DESIGN, ANALYSIS, AND TESTING OF A NEW GENERATION TAIL ROTOR

The development of a two-bladed teetering tail rotor without pitch-change bearings is described. The design uses a fiberglass twist-strap flexure to accommodate collective pitch control, and features the elimination of the shear-reaction device for counteracting the pitch link load. The design of the rotor was based on the results of earlier model tests and stability analyses. Wind tunnel tests were conducted with the rotor installed on a flightworthy tailboom. The design concept was demonstrated satisfactorily by testing the tail rotor through the entire flight spectrum of the JetRanger test vehicle.