To: Graviman
The reason a fixed wing pilot can with minimal helicopter skills fly a Lockheed helicopter is because the helicopter flies like a fixed wing aircraft. The pilot displaces the cyclic, which in turn applies a nutating force to the gyro (via springs) and the gyro responds 90-degrees later in the direction of rotation. When the gyro is displaced it applies a force via the pitch links to the blades causing them to respond albeit not at 90-degrees. This was a major design fault with the AH-56 and before the fix could be applied the program was cancelled. Once the blades had been displaced by the cyclic input the pilot would return the cyclic to its’ neutral position very much like a fixed wing aircraft. By returning the cyclic to the neutral position the nutating force was removed and the gyro would remain in the commanded position and the blades would follow. On a conventional helicopter the pilot has to maintain the cyclic in the commanded position in order to maintain the control input.
The couple between the rotorblades and the rotorhead was so strong that the cyclic could not be displaced when on the ground. Squat switches had to be unloaded which would remove the mechanical locks from the cyclic control system. Without the squat switches the helicopter could be tipped over with cyclic input.
