A helicopter is an aircraft with horizontal rotors that generate power to lift, land, hover, and move in any direction.A helicopter has a horizontal rotor connected with the engine and flight controls, and its tail has an anti-torque rotor that is vertically fitted. The landing gear can be fixed skids or fixed or retractable wheels.A helicopter during a flight can perform three conditions: forward flight, hover, and the transition between both. The transition from hover to forwarding is called translational lift.The most common feature of a helicopter is its ability to fly vertically. The helicopter has wings that spin or rotate called blades, and the movement of its wings creates lift. A lift is created from the way that the main rotor blades are made, which allows air to be pushed downwards when the blades spin. This causes the air pressure to change, and the helicopter takes off. A helicopter, unlike a plane, can take off very quickly because of this lift.Helicopters have a large variety of uses. Helicopters are used for medical purposes as flying ambulances to carry patients in need. Military helicopters help in operations like attacking targets and moving troops. Helicopters can also be used for rescuing people in need during calamities like earthquakes, hurricanes, and many more. They are also used for firefighting, news broadcasting, and tourism.If you liked this read, you might also enjoy learning do golf balls float and do glow sticks have glass in them in other Kidadl articles.Helicopter: Main PartsThe helicopter is an aircraft controlled by a rotor with compound anatomy. Described below are the different parts of a helicopter.Firstly, there is the cockpit. The central control unit of the helicopter is known as the cockpit. It controls all the activities of the helicopter. The helicopter driver, that is, the pilot, and co-pilot sit in the cockpit. In the case of single-pilot helicopters, a passenger can sit in the front. The four essential controls that pilots must use during a flight are the collective, cycle, throttle, and anti-torque pedals. We can find a cyclic control situated between the pilots’ legs inside the helicopter cockpit. This controls the cyclic pitch of the main rotor blades. The collective is located on the left of the pilot’s seat and is used to change the pitch angle of all the rotor blades together. The anti-torque pedals are located on the cabin floor by the pilot’s feet. They control the direction in which the nose of the helicopter is directed. The throttle is used to maintain the Rpm of the engine so that it can generate lift.Interestingly, the word ‘cockpit’ was a sailing term in the 1700s. The first time a reference was made to a helicopter having a cockpit was during World War II.Secondly, there is the main rotor. The main rotor is an essential helicopter part. The main rotor provides lift and consists of a mast, hub, and rotor blades. It helps the pilot control the turns, changing the altitudes and lateral movement. The pilots control the main rotor with the swash plate assembly linked through the cockpit.Until the 1960s, rotor blades were created from laminated wood and fabric. The patent for the rotor was held by Trench Charles Henry from the year 1965.Thirdly, there is the tail rotor. This is found at the rear end of the helicopter, and its primary function is to create an anti-torque to the torque effect of the main rotor. The aerodynamic drag of the main rotor creates a torque that must be acted against by an opposed torque. Without the tail rotor, the helicopter would spin in opposition to the direction of the main rotor.Fourthly, there is the engine. Helicopters have two types of engines: turbine engines and reciprocating engines. Turbine engines work using a process of pressurized air combined with fuel which creates high-velocity gas to turn the turbine wheels. Reciprocating engines with the help of one or more pistons convert pressure into a rotating motion which creates power. Turbine engines provide a better power-to-weight ratio.Finally, there is the landing gear. The two most common landing gears found in helicopters are skids and wheels. In the case of smaller machines, skids are used since they don’t have a lot of extra weight like wheels do. In larger helicopters, wheels are used to handle the extra weight and provide easy ground handling when the helicopter lands. For landing in rough, uneven terrain, fixed skids are helpful, and for even, solid ground wheels work just fine. Bear paws and platoons are some other landing gear commonly used. Bear paws are attached to skids for landing on uneven, soft ground to provide stability to the aircraft.Helicopter: Wheels TypesA helicopter can have either of two landing gears- skids and wheels. These two landing gears both have their various advantages and disadvantages.Helicopters with skids require lower maintenance in comparison to wheeled helicopters. The skid gear can land on more rough and uneven surfaces such as swamps or grass more easily. This is because the helicopter’s weight is spread over a larger surface area in the case of skids. This prevents the aircraft from sinking into the ground.Wheels of helicopters are generally of two types: Taildragger and Conventional gear. Taildragger is a wheel arrangement where two wheels are toward the front and one smaller wheel at the rear end. This arrangement is also known as a tricycle tailwheel. Taildragger is most commonly used in aircraft because it is the easiest for takeoff, taxiing, and landing. Conventional gear is the opposite of this. Wheels can either be retractable or fixed.A wheeled helicopter is comparatively high maintenance. Wheels have more moving parts like the bearings, tires, actuators, and bushings that need inspection and replacements. Therefore these parts cost more time and money. Wheeled helicopters are better suited for landing on even, solid surfaces. Wheels are required for maneuvering large helicopters on the ground. They also prevent the spraying of dust and debris, rotor wash during taxiing of helicopters. Wheels are not suited for a small helicopter because of the wheel’s extra moving parts, cost, and weight.Helicopter Wheels Vs. Airplane WheelsThere may be up to 16 main landing gear wheels in an Airplane and two nose landing gear wheels. Almost all airplanes have a similar configuration of wheels, even if the numbers are different. There are wheels under each of the wings and one under the nose or tail of the plane. These are fixed wheels or retractable wheels, depending on the type of airplane. Airplane wheels can withstand heavy loads for short periods of time.Helicopters have two types of wheel configuration: conventional gear and tricycle tailwheel. One nose wheel is in the front and two in the rear end in conventional gear. The wheels may be fixed or retractable wheels. A retractable wheel reduces drag in fast helicopters, allowing for a higher cruise speed. Light helicopters might have skid landing gear instead of wheels.The main difference between helicopter and airplane wheels is usually size, design, weight, or number.The Skid Of A HelicopterSkids are a type of helicopter landing gear used in smaller, lightweight helicopters. Skids are lightweight and straightforward; therefore, they are primarily used in small helicopters. Skids are impractical for helicopters weighing more than four tons. A disadvantage of the skid gear is that it is difficult to handle on the ground because of its immobility. Unlike wheels, skids gear is permanently fixed. The skids used in helicopters are made of materials like glass fibers, aluminum, sandwich composites structures, and titanium metal matrix composite. The underside of the skids goes through the usual wear and tear. To prevent this, ‘skid shoes’ are attached to the underside. These help prevent the wearing off of the underside and can be easily replaced.Different methods are adopted for the ground maintenance of helicopters with the skid landing gear. Like for small helicopters such as the Robinson, ground handling wheels may be attached, which can then be handled by one person. Larger helicopters may be moved with the help of ground handling wheels, but it needs to be handled by two or more people. Power-assisted tugs and transporters are other methods for ground handling skid helicopters. Another method used for handling ground maintenance is a platform dolly. Pilots can land the helicopter on a platform dolly, making it easy to move the helicopter. But, it isn’t easy to make sure the aircraft lands in a platform dolly, and pilots need to be familiar with doing it.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created many interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for ‘do helicopters have wheels,’ why not take a look at ‘19 zookeeper facts: learn about the cutest and most coveted job,’ or ‘zooplankton facts: the incredible influencers of the marine ecosystem.’
A helicopter is an aircraft with horizontal rotors that generate power to lift, land, hover, and move in any direction.
