 |
Regalpony
 Glossary
of Gyroplane / Flying Terms* |
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| Abort |
Discontinue a planned
event already in progress. |
| ADS-B |
Automatic Dependent
Surveillance Broadcast. An equipment system for automatically broadcasting
a gyroplane's position, altitude, direction, and speed to other aircraft
/ ground control using the same system. Could replace convention radar
in the future. -> more |
| Advancing Blade |
Rotor blade moving
in the same horizontal direction as the gyroplane. |
| Aerodynamics |
Thrust,
drag, weight, lift. Aerodynamics is the ability of a machine
to move through the air efficiently enough to overcome weight and drag
with sufficient thrust to lift the machine off the ground in a controlled
manner. The better the balance the better the aerodynamics. |
| Airfoil |
Produces lift from
the movement of air under and over it. |
| Airspeed |
The speed at which
air passes over the leading edge of a wing. The speed at which air passes
over the body of a gyroplane. (see also rotor speed) |
| Autogire |
French name for
autogyro (Français).
Also use autogiro which is Spanish (España). |
| Autogyro |
A heavier-than-air
flying machine which derives its lift from an unpowered 4 blade rotor
system mounted above the machine operating in autorotation. Looks similar
to an airplane with the addition of helicopter type overhead rotors. |
| Autorotation |
High speed movement
of air through an overhead rotor system where the blades are free wheeling
and able to provide lift. |
| Blade Loading |
The load placed
on the rotor blades of a gyroplane by weight, air flow and control commands. |
| Balance |
Equal weight of
the rotor blades and equal air movement over the blade surface equals
a balance of rotation and an absence of unwanted vibration. Fine tuning
may be achieved with the application of paint to a lighter blade. |
| Bank |
Sideward tilt of
the aircraft in flight. When correctly executed, the bank compensates
for centrifugal force, and the passengers will be pressed straight down
in their seats. |
| Ceiling |
The maximum altitude
to which a gyroplane can climb. Because of thin air, the engine decreases
in power / the rotor blades are less effective at providing lift to climb.
|
| Center of Gravity
|
Called CG. A point
where the resultant of all weight forces will hang evenly from this point.
Usually at or very near to the main mast. |
| Center of Pressure
|
An imaginary point
on the cord lines of all the rotor blades where all the aerodynamic forces
of the airfoil surfaces are concentrated. |
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| Centrifugal Force
|
The force caused
by the rotation of an object with mass. |
| Chord |
A straight line
between the exact center of the leading and trailing edge of the rotor
blade. |
| Chordwise Balance
|
A term that refers
to the mass balance of an airfoil. It is designed to be in the center
of lift. |
| Compressibility
|
Forces acting on
a rotor blade when its tip speed approaches the speed of sound. |
| Coning Angle |
The rotor blades
curve opposite to load, along their length. The greater the load the greater
the angle. Coning reduces lift by reducing disc area. |
| Cruise Speed |
An airspeed that
usually results in the best fuel economy and is usually between 1-1/2
and 2/3 of full power. |
| Density Altitude
|
Pressure altitude
calculated from air temperature, altitude and humidity. |
| Disc |
The area swept
by the blades of the rotor.
(plane) |
| Disc Loading |
The gross weight
of the gyroplane divided by the rotor disc area. The greater the disc
loading, the gyroplane's sinking speed will increase, and its glide-angle
will become steeper. |
| Dissymmetry of
Lift |
The unequal lift
across the rotor disc, caused from the advancing blade creating more lift
than the retreating blade. |
| Dynamic Roll Over
|
A roll over on
the ground caused by violent rotor flapping. Caused by insufficient rotor
rpm combined with excessive ground speed. |
| Downwind |
Flying with the
wind direction. |
| Endurance |
The maximum length
of time a gyroplane can stay aloft. Depends on flying conditions and on
its fuel use/capacity. |
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| Flapping |
The up and down
motion of the rotor blade on its teeter hinge.
Without flapping, a gyroplane would roll over on its side during flight
because of the unequal lift of the advancing blade vs the rearward moving
blade in relation to direction of travel of the airframe. |
| Flare |
A landing maneuver
performed near the ground to slow the gyroplane's rate of descent and
air speed. The gyroplane is in a nose-high attitude during the execution
of this maneuver. |
| Free-Stick |
A flight test where
the pilot's hands are removed from the cyclic stick. A free-stick test
minimizes the influence of any gyroplane airframe movements on the overhead
rotorblades and generally allows improved stability of an unstable gyroplane.
You can then observe the attitude of the gyroplane to in flight disturbances.
|
| Freewheeling |
Disconnected from
a mechanical power source |
| Gyrocopter |
Igor Bensen designed
an autogyro during the 1950's which he named the 'gyrocopter' and it specifically
refers to the airframe he created. |
| Gyroplane |
The modern name
used in reference to an aircraft that achieves flight using an unpowered,
overhead, two bladed rotor system in autorotation with forward motion
supplied by an engine equiped with a two or three bladed propeller. It
doesn't behave like an aeroplane. (Autogire, française.) |
| Gyroscopic Precession
|
An applied force
manifested 90 degrees later in the direction of rotation of spin. |
| Horsepower Loading
|
The ratio of gross
weight to horsepower, obtained by dividing the total weight by the engine's
horsepower rating. |
| Induced Power |
The power associated
with developing rotor thrust from the movement of air passing the rotor
blade. |
| Induced Velocity
|
The downward air
velocity generated in the process of developing rotor thrust. |
| "Jesus Bolt"
|
Term used in reference
to the single bolt on the rotor head assembly.
Installed with great care, with castle nut secured with cotter pin. |
| Lead-Lag |
The tip movement
needed to adjust the rotor blades in a two-bladed system to get the weight
of the whole rotor exactly equal on each side of the main shaft laterally.
|
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| Lift |
Created when air
moves quickly over a winged surface having greater surface area on top
than on bottom. Lift is achieved when the pressure under a wing is greater
than the pressure on top of a wing. |
| Maximum Lift |
Created when when
flying against a strong wind with rotor disc in a positive angle. |
| Load Factor |
The ratio of rotor
thrust to gross weight of the gyroplane. |
| Mast |
The main structural
member of the gyroplane. The mast is the vertical assembly that connects
the rotor blades to the airframe. |
| Parasite Power
|
The power used
to overcome the drag of all nonlifting components of the gyroplane. |
| Pattern |
The in-plane alignment
of all rotor blades so they perfectly balance each other. |
| P.I.O.
|
Pilot induced Oscillation
- Caused by delays in the human reaction time. Also known as porpoising,
which is caused by over control and inexperience or lack of knowledge
on input delay. |
| Pitch |
The angle between
a blade's chord line and a plane perpendicular to the rotor bearing. ->
sitemap |
| Power Loading |
The ratio of the
gross weight to the horsepower rating of the gyroplane's engine. |
| Pull Out |
A flight maneuver
at the bottom of a dive or descent on an airplane. Not recommended for
gyroplanes. |
| Push Over |
A flight maneuver
at the top of a climb or a nose-down dive from level flight. |
| Radius of Action
|
The distance to
fly before having to return to base or reaching destination, given wind
conditions and fuel time available. |
| Range |
The maximum distance
a gyroplane can fly without landing or refueling. |
| Redundancy |
A fail-safe design
which provides a secondary standby structural member. |
| Retreating Blade
|
Rotor blade moving
opposite to the horizontal direction of a gyroplane. |
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|
| Roll |
Tilt of the gyroplane
along its longitudinal axis. Controlled by aerodynamic effect of air acting
on the rotor blades. |
| Rotor
|
The lift-producing
airfoil system of a gyroplane. Rotor blade refers to a single blade only.
|
| Rotor Speed |
The number of complete
rotations a set of rotor blades makes in a defined amount of time, usually
measured in minutes (rpm). |
| Service Ceiling
|
Altitude at which
an aircraft cannot sustain a set rate of vertical climbing speed from
ground level to that point. Varies with type of aircraft. |
| Service Life |
The length of time,
measured in hours, for any aircraft components or parts to remain in service.
May be shorten by fatique or wear. |
| Side Force |
The force on the
side of a gyroplane due to air resistance and direction. |
| Slip |
The controlled
flight of a gyroplane in a direction not in line with its fore and aft
axis. |
| Solidity Ratio
|
The portion of
the rotor disc which is filled by the rotor blades. A ratio of the total
blade area to the total disc area. |
| Spar |
Load-carrying section
of a rotor blade's structure. A spar carries the centrifugal force as
well as loads from both ends of the blade. |
| Speed Stability
|
Pitching that occours
up or down to a gyroplane when the forward speed is changed. |
| Stabilator |
Small horizontal
wing attached to the cylic control rods on a gyroplane. Used to automatically
counteract minor rotor pitch movements to keep gyroplane flying straight
and smooth. It dampens rotor motion. ->
more |
| Stall |
Loss of lift under
a wings surface. Air speed is too low against the leading edge and/or
air is too thin. |
| Static
Stability |
The tendency of
a gyroplane to return to its original flight condition after a disturbance.
|
| Teetering Rotor
|
A two-bladed rotor
with a single horizontal hinge for flapping. (Teetering blades are a non-rigid
system but the moment the teeter stops hit the mast, it's no longer teetering
and behaves like a rigid system.) |
| Thickness Ratio
|
Maximum thickness
of the airfoil to the chord length of the airfoil. |
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| Tip Speed |
The airspeed at
the top of the rotor blade in flight. |
| Tip Stall |
The stall condition
of the retreating blade which occurs at high forward speeds (approx. 150mph).
|
| Torque |
Force, work and
time. The amount of force it takes to do the work (like spin a rotor blade)
over a measured amount of time, against a resistance, i.e.: air. The greater
the resistance the higher the force required to do the work. Torque is
a strength (force) applied to over come a resistance to movement, over
time. The shorter the time taken to reach operating speed, the higher
the torque rating. |
| Tracking |
Rigging the rotor
so that each blade passes through the same slot of air. |
|
Vane
|
Increasing pitch
angle. |
|
Yaw
|
Turning of the
gyroplane to the right or left by changing the direction of the airflow
over the tail surface through the use of the foot petals. |
