Name of the group member Sagar Parmar Sagar Mahesh Vandra Jitesh Vakotar Venkatachalam Muthukrishnan

Roll nos.

44 45 46

A helicopter (informally called "chopper" or "helo") is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally. These attributes allow helicopters to be used in congested or isolated areas where fixed-wing aircraft would usually not be able to take off or land. The capability to efficiently hover for extended periods of time allows a helicopter to accomplish tasks that fixed-wing aircraft and other forms of vertical takeoff and landing aircraft cannot perform. The word helicopter is adapted from the French hlicoptre, coined by Gustave de Ponton d'Amecourt in 1861, which originates from the Greek helix/helik- () = "twisted, curved" and pteron () = "wing". Helicopters were developed and built during the first half-century of flight, with the Focke-Wulf Fw 61 being the first operational helicopter in 1936. Some helicopters reached limited production, but it was not until 1942 that a helicopter designed by Igor Sikorsky reached full-scale production, with 131 aircraft built. Though earlier designs used more than one main rotor, it is the single main rotor with anti-torque tail rotor configuration that has become the most common helicopter configuration. Tandem rotor helicopters are also in widespread use, due to their better payload capacity. Quadrotor helicopters and other types of multicopter have been developed for specialized applications.

Uses Due to the operating characteristics of the helicopterits ability to takeoff and land vertically, and to hover for extended periods of time, as well as the aircraft's handling properties under low airspeed conditionsit has been chosen to conduct tasks that were previously not possible with other aircraft, or were time- or work-intensive to accomplish on the ground. Today, helicopter uses include transportation of people and cargo, military uses, construction, firefighting, search and rescue, tourism, medical transport, and aerial observation, among others.

A helicopter used to carry loads connected to long cables or slings is called an aerial crane. Aerial cranes are used to place heavy equipment, like radio transmission towers and large air conditioning units, on the tops of tall buildings, or when an item must be raised up in a remote area, such as a radio tower raised on the top of a hill or mountain. Helicopters are used as aerial cranes in the logging industry to lift trees out of terrain where vehicles cannot travel and where environmental concerns prohibit the building of roads. These operations are referred to as longline because of the long, single sling line used to carry the load. Helitack is the use of helicopters to combat wildland fires. The helicopters are used for aerial firefighting (or water bombing) and may be fitted with tanks or carryhelibuckets. Helibuckets, such as the Bambi bucket, are usually filled by submerging the bucket into lakes, rivers, reservoirs, or portable tanks. Tanks fitted onto helicopters are filled from a hose while the helicopter is on the ground or water is siphoned from lakes or reservoirs through a hanging snorkel as the helicopter hovers over the water source. Helitack helicopters are also used to deliver firefighters, who rappel down to inaccessible areas, and to resupply firefighters. Common firefighting helicopters include variants of the Bell 205 and the Erickson S64 Aircrane helitanker. Helicopters are used as air ambulances for emergency medical assistance in situations when an ambulance cannot easily or quickly reach the scene, or cannot transport the patient to a medical facility in time. Helicopters are also used when a patient needs to be transported between medical facilities and air transportation is the most practical method for the safety of the patient. Air ambulance helicopters are equipped to provide medical treatment to a patient while in flight. The use of helicopters as air ambulances is often referred to as MEDEVAC, and patients are referred to as being "airlifted", or "medevaced". Police departments and other law enforcement agencies use helicopters to pursue suspects. Since helicopters can achieve a unique aerial view, they are often used in conjunction with police on the ground to report on suspects' locations and movements. They are often mounted with lighting and heat-sensing equipment for night pursuits. Military forces use attack helicopters to conduct aerial attacks on ground targets. Such helicopters are mounted with missile launchers and miniguns. Transport helicopters are used to ferry troops and supplies where the lack of an airstrip would make transport via fixed-wing aircraft impossible. The use of transport helicopters to deliver troops as an attack force on an objective is referred to as Air

Assault. Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) helicopter systems of varying sizes are being developed by companies for militaryreconnaissance and surveillance duties. Naval forces also use helicopters equipped with dipping sonar for anti-submarine warfare, since they can operate from small ships. Oil companies charter helicopters to move workers and parts quickly to remote drilling sites located out to sea or in remote locations. The speed over boats makes the high operating cost of helicopters cost effective to ensure that oil platforms continue to flow. Various companies specialize in this type of operation. Other uses of helicopters include, but are not limited to: Aerial photography Motion picture photography Electronic news gathering Reflection seismology Search and Rescue Tourism or recreation Transport Flight There are three basic flight conditions for a helicopter: hover, forward flight and the transition between the two. Hover Hovering is the most challenging part of flying a helicopter. This is because a helicopter generates its own gusty air while in a hover, which acts against the fuselage and flight control surfaces. The end result is constant control inputs and corrections by the pilot to keep the helicopter where it is required to be. Despite the complexity of the task, the control inputs in a hover are simple. The cyclic is used to eliminate drift in the horizontal plane, that is to control forward and back, right and left. The collective is used to maintain altitude. The pedals are used to control nose direction or heading. It is the interaction of these controls that makes hovering so difficult, since an adjustment in any one control requires an adjustment of the other two, creating a cycle of constant correction.

Transition from hover to forward flight As a helicopter moves from hover to forward flight it enters a state called translational lift which provides extra lift without increasing power. This state, most typically, occurs when the airspeed reaches approximately 1624 knots, and may be necessary for a helicopter to obtain flight. Forward flight In forward flight a helicopter's flight controls behave more like those of a fixed-wing aircraft. Displacing the cyclic forward will cause the nose to pitch down, with a resultant increase in airspeed and loss of altitude. Aft cyclic will cause the nose to pitch up, slowing the helicopter and causing it to climb. Increasing collective (power) while maintaining a constant airspeed will induce a climb while decreasing collective will cause a descent. Coordinating these two inputs, down collective plus aft cyclic or up collective plus forward cyclic, will result in airspeed changes while maintaining a constant altitude. The pedals serve the same function in both a helicopter and a fixedwing aircraft, to maintain balanced flight. This is done by applying a pedal input in whichever direction is necessary to center the ball in the turn and bank indicator. Hazards As with any moving vehicle, unsafe operation could result in loss of control, structural damage, or loss of life. The following is a list of some of the potential hazards for helicopters: Settling with power, also known as a vortex ring state, is when the aircraft is unable to arrest its descent due to the rotor's downwash interfering with the aerodynamics of the rotor. Retreating blade stall is experienced during high speed flight and is the most common limiting factor of a helicopter's forward speed. Ground resonance affects helicopters with fully articulated rotor systems having a natural lead-lag frequency less than the blade rotation frequency. Low-G condition affects helicopters with two-bladed main rotors, particularly lightweight helicopters. Dynamic rollover in which the helicopter pivots around one of the skids and 'pulls' itself onto its side. Powertrain failures, especially those that occur within the shaded area of the heightvelocity diagram.

Tail rotor failures which occur from either a mechanical malfunction of the tail rotor control system or a loss of tail rotor thrust authority, called Loss of Tail-rotor Effectiveness (LTE). Brownout in dusty conditions or whiteout in snowy conditions. Low Rotor RPM, or rotor droop, in which the engine cannot drive the blades at sufficient RPM to maintain flight. Rotor Overspeed, which can over-stress the rotor hub pitch bearings (Brinelling) and, if severe enough, cause blade separation from the aircraft. Wire and tree strikes due to low altitude operations and take-offs and landings in remote locations. Controlled flight into terrain in which the aircraft is flown into the ground unintentionally due to lack of situational awareness. Miniature helicopters Miniature helicopters are remotely controlled helicopters with a weight ranging from hundred grams to a few grams. Most in production are toys aimed at hobbyists and enthusiasts. In addition there are many companies making prototypes for military and security applications. Miniature helicopters are popular demonstrations for the latest technologies in miniaturization. Examples of these types of miniaturized models are the E-Flite Blade CX and CX2 and the Picoo Z, a popular consumer model. Also is the Proxflyer, a prototype and basis for many production models. One final example is a one-off prototype and technology demonstration item that was developed by Seiko Epson and demonstrated at theInternational Robot Exhibition in Tokyo is the Seiko Epson Micro flying robot. Miniaturization Techniques involve reduction of weight and complexity compared to normal sized RC helicopters: Use of densest power sources available, such as lithium polymer. Battery capacity only enough for a short flight, typically a few minutes. Miniature DC motors. Electronics made of SMD components and ASIC chips. Light plastics or carbon fiber fixtures and structure. Infrared control instead of radio. Auto-stabilization with Stabilizer bar No servos; directional control only via variable power to the tail rotor.