Apr 7
Will it take off - part 2
A helicopter is standing on a landing pad that can move (like a giant turntable). This turntable has a control system that tracks the helicopter’s blade speed and matches the speed of the turntable to be exactly the same (but in the opposite direction).
Will the helicopter be able to take off?
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[...] Will the plane be able to take off? Will it take off - part 2 [...]
It won’t. Unlike the plane on the conveyor belt, the rotation actually counters the rotors’ movement, which is countering the helicopter’s propulsion system.
This one is stupid.
The crew wouldn’t be able to survive the G Force of rotating the body of the aircraft in the opposite direction as the rotors, so it’s completely and utterly pointless.
Theoretically, though, it won’t take off. The previous poster is, indeed, correct, if we live in a world of theory, which we don’t.
There is 1 caveat I see.
That turntable with the heli on top has a lot more inertia than the rotor does. It would be pretty hard to turn the turn table in the opposite direction at equal speed to the acceleration of the rotors. Given that fact, I bet your heli would take off, “in the real world”.
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Howdy,
Agreed. The movement of the air against the angle of attack of the blades would defeat the positive airflow and cause the chopper to idle on the ground.
Someone pass the barf bag.