Thanks - this is all very interesting. I will persist with my questions, though
1. The more blades a rotor will have, the easier it must have to stabilize itself in the case of a malfuncioning blade, I assume. Lose a blade in a 2-blade rotor and you'll shake to pieces in an instant. Lose a blade in a 10-blade rotor and you'll probably survive. Therefore more blades must be safer, no?
2. Does a multiple blade rotor (3 or upwards) of
the same diameter as a 2-blade rotor produce more lift? What I'm getting at - could a hypothetical 10-blade rotor with the same diameter as a 2-blade rotor create so much more lift that I could slow the rotor RPM down to make it less noisy?
Also - thanks Mr. Lappos for answering my questions. I think I read somewhere (being quite new to this board) that you helped develop and test fly the S-76 when it came out. It's such a looker that aircraft - must be one of the most graceful helicopters out there. I do however notice that whenever one flies over me here in London, they produce a lot of noise. One can instantly recognize a S-76 approaching on it's noise alone. Is this because Sikorsky chose to go with a pretty high RPM and narrow diameter rotor for this aircraft, or is it just some acoustic anomaly?
