CURRENT STUDENTS

Helicopter Glossary of Terms

Aerodyne: A heavier-than-air aircraft (as an airplane, helicopter, or glider)
AAH: Advanced Attack Helicopter
AH: Attack Helicopter
Antitorque Pedal: The pedal used to control the pitch of the tail rotor or air diffuser in a NOTAR® system.
ARH: Attack & Reconnaissance Helicopter
Articulated: A rotor hub which provides coning/flapping and lead/lag drag hinges, as well as rotary bearings for pitch change.
CH: Cargo Helicopter
Coaxil Rotor (or Contra-rotating co-axial rotor): A rotor system utilizing two rotors turning in opposite directions on the same centerline. This system is used to eliminate the need for a tail rotor.
Collective Pitch Control: The control for changing the pitch of all the rotor blades in the main rotor system equally and simultaneously and, consequently, the amount of lift or thrust being generated
Cyclic Pitch Control: The control for changing the pitch of each rotor blade individually as it rotates through one cycle to govern the tilt of the rotor disc and, consequently, the direction and velocity of horizontal movement
Ground Effect: Effect of having a solid flat surface close beneath a hovering helicopter.
Gyroplane: An aircraft that gets lift from a freely turning rotary wing (rotor blades), and which derives its thrust from an engine-driven propeller. Note: Gyroplanes have no tail rotor
Helicopter: A rotorcraft deriving the whole or a substantial part of its lift from one or more power-driven rotors.
HH: Search and Rescue Helicopter
HLH: Heavy Lift Helicopter
Intermeshing Rotors: Counter-rotating main rotors (and no tail rotor) which allows all engine power to go directly to the main rotors for the highest lifting efficiency of any rotor configuration.
LOH: Light Observation Helicopter
OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturer. A manufacturer that sells a complete product to its end user. The internal parts used in the final product might be purchased from other manufacturers or internal parts might be manufactured on-site, usually a combination of both.
Optimum Speed Rotor (OSR): A rotor system designed so it's rotor speed is able to vary across a wide range and by doing so is able to find the most efficient flight condition.
Piston Engine: An internal combustion engine with working cylinders in which the process of combustion takes place within the cylinder or cylinders.
Rotor: A system of rotating aerofoils.
Rotorcraft: An aerodyne which throughout all or part of its flight derives the whole or part of its lift from a rotor or rotors rotating in a substantially horizontal plane.
Rotary-wing aircraft: A broad category of any aircraft with a moving wing, including helicopters and autogyros. This is to distinguish from fixed-wing aircraft. A third type, tilt-wing (or tilt-rotor) aircraft, are a mix of the two, as the lift surfaces in vertical flight are rotary, but stationary in forward flight.
SH: Anti-Submarine Helicopter
Swashplate: A disc either fixed or rotating on the main rotor drive shaft, which is tilted in various directions by the pilot's control inputs. Rods from the swashplate control the pitch angles of the blades.
Tail Rotor: A rotor turning in a plane perpendicular to that of the main rotor and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage. It is used to control the torque of the main rotor and to provide movement about the yaw axis of the helicopter.
Tandem rotor system: The two main rotors are located at the front and rear extremity of a long fuselage.
Tip Path: The path in space traced out by the tips of the rotor blades.
Turbine Engine: An internal combustion engine in which expanding gases from the combustion chamber drive the blades of a turbine.
UH: Utility Helicopter
VTOL: Vertical Take-Off and Landing
VSTOVL: Very Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing