WEBVTT - How Helicopters Work 0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:02.840 Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera. 0:00:03.160 --> 0:00:08.799 It's ready. Are you get in touch with technology? With 0:00:09.000 --> 0:00:17.960 tech Stuff from how stuff dot com. Hello, everyone, welcome 0:00:18.040 --> 0:00:20.320 to tech stuff. My name is Chris Poulette, and I'm 0:00:20.320 --> 0:00:24.160 an editor at how stuff works dot com. Sitting sitting 0:00:24.200 --> 0:00:27.720 to my right as unusual as senior writer Jonathan Strickland. 0:00:27.920 --> 0:00:31.440 The Nelly a cruising y'all swung to her anchor without 0:00:31.480 --> 0:00:36.400 a flutter of the sales and was at rest. Okay, yeah, 0:00:36.720 --> 0:00:39.640 so um, First of all, if you are wondering why 0:00:39.720 --> 0:00:42.760 I am to Chris's right as opposed to across from him, 0:00:42.800 --> 0:00:46.880 it's because we have an interesting setup for a different 0:00:47.000 --> 0:00:50.760 kind of podcast which may or may not happen. So 0:00:50.920 --> 0:00:53.800 if if it sounds like this podcast is disjointed, as 0:00:53.800 --> 0:00:56.440 if we had started one, stopped it, and then picked 0:00:56.480 --> 0:01:01.240 it up later, that's why that's I think that's an mystery. Right, Sure, 0:01:01.280 --> 0:01:04.160 why not? So let's talk about what we're actually covering today, 0:01:04.200 --> 0:01:06.760 because has nothing to do with that. No, no, and 0:01:06.880 --> 0:01:09.320 I think we should stop hovering around the topic. We 0:01:09.440 --> 0:01:13.800 gotta get through the chop. Yeah, we're gonna talk about 0:01:13.920 --> 0:01:16.880 helicopters today. Yes, and it's kind of surprising that we 0:01:16.920 --> 0:01:19.000 haven't talked about it before. Yeah. Well, when you start 0:01:19.040 --> 0:01:23.319 looking into what is involved in making a helicopter work, 0:01:23.480 --> 0:01:26.560 I can see exactly why we haven't done it before. Well, 0:01:26.600 --> 0:01:28.920 you know, the helicopter business does have it have its 0:01:29.000 --> 0:01:31.240 ups and down. Yeah. Nice, I like how you did that. 0:01:31.640 --> 0:01:35.679 Um yeah, So so let's talk about helicopters. So, I'm 0:01:35.720 --> 0:01:38.399 sure all of you are familiar with the concept of 0:01:38.440 --> 0:01:42.600 a helicopter, But when did these things? How did how 0:01:42.600 --> 0:01:44.480 did we come up with this idea? When did this 0:01:44.600 --> 0:01:49.880 originally spring to mind? Okay, well, uh, you know, it 0:01:50.640 --> 0:01:53.080 is something that has been on my mind since I 0:01:53.160 --> 0:01:56.880 was a kid. I've always loved helicopters. So the other day, 0:01:57.240 --> 0:01:59.440 Jonathan sent me a video that I couldn't watch because 0:01:59.480 --> 0:02:02.800 my current bandwidth was too low on my internet connection, 0:02:02.840 --> 0:02:05.240 and it took me two days to actually watch it. 0:02:05.280 --> 0:02:10.200 But it was a video of some very tiny quadricopters. Yeah. 0:02:10.200 --> 0:02:13.600 They were called nano quadricopters in the video itself, although 0:02:13.639 --> 0:02:17.080 that is a misnomer since nano typically means one billion 0:02:17.880 --> 0:02:20.919 and they were not that small. The fact they fit 0:02:21.000 --> 0:02:22.799 on the palm of someone's hand. Yeah, they're about the 0:02:22.800 --> 0:02:25.360 size of the palm of your hand. And uh, I 0:02:25.400 --> 0:02:29.400 was thinking about how, uh, how unusual the quadricopter is 0:02:29.440 --> 0:02:32.079 because it doesn't have a tail rotor like a traditional 0:02:32.080 --> 0:02:37.320 helicopter does. Um. Yeah, they're very very maneuverable. Um and uh. 0:02:37.320 --> 0:02:39.000 And I thought, you know, hey, Jonathan, why don't we 0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:41.960 talk about helicopters because we never really talked about them before. 0:02:42.040 --> 0:02:44.560 So right, So that's how it came to mind. Yeah, 0:02:44.600 --> 0:02:46.480 that's how it came to mind. Now, how how the 0:02:46.560 --> 0:02:49.640 idea of a helicopter actually came to mind for human 0:02:49.680 --> 0:02:54.800 beings in general? That dates back pretty far in human history, 0:02:55.240 --> 0:02:58.600 and it all begins with a toy. Yeah, you know, 0:02:58.639 --> 0:03:01.800 and I think just about everybody who's gone to their 0:03:01.840 --> 0:03:04.160 school fair or whatever is one one of these little 0:03:04.280 --> 0:03:08.320 you know, uh stick with a propeller on it, and 0:03:08.440 --> 0:03:09.800 you spin it in the palm of your hand and 0:03:09.880 --> 0:03:14.160 let go and it then crash down to the earth. 0:03:14.400 --> 0:03:17.119 But they weren't always made from plastic, no, No, they were. 0:03:17.400 --> 0:03:22.440 The Chinese had a little top that they used where 0:03:22.639 --> 0:03:26.000 the top was had feathers on it, yes, and it 0:03:26.080 --> 0:03:27.880 did the same sort of thing you would put. They 0:03:28.120 --> 0:03:30.079 put the stick between your hands, the feathers will be 0:03:30.120 --> 0:03:32.320 at the top. You spin the stick very quickly. The 0:03:32.360 --> 0:03:34.920 feathers would spin and it would create some lift and 0:03:35.000 --> 0:03:36.600 the stick would fly up in the air and then 0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:40.560 come back down. Pretty simple, yep. And as it turns 0:03:40.600 --> 0:03:44.000 out to the concept is is pretty simple. Basically, you're 0:03:44.040 --> 0:03:48.200 you're creating an air foil. Yes, Um that instead of 0:03:48.440 --> 0:03:52.680 like an airplane wing where you're going forward, Um, it's 0:03:52.720 --> 0:03:56.240 going straight up simply because um, the the air that 0:03:56.240 --> 0:03:58.800 that moves over the air foil, it creates lift is 0:03:58.880 --> 0:04:03.720 taking it, uh right up. So I guess to to 0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:06.800 really kind of discuss this, we should probably talk about 0:04:06.840 --> 0:04:09.400 a little bit about the parts of a helicopter, so 0:04:09.440 --> 0:04:13.600 that way we can explain what these these parts actually 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:17.680 do and how they achieve flight. So the blades that 0:04:17.720 --> 0:04:21.760 we talk about, that's a rotor, right, So the rotors 0:04:21.839 --> 0:04:25.159 are affixed to a rotor mast. That's the part that 0:04:25.200 --> 0:04:29.160 actually creates the the turning motion that makes the blades 0:04:29.200 --> 0:04:32.120 go round in a circle. And the blades themselves are 0:04:32.160 --> 0:04:36.279 angled and they can that angle can change depending upon 0:04:36.320 --> 0:04:39.560 a control. Um there are different control rods that can 0:04:39.680 --> 0:04:44.480 change the the um the attitude of those blades so 0:04:44.600 --> 0:04:47.920 you have, uh, two of them. Actually, there's the cyclic controller, 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:51.440 which can control them individually. Yes, that's also known as 0:04:51.480 --> 0:04:54.359 the stick, right, Yeah, that's the that's the stick. And 0:04:54.360 --> 0:04:56.920 then there's a was it the collective one, right, yes, 0:04:57.279 --> 0:05:00.000 the collective pitch lever. What that does is it actually 0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:04.000 it changes the attitude of all of the rotors, the 0:05:04.040 --> 0:05:07.599 main rotors at the same time. Um and that. Both 0:05:07.640 --> 0:05:10.360 of those are important for various maneuvers with the helicopter. 0:05:10.400 --> 0:05:12.599 But we'll get into that in a second. There's also 0:05:13.080 --> 0:05:16.839 with the rotors, there's a stabilizer. Because you've got these 0:05:16.920 --> 0:05:21.239 long air foils that are extending out from a shaft, 0:05:21.279 --> 0:05:23.560 and they're turning around and around. There's a chance that 0:05:23.560 --> 0:05:25.600 they're gonna start, you know, flopping around a little bit, 0:05:25.680 --> 0:05:28.920 causing some issues, you know. So the stabilizer is there 0:05:28.960 --> 0:05:32.479 to help add some rigidity there so that these blades 0:05:32.560 --> 0:05:36.400 will will maintain the right shape so that you can fly. 0:05:37.240 --> 0:05:39.560 It's kind of funny too, because apparently it was just 0:05:39.600 --> 0:05:42.480 one of those things that someone added to the helicopter 0:05:42.839 --> 0:05:46.400 um uh and uh as As it turns out, it 0:05:46.400 --> 0:05:49.680 it made a major improvement in the stability and and 0:05:49.720 --> 0:05:53.480 flyability of helicopters. Yeah, the early helicopters when they were flying, 0:05:53.600 --> 0:05:57.160 it was a pretty bumpy ride, and it was definitely 0:05:57.200 --> 0:05:59.840 a challenge for a pilot to maintain control because it 0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:04.080 just you know, without that stabilizer, it just like you 0:06:04.080 --> 0:06:07.480 were saying, it just wasn't as fliable. So it was 0:06:08.200 --> 0:06:11.000 definitely a good addition to the parts of a helicopter. 0:06:11.640 --> 0:06:16.320 There's a there's a there's two plates that are on 0:06:16.480 --> 0:06:20.839 the rotor mast, all right, that that also are a 0:06:20.880 --> 0:06:24.719 big part of the helicopter. It's called the upper swash 0:06:24.880 --> 0:06:29.240 plate and the lower swash plate. And despite what you 0:06:29.320 --> 0:06:34.719 might think, they are not joined by a swash buckle. Instead, 0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:38.039 if you imagine that, they imagine two plates to two 0:06:38.160 --> 0:06:42.520 round plates, right, and they're both they both have the 0:06:42.520 --> 0:06:46.039 The shaft of the motor of the rotor rather goes 0:06:46.080 --> 0:06:49.880 straight through these two plates. The lower plate is stationary, 0:06:49.920 --> 0:06:53.200 it does not turn. On top of the lower plate 0:06:53.320 --> 0:06:56.000 are ball bearings. And then on top of the ball 0:06:56.040 --> 0:06:59.120 bearings is the upper swash plate, which does turn. The 0:06:59.160 --> 0:07:02.000 ball bearings are wattle allow it to turn over. The 0:07:02.040 --> 0:07:05.359 lower swashplate. Now the swashplate. The reason that's important is 0:07:05.600 --> 0:07:08.880 remember when I was talking about the collective the collective 0:07:08.880 --> 0:07:12.000 control that changes the attitude of all the blades at 0:07:12.000 --> 0:07:14.840 the same time. Yes, that what that actually does is 0:07:14.880 --> 0:07:19.160 it allows that plate to tilt either forward or backward, 0:07:19.320 --> 0:07:21.880 or however you need it to, so that you can 0:07:21.920 --> 0:07:25.760 make the helicopter veer in the direction you want it 0:07:25.800 --> 0:07:29.120 to go. Yeah, because really, up until this point, what 0:07:29.160 --> 0:07:31.160 we were doing was going up and down. We weren't 0:07:31.240 --> 0:07:35.000 going left or right or over that way or back 0:07:35.080 --> 0:07:38.080 this way. Because if you try, if you have one 0:07:38.120 --> 0:07:39.960 of those toys that we were talking about before, with 0:07:40.000 --> 0:07:43.160 the blade on the stick, you point it straight up 0:07:43.160 --> 0:07:45.240 and it goes straight up, and then it'll drift off 0:07:45.280 --> 0:07:46.840 a little bit to the side, but you don't really 0:07:46.840 --> 0:07:49.880 control that. If you pointed it, you know at your friend, 0:07:49.920 --> 0:07:53.120 it's going to go in his or her direction. And 0:07:53.160 --> 0:07:57.280 that's what the swashplates allow the pilot of the helicopter 0:07:57.320 --> 0:07:59.440 to do it. It helps tilt the blades and and 0:07:59.560 --> 0:08:02.600 the Hello copter starts flying in that direction. Yes, because 0:08:03.040 --> 0:08:05.760 it adds it adds a second element. Right, you first 0:08:05.800 --> 0:08:08.440 have the first element you have is lift. The second 0:08:08.440 --> 0:08:11.640 element you would have is thrust. So when you start 0:08:11.680 --> 0:08:14.480 to change the attitude of the blades. You have both 0:08:14.560 --> 0:08:16.640 lift and thrust. Now, there is a point where if 0:08:16.680 --> 0:08:20.400 you were to tilt that beyond a certain threshold, you 0:08:20.440 --> 0:08:25.080 would no longer have enough lift to counteract the weight 0:08:25.280 --> 0:08:28.360 of the helicopter itself, and it would start to lose altitude. 0:08:28.400 --> 0:08:30.320 It might be moving forward, but it's going to be 0:08:30.400 --> 0:08:34.240 going lower and lower until you correct that. And that's 0:08:34.240 --> 0:08:37.640 one of the reasons why, uh, piloting a helicopter is 0:08:37.679 --> 0:08:40.760 so challenging. In fact, when we get into the different controls, 0:08:40.800 --> 0:08:42.960 you'll find out you're using both your legs and both 0:08:43.000 --> 0:08:46.120 your arms to try and maneuver a helicopter, and so 0:08:46.160 --> 0:08:48.880 it takes a lot of concentration. Yeah. That's also why 0:08:48.880 --> 0:08:51.559 you don't see a lot of people flying helicopters and 0:08:51.640 --> 0:08:57.800 loop to loops. Yeah, that's use their air wolf right. Yeah, 0:08:57.800 --> 0:08:59.640 But then no, that is true because once you get 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:02.160 beyond that certain threshold, you no longer have the lift 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:04.800 necessary to keep you in the air. Uh. Yeah. And 0:09:04.800 --> 0:09:08.720 these blades are connected to that rotor mast through blade grips, 0:09:08.800 --> 0:09:11.880 that's the technical term for where the blades fit into 0:09:11.920 --> 0:09:14.160 this rotor mast and on the very top of the 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:18.280 rotor mast, you have something that's that's got an interesting name. Yes, 0:09:18.440 --> 0:09:21.400 the Jesus Nut. Yes, it really is called that. It's 0:09:21.400 --> 0:09:24.920 called the Jesus nut. And uh, there are various theories 0:09:24.960 --> 0:09:27.000 as to why it's called that, and I don't know 0:09:27.040 --> 0:09:28.760 what any of I don't know the truth of any 0:09:28.760 --> 0:09:31.000 of them. Yes, the one that we have an article 0:09:31.040 --> 0:09:33.160 on the site. Yes, it's a it's a really good 0:09:33.200 --> 0:09:36.520 article too, with lots of really helpful illustrations. So if 0:09:36.559 --> 0:09:38.880 you are interested in helicopters and you really want to 0:09:38.920 --> 0:09:40.959 get a look at what these different parts look like, 0:09:41.400 --> 0:09:44.160 I highly recommend you check it out because it's it's 0:09:44.200 --> 0:09:47.000 one of the more exhaustive articles on the side. I 0:09:47.000 --> 0:09:48.920 would say, yeah, I would. I would agree with that, 0:09:49.040 --> 0:09:53.120 and very very illustrative what you're doing here when you're 0:09:53.120 --> 0:09:57.520 flying a helicopter. Um. So yeah, we were talking about 0:09:57.559 --> 0:10:00.480 the tail roter just a moment ago. Yes, UM, very 0:10:00.520 --> 0:10:03.720 important in the in the design of a helicopter. So 0:10:03.760 --> 0:10:06.800 here's another thing about helicopters. You've got this blade turning 0:10:06.800 --> 0:10:08.880 around and around, this creating lift, and when the lift 0:10:08.920 --> 0:10:11.960 gets strong enough to counteract the weight of the helicopter 0:10:12.040 --> 0:10:15.640 is going to rise in the air without a tail rotor. Yeah, 0:10:15.679 --> 0:10:17.920 if you've ever wondered why that's there. Yeah, Without a 0:10:17.960 --> 0:10:21.480 tail rotor, which is that little, that little smaller propeller 0:10:21.520 --> 0:10:24.199 that's on the end of the tail of a helicopter. 0:10:24.600 --> 0:10:27.760 Without it, the body of the helicopter itself would start 0:10:27.800 --> 0:10:30.920 to spin in a direction opposite that of the rotors. 0:10:31.360 --> 0:10:34.640 So if the rotors are spinning in a clockwise direction, 0:10:34.720 --> 0:10:36.720 then the helicopter will start to spin in a wider 0:10:36.800 --> 0:10:40.720 Shan's direction. You just want, yes, I did so badly 0:10:41.120 --> 0:10:45.839 counterclockwise For those of you who do not speak archaic English, Hey, 0:10:45.840 --> 0:10:48.680 where are my Shakespeare home? He's at? So anyway, yes, 0:10:48.720 --> 0:10:52.600 the the helicopter would spin. Without any other other force 0:10:52.679 --> 0:10:55.000 to counteract this, the helicopter would start to spin in 0:10:55.000 --> 0:10:58.680 the opposite direction, which would probably be an unpleasant experience 0:10:58.720 --> 0:11:03.600 for anyone inside that helicopter. Yes, yeah, so the rotor 0:11:03.679 --> 0:11:06.280 What that does is it helps to create thrust to 0:11:06.440 --> 0:11:10.320 counteract the spinning motion so that the helicopter stays stationary. 0:11:10.440 --> 0:11:13.280 And by controlling the speed of that rotor, you can 0:11:13.320 --> 0:11:16.760 actually turn the helicopter to the left or to the right, 0:11:17.120 --> 0:11:20.120 not banking it. But actually, if you're if you're hovering 0:11:20.160 --> 0:11:22.880 in place, you can change the speed that that rotor 0:11:23.200 --> 0:11:26.760 turns and then turn your helicopter so it's facing an 0:11:26.800 --> 0:11:29.319 opposite direction. So if it started facing north, you can 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:32.600 maybe face west, that kind of thing. And of course, 0:11:33.120 --> 0:11:37.559 for for this, we have a guy named Igor to 0:11:37.720 --> 0:11:41.080 thank for that. Yes, Igor did a great job. Of 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:46.160 all the people who experimented with the idea of being 0:11:46.200 --> 0:11:49.400 able to levitate a person, I mean there were there 0:11:49.400 --> 0:11:53.079 were many, including a our our friend Leo, Yeah, Leonardo 0:11:53.160 --> 0:11:56.560 da Vinci. Ye. He tried to create something that he 0:11:56.600 --> 0:11:59.240 called the air screw, which was a screw shape, and 0:11:59.280 --> 0:12:03.320 the idea was that with four people powering this man powered, 0:12:03.600 --> 0:12:06.720 of course back in Leo's day, that if you were 0:12:06.760 --> 0:12:09.160 able to turn this air screw fast enough, it would 0:12:09.160 --> 0:12:11.880 be able to create enough lift to lift the machine 0:12:11.920 --> 0:12:15.160 off the ground. Now, he never got this to work, 0:12:15.679 --> 0:12:18.160 but it was sort of the basis of the idea 0:12:18.160 --> 0:12:21.440 of what would eventually become a helicopter, although it changed 0:12:21.559 --> 0:12:26.040 dramatically by the time the helicopter actually appeared. Yep. Now, 0:12:26.320 --> 0:12:30.520 Igor Sikorsky, if you've spent any time at all paying 0:12:30.520 --> 0:12:32.360 attention to helicopters, that name is going to be very 0:12:32.360 --> 0:12:36.200 familiar to you, Um was a Russian who experimented with 0:12:36.240 --> 0:12:38.800 the idea of helicopters and then kind of moved away 0:12:38.840 --> 0:12:41.760 to get into other types of airplane flight and then 0:12:42.000 --> 0:12:43.920 sort of came back to it later on. Yeah, his 0:12:44.040 --> 0:12:47.760 early attempts were not met with very much success, so 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:51.040 he decided, hey, you know what, let's just put this 0:12:51.080 --> 0:12:52.880 on the back burner and look at something that I 0:12:52.920 --> 0:12:57.119 know will work. And then eventually, once he felt more confident, 0:12:57.559 --> 0:13:00.840 he revisited this idea of the helicopter. Yeah, back in 0:13:00.920 --> 0:13:03.840 the around the nineteen thirties, I think is when when 0:13:03.840 --> 0:13:05.720 he started really having some luck with it, and he 0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:08.840 realized that he was going to need something to prevent 0:13:08.920 --> 0:13:12.760 the helicopter body from spinning like that without any kind 0:13:12.760 --> 0:13:15.439 of force. So he decided to mount a tail roader 0:13:16.000 --> 0:13:20.240 on his helicopter too. And basically it's it's creating force 0:13:20.640 --> 0:13:23.360 in a sideways manner that that is resisting the force 0:13:24.080 --> 0:13:29.040 that that would naturally cause the helicopter to turn. So Um, 0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:32.320 you know, hats off to Igor And that was a 0:13:32.440 --> 0:13:35.480 brilliant idea. It was the nineteen thirty nine when he 0:13:36.080 --> 0:13:40.160 created the VS three hundred, which was based off these 0:13:40.160 --> 0:13:42.920 early designs and it actually worked. It lifted him up 0:13:42.920 --> 0:13:45.319 into the air. It was a bit of a bumpy ride. 0:13:45.679 --> 0:13:48.400 But then he ended up trying to uh, you know, 0:13:48.440 --> 0:13:52.040 he refined the design of it and then um actually 0:13:52.600 --> 0:13:57.000 had broke a record. On May six ninety one, he 0:13:57.120 --> 0:14:01.679 broke the world helicopter endurance record and stayed in the 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:04.240 air for one hour, thirty two minutes and twenty six 0:14:04.280 --> 0:14:09.520 point one seconds. And yeah, that's that's pretty impressive. I mean, 0:14:10.559 --> 0:14:13.040 for for an invention that people had played with for 0:14:13.200 --> 0:14:16.000 centuries really but no one had really cracked it. It 0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:18.840 was a big jump. And speaking of jumps, we should 0:14:18.840 --> 0:14:22.000 say that between the time of the the top toy 0:14:22.120 --> 0:14:25.160 that was invented in ancient China and the time that 0:14:25.600 --> 0:14:30.440 Sikorski created the first working helicopter, there were a lot 0:14:30.440 --> 0:14:33.320 of other people who were involved in trying to make 0:14:33.360 --> 0:14:38.600 this work, and some of their contributions led into Sikorski's work. Yes, 0:14:39.160 --> 0:14:41.320 but a lot of these early inventions that were created 0:14:41.920 --> 0:14:45.760 we call them hoppers because they could they could lift 0:14:45.800 --> 0:14:49.200 off the ground briefly, but they couldn't really sustain flight 0:14:49.240 --> 0:14:51.280 for any length of time, and they didn't really have 0:14:51.320 --> 0:14:54.240 any way of changing the direction of that flight. It 0:14:54.320 --> 0:14:57.040 just would go up and down. I mean, apart from 0:14:57.120 --> 0:14:59.480 being pushed around by whatever wind happened to be in 0:14:59.480 --> 0:15:03.800 the area. Yeah, being pushed around by wind, that's not 0:15:03.840 --> 0:15:07.000 a problem. But then so he breaks the record. It 0:15:07.000 --> 0:15:09.080 turns out that, you know, the helicopters would become really 0:15:09.120 --> 0:15:15.040 important in warfare. That actually became a very uh well, 0:15:15.200 --> 0:15:18.840 the United States in particular really dependent upon helicopters in 0:15:19.200 --> 0:15:25.040 conflicts in Korea and Vietnam. Heysh yeah, yeah, it starts 0:15:25.040 --> 0:15:28.800 off with one yes through early morning fog I see, 0:15:30.000 --> 0:15:35.160 uh yeah, And this was this was a pretty interesting development. 0:15:35.200 --> 0:15:38.880 I mean, you see a lot of of the experimental 0:15:38.920 --> 0:15:44.640 aircraft from the era just became oddities. Yes, yes, which 0:15:44.960 --> 0:15:47.680 you can still find autogenres. And we should explain what 0:15:47.680 --> 0:15:50.600 the difference between an autogyro and a helicopter is. So 0:15:50.640 --> 0:15:53.560 with a helicopter, those rotors were talking about, those are 0:15:53.600 --> 0:15:57.360 powered that that rotor mast turns under power. There's an 0:15:57.400 --> 0:16:00.800 engine and a transmission. The engine provides powered transmission converts 0:16:00.800 --> 0:16:03.640 it over into the mechanical energy that the rotors need 0:16:03.680 --> 0:16:08.440 in order to turn, and that is what makes the 0:16:08.440 --> 0:16:12.200 the blades turn fast enough to create the lift. Autogyros 0:16:12.280 --> 0:16:17.920 have unpowered rotors, so there is a there there is 0:16:17.920 --> 0:16:20.320 a set of rotors on top of an autogyro, so 0:16:20.400 --> 0:16:23.480 in a way it kind of resembles like a miniature helicopter. 0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:26.360 But then there's a propeller that's either in the front 0:16:26.480 --> 0:16:28.880 or the back of the autogyro. It all depends on 0:16:28.920 --> 0:16:32.440 the design of a specific autogyro, which what that's what 0:16:32.600 --> 0:16:36.920 provides thrust, and what happens is it generates an air 0:16:37.000 --> 0:16:40.360 flow that is directed up at the rotors that are 0:16:40.400 --> 0:16:44.440 above the autogyro, and that that upward flowing amount of 0:16:44.440 --> 0:16:47.600 air is what makes the blades start to turn. And 0:16:47.640 --> 0:16:50.920 you just keep increasing the air flow, which again makes 0:16:51.440 --> 0:16:55.120 the blades turn faster until that helps counteract the weight 0:16:55.240 --> 0:16:57.760 of the autogyro, and that's what allows the autogyro to fly. 0:16:58.120 --> 0:17:01.440 But there's no motor turning those blades. It's all just 0:17:01.560 --> 0:17:04.560 from the flow of air. Yeah. As a matter of fact, 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:08.879 some now some of the more modern helicopters also have 0:17:08.960 --> 0:17:12.040 a second engine which can help you know, of course 0:17:12.160 --> 0:17:16.040 if in the case of the first engine and going out, um, 0:17:16.080 --> 0:17:19.399 but you know, there there's some redundancy there, uh, now 0:17:20.080 --> 0:17:23.879 in the more modern helicopters, especially for military helicopters that 0:17:24.040 --> 0:17:27.800 might be affected by enemy fire. Right sure, yeah, if 0:17:27.840 --> 0:17:29.800 you have an engine failure, then you can switch over 0:17:29.800 --> 0:17:34.400 to a second engine and h hopefully prevent catastrophe. So 0:17:34.520 --> 0:17:37.040 let's talk a little bit about the controls that are 0:17:37.080 --> 0:17:39.719 inside a helicopter. Of course, you have lots of different 0:17:40.320 --> 0:17:44.520 um uh dials and indicators that give you information about 0:17:44.520 --> 0:17:49.760 the environment and uh information about your helicopter's performance. Those 0:17:49.800 --> 0:17:53.240 are all there's they're too numerous to name really, but 0:17:53.320 --> 0:17:55.760 the actual controls when we were talking about using both 0:17:55.760 --> 0:17:58.800 your hands and both your feet, well, one hand is 0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:02.040 gonna be on that psych like pitch lever. So this 0:18:02.119 --> 0:18:05.399 is the lever that controls the angle of each of 0:18:05.400 --> 0:18:09.639 the rotor blades individually. And uh this one is used 0:18:09.640 --> 0:18:13.280 mainly to tilt the craft at either side or forward 0:18:13.280 --> 0:18:18.760 and backward. But it's it's done in uh very it's 0:18:18.800 --> 0:18:21.520 not it's it's not the one that changes the swashplate. 0:18:21.760 --> 0:18:24.080 That's the collective pitch lever. So that's you know, that's 0:18:24.119 --> 0:18:26.760 your second one that you're holding with your other hand. Um. 0:18:26.760 --> 0:18:29.640 It's mainly used in things like take off and landing. 0:18:29.960 --> 0:18:32.440 It's used to increase or decrease the pitch of all 0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:36.119 the rotor blades at the same time, and it's mostly 0:18:36.160 --> 0:18:40.760 responsible for up and down movements, not things like forward, backward, left, right. Uh. 0:18:40.800 --> 0:18:43.760 Then you've got your foot pedals and these are what 0:18:43.920 --> 0:18:49.160 control the tail rotor, and so using the the tail rotors, 0:18:49.720 --> 0:18:53.000 this is how you can turn the the helicopter so 0:18:53.080 --> 0:18:56.399 it faces a different direction. You're not banking it, but 0:18:56.440 --> 0:18:58.879 you're turning it um or you're using it just to 0:18:58.960 --> 0:19:02.480 keep it steady. Uh. And and if you're wondering, you know, well, 0:19:02.480 --> 0:19:06.080 what about hovering? Isn't that easy? No, Hovering is actually 0:19:06.160 --> 0:19:10.000 pretty difficult to do because you have to you have 0:19:10.080 --> 0:19:12.919 to get everything in a neutral position, and then you 0:19:12.920 --> 0:19:16.080 have to keep making minor adjustments in order to maintain 0:19:16.200 --> 0:19:18.719 the position that you're in. In fact, pilots will have 0:19:18.800 --> 0:19:23.280 to pick a spot that they can look at and 0:19:23.640 --> 0:19:28.000 try and maintain their attitude and altitude uh by by 0:19:28.080 --> 0:19:33.760 referencing where that spot is and making minor adjustments constantly. Yes, yeah, 0:19:33.960 --> 0:19:38.280 it helps to uh to have um uh an experienced 0:19:38.280 --> 0:19:41.760 pilot on board, just because uh, not only is there 0:19:42.000 --> 0:19:47.320 the matter of looking at the electronic components in the 0:19:47.800 --> 0:19:52.040 craft itself, but to orient him or herself with the 0:19:52.160 --> 0:19:55.960 land around, just to to give a visual representation of 0:19:55.960 --> 0:19:58.000 what's going on. And that's that's one of those things 0:19:58.000 --> 0:20:01.080 that's especially important. UM. But as the wind does blow 0:20:01.280 --> 0:20:04.840 helicopters around, you have to take these things into into 0:20:04.880 --> 0:20:07.600 account and UM one of the best ways to do 0:20:07.640 --> 0:20:10.120 that is to use that visual orientation to make sure 0:20:10.160 --> 0:20:14.920 that you haven't drifted off to some degree. Now, let's 0:20:15.400 --> 0:20:17.919 talk really quickly about what the process is like if 0:20:18.000 --> 0:20:24.200 you are taking off helicopter. So there's several steps. First, 0:20:24.240 --> 0:20:25.639 what you would have to do is you have to 0:20:26.200 --> 0:20:28.879 open up the throttle so that you can speed up 0:20:28.920 --> 0:20:30.920 these rotors so that they start turning out a speed 0:20:30.920 --> 0:20:33.720 fast enough to create the amount of lift you need. UM. 0:20:33.760 --> 0:20:36.200 You do this by actually twisting the handle of one 0:20:36.200 --> 0:20:39.440 of the levers you're holding in your hands and twisting 0:20:39.480 --> 0:20:41.680 it one way opens the throttle and twisting it the 0:20:41.720 --> 0:20:44.480 other way closes the throttle. So that's you know, that's 0:20:44.560 --> 0:20:47.520 essentially like sitting stepping on the accelerator of a of 0:20:47.560 --> 0:20:51.399 an automobile. UM. So the next what you would do, 0:20:52.240 --> 0:20:55.720 once you've got the the rotors moving at the right speed, 0:20:56.080 --> 0:21:00.280 you'd start to pull back on the collective control and 0:21:00.320 --> 0:21:04.680 that's what's going to raise the swashplate assembly, and that's 0:21:04.680 --> 0:21:07.000 going to change the pitch of the rotor blades, and 0:21:07.040 --> 0:21:10.240 then that's what's going to let you direct that lift 0:21:11.440 --> 0:21:13.840 in the right direction so that you can actually get 0:21:13.880 --> 0:21:19.119 off the ground. Then you would start to press down 0:21:19.280 --> 0:21:23.400 on the left foot pedal because you would need to 0:21:23.480 --> 0:21:26.960 get the tail rotor spinning so that you could counteract 0:21:27.080 --> 0:21:29.920 that torque we were talking about the the the tendency 0:21:30.040 --> 0:21:32.679 for the chassis to spend in the opposite direction of 0:21:32.680 --> 0:21:34.960 the rotors. Right as soon as you're lifting off the ground, 0:21:34.960 --> 0:21:37.240 you're going to be it's going to be much easier 0:21:37.280 --> 0:21:39.760 for the rotors to start to spin the body of 0:21:39.800 --> 0:21:42.280 the helicopter, the fuselage. Yes, so if you weren't, if 0:21:42.320 --> 0:21:45.440 you were not making that rotor tail rotor spin, you 0:21:45.440 --> 0:21:48.480 would start to go on a little spinny spinny ride yourself, 0:21:48.520 --> 0:21:53.000 which would most likely end in disaster. So yeah, you 0:21:53.000 --> 0:21:58.720 you then would start to actually add a counteractive thrust 0:21:59.160 --> 0:22:02.960 through the tail road or by pressing down that left pedal. Now, 0:22:02.960 --> 0:22:04.320 if you got to a point where you needed to 0:22:04.400 --> 0:22:06.880 turn or you need to slow that down. You could 0:22:07.640 --> 0:22:10.440 stop pressing down the left pedal and start pressing down 0:22:10.520 --> 0:22:14.119 the right pedal, and that's what would counteract that. UM. 0:22:14.240 --> 0:22:17.600 Then you keep pulling back on that collective control while 0:22:17.680 --> 0:22:20.760 holding down the left foot pedal, and once the correct 0:22:20.800 --> 0:22:24.800 amount of lift is created, your helicopter will leave the 0:22:24.840 --> 0:22:28.880 ground and you'll be flying over the air and delivering 0:22:28.880 --> 0:22:36.880 traffic reports like nobody's business. Yeah it's um, it's pretty interesting. Uh. 0:22:37.040 --> 0:22:40.840 And there's even other challenges to flying a helicopter, right, 0:22:40.840 --> 0:22:43.280 I mean, not only is it requiring a lot of coordination, 0:22:43.880 --> 0:22:47.720 but even just the way that the air flight works. 0:22:47.720 --> 0:22:51.119 When you start traveling, say forward, you're moving forward at 0:22:51.240 --> 0:22:55.520 around UM fifteen to twenty knots of airspeed, you have 0:22:55.600 --> 0:22:59.399 to end up transitioning, transitioning from hovering, which is more 0:22:59.480 --> 0:23:04.400