So stuck on very long and boring train journey I pondered what would happen if you put a helicopter in space,...
An interesting thought question. Relevance to real world ops could be to help understand the stress's on a mustering heli for example.
...Of course you would sort out the small issues of the getting the engines to work and the pilots pay and conditions but, What would Happen?
For the exercise we can just get god to supply an unlimited size, airtight, standard earth atmosphere, sphere in space....or -
2. What happens when a helicopter operates in normal atmosphere but with continued zero-g? Or how much control would the pilot have with a helicopter inside a large pressurised space station?
To start with it couldn't be a Robby as it would shed its tail rotor.
For the exercise perhaps we could use the Hughes 300.
Soon as you switched on mechanical gyros the stupid thing would start tumbling, y'know... throw some rotating fuel pumps, oil pumps, starters, a couple whirling donks, some accessories.....
My guess the biggest gyro would be the main rotor and drive shaft combo. Second biggest gyro would be the engine through tail rotor drive. Third, would be the tail rotor.
The sleeper gyro is the fuselage itself.
Anyway, i'm of to look at videos of Sopwith camels to try and get my head around gyro effects.