How Helicopters Fly
The basics
To learn takes 45 hrs of flying training and 9 ground exams – and that just gets you the entry-level private license. To become a Commercial pilot you need 155 hrs in the air and a year in a classroom. So, explaining it in one web page was never going to be simple!
Essentially, a helicopter is more like a bird than an aeroplane. A heli has moving wings and no propellers – it generates most of its lift and horizontal movement from the same rotating wings.
For now, just accept that above your head you have a rotating disc which can be moved around like a spinning plate. This disk, called the Main Rotor, develops a thrust which can be aimed to push you forwards, backwards and sideways. You do this by using the cyclic control in your right hand.
The same disc can produce varying amounts of thrust. By vectoring the thrust straight down and increasing it to the point where the force overcomes the weight of the helicopter, you hover. Increasing the thrust further pushes you straight up.
So, we tend to get the helicopter into a hover and then vector the thrust to the back, which gives us forward motion. We accelerate forwards at about 6ft above the ground. Once we achieve around 50-60 mph, we start to vector the thrust more forwards – this gives a fantastic climb rate of around 1500 ft per minute.
So, we vector thrust using the cyclic and we increase or decrease thrust by using the collective – this is in your left hand and looks like a handbrake. In fact, it’s the up and down lever. It also has the engine throttle control in a twist grip – because as you increase the thrust you need more engine power and vice versa.
The other controls are the pedals. These are directly linked to the Tail Rotor. The TR generates a sideways thrust which helps in two respects during low speed ground handling : it overcomes the torque of the engine which is trying to spin the helicopter in the opposite direction to the Main Rotor, and it helps tremendously in steering the helicopter at low speeds.
Gliding a helicopter
Most normal landings in a helicopter are virtually a powerless glide. The machine loves flying and sometimes the only way to get it down is to have virtually no power coming from the engine. The R44 is very happy gliding and from 1500 ft can glide for a mile.
This would be very useful if ever the engine failed. And in fact all pilots have to be able to land the helicopter from 1500ft with no engine power. It’s called autorotation – and it’s best imagined by thinking of a sycamore seed fluttering to earth.
The Robinson R44
Robinson Helicopter Co is the world’s biggest manufacturer of civilian helicopters. Starting with the 2-seat R22 in the late 70s, RHC expanded their range with the 4-seat R44 in the mid 90s. The company is driven by design and engineering. They design their helicopters to be safe, reliable and functional whilst keeping running costs as low as possible. Using one piston engine maintains an excellent reliability record – better than any of the expensive turbine helicopters. RHC produce over 700 helicopters a year and have made more than 6000 since the first. The R44 ENG is the world’s only purpose-built dedicated tv helicopter.
Learning
If you want to learn, all our pilots are Instructors and CAA Examiners. They can fix you a trial lesson for less than £200. Email for details.