Helicopters in Flight – Autorotation

The engine on a helicopter drives the main rotor system by way of a clutch and a transmission. The clutch allows the engine to be running and the rotor system not to be turning, while the helicopter is on the ground, and it also allows the rotor system to disconnect from the engine while in flight, if the engine fails. Having the rotor system disconnect from the engine in the event of an engine failure is necessary if the helicopter is to be capable of a flight condition called autorotation.

Autorotation is a flight condition where the main rotor blades are driven by the force of the relative wind passing through the blades, rather than by the engine. This flight condition is similar to an airplane gliding if its engine fails while in flight. As long as the helicopter maintains forward airspeed, while decreasing altitude, and the pilot lowers the blade angle on the blades with the collective pitch, the rotor blades will continue to rotate. The altitude of the helicopter, which equals potential energy, is given up in order to have enough energy (kinetic energy) to keep the rotor blades turning. As the helicopter nears the ground, the cyclic pitch control is used to slow the forward speed and to flare the helicopter for landing. With the airspeed bled off, and the helicopter now close to the ground, the final step is to use the collective pitch control to cushion the landing. The airflow through the rotor blades in normal forward flight and in an autorotation flight condition are shown in Figure 3-95. In Figure 3-96, a Bell Jet Ranger is shown approaching the ground in the final stage of an autorotation.

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