B179

DESIGN: SynchroLite ~ Control - Flight - Tail Appendage

Outside Helicopters

K-MAX

It would appear, from pictures in Pacific Rotors volume 1, issue 3, that the stabilizer and attached rudderettes roll about the y-axis. On the ground they are pointing down and in flight they are pointing up. It looks like approximately 30 degrees of roll. This action could be coupled to the collective. In fact it looks like their operation could be identical to currently proposed Ruddervator [0290] and Stabilator [0744].

It also looks like the main rudder has a small amount of yaw control, or trim, for forward flight.

Carter Copter

They use a new type of ball bearing push-pull cable, which has very low friction. They used to use hydraulic.

Flettner

The Flettner stabilizer had an angle of incidence adjustable between -15 and +5 degrees, from cockpit. The Flettner rudder had a deflection of 40 degrees. 

DeGraw

DeGraw's rudder is active and controlled by pedals. 

Gyrodyne YRON-1

It had an inverted-V ruddervator. 

Hiller HJ-1 Hornet

The Hiller HJ-1 Hornet (HOE-1 & YH-32) had an inverted V-tail.

Beech Bonanza V35B

With full up elevator and no rudder input, the left ruddervator will 22.5 degrees up. With full right rudder and elevator neutral the left ruddervator will be 23 degrees up. And with full up elevator and right rudder simultaneously, the left ruddervator will be 44 degrees up.

Bell 47

Or, I'd engineer a sync-elevator like the Bell 47 has.  (A hinge on the elevator and a cable attached to the cyclic linkage is all it would take.)  

Ultrasport 254 Center of Gravity and Downwash on Stabilizer

The following is my theory;

Area 12" * 39" (approx.)

Location 7'-3" behind mast (approx.)

Disk loading 1.5158 per sq. ft.

Load on stabilizer = 1.5158 * 3.25 = 4.9263 lb.

Torque about mast = 4.9263 * 87" = 428.59 in.-lb.

428.58 / 525 lb [gross weight] = 0.816" ahead of mast, which does not fit within center of gravity limits. Should it?

SynchroLite

General Information Related to Ruddervator and Stabilator

Functions that must be performed by the Ruddervator and the Stabilator: 1/ Pitch down for autorotation. 2/ Apply yaw to helicopter. Additional functions that it would be desirable from the Ruddervator and the Stabilator: 3/ Longitudinal cyclic. 4/ Lateral cyclic.

Ruddervator

The more that the ruddervator can assist with pitch and yaw, both in hover, horizontal and vertical flight plus autorotation, the less control that is asked from the rotor. This means that the rotor assembly can be designed to give greater clearances between the hubs and blades.

Function of Ruddervators

To assist with yaw, in every flight realm, by the application of pedal. (ruddervators move in opposite directions)

To assist with pitch, in every flight realm, by the application of longitudinal cyclic. (ruddervators move in same direction)

Does not assist with roll and is not linked to lateral cyclic.

To maintain the same angle of attack in autorotation as in autorotation. (ruddervator move in same directions)

Taper

The reason for tapering the ruddervator airfoils (root chord > tip chord) is to have a lower ruddervator while maintaining a balanced torque about the helicopter's aerodynamic X-axis.

Direction of Yaw

Application of left pedal causes yaw to left.

Ruddervator

Direction of Relative Wind

In hover the vertical airflow velocity is 18.485 feet per second. [This value came from the Momentum method and is the average value over the disk. Since the ruddervator is to be located under the .75R location on the rotor disk and .7R is the location of the mean downwash, this value is OK.)

At the maximum ultralight forward speed of 55 knots the horizontal airflow velocity is 92.83 feet per second.

At maximum forward speed the resultant air flow velocity is a 5:1 ratio and an angle of 11.5 degree from the horizontal (X-Y plane of the helicopter). The angle will be approximately 3 to 4 degrees greater because of the helicopter's nose down attitude. The angle will be ???? less because the vertical airflow is coming from closer to the rotor hub, where there is no downwash.

See [Fuselage - Tail - AIRFLOW] document & drawing # 0719

 

During hover this allows the rotor downwash to be deflected by the ruddervator for helicopter yaw control. As the forward speed increases the horizontal component of the airflow vector will increase while the vertical component will decreases since this vertical component (downwash) will be less since it is coming from closer to the rotor hub.

 

Maybe stabilizer needs to be horizontal so as to help nose to drop at start of autorotation??

 

Calculate the angle for optimum descent. Then have this angle as the angle for the ruddervator in collective down (autorotation) position. Both ruddervators must be adjustable +/- from this default position.

Relative Wind - The velocity of air with reference to a body in it.

Angle of Attack - The acute angle between the chord line of an airfoil and the Relative Wind.

Angle of Attack - The angle of airflow by the tail surfaces.

X = no flow.

0 = Air passing back, with no vertical.

+ = Air passing down and back.

- = Air passing up and back

 

Level = 0; Up = +; Down = -

 

If tail is vertically above mass then

If tail is vertically centered on mass then yaw & no roll

If tail is vertically below mass then  

Coordinates & Direction of Force on Rotor airfoil

X = + is forward, - is backward.

Y = + is to right, - is to left.

Z = + is upward, - is downward.

 

Action Direction of Force

Rotor Tail

Left Right Left Right Rudder

X Y Z X Y Z X Y Z X Y Z X Y Z

Hover + + - - 0 0 0

Hover w/ Yaw C.W. - + + + - - + - 0 0 0

Hover w/ initial fwd + + + + + + + + 0 0 0

Hover w/ initial back

Hover w/ initial right

Hover w/ initial left

It would appear that the ruddervator settings for yaw would cause roll during forward flight. This may necessitate a rudder located aft of the rotor disk. This may result in a lot of yaw control in forward flight and relatively little in hover.

 

May 9, 1999. Further thoughts on the above. If the vertical center of the ruddervators is at the helicopter's vertical center of mass (distance above Buttock line) or center of vertical aerodynamics (?) then the forces above and below this center will probably cancel each other. [Note the ruddervator x-bar is very close to this line] Another idea, if there is a problem, would be that of making the fin movable.

 

Action Airflow Port Starboard

 

 

Vertical Climb +90 ? ?

Vertical Descent +90 ? ?

Vertical Vortex X ? ?

Vertical Auto-rotation -90 -? -?

 

Level Forward flight +11.5 0 0

Forward Climb +30? 0? ?

Forward Descend 0? 0? ?

Forward Auto-rotation -30 ? ?

 

Turn Left - +

Turn Right + -

 

Yaw Left - +

Yaw Right + -

 

 

It would, initially appear that each ruddervator operates in sync with the swashplate on the same side of the craft. The front of the ruddervator is associated with the rotor disk azimuth of 315 (approx.) degrees. I.e.

Ruddervator

leading edge

L Cyclic Left Right

Collective up 315 degrees up Up

Cyclic forward 315 degrees up Up Up

Cyclic left 315 degrees down Down Up

Yaw left 315 degrees down Down Up

This means that the pitch of the ruddervator will be a ratio of the pitch (theta) of the blade, when the pitch link is a 315 degrees. Example- If maximum desired travel of ruddervator is 60 degrees and maximum desired pitch range of blade is 15 degrees then they will be linked in a 4:1 ratio.

 

Location of Ruddervator

70% of 8'-8" disk radius = 6.0667 feet behind masts. 

Cable

There will be a large amount of rotation of the ruddervators, such as 60 to 90 degrees. At 90 degrees of movement the arms on the ruddervator will swing from =45 degrees to - 45 degrees from the perpendicular to a control rod. This angle is not very attractive. A cable passing over a quarter circumference disk will have the loading always perpendicular to the ruddervator axis arm.

3/32" cable w/ 7*19 construction has a breaking strength of 920 lbs. in stainless steel. Ultralight plane appear to use 1/8" cable, 2"diameter pulleys and 3/16" diameter bolts to attach these pulleys.

The load on a cable is only that of 1 (of 2) ruddervator and the ruddervator is not moved to a fixed stop, where addition loading could be put on the cable.

If one ruddervator cable breaks the other will still work. Is this good or bad? Consider having the ruddervator spring loaded to a default position, such as horizontal.

-or-

Rod

The rod might be better because why?

 

Thoughts of May 14, 1999

Consider a horizontal line as an angle of 0.

a) In hover the airflow is coming at 90º.

b) In forward flight @ 55 knots the angle is +11.5º; adjusted by nose down pitch and less downwash because it is coming from closer to the center of the disk.

c) In autorotation the angle will be approx. -12.5º.

The above is somewhat approximate, and is not the relative angle.

The least amount of air passing the yaw control surface will be during hover. This is probably the time when yaw is most required. Therefore the greatest amount of deflection must be during a).

The optimum axis for the hinge will be perpendicular to the airflow.

Cable Travel

The ruddervator pulley has a radius of 5.3525".

There fore 90º of ruddervator rotation will be (5.3525 * 2 * pi / 4) = 8.4110" of cable travel.

The collective travel at the mixer box is 0.7920".

The total yaw travel (one way) at the mixer box is 0.6157".

Rudder:

The vertical tail is fixed. It should assist the ruddervator to hold heading in forward flight. It may be slightly detrimental to yaw and roll. It is probably a detriment in a side wind.

The tail will resist yaw much more in forward flight then in hover. This is because the velocity of air against it will be much greater in forward flight. This is good.

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Last Revised: May 22, 2000