The purpose of this column is not re-inventing the wheel but to utilise the wheel as is. The Helicopters are one of the most versatile flying machines in existence today. This versatility gives the pilot complete access to three-dimensional space in a way that no airplane can. If you have ever flown in a helicopter you know that its abilities are breathtaking. The amazing agility of helicopters means that they can fly almost anywhere. However, it also means that flying the machines is complicated. The pilot has to think in three dimensions and must use both arms and both legs constantly to keep a helicopter in the air. Piloting a helicopter requires a great deal of training and skill, as well as constant attention to the machine. We are not here to present the full story of operating and manoeuvring this wonder machine but just to give an easy to understand insight in the way it works. Analysing the various means of Transport may help us understand how helicopters work and also why they are so complicated to fly, it is helpful to compare the abilities of a helicopter with those of motor vehicles and aeroplanes. By looking at these different means of transportation, you can come to understand why helicopters are so versatile! The tracks take the train where it has to go; as simple as that! Due to the bi-directional motion, all one requires is to accelerate or decelerate, one hand can effectively operate it. As for the bus, it too can go forward and backward like a train. BUT, as you are moving in either direction you can also turn left or right! To manoeuvre, the bus uses a steering wheel that the driver has to turn clockwise or ant-clockwise. It is possible to operate a bus with one hand and one foot. If you are lucky enough to have ever peeped inside the cockpit (pilots’ cabin) of any aircraft, you may have noticed the jungle of gadgets, dials, meters, knobs, switches, etcetera that is because the aircrafts are somehow complicated to fly than merely driving a bus or even the train. However, an aeroplane is really only one step ahead of the car in that, it can move forward and turns left or right; it also adds the ability to go up and down. However, it does not have the ability to reverse. So a plane can move in five different directions instead of a car’s four directions. Did you know that a helicopter can do three things that an airplane cannot? A helicopter can fly backwards, the entire helicopter can rotate in the air, and it can hover motionlessly in the air. As for the car or aeroplane, there must always be a form of motion in order for it to turn. In a helicopter, you can move laterally in any direction or you can rotate 360 degrees. These extra degrees of freedom and the skill you must have to master them is what makes helicopters so exciting, but it also makes them dangerously complex. To control a helicopter, one hand must grasp a control called the “cyclic”, which controls the lateral direction of the helicopter (including forward, backward, left and right). The other hand grasps a control called the “collective”, which controls the up and down motion of the helicopter (and also controls engine speed). The pilot’s feet rest on pedals that control the tail rotor, which allows the helicopter to rotate in either direction on its axis. It requires one to possess two hands and two feet to fly a helicopter; not simple is it! eddie@afrowebs.com
