Originally Posted by
reefrat
1.I know nothing about aerodynamics.
2.As a merchant mariner I have a tenous grasp of hydodynamics.
3.I presume that the main rotor continues to rotate in the normal direction, clockwise in this case, when it detached.
4. This is the case with a ships propellor when a drive shaft fails.
5. Question is why is the majority of damage to the blades on the trailing edges.
The trailing edge has a carbon skin top and bottom separated by a nomex honeycomb/foam core and is relatively weak.
The LE spar is constructed of glass fibre roving strips impregnated with resin and is relatively strong.
Best nautical analogy from a strength point of view would be to think of the LE as the mast and the trailing edge as the sail.