How is this helicopter flying if the blades aren't spinning?

[Thoku]

Could it not just be a lot of video editing/photoshopping? But I guess thats unlikely.

Theres no way a helicopter can stay up like that without its main rotar moving. Was I the only one to notice that the back rotar looked like it was moving slowly as well so the whole frame rate of the camera thing might not be to blame. Unless the back rotar is travelling 1.little bit (technical term ) for every frame of the film, and just seems like its moving slowly.

[webbyman]

probably a random fluke of a frame rate sync to make the blades look like they arn't moving

[Funkstar]

If you are using a pro camera, you are able to adjust its own frame rate and timing to match what you are shooting, this is used to stop CRT monitors from looking rubbish when filming. If the chopper blades were spinning at an even multiple of a regular frame rate it would be quite easy to sync the two like this. Also, the tale rotor is spinning far too slowly to move the chopper around like that.

[MadduckUK]

http://www.c00lstuff.com/643/Russian...ts_main_rotor/

"This Russian Mi-24 HIND helicopter can fly without rotating its main rotor. It can achieve this by pitching the rotor's propellers against the direction of movement, thus effectively working like an airplane's wings. Also the pilot can vector downwards the turbine's engines, giving it partial lift."

really, you people and your crazy thories!

edit: or from a similar source, its because of harry potter


edit again: do we have an actual answer to this? is it boring?

[Funkstar]

Thats just too cool then!

Nice one Madduck

[MadduckUK]

Thats just too cool then!

Nice one Madduck

im not sure whether to believe it or not. as the things that could be considered harrier style vector nozzles are just exhausts....

but whatever, th second vid on the link shows trees and thats something people have been asking for

[Whiternoise]

Aww.. i wanted to believe it was the camera.. darn those Russians and their unconventional technology!

- but that still doesn't answer the question of why it sounded like the rotor was spinning and why the tail rotor was so slow - at that speed it wouldn't make a difference and it may as well have stopped.

[chicken]

cheers MadduckUK, it makes a lot more sense seeing the 2nd clip.

[BUFF]

http://www.c00lstuff.com/643/Russian...ts_main_rotor/

"This Russian Mi-24 HIND helicopter can fly without rotating its main rotor. It can achieve this by pitching the rotor's propellers against the direction of movement, thus effectively working like an airplane's wings. Also the pilot can vector downwards the turbine's engines, giving it partial lift."

sorry, but I don't believe this.
Yes, it has small wings which will provide some lift in forward flight but the amount of lift provided by both those & static rotors would be minimal & certainly not able to allow the vertical ascent seen towards the end.
If it has vectored thrust ability (which there is no noticeable sign of in the video) then it's a 1-off - I've stood beside a Hind & watched 1 display.

[MadduckUK]

the lift is apparently coming from the rotors, rather than the "wings"

however as i said in my previous post i don't know if i believe it myself

[chicken]

Apparently the wings account for about quarter of it's lift, which may make the difference between the rotors being capable of doing the job or not, but it's odd how none of the technical sites mention this ability...

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/row/mi-24.htm

[MaddAussie]

This is camera trickery, not a built in 'feature' of the hind, It would need some serious vtol capabilies to preform those manouvers at that speed and agility.

[TeePee]

It's a camera effect.

The stub wings add lift in forward flight as is common, mainly to increase speed. If all the lift comes from the rotor disc, the difference in blade angles between the forward moving and rearward moving blades would have to be much greater. Forward speed of most helicopters is limited by this.

At manouvering speeds the lift from the wings is negligible.

[BUFF]

The stub wings add lift in forward flight as is common, mainly to increase speed.

afaik they are actually there to provide a place for weapons pylons & to increase the ability to carry that payload.
When the Mi-24 (in A-10 variant form) was setting speed records they removed the stub wings & faired over the mountings.


found a longer video

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...49679064042453

[99Flake]

I would go for camera trickery, I don't believe it isn't really. I went off looking to see if it was true as I wouldn't put it past the Russians, just look at the manouvers they can get a fix wing to pull off :- Mig29 for example.

Having found no mention of this ability and looking at the overall design of the aircraft (oh and it is a late 70's design) I cannot believe it would be capable of such flight. Wings are far too small to generate lift of that magnitude, and so are the rotor blades (which if they are should be bending upwards at the end at a rediculous angle).

[TeePee]

They have this function as well. I think they started putting stub wings on helicopters for payload, and developed them into airfoils for speed increase.

You might be able to get a faster top speed by adding more blades to the main rotor, but I don't understand how, aerodynamically, the loss of lift from the wings could be contered by increasing lift from the rotors without the rotor drag increasing well beyond the drag the wings gave.

Theres an interesting essay on rotorcraft speed limitations here:
http://www.jefflewis.net/rotorcraft_limitations.html

from a company developing a winged helicopter.