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Three-blade fully articulated main rotor similar to that of Alouette II.

Three-blade semi-articulated tail rotor.

Four-blade main rotor, fully articulated hub.

Five-blade semi-articulated tail rotor (flapping hinges only).

Three-blade fully-articulated main rotor with friction-type lead-lag dampers. Rotor head and mast form a single unit.

13-blade shrouded tail rotor, Fenestron 'fan-in-fin' type with evenly spaced variable pitch blades.

Four-blade main rotor, fully articulated hub. Drag hinges are fitted with elastomeric frequency adaptors.

Five-blade tail rotor, flapping hinges only.

Four-blade fully-articulated main rotor. Hydraulic lead-lag dampers. Composite main rotor blades with swept and tapered tips.

Two-blade teetering tail rotor.

Four-blade fully-articulated main rotor with elastomeric bearings. Hydraulic lead-lag dampers.

Two-blade teetering tail rotor.

Five-blade fully-articulated main rotor with composite hub.

Four-blade canted tail rotor.

Four-blade rigid main rotor. Hub and inboard portion of flexible blade attachment arms made from a single mono-block titanium forging. BERP IV blade tips.

Four-blade hinge-less tail rotor with elastomeric bearings.

Five-blade articulated main rotor with elastomeric bearings. Main rotor hub combines a metal core with two composite plates and multiple bearing rings. Blades feature BERP high-speed tips.

Four-blade flex-beam tail rotor composed of two stacked yokes.

Two-blade semi-rigid main rotor, stabilizing bar perpendicular to blades. Underslung feathering axis head.

2-blade tail rotor.

Two-blade semi-rigid main rotor, stabilizing bar perpendicular to blades. Underslung feathering axis head.

2-blade tail rotor.

Two-blade semi-rigid main rotor, stabilizing bar perpendicular to blades. Underslung feathering axis head.

2-blade tail rotor.

Two-blade semi-rigid main rotor, stabilizing bar perpendicular to blades. Underslung feathering axis head.

2-blade tail rotor.

Two-blade semi-rigid main rotor with teetering hinge. Flex-beam yoke bolted to trunnion with elastomeric bearing caps which restrain flapping of rotor through steel sleeves and rubber cores.

2-blade semi-rigid tail rotor system that is underslung and delta hinged with a flex beam employing 1 degree preconing.

Two-blade semi-rigid main rotor with Lastoflex elastomeric and Teflon-faced bearings.

2-blade semi-rigid tail rotor system that is underslung and delta hinged with a flex beam employing 1 degree preconing.

Four-blade hingeless and bearingless main rotor rotor composed of two stacked fiberglass yokes with all-composite blades and cuffs. Yokes accomodate blade flapping, lead-lag and pitch change motions through flexing and torsion. Semi-automatic blade folding for shipboard operations.

Four-blade tail rotor assembly consisting of two stacked teetering rotors with titanium yokes independently mounted on a single output shaft using splined trunnions. Elastomeric bearings installed in the trunnions provide the load path for drive torque and thrust loads and provide for flapping motion.

Two-blade semi-rigid main rotor (same as Bell 222).

2-blade tail rotor (same as Bell 222)

Four-blade hingeless flex-beam soft-in-plane main rotor. Hub composed of two titanium flex-beam yokes,  four steel spindles with grip lugs for blade attachment, and elastomeric bearings and dampers. Mechanical pendulum dampers mounted on leading and trailing edges of yoke absorb 4/rev vibrations.

2-blade delta-hinge mounted teetering tail rotor.

Four-blade soft-in-plane main rotor (same as Bell 406 / OH-58D).

2-blade tail rotor (same as Bell 407).

Four-blade hinge-less soft-in-plane rotor system with stacked composite yokes, titanium drive plate and centrifugal force fittings, elastomeric CF bearings and shear restraints, and elastomeric lead/lag dampers. Composite blades with Nickel-Cobalt leading edge abrasion strips and tip caps.

Four blade stacked system with two teetering yokes in scissor arrangement and elastomeric flapping bearings. Composite blades with swept blade tips and Nickel-Cobalt leading edge abrasion strips,

Four-blade fully-articulated main rotor with blades attached by laminated strap retention system.
Elastomeric lead-lag dampers and offset flapping hinges.

Twin two-blade teetering tail rotors mounted one above the other and set at 55/125 degrees.

Boeing CH-47D Chinook

Tandem interconnected three-blade main rotors, fully-articulated, all bearings submerged in oil.

Boeing-Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche

Four-blade bearingless FVW main rotor adopted from MBB Bo108

Eight-blade Fenestron ducted-fan tail rotor.

Three-blade main rotor, fully articulated.

3-blade articulated tail rotor.

Three-blade Spheriflex main rotor.

Eight-blade Fenestron tail rotor with unevenly spaced blades for noise abatement.

Four-blade hingeless and bearingless FVW main rotor adopted from MBB Bo108

Fenestron ducted fan tail rotor.

Three-blade hinge-less main rotor with Starflex glass-fiber/carbon-fiber reinforced plastic composite hub. Elastomeric lead-lag and centrifugal force bearings.

Two-blade tail rotor.

Four-blade hingeless main rotor, Starflex glass-fiber/carbon-fiber hub.
Single steel-rubber sandwich ball joint per blade.

11-blade shrouded tail rotor, Fenestron 'fan-in-fin' type with unevenly spaced blades.

Five-blade hingeless main rotor, Spheriflex glass-fiber/carbon-fiber hub.

10-blade shrouded tail rotor, Fenestron 'fan-in-fin' type with unevenly spaced blades.

Four-blade main and tail rotors with Spheriflex glass-fiber/carbon-fiber hub.
Elastomeric spherical bearings and Kevlar blade retention bands.

Four-blade hingeless FEL main rotor consisting of only 24 parts (w/o bolts and bushings).

Hub made of titanium centerpiece with composite star plates bolted on top and below.

Flap and lead/lag motions allowed by elastic bending of blade root, pitch allowed by elastomeric bearings.

Lead/lag damping by solid-state visco-elastic dampers.

Three-blade Spheriflex tail rotor with fork blade roots.

Five-blade hingeless Spheriflex main rotor head with elastomeric spherical bearings.

Main rotor blades are multi-box structure with composite spar and parabolic tip.

Spheriflex tail rotor head with four all-composite blades.

Three-blade hingeless Spheriflex-type main rotor with elastomeric bearings.

Fenestron-type tail rotor.

Four-blade FEL hingeless main rotor head with fiber-elastomeric bearings sandwiched between two CFRP star plates (same technology as EC665). Blades are manually foldable.

Four-blade FVW flexbeam tail rotor.

Two-blade contra-rotating intermeshing twin-rotor with servo-flap control. Rotor blades are attached to hub by drag hinges only, the servo-flaps eliminating blade pitch change and associated bearings. Movement of servo-flaps twists the blades with the natural resilience of the blades used to obtain torsional deflection.

Tail unit has twin rudders controlled by autostabilizer.

Two three-blade co-axially mounted counter-rotating main rotors, fully articulated.

Two three-blade co-axially mounted counter-rotating main rotors, fully articulated.

Four-blade hingeless main rotor with rigid titanium hub. Only articulation is roller bearings for pitch change.

Two-blade semi-rigid tail rotor.

Four-blade hingeless main rotor with rigid titanium hub identical to Bo105, but larger.

Two-blade semi-rigid tail rotor.

Fully articulated five-blade main rotor. Blades retained by laminated steel 'strap packs'

NOTAR anti-torque system.

All-composite five-blade hinge-less and bearing-less main rotor with flexbeam retention. Blade tips have parabolic sweep.

NOTAR anti-torque system.

Two-blade semi-articulated main rotor with underslung rotor head.

Two-blade teetering tail rotor.

Three-blade fully articulated main rotor.

Three-blade tail rotor.

Four-blade fully articulated main rotor.

Three-blade tail rotor.

Five-blade fully articulated main rotor.

Four-blade tail rotor.

Five-blade fully articulated main rotor, forged and machined steel hub. Hydraulic lead-lag dampers.

Three-blade tail rotor (starboard).

Mi-8S walkaround

Mi-9 walkaround

Five-blade fully articulated main rotor, forged and machined steel hub. Hydraulic lead-lag dampers (same as Mi-8).

Three-blade tail rotor (port).

Five-blade fully articulated main rotor, forged and machined steel hub. Hydraulic lead-lag dampers (same as Mi-8).

Three-blade tail rotor (same as Mi-17)

Mi-24V walkaround

Mi-24P walkaround

Eight-blade fully articulated main rotor with titanium hub. Hydraulic lead-lag dampers.

Five-blade tail rotor with titanium hub.

Five-blade fully articulated main rotor with titanium hub. Hydraulic lead-lag dampers. Same design as Mi-24, but doubled hinge-offset for enhanced agility.

Two independent two-blade tail rotors set as narrow X (35º/145º) on same shaft with self-lubricating bearings.

Five-blade fully articulated main rotor (same as Mi-28).

Twin two-blade scissored tail rotor (same as Mi-28).

Four-blade hingeless Spheriflex main rotor, titanium hub with elastomeric spherical thrust bearings.

Blades feature swept and curved down high-speed tips.

Bearingless four-blade tail rotor with cross-beam hub.

Three-blade fully articulated tandem rotors.

Four-blade fully articulated main rotor hub. Salomon-type vibration absorbers.

Three-blade tail rotor.

Fully articulated three-blade main rotor. All blades are glass-fiber epoxy composite.

Two-blade tail rotor.

Two-blade semi-articulated main rotor, with tri-hinged underslung rotor head and elastic teeter hinge stop to prevent blade-boom contact when starting or stopping rotor in high winds

Two-blade tail rotor.

Semi-rigid two-blade teetering rotor with underslung hinge.

Two-blade teetering tail rotor.

Three-blade fully articulated main rotor with drag-hinge friction dampers and inter-blade snubbers. Blade pitch is governed via an internal control spider at the base of the main rotor mast.

Two-blade teetering tail rotor (original design was three-blade fully articulated type)

Two-blade main rotor with titanium hub.

Two-blade teetering tail rotor.

Three-blade fully articulated main rotor with elastomeric dampers.

Two-blade teetering tail rotor.

Three-blade fully articulated main rotor.

Two-blade tail rotor with teetering hinge.

Three-blade fully articulated main rotor.

Two-blade tail rotor with teetering hinge.

Four-blade fully-articulated main rotor.

Four-blade semi-articulated tail rotor.

Six-blade fully articulated main rotor.

Four-blade fully articulated tail rotor.

Five-blade fully-articulated and oil-lubricated main rotor with all-steel head.

Five-blade semi-articulated tail rotor with aluminum blades.

Three-blade fully articulated main rotor (same as S-55)

Two-blade tail rotor with teetering hinge (same as S-55)

Six-blade fully-articulated main rotor with aluminum blades and aluminum and steel head.

Four-blade semi-articulated tail rotor with titanium head and aluminum blades.

Six-blade fully articulated main rotor with titanium and steel hub. Oil-lubricated flapping and lead-lag hinges. Hydraulically folding blades.

Four-blade tail rotor.

Six-blade fully articulated hinge-less main rotor with elastomeric bearings and hydraulic lead-lag dampers. Hydraulically folding blades.

Four-blade tail rotor (same as CH-53G).

Four-blade articulated main rotor with one-piece forged titanium head and elastomeric blade retention bearings.

Hydraulic drag dampers, bifilar self-tuning vibration absorber above head.

Ballistically tolerant main rotor blades with titanium spars, fiberglass skins, and honeycomb cores

Four-blade flexbeam tail rotor tilted to port to produce lift, anti-torque thrust, and to extend permissible CG range.

Four-blade articulated main rotor with one-piece forged titanium head and elastomeric blade retention bearings.

Hydraulic drag dampers, bifilar self-tuning vibration absorber above head. Hydraulic blade folding.

Ballistically tolerant main rotor blades with titanium spars, fiberglass skins, and honeycomb cores

Four-blade flexbeam tail rotor tilted to port to produce lift, anti-torque thrust, and to extend permissible CG range.

Fully articulated four-blade hingeless main rotor with elastomeric bearings. Bi-filar self-tuning vibration absorbers. Main rotor blades with swept, tapered anhedral tips.

Unlimited-life four-blade tail rotor with bearingless composite flex-beam. Pitch control links use elastomeric bearings.
Tail is rotor tilted to port to produce lift, anti-torque thrust, and to extend permissible CG range.

Three-blade main rotor, fully articulated with hydraulic lead-lag dampers.

Two-blade anti-torque tail rotor.

Four-blade rigid main rotor. Hub and inboard portion of flexible blade attachment arms made from a single mono-block titanium forging. BERP tipped blades.

Four-blade tail rotor (direction of turn reversed on later models)

Five-blade fully-articulated main rotor. Automatic, hydraulically-powered folding system

Five-blade, later models six-blade tail rotor.

copyright ©  2000-2010 by Burkhard Domke

Aviation Images > Rotorheads | Walkarounds | Links