I am trying to build one myself.
2007-08-16 16:00:11 · 11 answers · asked by Alex1324 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Aircraft
If you mean a helicopter that is big enough for you to ride in, weight would be a big issue... also, the fact that they are not as strong as the metal used in modern rotors... If you are thinking high-tech, the fact that you could not heat the wooden rotor to prevent icing could also be an issue... lastly, the fact that it cannot bend much without breaking would be a big issue in turbulant weather...
2007-08-16 16:11:15 · answer #1 · answered by ALOPILOT 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It can be done. I now there were some copters made in the past with wooden rotors, e.g. gyrodyne, but a helicopter must work right every time and never fail, so it must be designed by a team of competent engineers. I guess the risk would be falling from way up in the sky, when your helicopter craps out.
If your rotor is made out of the right wood and it has been properly laminated, the blade can actually be bent quite a bit and snap back into shape. It does seem like it would be so much easier to make a blade out of 1 piece of alloy than bonding all those little pieces of wood.
2007-08-16 16:15:08 · answer #2 · answered by Balto 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If you buy custom made blades by a manufacturer, there is no more risk than with metal blades. They are more flexible and lighter than many metal blades. The service life is not as long.
Many early helicopters used wooden blades, Bell and Hiller notably.
I would not attempt to make a rotor blade from any material, because they must be laminated and stressed right, or they will not last the first trip to spool up RPM.
2007-08-17 12:02:59 · answer #3 · answered by eferrell01 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
wooden rotor baldes were used with the Mi 4 helicopter and previous, and with sikorski helicopters, too. lot of the autogyros are using wooden blades these days I guess.
as far as you maintain high standards of material quailty there is no danger. the problem is to material attrition. price is the only positive when compared to state of art rigid rotor heads with composite blades.
2007-08-17 05:39:22 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't know what country you are in but if it's the US you have a tough row to hoe. Unless you build it from a kit, you will have a very difficult time getting it past the FAA inspectors. You may be a master craftsman, I don't know, but the techniques and technology involved in home building any aircraft, much less something as complex as a helicopter, is enormous when it comes to the FAA signing off on it. I rarely tell somebody with aspirations in aviation anything but "make it happen" but man you are biting off one big chunk of meat here. Good luck though.
2007-08-16 17:35:17 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Wooden rotors aren't strong enough to hold on to the "spinning" force when you start a helicopter.
2007-08-17 00:51:21 · answer #6 · answered by frans97 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Wood may not be able to withstand the vibrations and torsional stresses imposed on a rotor and may break down.
2007-08-17 00:00:27 · answer #7 · answered by al_sheda 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Well the first helicopter I ever flew had wood blades (Bell 47-D). Like the one used in the TV series "Mash"
2007-08-16 16:55:37 · answer #8 · answered by walt554 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Termites
2007-08-16 22:53:43 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
you have one BIG DREAM
2007-08-20 10:26:11 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋