Autorotation
Autorotation is the state of flight where the main rotor system of a helicopter is being turned by the action of air moving up through the rotor rather than engine or electric motor power driving the rotor.
In normal, powered flight, air is drawn into the main rotor system from above and exhausted downward, but during autorotation, air moves up into the rotor system from below as the helicopter descends. In a model helicopter, autorotation is permitted mechanically because of a one-way bearing which allows the main rotor to continue turning even if the motor or engine is not running; it is often used in landing manuevers. In full-scale operation, it is the means by which a helicopter can be landed safely in the event of complete engine failure.
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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original article was at Autorotation. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with EFlightWiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License. |
External links
- Popular explanation of autorotation written by Paul Cantrell.
- Pilot's 'exceptional flying' saves $540,000 helicopter - The New Zealand Herald, Monday 18 February 2008
