Originally Posted by DJ
IMO, the stiffer the RMAX blades are, the greater the 2/rev vibration is. Perhaps in models the rotor speed is so fast that the high frequency is not considered detrimental.
The model can be strengthened against the resonance and fatigue failure which would occur if it had to carry a useful payload. Besides the pilot has no direct feedback of the vibration.
Originally Posted by DJ
The thinking behind a small light gyro with an exceptionally fast RPM, is that it might be justifiable if it (a single item) can satisfy more than one or two rotorcraft shortcomings.
Hopefully, stability and controllability are two of them.
Agreed. With a rigid rotor the gyro can force a pitch/roll velocity response from the cyclic. With feedback of flapback you can maintain the speed/sideslip displacement response too. Sounds flyable to me.
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At times i feel helidynamics is like quicksand - you think it all makes sense then explaining it to someone causes you to reconsider. Thinking about whether the response of a teetering is acceleration response to cyclic, until fuselage drag and flapback make it velocity (maybe) then displacement response, has made me reconsider Robinson "wee-wa". If the rotor was changing attitude, i can see how the relative upflow in one half and downflow in the other would cause an azimuthal reduction in lead angle from 90 degrees.
I think this goes under the theory vs experience folder...
Mart