Originally Posted by
john6016
I’m not sure the EC225 suspension rods are best represented by the three leg chair / Jesus nut theory. Several points to think about:
No, a three legged chair is indeed not really representative for the suspension layout of the 225. At least not 1:1.
I took this very simplistic example to show that two out of three remaining suspension points do not simply equate 2/3 of the strength.
I can imagine the loss of one support rod would place an additional load on the bearings that may lead to eventual failure, but not an instantaneous failure.
That would happen if the remaining structure would be sufficient to keep everything in its place.
However, the suspension rods in the 225 are there to take the vertical load. I can't imagine the relatively fragile conical housing and joiners will be able to take the load from a missing front suspension. They are not designed for that. And in that case it would rip off the epicyclic module and/or conical housing and the whole Main Rotor would tilt rearwards with whatever remains of the structure underneath.