PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Weight vs ROD in Autorotation
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Old 10th May 2012, 22:36
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Erm, no.
A heavier airliner/glider/fast jet etc does not descend more slowly.

You have the wrong end of the stick I'm afraid.

The slightly counterintuitive thing they do do is maintain the same glide slope with change in weight.
ie if you add weight to a glider it does not fly a steeper path to the ground.
It does however fly faster and with a greater rate of descent.

So if you drop it off a mountain in still air it hits the same spot on the ground at the end of its glide no matter what the weight.
The only thing that varies is the time it takes to get there.
(it's slightly more complex than that due to drag effects, but ballpark)

Aucky

Yes more pitch, but only to a point. You still need enough resultant in a pro-rotorspin to keep the rotors turning. The increase in Nr is due to the higher ROD
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