I saw something on TV a few nights ago on Discovery Wings, on the show
"A Chopper Is Born". For those not familiar with the show, a guy from
England is building an Exec helo and the build process is filmed and
played back in half hour segments. Any who...

This particular episode focused on the installation of the aluminum
rotor blades. Before the actual installation, the guy went through a
process that I have never seen or heard of before. Using a custom
carriage looking device with a dial indicator mounted in it, he
proceeded to measure the entire length of the trailing edge between
the rivets, every 4-5 inches or so. He took all of those readings,
averaged them out and used that number as a target. He then went back
down the trailing edge and hand bent it up or down until the dial
indicator read the target average.

The reason for all of this hand labor was to eliminate/reduce the
possibility of vibration. How come I've never seen anyone do this
sort of thing on a gyro? With the installation and removal of the
rotor blades after the trailer ride, I would imagine the gyro rotor
blades would have all kinds of dings, dents, and bends in the trailing
edge.

Comments.....

Don