HUB Moment Springs on Two-Bladed Teetering Rotors

Two-bladed teetering rotors with elastic flapping hinge restraint are shown to be suitable for zero-g flight. The alternating moment component introduced into the fuselage by the hinge spring can be balanced about the aircraft center of gravity by alternating hub shears. Such shears can be produced in proper magnitude, frequency, and phase by additional under slinging of the hub and by judicious choice of the location of the first in-plane cantilevered natural frequency. Trends of theoretical results agree with test results from a small scale model and a modified OH-58A helicopter.