 Aerodyne: A
heavier-than-air aircraft (as an airplane, helicopter,
or glider) —From http://www.webster.com
AAH: Advanced
Attack Helicopter
AH: Attack Helicopter
Antitorque Pedal: The
pedal used to control the pitch of the tail rotor
or air diffuser in a NOTAR® system.
—Rotorcraft Flying Handbook, U.S. Department
of Transportation. 2000, p. G-1
ARH: Attack & Reconnaissance
Helicopter
Articulated: A
rotor hub which provides coning/flapping and lead/lag
drag hinges, as well as rotary bearings for pitch
change. —Modern
Fighting Helicopters, by Bill Gunston & Mike Spick, 1998, page 204.
CH: Cargo Helicopter
Coaxil Rotor (or Contra-rotating
co-axial rotor): A
rotor system utilizing two rotors turning in opposite
directions on the same centerline. This system is
used to eliminate the need for a tail rotor. —Rotorcraft
Flying Handbook, U.S. Department of Transportation.
2000, p. G-2
Collective
Pitch Control: The
control for changing the pitch of all the rotor
blades in the main rotor system equally and simultaneously
and, consequently, the amount of lift or thrust
being generated. —Rotorcraft Flying Handbook,
U.S. Department of Transportation. 2000, p. G-2
Cyclic
Pitch Control: The
control for changing the pitch of each rotor
blade individually as it rotates through one
cycle to
govern the tilt of the rotor
disc and, consequently, the direction and
velocity of horizontal movement. —Rotorcraft Flying
Handbook, U.S. Department of Transportation. 2000,
p. G-2
Ground Effect: Effect
of having a solid flat surface close beneath a hovering
helicopter. —Modern
Fighting Helicopters, by Bill Gunston & Mike Spick, 1998, page 204.
Gyroplane: “...An
aircraft that gets lift from a freely turning rotary
wing (rotor blades), and which derives its thrust
from an engine-driven propeller.” —from http://www.groenbros.com.
(Also known as: autogyros, gyros, gyrocopters, and
gyroplane. One final note, gyroplanes have
no tail rotor.)
Helicopter: A
rotorcraft deriving the whole or a substantial part
of its
lift from one or more power-driven rotors. —John
Fay, The Helicopter: History, piloting and how it
flies. 1989, p. 1
 Helicopter, Origin of
the word:
“4th September 1863, Viscount
Gustave de Ponton d'On 2Amecourt used the word in
a monograph entitled “La Conquete de l'air
par l'helice. Expose
d'un nouveau systeme d'av iation,” published in Paris. In this 40-page
document
he put together the Greek words helico and pteron, meaning “spiral” and
“wing,”to make the word helicoptere. (Thanks Chris Jones)” —Quoted
directly from
the famous Helicopter History Site: http://www.helis.com
Helicopter, Slang Terms
for: Air-crane, angel (military: a soldier
waiting to be rescued by an angel), air horse,
air
pony, airship, astronaut (CB
Radio slang for police helicopter [Citizens
Band Radio]), bear-in-the-air (CB Radio slang
for
police helicopter),
bird,
blender,
Budgie (From
a children's
book
and
animated TV series in the United Kingdom), chopper,
copter, eagle, eggbeater, eye in the sky (CB
Radio slang for
police helicopter), fly in the sky (CB Radio
slang for police helicopter), flying smokey
(police
helicopter, certain police departments wear
Smokey the
Bear hats), ghetto bird (police helicopter flying
over ghettos or poor neighborhoods), heli, helo,
hilo, hummingbird, log bird (military: logistical
resupply helicopter), rotorcopter, rotorcraft,
rotory-wing,
machine, sky bear (CB
Radio slang for
police helicopter), slick (Vietnam
war: troop carrying helicopter), sky-hook, sky-crane,
spy in the sky (CB
Radio slang for
police helicopter), whirlybird, x-ray unit.
(Some of
these slang terms are rather
uncommon.)
HH: Search and Rescue Helicopter
HLH: Heavy Lift
Helicopter
Intermeshing Rotors: Counter-rotating
main rotors (and no tail rotor) which allows all engine power to go directly
to the main rotors
for the highest lifting efficiency of any rotor configuration. —from http://www.knowledgerush.com/kr/encyclopedia/Kamen
Ko Hung (320 AD): “Ko
Hung describes
the Chinese flying top.” ~John Fay, The Helicopter,
History, Piloting and
How it Flies, David and Charles, 1976, page 126.
Leonardo
da Vinci: Considered
the father of the modern helicopter. Da Vinci was an architect,
musician, anatomist, inventor,
engineer,
sculptor,
geometer, painter, and a homosexual. He was considered the archetype
of the "Renaissance
man" and as
a universal genius. He is also considered one of the greatest painters
who ever lived. —some
excerpts
listed are quoted directly from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_Da_Vinci
LOH: Light Observation Helicopter
NOTAR®: No
Tail Rotor. "NO" "TA"il "R"otor.
See http://www.mdhelicopters.com for
a complete explanation of MDHelicopters' incredible Notar® anti-torque system.
This is helicopter safety and low noise at its finest.
OEM: Original
Equipment Manufacturer. A manufacturer that
sells a complete
product to its end user. The internal
parts used in the final product might be purchased
from other
manufacturers or internal parts
might be manufactured on-site, usually a combination
of both. For example: A Camaro might have Firestone
tires, windows by PPG, radios by Sony, metal by
US Steel but the final product is known as a General
Motors Chevrolet Camaro. General Motors is the
Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).
Optimum
Speed Rotor (OSR): A
rotor system designed so it's
rotor speed is able to vary
across a wide range and by doing
so is
able to find the most efficient
flight condition. —Paraphrased
from Defence Helicopter (magazine),
Vol. 24, No. 5, October/November
2005, page 9,
1st paragraph, David S. Harvey,
Editorial Director, North America.
 Piston Engine: An
internal combustion engine with
working cylinders in which
the process of combustion takes
place within the cylinder or cylinders. —paraphrased from a
Webster's Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language,
1989.
Rotor: A
system of rotating aerofoils. —John Fay, The
Helicopter: History,
piloting and how it flies. 1989, p. 1
Rotorcraft: An
aerodyne which throughout all or part of its flight
derives
the whole or part of its lift from a rotor or rotors
rotating in a substantially
horizontal plane. —John Fay, The Helicopter: History, piloting and how
it flies.
1989, p. 1
Rotary-wing aircraft: A
broad category of any aircraft with a moving wing,
including helicopters and autogyros.
This is to distinguish
from fixed-wing aircraft.
A third type, tilt-wing (or tilt-rotor) aircraft, are a mix
of the two, as the lift surfaces in vertical flight
are rotary, but stationary in forward flight. —from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotary-wing_aircraft
SH: Anti-Submarine Helicopter
Skycar: A
specific form of Volantor, developed
by Moller International. Multi-passenger aircraft
capable of vertical take-off
and landing, high-speed (300+
mph) travel.
—From http://www.moller.com
Swashplate: A disc either
fixed or rotating on the main rotor drive shaft, which is tilted in various
directions by the pilot's
control inputs. Rods from the swashplate control the pitch angles of the blades. —Modern
Fighting Helicopters, by Bill Gunston & Mike Spick, 1998, page 205.
Tail Rotor: A
rotor turning in a plane perpendicular to that
of the main rotor
and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage.
It is used to control the torque of the main rotor
and to provide movement about the yaw axis of
the helicopter. —Rotorcraft
Flying Handbook, U.S. Department of Transportation.
2000, p. G-4
Tandem rotor system: The
two main rotors are located at the front and rear
extremity of a long fuselage. —from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter
 Tiltrotor: An
aircraft that combines the vertical lift capability
of a
helicopter with the speed of a turboprop
aeroplane. As the name implies, it uses tiltable
(rotating) propellers, or proprotors, for lift
and propulsion. For vertical flight the proprotors
are angled to direct their thrust downwards, providing
lift. In this mode of operation the craft is essentially
identical to a helicopter. As the craft gains
speed, the proprotors are slowly tilted forward,
eventually becoming perpendicular to the ground.
In this mode the wing provides the lift, and the wing's
greater efficiency helps the tiltrotor achieve
its high speed. In this mode, the craft is essentially
a turboprop aircraft. —from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiltrotor
Tip Path: The
path in space traced out by the tips of the rotor
blades. —Modern
Fighting Helicopters, by Bill Gunston & Mike Spick, 1998, page 205.
Turbine Engine:An
internal combustion engine in which expanding
gases from
the combustion chamber drive the blades of a turbine. —From http://www.webster.com
UH: Utility Helicopter
Variable Thrust Ducted
Propeller (VTDP): A "ringtail" ducted
propeller which replaces the typical tail rotor
of a helicopter
which results in
increased
speed, range, payload and reduces fuel consumption
of the converted compound helicopter.
The modification also includes added fixed wings.
This would turn a Blackhawk into a Speedhawk.
This add-on component is being developed
by Piasecki
Aircraft Corp. —Paraphrased from Defence
Helicopter (magazine), Vol. 25, No.1, February/March
2006, pages 33-36, by David S. Harvey, Editorial
Director, North America.
VTOL: Vertical Take-Off
and Landing
VSTOVL: Very Short
Take-Off and Vertical Landing
VS-300: The world's
first practical single
main rotor helicopter built by Igor Ivanovitch
Sikorsky. It first flew
September
14, 1939.
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