Blogs by Byron Edgington on AuthorsDen.com

AuthorsDen.com Join | Login

Where Authors and Readers come together!

SIGNED BOOKS AUTHORS BOOKS SAMPLE CHAPTERS AUDIOBOOKS eBOOKS STORIES ARTICLES POETRY BLOGS NEWS VIDEOS SUCCESS TESTIMONIALS

Featured Authors: Christine Boyce, iGary Caplan, iNeenah Davis-Wilson, iCheri Clifton, iH.G. Potter, iGibbs Williams, iJ and C Wordsmiths, iAnita Shaw, iRiley Blake, iBob mitchley #shock stories, i

Home > Blogs

Popular: Books, Stories, Articles, Poetry Authors: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Byron Edgington

Follow Me

· Contact Me
· Success story
· Articles
· News
· Events
· Stories
· Blog

· 27 Titles
· 28 Reviews
· Share with Friends!
· Member Since: Dec, 2012

Byron Edgington, click here to update your pages on AuthorsDen.

Blogs by Byron Edgington

How to Fly Good #4
4/29/2013 6:05:51 AM

They call them rotary-wing aircraft for a reason
For all those thousands of my fans and readers out there, scratching your heads, wondering how helicopters fly, worry no more. Let me clear up another mystery for you, because I know you’ve been concerned. Tossing and turning all night is no fun, so let me help. Helicopters are called ‘rotary-wing’ aircraft for a reason. Yes, a few pilots are members of the local Rotary Club, but that’s not it. Helicopters are referred to that way simply because, instead of a fixed wing, like the one pictured above, their ‘wing’ rotates. So why not use a picture of a rotary wing? It’s easier to discuss the aerodynamic properties of wings if, number one, we can visualize one doing what it does best, that is producing lift, and two, because rotor blades (rotary wings) spin too darn fast and I’d prefer not to make you dizzy.

But except for the slats and flaps and adjustments, a rotor blade really is a wing. It just happens to get its lift-producing ability by rotating into the relative wind instead of sitting there, attached to a fuselage, being forced forward into the same wind. Fixed or rotating, both ‘wings’ are airfoils, in other words they take the air rushing over and under their surfaces and produce lift. Mr. Bernoulli discovered the pressure differentials associated with the flow of fluids–water, orange juice, air, he did the math and came up some formulas that led to flight, since one thing he discovered was that differences in pressure above and below an airfoil caused the surface to seek the area of lower pressure. No surprise there; fluids always seek areas of lower pressure. If they didn’t your bathtub wouldn’t drain. The trick for early aviators was to control that pressure, and to maximize and direct the resultant lifting forces. Once wing flaps and ailerons and rudders could be adjusted aircraft could be controlled in flight.

For helicopters it’s similar, how to control all that spinning, flapping, rotating airfoil? This is where the concept of pitch comes in. Pitch is best defined as a change in angle of attack on an airfoil to produce more (or less) lift. More pitch on a wing, angle it steeper into the relative wind, it makes more lift and the aircraft climbs. Reduce the pitch angle and the aircraft descends. In a helicopter, pitch is added to each blade equally and ‘collectively’ in other words all at the same time on each blade, regardless of how many there are–two, three, four, five etc. Thus the ‘climbing & descending’ control in a helicopter cockpit is called the ‘collective.’ Direction of flight is determined by lift as well. To turn a helicopter more pitch is added on one side of the airfoil, which rises, causing the other side to ‘fall’ into the direction of the turn. See how easy that is.

The biggest challenge for rotary-wing designers was to figure out why early machines would hover just fine, but once they moved forward to fly all hell broke loose and they crashed. It’s called disymmetry of lift. Stay tuned.

Post a Comment

More Blogs by Byron Edgington
• Off Ramp: Weekly Short for 12/01/2014 - Saturday, December 6, 2014
• Weekly Short Story - Saturday, November 15, 2014
• The Sky Behind Me, a Memoir of Flying and Life, $1.99 for Kindle - Tuesday, November 4, 2014
• The Sky Behind Me, a Memoir of Flying and Life, 99 cents for Kindle - Sunday, November 2, 2014
• 99 cent sale starting 11/7 - Monday, October 27, 2014
• Interview: Mike Petersen, Killer Book Marketing - Tuesday, October 14, 2014
• Audio Review_The Unheralded King - Sunday, October 5, 2014
• Audio Book Reviews - Wednesday, October 1, 2014
• SkyWriting: Essays on the Art and Craft of Aviation - Tuesday, September 16, 2014
• Silent Sky: From 9/11/202 - Thursday, September 11, 2014
• Great stories and a chance to help - Monday, August 25, 2014
• The Sky Behind Me, a Memoir of Flying and Life, $4.95 for Kindle - Saturday, August 23, 2014
• SkyWriting: Essays on the Art and Craft of Aviation - Monday, August 11, 2014
• Book review: There I Wuz - Monday, August 4, 2014
• Lip smacking mystery - Tuesday, July 22, 2014
• Book review: The Silver Star - Saturday, July 5, 2014
• Book Review: Per Petterson's Out Stealing Horses - Sunday, June 29, 2014
• Free author promo - Monday, May 19, 2014
• Looking for flying tales - Wednesday, May 14, 2014
• Nerds of Ohio unite! My review of Best of Ohio - Friday, May 2, 2014
• Pilots/Crews I need your stories - Tuesday, April 29, 2014
• FREE Download--excerpts from SkyWriting - Monday, April 28, 2014
• I'll publish your flying story - Monday, April 28, 2014
• E-book just .99 cents - Saturday, March 8, 2014
• My aviation memoir is on sale this weekend, March 8/9, just .99 cents Saturday! - Friday, March 7, 2014
• e-book sale this weekend - Wednesday, March 5, 2014
• The Sky Behind Me, 99 cent sale - Tuesday, March 4, 2014
• Call for submissions - Thursday, February 13, 2014
• Catching up - Thursday, February 6, 2014
• Brrrrr! - Monday, January 6, 2014
• Radio Interview tonight - Wednesday, December 4, 2013
• Is it done yet? - Wednesday, November 27, 2013
• Writing a memoir? Check into this: - Friday, November 15, 2013
• From where I sit - Tuesday, November 12, 2013
• Daily Very Short Writing Tip - Thursday, November 7, 2013
• 'To be' or to find a better verb... - Monday, November 4, 2013
• Take a hike! - Thursday, October 31, 2013
• to publish or not to publish - Wednesday, October 30, 2013
• The Sky Writer - Friday, October 25, 2013
• Free sample of The Sky Behind Me... - Thursday, October 17, 2013
• The new world of PCS - Wednesday, October 16, 2013
• Hump Day--Getting over the himp from writer's block - Wednesday, October 2, 2013
• The Three 'tells of book promotion - Monday, September 30, 2013
• We're all mad here--writers take heart - Thursday, September 19, 2013
• How to get the writing off dead plumb: The Writer's Tool Box - Monday, September 16, 2013
• Smashwords author interview 9/5/13 - Thursday, September 5, 2013
• writers, you may want to stand up for this - Tuesday, September 3, 2013
• Writers: Rights, responsibilities and reinventing the flat tire. - Thursday, August 29, 2013
• How to write good - Monday, August 26, 2013
• Book trailer: The Sky Behind Me... - Friday, August 23, 2013
• Author (Self) interview - Thursday, August 22, 2013
• Common Core Standards: Back to Literature? - Tuesday, August 20, 2013
• George W. Bush and other mistakes - Thursday, August 15, 2013
• welcome home - Wednesday, August 14, 2013
• Book review: Bargain With Fate Book RTwo Sage trilogy - Tuesday, August 13, 2013
• I love Harry Reasoner - Thursday, August 8, 2013
• Readin', Ritin' and Wreal Estate--book selling & uts challenges - Tuesday, August 6, 2013
• Book review Friday: Dementia, by Hans Peter Braendlin - Friday, August 2, 2013
• I'm a writer--I write. Sometimes I rant. - Thursday, August 1, 2013
• Memoir as travelogue - Monday, July 29, 2013
• Small presses are back - Thursday, July 25, 2013
• New Book Project: The Emergent Sky - Tuesday, July 23, 2013
• The book biz--short version - Monday, July 22, 2013
• What do you want? - Thursday, July 18, 2013
• The Sky Behind Me at half price--add value - Tuesday, July 16, 2013
• Lies, Damned Lies & Statistics - Monday, July 15, 2013
• Blog is my co-pilot - Thursday, July 11, 2013
• ridiculous to sublime - Wednesday, July 10, 2013
• commo, criticism & culture in Asiana 214 crash - Tuesday, July 9, 2013
• Asiana 214--poor weather might have prevented this accident - Monday, July 8, 2013
• Book Binding - Friday, July 5, 2013
• Notable deaths 4th of July - Thursday, July 4, 2013
• The Blue and the Gray - Wednesday, July 3, 2013
• Life Du Soleil - Monday, July 1, 2013
• takeoff part 2 - Friday, June 28, 2013
• Takeoff - Thursday, June 27, 2013
• Decorative English - Tuesday, June 25, 2013
• To leak, or not to leak... - Monday, June 24, 2013
• Separation of church and state - Friday, June 21, 2013
• Plus ca change... - Thursday, June 20, 2013
• book promotion - Wednesday, June 19, 2013
• Tom Wolfe was right - Monday, June 17, 2013
• ...can't treat stupid. - Friday, May 31, 2013
• Birds do it, bees do it... - Thursday, May 30, 2013
• Aviation & Medicine--safety last? - Wednesday, May 29, 2013
• Happy Birthday GKC - Tuesday, May 28, 2013
• day of remembrance - Monday, May 27, 2013
• Lady Hooker, my initiation ceremony in Vietnam - Friday, May 24, 2013
• distribution - Tuesday, May 21, 2013
• Marriage Equality: Cleared for Takeoff - Thursday, May 16, 2013
• dead monk seals in Hawaii - Monday, May 13, 2013
• Free download - Thursday, May 9, 2013
• Free sample - Tuesday, May 7, 2013
• May 4th 1970 - Saturday, May 4, 2013
• Entitle-tude - Thursday, May 2, 2013
• dateline Columbus OH: 5/01/2313 - Wednesday, May 1, 2013
• How to Fly Good #4 - Monday, April 29, 2013
• aviation--a very small club - Thursday, April 25, 2013
• Traveling Light - Tuesday, April 23, 2013
• Marathon Bomber - Monday, April 22, 2013
• women in aviation - Friday, April 19, 2013
• Aviation and life: Shared conundrums - Wednesday, April 17, 2013
• Misperceptions & helicopters--How to Fly Good #3 - Monday, April 15, 2013
• Helicopters: A Primer - Thursday, April 11, 2013
• Justitia - Wednesday, April 3, 2013
• You gotta laugh - Tuesday, April 2, 2013
• opening day 2013 - Monday, April 1, 2013
• Fearless - Friday, March 29, 2013
• Equality under law - Monday, March 25, 2013
• Once a missionary, always a missionary - Friday, March 22, 2013
• ten years--and for what? - Wednesday, March 20, 2013
• come to the hills - Monday, March 18, 2013
• stones - Thursday, March 14, 2013
• Lucy & the football - Wednesday, March 13, 2013
• Separation of church & state - Tuesday, March 12, 2013
• Escape Fire - Monday, March 11, 2013
• Cycles are things we ride, like it or not - Friday, March 8, 2013
• Iraq + 10 years - Thursday, March 7, 2013
• A book at the public library - Wednesday, March 6, 2013
• A Radical Idea - Monday, March 4, 2013
• Power Rangers - Tuesday, February 26, 2013
• Take a starving writer to lunch - Monday, February 25, 2013
• Our legal code is 200,000 pages--Cyrus Cylinder 1,000 words - Friday, February 22, 2013
• A note on a napkin - Thursday, February 21, 2013
• New Book Project - Wednesday, February 20, 2013
• TWSB The World's Shortest Blog, Post #1 - Tuesday, February 19, 2013
• Memoir starts with 'Me.' - Monday, February 18, 2013
• Violence against women - Friday, February 15, 2013
• Reading - Tuesday, February 12, 2013
• Three months from today is S.A.M.E. Day - Saturday, February 9, 2013
• Drill baby, drill! - Friday, February 8, 2013
• Richard III found in parking lot! - Thursday, February 7, 2013
• Of Ice Cream & Imagination - Wednesday, February 6, 2013
• Couples - Tuesday, February 5, 2013
• Packing to leave - Sunday, February 3, 2013
• I was a Cub Scout once. - Saturday, February 2, 2013
• Why I write - Friday, February 1, 2013
• February is Heart Month - Thursday, January 31, 2013
• Go with your gut - Wednesday, January 30, 2013
• Current events - Tuesday, January 29, 2013
• Challenger-- "...a major malfunction." - Monday, January 28, 2013
• This old house - Saturday, January 26, 2013
• Child abuse in literature - Friday, January 25, 2013
• No Sex Riding Rockets - Thursday, January 24, 2013
• Happy Birthday Derek Walcott - Wednesday, January 23, 2013
• Cure for blank sheet syndrome - Tuesday, January 22, 2013
• Inauguration Day 2013 - Monday, January 21, 2013
• Pending book - Saturday, January 19, 2013
• Branding - Friday, January 18, 2013
• Book reading/signing - Thursday, January 17, 2013
• Writing is the easy part - Wednesday, January 16, 2013
• Writing contests--Scam or Opportunity? - Tuesday, January 15, 2013
• The Big .99 Cent E-book sale - Monday, January 14, 2013
• Unintended consequences - Saturday, January 12, 2013
• The power of words - Friday, January 11, 2013
• Boys will be... Excerpt from Chapter 11 The Sky Behind Me, a Memoir of Flying and Life - Thursday, January 10, 2013
• Why we write memoirs - Wednesday, January 9, 2013
• The Big TSBM 99 cent sale! - Tuesday, January 8, 2013
• Nobel Prize for Literature - Tuesday, January 8, 2013
• Air Medical Accidents - Monday, January 7, 2013
• Byron Edgington Bailey Prize winner for prose in 2012 - Sunday, January 6, 2013
• Looking Back--Looking ahead - Saturday, January 5, 2013
• OOOPS - Friday, January 4, 2013
• Featured New Release - Thursday, January 3, 2013
• Whither Serials? - Wednesday, January 2, 2013
• HNY '13 Don't 'should' on yourself - Tuesday, January 1, 2013
• Hauoli Makahiki-ho (Happy New Year in Hawaiian - Sunday, December 30, 2012
• Old man and the scythe - Thursday, December 27, 2012
• Excerpt from The Sky Behind Me, a Memoir of Flying and Life - Wednesday, December 26, 2012