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DESIGN: SynchroLite ~ Control - Flight - Empennage - Ruddervator Layout

Drawing:

Notes:

Advantages of Ruddervator:

Give some yaw stability in forward flight whereas the stabilator very little.

General:

The design, at present, has a total of 90 degrees of rotation.

Independent + & - 30 degrees for cyclic and yaw; plus Combined -30 degrees for autorotation. 

The ruddervator is located under the 75% radius point of the rotor disks.

In hover the force will be vertically downward. As the forward speed increases the horizontal component (pull) of the force will increase and the vertical force (lift) should decrease, because the vertical component is coming from closer to the rotor hub. The design and layout is such that in hover one up and one down ruddervators will give yaw and in forward flight one up and one down will give roll. 

The current design is to have the leading edge of the ruddervator drop with the collective, so that the angle of attack of the ruddervator airfoils is the same in normal flight and autorotation. This should overcome the requirement for reverse pedal application, which is inherent in coaxial helicopters, where yaw is controlled by differential torque or intermeshing helicopters with differential cyclic. 

The initial structuring of the ruddervator will have to be somewhat 'best guess'. The final amount of area, elevation, longitudinal station, angle of tip down, amount of taper, plus the amounts of rotation for cyclic, pedal and collective inputs will probably have to be established by actual flight.

Gusts from the side will want to turn the SynchroLite into the wind of course, and probably want to lower the tail somewhat.

A disadvantage of the inverted-V design is that a portion (@ 45 degree angle the portion will be 50%) of the downward thrust from the rotor is wasted by the right ruddervator wanting to move left and the left ruddervator wanting to move right, Also there will be a slight weight penalty in the structural strength needed to handle this compressive load.

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Last Revised: July 4, 2003