PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Jackstall: What is it? Any experiences?
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Old 29th Nov 2006, 02:08
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NickLappos
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: USA
Age: 75
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FL,
You did very well!

One tidbit to add - the force that locks the hydraulics comes from the blades as they are stalled, and is the same as the pitch down that the wing of an airplane performs when the wing stalls. This "moment shift" occurs on every airfoil when it stalls, because the orderly lift is no longer being produced, and instead, the wing behaves more like a barn door, with the wind pressure acting about the midpoint of the wing area, instead of at the 1/4 chord point when the airflow is sweet and smooth.

As the rotor blade stalls more and more (the stalled area moves outward toward the tips) the blade presses down more on the controls and can overpower the pilot or the hydraulics. In a non-hydraulic helo, the controls stiffen up, and can throb and vibrate as the stall gets worse and worse.

Jackstall is not experienced on most helos because the hydraulics are powerful enough to hold the controls against whatever the blades can dish out. Some french helos are actually designed with weaker hydraulic controls, and thus their pilots get the thrill of experiencing jack stall if they maneuver excessively.
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