Electric tail rotor; an alternative?
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Electric tail rotor; an alternative?
I think they are all doing it wrong. It would be much simpler if there was an electric motor out on the boom and simply switch it off when not needed...
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Chopjock, the RAF SAR Wessex which crashed into the lake in Wales with cadet passengers on board had a tail rotor dis-connectable coupling failure.
First of all you complained that a tail rotor drive system is too unreliable but now you want to make it more complicated and therefore by definition less reliable...what sort of logic is that?
First of all you complained that a tail rotor drive system is too unreliable but now you want to make it more complicated and therefore by definition less reliable...what sort of logic is that?
Everybody relax, the above statement should make it perfectly clear that he's just trolling you.
Last edited by Nadar; 1st Dec 2018 at 01:07.
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Chopjock should show us his design for the Fail Safe Helicopter....one that cannot have any kind of failure.....then explain how to sell them, maintain them, and operate them as he seems to have all the answers.
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Seems to me that an electric tail rotor is a rather good idea
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Think a switch is a bit simple, but there would be a number of means of control. Of course the main reason to move to electric is environmental, but it does offer other potential advantages.
An electric tail rotor could be switched off in the cruise and yaw control achieved by a simple aeroplane style rudder. It would save energy, reduce noise and help significantly with component life. Overall, I think this could be a winner
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But you would need it on for takeoff and landing, which is where your argument began. Even if you have lost sight of that, I haven't.
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Yes of course. I did say simply switch it off when not needed... (Obviously switch it back on again when required). A bit like you do with the gear.
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But wait, someone already thought of that...
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Or an even simpler design with direct drive electric motors and no gearboxes at all?
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An electric motor would need to supply a lot of horsepower and it might be just as heavy as a gearbox. The aircraft would also need at least one large generator to supply power to it. Stopping a rotor blade in flight comes with its own set of aerodynamic problems.
But anything is possible, all engineering design is a compromise and let's not forget that most things in engineering have been tried already. There's nothing much simpler than a driveshaft turning a gearbox.
But anything is possible, all engineering design is a compromise and let's not forget that most things in engineering have been tried already. There's nothing much simpler than a driveshaft turning a gearbox.
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A single turbine generator with battery backup to provide "instantaneous" torque and sufficient reserve to get safely on the ground in the event of generator failure? Would probably be good to have a sprag clutch too.