Tutor Platform
Study note

Get a short, cited explanation of this element written from the FAA handbooks: the core idea, the numbers that matter, common test traps, and a quick self-check.

Sign in to generate a study note

From the FAA library

  • Chapter 9: Basic Flight Maneuvers › Taxiing › Air Taxi

    vehicles, and personnel. Figure 9-9. Hover taxi. Flying in the cross-hatched or shaded area of the height/velocity diagram. 7. Flying in a crosswind that could lead to loss of tail rotor effectiveness. 8. Excessive tail-low attitudes ... Failure to maintain alignment with direction of travel. Surface Taxi A surface taxi is used to minimize the effects of rotor downwash in wheel-type helicopters. [Figure 9-11] Surface taxiing in skid type helicopters is generally not recommended…

  • Chapter 2: Aerodynamics of Flight › Hovering Flight › Translating Tendency (Drift)

    Translating Tendency (Drift) During hovering flight, a single main rotor helicopter tends to move in the direction of tail rotor thrust. This lateral (or sideward) movement is called translating tendency. [Figure 2-27] To counteract this tendency, one or more ... following features may be used. All examples are for a counterclockwise rotating main rotor disk. Figure 2-27. A tail rotor is designed to produce thrust in a direction opposite torque. The thrust produced by the tail rotor is sufficient…

  • Chapter 11: Helicopter Emergencies and Hazards › System Malfunctions › Loss of Tail Rotor Effectiveness (LTE)

    catastrophic. LTE is an aerodynamic condition and is the result of a control margin deficiency in the tail rotor. It can affect all single-rotor helicopters that utilize a tail rotor. The design of main and tail rotor blades ... will not nullify the phenomenon entirely. Translational lift is obtained by any amount of clean air through the main rotor disk. Chapter 2, Aerodynamics of Flight, discusses translational lift with respect to the main rotor blade, explaining that the more…

  • Chapter 2: Aerodynamics of Flight › Hovering Flight

    Hovering Flight Hovering is the most challenging part of flying a helicopter. This is because a helicopter generates its own gusty air while in a hover, which acts against the fuselage and flight control surfaces. The end result is constant ... helicopter where it is required to be. Despite the complexity of the task, the control inputs in a hover are simple. The cyclic is used to eliminate drift in the horizontal plane, controlling forward, backward, right and left movement…

  • Chapter 1: Introduction to the Helicopter › Rotor System › Tandem Rotor

    Tandem Rotor Tandem rotor (sometimes referred to as dual rotor) helicopters have two large horizontal rotor assemblies, instead of one main assembly and a smaller tail rotor. [Figure 1-6] Single rotor helicopters need a tail rotor to neutralize ... twisting momentum produced by the single large rotor. Tandem rotor helicopters, however, use counter-rotating rotors, each canceling out the other’s torque. Counter-rotating rotor blades will not collide with and destroy each other if they flex into…

  • Chapter 3: Helicopter Flight Controls › Antitorque Pedals › Heading Control

    Pressing on the left pedal has the opposite effect: the nose of the helicopter yaws to the left and the tail swings right. [Figure 3-6] With the antitorque pedals in the neutral position, the tail rotor has a medium ... positive pitch angle. In medium positive pitch, the tail rotor thrust approximately equals the torque of the main rotor during cruise flight, so the helicopter maintains a constant heading in level flight. A vertical fin or stabilizer is used…