tail rotor rotation direction

Just attended a fly-in at Westport OK. There were some 27 helicopters
there. Attending were Rotorways, a Brantly, some R-22s, a R-44,
Schweitzers, a Hiller and a Safari. Only one of these ships had the tail
rotor turning in the "right" direction. It as the Safari. It seems that
Bell, Lockheed and Westland to name a few have discovered that the "proper"
direction of rotation for the tail rotor is to have the blade that is moving
to the rear to be on top. The change from the "Old" direction to the new
"proper" direction has eliminated some tail rotor control issues in more
than one helicopter. Ray Prouty and Shawn Coyle both mention this issue in
their excellent books published by Helobooks.

--
Kathryn Fields
Experimental Helo magazine
P. O. Box 1585
Inyokern, CA 93527
(760) 377-4478 ph
(760) 408-9747 publication cell

Stuart & Kathryn Fields wrote:
Just attended a fly-in at Westport OK. There were some 27 helicopters
there. Attending were Rotorways, a Brantly, some R-22s, a R-44,
Schweitzers, a Hiller and a Safari. Only one of these ships had the tail
rotor turning in the "right" direction. It as the Safari. It seems that
Bell, Lockheed and Westland to name a few have discovered that the "proper"
direction of rotation for the tail rotor is to have the blade that is moving
to the rear to be on top. The change from the "Old" direction to the new
"proper" direction has eliminated some tail rotor control issues in more
than one helicopter. Ray Prouty and Shawn Coyle both mention this issue in
their excellent books published by Helobooks.

--
Kathryn Fields
Experimental Helo magazine
P. O. Box 1585
Inyokern, CA 93527
(760) 377-4478 ph
(760) 408-9747 publication cell

Interesting. Why does it matter which way it rotates? Which way do the
eurocopters go?

Oops. I inadvertently included the R-44 as a ship whose tail rotor turned
the wrong direction. This is not true. I have been informed that the R-44
has some additional gearing to obtain the proper rotation.
It seems that lateral travel in the helicopters with the "Wrong" rotation
direction has required pedal travel exceeding that which was available.
When the direction was changed the problem went away. Prouty also says that
it is not clear just why this phenomena occurs, but the "Big Boys" have
pretty much agreed.
--
Stuart Fields
Experimental Helo magazine
P. O. Box 1585
Inyokern, CA 93527
(760) 377-4478 ph
(760) 408-9747 publication cell
"JohnO" wrote in message
oups.com...

Stuart & Kathryn Fields wrote:
Just attended a fly-in at Westport OK. There were some 27 helicopters
there. Attending were Rotorways, a Brantly, some R-22s, a R-44,
Schweitzers, a Hiller and a Safari. Only one of these ships had the tail
rotor turning in the "right" direction. It as the Safari. It seems that
Bell, Lockheed and Westland to name a few have discovered that the
"proper"
direction of rotation for the tail rotor is to have the blade that is
moving
to the rear to be on top. The change from the "Old" direction to the new
"proper" direction has eliminated some tail rotor control issues in more
than one helicopter. Ray Prouty and Shawn Coyle both mention this issue
in
their excellent books published by Helobooks.

--
Kathryn Fields
Experimental Helo magazine
P. O. Box 1585
Inyokern, CA 93527
(760) 377-4478 ph
(760) 408-9747 publication cell

Interesting. Why does it matter which way it rotates? Which way do the
eurocopters go?

Before LTE (Loss of Tail rotor Effectiveness) was discovered,
manufacturers had the tail rotor run in the other direction, to prevent
the tail rotor swinging dirt towards the helicopter when it was too
close to the ground.

Best regards

Stuart & Kathryn Fields wrote:
Just attended a fly-in at Westport OK. There were some 27 helicopters
there. Attending were Rotorways, a Brantly, some R-22s, a R-44,
Schweitzers, a Hiller and a Safari. Only one of these ships had the tail
rotor turning in the "right" direction. It as the Safari. It seems that
Bell, Lockheed and Westland to name a few have discovered that the "proper"
direction of rotation for the tail rotor is to have the blade that is moving
to the rear to be on top. The change from the "Old" direction to the new
"proper" direction has eliminated some tail rotor control issues in more
than one helicopter. Ray Prouty and Shawn Coyle both mention this issue in
their excellent books published by Helobooks.