An air transport mode using a rotorcraft whose horizontally spinning rotors supply both lift and thrust, letting it take off and land vertically and hover in place rather than requiring a runway. Germany's Focke-Wulf Fw 61, flown in 1936, is generally credited as the first fully controllable practical helicopter, and the mode has since become essential wherever a fixed-wing aircraft cannot operate, ferrying crews to offshore oil platforms, flying emergency medical evacuations, and reaching disaster sites and other terrain no runway could ever serve. Its hovering ability comes at a real cost in speed, range and fuel efficiency compared with a fixed-wing aircraft covering the same distance. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Core ConcernTaking off, landing and hovering vertically using horizontally spinning rotors for lift and thrust 1 Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Helicopter
WikipediaIntroduction
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors.
Overview
This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally.
History
In July 1754, Russian Mikhail Lomonosov had developed a small coaxial modeled after the Chinese top but powered by a wound-up spring device and demonstrated it to the Russian Academy of Sciences.
- In Category: Modes
- Part Of: Aviation
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