How do you land a helicopter without a tail rotor?

Yes, it is possible to make an emergency landing in a helicopter should a tail rotor failure occur. The procedure is that same as that of a engine failure and it’s called an autorotative landing. Essentially a powerless helicopter becomes an autogyro (gyrocopter) in flight and can be flown as such.

What happens if you lose the tail rotor on a helicopter?

The helicopter will immediately begin spinning and the pilot will need to close the throttle and perform a hovering autorotation. In addition to issues resulting from the loss of tail rotor thrust, the helicopter will pitch down and the pilot most likely will not have sufficient aft cyclic movement to recover.

Can you fly a helicopter without a tail?

One significant advancement in the last decade has been the no-tail rotor, or NOTAR, helicopter. As you now know, vertical-lift flight is impossible without a tail rotor to counteract the torque produced by the main rotor. This creates a sideways force that counteracts the main rotor’s torque.

Can a helicopter be designed without a tail rotor?

NOTAR (“no tail rotor”) is a helicopter system which avoids the use of a tail rotor. The system uses a fan inside the tail boom to build a high volume of low-pressure air, which exits through two slots and creates a boundary layer flow of air along the tailboom utilizing the Coandă effect.

What creates lift in a helicopter?

In the case of a helicopter, the object is the rotor blade (airfoil) and the fluid is the air. Lift is produced when a mass of air is deflected, and it always acts perpendicular to the resultant relative wind. A symmetric airfoil must have a positive AOA to generate positive lift. At a zero AOA, no lift is generated.

Why do helicopters stall?

As the helicopter flies forward and the blades are rotating, the advancing blade is striking the relative wind at a higher speed than the retreating blade. Any faster and the retreating blade will stall.

What is the landing speed of a helicopter without tail rotor?

Touchdown speed in a running landing with no tail rotor is on the order of 10-20 knots. If the pilot makes an error and the helicopter is rolled over, people can easilly get hurt at such high speeds.

How do you fix an inflight tail rotor failure?

An autorotation is a natural way to deal with an inflight tail rotor failure since it reduces torque to zero. One problem with an autorotation is that it will be difficult or impossible for the pilot to align the landing gear with ground track during touchdown. If the helicopter touches down with forward speed, this could cause a rollover.

What are the disadvantages of autorotation in helicopters?

One problem with an autorotation is that it will be difficult or impossible for the pilot to align the landing gear with ground track during touchdown. If the helicopter touches down with forward speed, this could cause a rollover. In calm wind, it is often very difficult to not have some slide.

What happens if a helicopter rolls over?

If the pilot makes an error and the helicopter is rolled over, people can easilly get hurt at such high speeds. Autorotations on the other hand tend to terminate at just a few knots, even on a calm wind day. Mistakes which cause a rollover are less likely to cause injury because the speeds are probably lower.