Helicopter Model
Why can't real helicopters sustain inverted flight, like model ones?
Although I've seen model helicopters flying upside down, I've often heard that real ones can't sustain inverted flight. Are there any boffins who could explain all the reasons? I've heard that flexible blades or hinges would lift the blades too high and risk cutting off the tail boom. But are there other problems too? Wouldn't the main fuesage be very wobbly, balancing on the rotor mast? And if you turned the blades upside down, wouldn't the "lift" be downwards? I won't sleep till I've found the answer! Thanks everyone.
Cost is the only thing preventing it.
All you have to is design and certify a helicopter with a rigid head and enough negative pitch in the rotor. Then sell enough to recover the development costs.
Rotor airfoils are symetrical so they will produce the same lift upward as downward at similar angles of attack. Since the rotor would cone downwards, the tailboom would have to be clear of it. A rigid head would prevent the fuselage from flopping abound. The tail rotor would need no modification since torque direction is the same. Put in inverted fuel and oil systems and you're all set.
BTW, most helicopters have hinge stops to prevent the rotor from contacting the tail boom, but these aren't designed for flight loads.
And the Jesus nut wouldn't be supporting the weight of the helicopter, the mast would be in compression load. Just like propellers I work on that can go in forward or reverse with 4000SHP on the Hercules.
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