rotor RPM and the tail rotor RPM can cause a number of problems, including cracks in the upper steel frame, cracking of the vertical stabiliser, working rivets, and oscillation of the tail rotor drive shaft.

Helicopter components are always designed to ensure that the harmonic vibrations (which are always present in a rotating object) don’t occur at operating RPM.

The tail rotor driveshaft is under a considerable load if the pitch of the tail rotor is increased rapidly, and a rapid increase in the pitch angle of a main or tail rotor blade (or an aeroplane wing) can increase the drag considerably until the induced flow has time to increase, which would take around 1/10 of a second. If the angle is rapidly increased beyond the stall angle, the lift can continue to increase until the boundary layer is able to separate, at which time the blade will stall. In the intervening period, the increase in lift and drag can be extreme.

In the case of a tail rotor, the increased drag from a rapid increase in pitch angle can exceed the load the tail rotor drive shaft is designed for, and in extreme cases, cause the drive shaft to fail. To ensure this doesn’t occur, some larger helicopters have either a spring resistance in the tail rotor control run to limit the rate at which the pilot can move the pedals, or they have a time limit on hovering turns.

1.2.12 - TAIL ROTOR GEARBOX

This is a right angle gearbox that, in some cases, also changes the speed of the output shaft.

In some cases it’s a reduction gearbox (output RPM less than input RPM) and in some cases it’s a speed-increasing gearbox.

Helicopters that have the tail rotor mounted on top of the vertical fin to bring it up to the same plane as the main rotor have an intermediate gearbox at the base of the fin to change the direction of the tail rotor drive shaft from running along the tail boom to that of a separate shaft angling up the leading edge of the vertical fin.

1.2.13 - CHIP PLUGS

These plugs are sometimes fitted in the lubrication system of engines, main gearboxes, tail rotor gearboxes and/or freewheel units, to magnetically attract any steel particles suspended in the oil system.

Some plugs are wired up to a warning light in the cockpit. In these cases, if the build-up of small particles, or one larger particle, bridges the gap between the inner and outer sections of the plug, an earth path is created, and a warning light in the cockpit illuminates.

Metal on the plug of a new or newly overhauled component isn’t unusual. If a chip light comes on, land, remove the plug, and inspect it. If metal is found on the plug, you should refer to an engineer who will advise you of the limits on the size and number of metal particles allowed in the helicopter’s Maintenance Manual.

If it has fuzz on it, or one or two small slivers of metal clinging to it, the normal procedure is to clean the plug and re-install it. If it has a larger chip of metal on it, don’t continue the flight.

In many instances, when the chip light illuminates it’s a false alarm, but don’t take it for granted as a tail rotor failure isn’t something to be taken lightly.

Some helicopters have a fuzz-burner system, where, by pressing a button in the cockpit, a high current is passed through the system. If it was only fuzz that caused the light to illuminate, the current will melt the fuzz and the light will go out, but the current generated isn’t sufficient to melt a larger sliver or chip of metal. This reduces the number of false alarms, thus eliminating the need to land for what would turn out to be a false alarm.

In many instances when the ‘chip light’ illuminates, it’s a false alarm but don’t take it for granted.

In my time I’ve cleaned dozens of plugs and kept flying, but I had one instance where, luckily, I didn’t.

I was flying a cross-hired Hughes 500 for the Victoria Police and, at about 200’ on take-off, the tail rotor chip light illuminated. I landed, removed the plug and found a large chip of metal on it. I then rang the owner who wanted me to fly it back to his base (some 30 minutes away and over built up areas) where they would replace the gearbox.

I refused and, much to his disgust, they had to send over a replacement tail rotor