PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - The weight of a spinning mass?
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Old 1st July 2001 | 04:15
  #7 (permalink)  
EchoTango
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The MASS of your helicopter blade is the same where ever it is. Earth, Moon, Mars, floating in water, rotating or stationary. Mass is to do with the elemental composition of an object.

Weight is a FORCE. And someone correctly stated that force is related to mass by the equation force=mass x acceleration. Earthly objects experience an acceleration due to gravity of around 32 ft/sec/sec. Most people (incorrectly) use the words force and mass interchangeably.

So on the moon, your helo blade will weigh less, while retaining its mass.

On the ground, the blade's weight will remain unchanged, stationary or rotating. Its apparent weight, measured relative to the aircraft, will vary dramatically as the forces of flight change.

But if the blade is rotating a few thousand feet agl in a hover, it WILL weigh a teensy bit less, as the force of gravity drops with altitude. And if you can climb to the moon, its weight will drop to about one sixth of its earthly weight.

ET