Why Helicopters Fall Like a Leaf, Not a Rock

[@NotWhatYouThink]

Start speaking a new language in 3 weeks with Babbel 🎉 Get up to 60% OFF your subscription ➡bit.ly/NotWhatYouThink60

[@JnManuelAG]

Please make a video on how Pepsi managed to get military ships out of a deal with the Soviets 🙏🏽

[@r-ratedstudios3847]

slava russia !

[@ventusprime]

I googled f4 phantom and yes

[@yourdiresir]

​@@r-ratedstudios3847Negative IQ moment.

[@r-ratedstudios3847]

@@yourdiresir ah yea support nato and usa even tho they take your tax money and raise your gas prices, i bet you drink budlight and support lgbtP too.

[@aykuttamer8341]

As an helicopter professional, I very liked your video. And loved the uranus joke :) Some contributions: - Autogyros are one of the most immune aircraft to engine failure. They have superiority to helicopters in engine-failure since they always fly (and designed to fly) in autorotation. Therefore, pilot doesn't need to do much when engine fails, whereas helicopter pilots have few seconds to lower the collective and put the helicopter into auto-rotation mode. So, they are very safe, if not the safest, for general aviation. Lack of hovering ability and lower performance that is why they are not very common for other purposes. - V22 can do autrotation technically but since the blades are much shorter, the descend rate would be much higher than that of a single main rotor helicopter. In fact, there is a term called "autorotation index" which is used in comparing autorotation performances of different rotors, which indicates that longer blades are better in auto-rotation. So V22 is not practical (meaning survivable) to autorotate, they are better off with gliding. Worth also mentioning that they have two engines and have less probability to loose both. - Autorotation is as effective as a parachute but still happens at a high descend rate (still survivable but risky) so pilots do one final thing named as flare, which is basically to raise the collective in exchange of the rotor rpm (lift creates drag). This slows down rotor but gives some moments of increased lift that further slows down the rate of descend. Edit:Typos

[@NotWhatYouThink]

Thank you!

[@jeffery7281]

The funny thing is V-22 is also sucks for glide. It has smaller wing area and A/R ratios compared to normal fixed wing aircraft (because a larger wing area will blocked the downwash of rotor and causing the loss in the rotors' effective thrust, which you might already know.) And even worse, the huge rotors will obviously creating terrible drag when they're autorotating, it will make the glide ratio even worse. So V-22 is sucked when engine failure, because it can neither perform autorotation nor glide effectively.

[@judgement4934]

Very interesting

[@ValleyDragon]

I asked chief warrant if Army helicopters can autogyro and he said the Engines are too high and too heavy because they have 2 engines and armor.

[@smgdfcmfah]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't that what held up the Osprey's so much during testing? Not only can they not auto-rotate (safely), nor glide (well), but they also lack any sort of ejection system for the crew (due to the nature of the design). I imagine losing one engine would play havoc on your yaw control with all that torque on one side while struggling to produce enough lift from the edge of one wing - like trying to lift a barbell from one side!

[@Hu1tziil]

In Defense of Niel Degrasse Tyson, he is an astrophysicist and as such, he ignores air resistance

[@Kumquat_Lord]

he's also a massive tool so any chance to shit on him is great.

[@RamadaArtist]

A "glider" is just a spaceship engaging retro rockets in a low gravity environment. Rotors and wings are just environmental sensing equipment, and shouldn't be considered part of the physics package.

[@Captain_Cinnamon]

He always tweets from hisanus because neil has a certain need for attention and approval like a b1tch

[@cadmium7435]

Airplanes cannot glide without air resistance .

[@mortache]

@@cabezadepija7318 not fake scientist, but people should remember that no "Expert" is an oracle with knowledge of everything. Ask him about his specific field, and even in that field there will be experts who disagree with each other. People should stop treating celebrities like gods.

[@hahajeremy123]

I love how this channel never runs out of content,even tho this channel is only operated by 2 people!

[@erwinrommel1989]

How do you know that it's 2 people.

[@RT-PD]

@@erwinrommel1989Think they said it was operated by 2 people in a video or something

[@sidv4615]

@@RT-PDhe *

[@John-Smith02]

@@RT-PD when? Before he said it was just him

[@Nintendo0994]

Because if its more than 2 people you could incur structural resonance when you touch down on the ground

[@ALLpurpose85]

“Common Neil where are you tweeting from… Uranus” had me dying 😂 1:15

[@Arlecchino_Gatto]

Me too!

[@aquaprofile]

It’s come on not common

[@DaveandhisDeathbeanie]

@@aquaprofile ...I thought he was typing out the accent.

[@3nertia]

@@aquaprofile Or "common Neil" here could be taken to mean "typical Neil" 😉

[@mayanksh3khar]

69th like

[@jackschoonover6418]

The highest autorotation was performed at an altitude of 40,814 feet (12,440 meters) while also setting the highest flight record of a helicopter. At that altitude, the Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama (the helicopter used for this record), piloted by French aviator, Jean Boulet, had its engines flame out due to lack of oxygen.

[@needsmctherapy1447]

that was one hell of a realization to make while so high in the air lmao. "oh shit, the engines gave out..." i know they likely kickstarted them again on the way down but still i bet some grey hairs were picked up on that mission

[@Fantastic_Mr_Fox]

Ok this is actually hilarious... a "Boulet" in french literally means a cannonball. But calling someone a "Boulet" means they are an idiot. More precisely, it means they are a restraining factor, like having a cannonball attached to your foot.

[@-Master_Of_Disaster]

What? On 41'000 feet is not enough oxygen? Oh my, who saw that coming? 😄

[@gotskilsudont2149]

@@Fantastic_Mr_Fox It can also mean to be head strong while never deviating from a path.... Like a cannonball once fired. It will stop inside a target or fly in a straight line until its out of energy... Kinda like how some people can't stop rushing at their problems in straight lines and smashing their heads on the wall until it crumbles instead of walking around it :D...

[@Fantastic_Mr_Fox]

@@gotskilsudont2149 True but that's used less often in my experience. But yes that's why it also means 'stupid' and not just 'a nuisance'

[@dillonbledsoe7680]

I love when Neil says something wrong and everybody knows it cuz he's so full of himself

[@Captain_Cinnamon]

Yea, neil needs approval like actual men need breakfast

[@dillonbledsoe7680]

@@Captain_Cinnamon u seen the scott Manley video where he says Neil says u can't eject supersonic when we have already like he forgot supersonic flights aren't in lower atmosphere

[@sorryi6685]

He literally admitted he was wrong and did a Collab with smarter everyday

[@Captain_Cinnamon]

@@sorryi6685 neil needs to learn to just shut the fuck up and think before letting his tongue dangle around

[@brucekaraus7330]

@@dillonbledsoe7680 What?

[@richardmillhousenixon]

Just a minor correction. Most autogyro craft can actually power the main rotor, however they generally don't have enough power to actually lift off purely by the power of the engine. The engine just serves to get the main rotor spinning fast enough so that the autogyro can actually take off within a reasonable distance, at which point it disengages from the main rotor and strictly powers the pusher and/or puller prop

[@NotWhatYouThink]

Thanks for clarifying!

[@niconico3907]

The motor is to start spinning the main rotor on the ground before take off. Autorotation doesn't work if the rotor is below a minimum rpm.

[@richardmillhousenixon]

@@niconico3907 yes, that's what I said

[@ericcsuf]

@@richardmillhousenixon Based on your namesake, it was wise to verify :)

[@Irobert1115HD]

@@NotWhatYouThink actually you should correct the first sentence to this shouldnt not happen. there where at least four crashes of civilian helicopter because of failing emergency systems.

[@RobSchofield]

The quality of this channel's output has suddenly become exceptional! This was one of the most informative videos I've seen recently - superb! Please keep up this standard. Excellent!

[@thestateofalaska]

the way i like to describe autorotation to people is that you lower the blade angles to keep them spinning as much as you can. The rotor disk provides some drag to slow your descent but not enough, so right before you hit the ground (10 feet or so), you’ll fully increase the blade angle to convert all the kinetic energy from the spinning blades into lift to arrest your descent and land softly. The helicopter might get a little damage, but everyone inside will live. Additionally, -for a helicopter that’s lost its tail rotor, if you maintain suitable forward speed, the aerodynamics of the helicopter will keep it from spinning out of control. So you can fly normally until you reach a good place to land, then reduce engine power as you allow your forward velocity to slow. Time it right and you can land without ever losing directional control or having to cut power to the rotors.- EDIT: See replies for correction to point 2

[@NotWhatYouThink]

Thanks for the explanation 👍🏼

[@grizwoldphantasia5005]

@@NotWhatYouThink I bet it was not what you thought!

[@mitchellh5869]

The first explanation is only really partially correct, but overall it's not a bad oversimplification for dinner parties. Unfortunately your second point on tail rotor failures is mostly incorrect. Firstly, if the tail rotor fails in forward flight, *most* helicopters can maintain that forward flight if you have sufficient airspeed and use minimal power. However, you do not want to allow that forward velocity to slow, otherwise you would yaw out of control. There's no 'timing it right', it just wouldn't work. The actual method of recovery is to perform an autorotation once a suitable area is reached, or if directional control isn't possible, enter autorotation immediately. Since the tail rotor is there to counteract engine torque, intentionally disengaging the engine from the rotors removes said-torque, meaning the helicopter has little to no force that the tail rotor needs to counteract, and instead the nose will remain pointed into the forward slipstream mostly on its own. Source: Been teaching people to fly helicopters for 6 years.

[@harleyme3163]

yup you got it... kinda sounds like you been there..... gotta say what a surprise.. almost like ya need a new pair of underwear right after you hit the ground

[@udayanpaul8042]

So do you think the black hawk, ' super six four' could have been saved, by the auto rotation, during operation Gothic Serpent in the Somali (Black Hawk down) incident ?

[@SmileWhenISleep]

11:11 A happy dancing CHoppah :D

[@nooneknows3520]

When you mentioned what was supposed to happen in a tail rotor failure, I immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Finally someone gets it.

[@Quizzicality]

Still extremely dangerous. They even named it. LTE: Loss of Tail rotor Effectiveness.

[@RamadaArtist]

The problem is that you need forward velocity at low altitude for auto-rotation. So if you're hovering and you back up into a tree branch or a power line, that loss of a tail rotor is probably unrecoverable, and you pretty much will just spiral into the ground.

[@TheSilmarillian]

Yep when the lazy axle is shot to hell

[@mikezappulla4092]

@@RamadaArtistdepends on the dead man’s curve for the helo. But at power line height, you have had plenty of time for pre spin and once you feel the change in yaw, cut the engine power to eliminate torque and thus the spin. You will still be able to maintain your drag coefficient of ~1.4 but might now be able to flare much during the landing.

[@Tom-zs6bb]

@@mikezappulla4092 "But at power line height, you have had plenty of time for pre spin" "Pre spin?"

[@terencedebruycker3840]

Hello Sir, This video was absolutely fantastic. I am a fixed wing pilot with multiple type ratings - single engine, multiple engine, turbine engine, Instrument rating, Commercial, CFI, and added the ATP a couple of yeas ago amassing a few thousand hours. I have always been fascinated by helicopters and finally got the rating last year. This video explains perfectly the wonder of autorotation. I have tried explaining this to others for years with no luck in their understanding the procedure. Your video will now make that so much easier. By the way - your English is simply excellent as well! I am now also a subscriber. All the very best to you and yours, Terry

[@NotWhatYouThink]

Thank you Terry!

[@sr-71android27]

V22 can't autorotate due to how short the propellers are in relation to the aircraft size, but they do share a drive shaft so in the event one engine fails the other engine can provide enough power for landing

[@brutusthesecond5747]

because of this disability to autorotate V-22 can't be air force one

[@Callsign_Blujay]

If an osprey crahses due to dual engine failure, thats more of an unlucky pilot than a bad one

[@Avetho]

The V22 Osprey can in fact autorotate, and it can also glide, but its autorotation index and its glide profile are very bad, so either landing would probably damage the airframe at best even if everyone walks away with a bump on the head or mild whiplash from the landing gear blowing out. Its noted by NATOPS that its possible to do, but: "The high disk loading and low inertia of the rotor make successfully concluding an autorotation more challenging than in a helicopter." as they said. More challenging, but not impossible. For an example of the glide characteristics, the stall speed of a V22 in forward flight mode is 110 knots, while a Lockheed C5 Galaxy has stayed airborne as low as 50 knots but is generally said to stall at 80 knots. Edit: Well, I corrected myself in the process here, but the V22 does have a decent enough glide profile that it can do a controlled conventional landing in the event of dual engine failure, its just that they have to land at a good margin above 110 knots to stay in control and have the engines tilted upwards by some amount to prevent the blades from contacting the ground which causes a lot of drag and makes it harder to land this way, its why you only really ever see an Osprey take off vertically despite them being able to take off like a conventional plane, and actually do it often enough for it to be easy for pilots to manage with their skill and familiarity with the aircraft.

[@mouser485]

“Why don’t helicopters land like a rock when the engine dies?” Well, they’re perfectly capable of landing like a rock, it just depends on how the pilot handles the situation.

[@hmartinspliff]

Name your helicopter the *_Serenity._* If the engines fail, it will fall like a leaf on the wind.

[@chri-k]

the same goes for any vehicle capable of moving downwards

[@Generic_username69]

​@@chri-k a car and most ground vehicles are exempted from this in most circumstances after a year of testing

[@chri-k]

@@Generic_username69 a car or any ground vehicle is not capable of moving downwards under those circumstances. i included that for a reason

[@mascan7905]

I have to think the discrepancy between more crashes per 100k hours and fewer deaths per 100k hours is just down to helicopters not carrying as many people as airplanes.

[@wooblydooblygod3857]

Yeah probably

[@usopenplayer]

He still makes a good point about the altitude and use cases of helicopters. I'd be very interested to see the statistics for survival rate by "altitude of engine loss" between the different types of aircraft. I'd still think airplanes are safer, but I've never seen the evidence, or really thought about it this way before.

[@djinn666]

@@usopenplayer Airplanes are way more dangerous at low altitude. They move much faster and the space requirement for a safe landing is much higher. But that's kind of like saying a bow is bad in a bar fight. It's actually a great weapon if used in the correct environment. Normal cruising altitude for airplanes (even general aviation airplanes) is high enough to give you several minutes to react to any problems and find a safe landing area. Commercial jets usually have several airports they can glide to if a problem happens. In fact I don't think it makes much sense to compare airplane and helicopters at all. Your alternative to helicopters is unlikely to be an airplane, but rather walking or climbing. You can't exactly fix a powerline from an Airbus and you're not flying across oceans in a Robinson.

[@thelateresponder-tlargh8591]

@@djinn666Exactly. You’ve summarized the apples to oranges comparison here wonderfully. Stellar video though, I was hooked by how informative it was throughout. Gonna smash that subscribe button.

[@scottthewaterwarrior]

@@djinn666 I like the bow in a bar fight scenario.

[@Tugboat1110]

I enjoy that this channel actually does their research prior to making a video. Quality information although maybe not always explained in the best way. - helicopter pilot

[@mr_gaider6174]

My friend is a professional RC(Radio control) helicopter pilot, he uses a lot of autorotation in order to land because the thrust-to-weight ratio is exceptionally high so when the throttle is cut they can lower that ratio.

[@PJ-oe6eu]

So as to not over correct on the landing?

[@JustArmands]

I like the part of RC vehicles comparing to a real ones. I drift with RC cars without crashing, but still not allowed to compete in a real track. I also fly RC helicopters, but nobody gives me license. Just their drivability isn't the same.

[@proxypanda4156]

​@@JustArmandsI think learning helicopters thru Rc is great to get and idea before learning to fly them. Same with learning to do a 360 drift in GTA and applying steering wheel and brake control to a real car. It's all to get an idea. Its how I started practising 360 drifts, then applied to open road practise, and I secceeded. ^_^

[@proxypanda4156]

However, rc drifting is wack compared to videogames and real life. Rc cars have wayyy too central center of gravity compared to a generic front engine rwd car. Especially with plastic wheels and 4wd open diff rc car drivetrain.

[@PabloGonzalez-hv3td]

Sounds like a 3D "stunt" copter. They may be the hardest flying machines in the world to master. And you might as well treat a large one like a real helicopter as they have plenty enough power to severely injure.

[@lunamaria1048]

The "tweeting from Uranus" shot at Tyson was brilliant🤣🤣. I can't stand him lol

[@Dogsarecool2202]

Funny how you made the comparison to maple seeds as many people including me just call them helicopters

[@MrAaaaazzzzz00009999]

this channel feels like those old science shows I used to watch on TV. just a simple explanations unlike the weirdness of most internet content around.

[@ethanp5215]

I've worked for a lot of people, in a lot of different careers and I always ask them about their jobs, a lot of them had a "you could never do it"/"you would not understand" attitude, even though it was just curiosity and not me wanting to do those jobs. I also worked for an RAF Helicopter pilot who retired from the RAF to teach Kuwaiti pilots, he sent me a guide on auto-rotation (along with saying how easy it is if you remain calm, although it never happened on operations and only in training to him) and basically said "if you ever get a chance go for it, learn to be a pilot...oh and read Chickenhawk", always had a lot of respect for helo pilots after that.

[@TurboHappyCar]

Chickenhawk is so boring, lol.

[@hunormagyar1843]

That's cool lol "You'd never understand" is dumb. And then that person worked at a toilet paper factory. Most things take only a good teacher. By that I don't necessarily mean a teacher as in at school, but just a person who can figure out how to explain it well enough. Just the basics, then if you're interested, even more.

[@ethanp5215]

​@@TurboHappyCar It was the 1st of its kind and for a while up until mid 00's it would have been unofficial required reading for Western helo pilots and serving as inspiration to them and allowing others to understand what they do, it also paved a way for non-fiction combat books, you're entitled to your opinion though and no hate, I find most mainstream books boring

[@ethanp5215]

@@hunormagyar1843 That's so true, it's definitely a skill I try and commend when people can communicate and teach well but yeah it's also a lot a about being interested in what someone has to say, I think most people explain their jobs/skills and people zone out so they end up having a "don't cast pearls before swines" mentality

[@jonmcdaniel8492]

Aviators learn how to remain calm by converting anxiety and panic into pucker. Hence the measurement of danger by its "Pucker Factor".

[@BobStein]

I think you neglected to mention that part of an autorotation landing procedure is to "flare" just above the ground in order to soften the landing. This is usually accomplished by "aft cyclic" which means varying the blade pitch at the portion of its arc that causes the helicopter to tip back. In effect, use the fall to turn the blades, then in the final moments use the turning blades to slow the fall.

[@samuelleal6149]

i did know about this because when my dad was young, he worked with the army and had to take helicopter flights, and also did hang gliding, so he knew what it was about. So one time he had to fly over to a town with an annoying officer and the pilots told him beforehand that they were gonna land on autorotation,i think the officer never had such a scare in his life

[@DarkSygil666]

Lol 😆, he probably had to change his pants when he landed!

[@udayanpaul8042]

Assembling the auto gyro, then recovery and stowing the craft after the flight, would have been a great challenge for the German U Boat crews, especially in the choppy seas. Good information, I never knew before that Uboats operated a reconisance gyro copter, great video indeed.

[@REANS]

10:42 Me after remembering I got a tense exam next monday:

[@Cas-Se78.97]

Out of curiosity, does that fatality figure account for the number of people onboard the helicopter/plane? I just wonder if the helicopter death figure is lowered because each fatal crash will only result in one or two deaths on average. I know that most fixed wing crashes will also be single seat or other small planes, but I imagine the average would be brought up by the occasional commercial crash of 100 or 200 people.

[@troybaxter]

I was thinking that too

[@BDFP86]

Mortality figures related to modes of transportation are routinely quoted in miles per person per hour(2) For example, an airplane with 100 people on board travels 1000 miles in 2 hours That’s 50,000 man miles per hour Whereas you spend two hours solo in a car our motorcycle going 60 mph you only logged 60 man-miles per hour The the best way to interpret this is death rates per trillion man miles Motorcycles come in at a whopping 200-ish Most commercial travel modes land somewhere between 4 to 12 and that includes trains, buses commercial airlines

[@firstcynic92]

It's not flying, it's falling with style.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

People laughed at Douglass Adam's observation that flying is just a matter of falling and missing the ground, but that's more or less exactly what orbiting is.

[@Avetho]

@@SmallSpoonBrigade Yeah lol very true, because you're always falling towards the ground when in orbit, but you're just moving fast enough to the side and staying at that speed such that the ground keeps getting farther away from you at the same rate that you're getting closer to it. Like when you're accelerating after a friend on the Autobahn and you're literally neck-and-neck, but he got the jump on you and is staying just that same distance ahead of you.

[@Synergy0_0]

11:50 I'm home alone rn and I thought someone whistled behind me, had me scared shxtless.

[@ludovicbon5903]

The ejection system on Ka-52s is a bit different of classics ejection seats . A rocket behind the seat is attached to the crew member harness with a cable . When it's fired, it breaks the canopy and then extracts the crewman from his seat . It's similar to the Yankee extraction system .

[@alexp1329]

I always found doing autos fun. The initial sensation is almost like falling. Definitely a emergency procedure that is worth practicing!

[@edmundgonzalez8731]

When I was in the Army at Ft. Sill as a crew chief on a UH-1H, autorotations or what they liked to call 'non-standard landings" seemed like a daily training mission. Somebody's aircraft was going to get the crap kicked out of it that day. Some times you'd land in the grass, some times on the runway. You do non-standards today, tomorrow you were likely in the hanger at best changing out the skid shoes, some times the tubes. At the time (82-83ish) here was a civilian contractor on the airfield that would take the standard skid and weld a number of 1/4 inch(ish) tall beads down the length of the shoe. That gave it a bit more life. But you are right, very much a skill worth having, one you (and your crew) might not be able to live without...

[@antoniohagopian213]

By using the mass of the rotor (autorotation). The bigger and heavier the rotor the more "lift potential in the tank" this is why big helicopters rarely crash when having only a engine failure given they have some altitude at least. Edit: 4:34 this is why this pilot had to do such a abrupt landing, the rotor has barely enough mass to do a 1 second "power up" 5:38 you can see how the mi8 has enough mass to do a gentle landing.

[@nicholaslau3194]

Technically it has to do with moment of inertia. While rotor (& transmission & engine) mass play a role, the distribution of the mass make a noticible diffference too. For example, for two rotors, one is three-bladed and the other two-bladed (assuming same lift and mass), the three bladed rotor would have less moment of inertia than the two-bladed rotor, because the three-bladed rotor will have a smaller diameter. In this case, the two-bladed rotor will have better autorotation characteristics.

[@Quizzicality]

I've heard that the venerable Bell UH-1 Huey has enough mass and momentum in it's rotor (Blades are nearly 12 inches wide IIRC) to land and with the engine off, lift off, turn 180 and land again. In contrast, the 2 seater Robinson R22 that I trained on, the pilot must IMMEDIATELY lower collective in the event of an engine failure (The handbook says 2 seconds or less). Essentially the blades slow down while lifting the helicopter. With no engine to speed them back up and if you don't lower collective and flatten the blades so they're no longer lifting, they'll get to a point where the air from the falling helicopter will push them up and break them off. There is no recovering from essentially losing your wings. Game over.

[@antoniohagopian213]

@@Quizzicality the huey blade is so wide it's more then the size of the shoulder width for a man, it's 53cm, or 21 inches, about 9cm thick at the root.

[@antoniohagopian213]

@@nicholaslau3194 this is why I stated "the bigger and the heavier" Mi8 has 5 blades but it's so big and heavy it can "go up instead of down" using autorotation.

[@antoniohagopian213]

@@Quizzicality the huey and ah1 cobra had another problem for the "loosing your wings" and it was mast bumping, if you went into low or negative G the heli started rolling, if you happened to correct the roll before applying back cyclic or collective to load the rotor again it would literally break away and fly off while you crashed.

[@halfrhovsquared]

Your explanation of autorotation was somewhat simplified but the actual physics is rather complicated (and potentially rather heavily technical for a short KZbin video), involving three zones in the rotor disc - The driven portion, the stalled portion, and the driving portion - these zones are essentially concentric and offset slightly to the side of the retreating blade.

[@NotWhatYouThink]

Your correct. We did come across that in our research. We decided not to include it.

[@halfrhovsquared]

@@NotWhatYouThink - Probably a wise move. You'd have your audience falling asleep before the end of the video. It is rather interesting, though and the really nice thing about an autogyro over a helicopter is that we don't really need to pay close attention to our rotor RPM once we have it up to speed and have taken off. More weight, they spin faster. Thinner air, they spin faster. As long as the rotors are loaded, they spin at whatever is necessary to provide the lift we need and to ensure that we keep them loaded, we NEVER pull low- (or negative-) G manoeuvres. Autogyros are widely underestimated as they are incredibly capable aircraft and handle wind and turbulence better than the majority of GA fixed-wing aircraft. We go flying on days where the wind conditions have grounded everything else at our airport. I get envious looks as I am out warming up my engine when the folk at the flying school are racing to get their Pipers and Cessnas tied down. We don't need a lot of wind to be able to perform a zero ground-speed hover. We have around 90% of the capability of a small heli at about 10% of the operating cost. In your comparison between fixed-wing and rotorcraft when you were talking about safety, I think you might have missed a key detail. Whilst we cannot "glide" as far as a fixed-wing, we can put down in much smaller spaces which gives us many more options for an emergency landing. If you ever get the opportunity to go for a ride in one, I highly recommend it. You will land with a grin so large that the top of your head will be in danger of falling off.

[@mastershooter64]

@@halfrhovsquared is there a lecture on youtube or a set of lecture notes that goes over the physics of autorotation? can you provide a link to it?

[@halfrhovsquared]

@@mastershooter64 - I've never seen one. I'll have a look, though. I learned about autorotation because I fly a gyrocopter (just in case that wasn't obvious from my channel). If I cannot find a lecture on autorotation, perhaps I should put one together and upload it.... although, that would be a huge investment in time.

[@falenchan7999]

@@mastershooter64 Helicopter Lessons in 10 minutes or less does a great brief video on autos, and there are certainly plenty of exhaustive videos on the subject

[@YogKicks]

That Uranus joke was clever. Double entendre. 👌🏾

[@behzadmirmozaffari2563]

As someone who is afraid of heights, I prefer having solid ground under my feet while admiring these feats of human ingenuity from afar😅

[@itonylee1]

There was a case in Taiwan that a rescue helicopter engine seize in the mid flight and drop like a rock....After investigation, they found out it wasn't the engine issue, but the main rotor bearing was seized due to lack of lubication......

[@monkaeyes3417]

I am so much more impressed with the base mechanical principles of helicopters, than I am with any other mechanical system.

[@KoenZyxYssel]

I get you but this competition needs weight classes or something. The tesla valve is just as impressive (to me) but less flashy. Coconuts leave helicopters in the dust, they're solar powered self-replicating colony ships and they've probably killed more people than helicopters.

[@monkaeyes3417]

@@KoenZyxYssel I specifically said mechanical systems. That means non biological like a coconut. Also a teslavalve is a very simple thing that could have been invented at least 100 times by now if tesla himself didn't invent it first.

[@mastershooter64]

Definitely mechanical systems in vehicles are extremely impressive, like internal combustion engines in cars or jet engines on airplanes or like a closed cycle combustion engine on a rocket

[@KoenZyxYssel]

@@monkaeyes3417 I'll agree to disagree on both of those issues. The more abstract definition of "mechanical" makes more sense to me. I also doubt anyone would have come up with the tesla valve but I guess we'll never know.

[@driving_soap]

Hello, I noticed you mentioned English wasn't your first language, but you speak it very well, however there's one strange rule which most English speakers don't get correct and I noticed you messed it up a few times. "further," is used when talking about progress, for example "Albert Einstein explored calculus further than anyone at the time." While farther is actually used when referencing distance, "they used the kite to see 'farther' in the distance," but further would be incorrect. Hope that helps :)

[@threestrikesmarxman9095]

"If the wings are moving faster than the fuselage, it's probably a helicopter, and therefore, unsafe."

[@xmoonstevex]

I was suprised how well you explained all of this especialy autorotation, good job!

[@flowmastaflam]

7:06 bro why'd you bring your goofy ahh cousin along?

[@stewarthill5878]

Great video. I’ve been watching your channel and it’s very informative.

[@jajssblue]

That dig at Neil Degrass Tyson is great!

[@backpages1]

Excellent! I actually learned something! (Ok, I always learn something on this site!)

[@Vinlaell]

To anyone confused as to how auto rotation works, they change the angle of the blades so that it starts spinning as they fall and then right whenever they're about to hit the ground they change the angle to start thrusting downward

[@RamadaArtist]

Basically like flaring the flaps at the end of a glide. Giving it an extra boost in lift at the cost of forward momentum you are trying to get rid of anyway.

[@Tom-zs6bb]

@@RamadaArtist " flaring the flaps?"

[@Tom-zs6bb]

You sound somewhat confused, yourself. "so that it starts spinning" seems to imply that the main rotor stopped turning so that cannot be what you meant, right? Similarly, "they change the angle to start thrusting downward" seems to show a lack of knowledge of basic physics as well as aerodynamics. That being said, it appears that you have a little bit of understanding so perhaps you simply worded your comment incorrectly.

[@CompTechs]

@@Tom-zs6bb The video never really explained how the driven and lifting sections of the rotor disk work during autorotation. He just says altitude is exchanged for rotor speed. That's true, but probably leaves a lot of questions for people.

[@Tom-zs6bb]

@@CompTechs " The video never really explained how the driven and lifting sections of the rotor disk work during autorotation." No it didn't, but other than you attempting to prove you know something about the three regions of the disk during autorotation, a discussion that lies well outside the scope of this video, that is completely irrelevant to both my comment and the comment to which I responded. My comment was a response to a commenter who chose to provide instruction while he himself has no idea what he's talking about.

[@marcdwonn9772]

Thanks for not using one of those clickbait video thumbnails with images that are not used in the video. I hate those and always block channels that use them. Thumbs up!

[@hamentaschen]

11:01 That's actually really funny!!!

[@CensoredUsername_]

It should be noted that, while indeed engine failure isn't very deadly for a helicopter, gearbox failure absolutely is. If that thing locks up those blades ain't spinning anymore.

[@glennwatson]

Autorotation is also a valid approach. Eg in New Zealand some locations require a auto rotate to get into. I always found autorotations more like a plane landing. Eg maintain a constant glide speed then flare near the ground. I guess keeping the rotors in the rpm range is slightly different.

[@Tom-zs6bb]

"Autorotation is also a valid approach." No, it's an emergency, not an "approach."

[@ewingtaylor5487]

Helicopter auto-rotation after engine failure requires two things: 1) reverse / negative pitch in the rotor blades 2) disconnect /uncouple the rotor from the engine, so the blades can spin freely. This way, the spinning rotor blades will function as a parachute. Both 1) and 2) be done QUICKLY, before the rotor speed slows. As you get VERY close to the ground, gradually feed in positive pitch to brake the descent speed for a comparatively soft landing.

[@GeoffryWK]

But you still have the torque of the main rotor without the tail rotor to compensate.

[@re-bot9855]

@@GeoffryWK nope you actually don't, the torque to the helicopter delivered by the blades is delivered through the engine of the vehicle as it works against the drag the blades experience. when autorotating this simply cannot happen as the blades are not driven by the engine and will simply just reduce RPM. basically, the rotation the tail rotor compensates for can only happen if the main rotor is currently a powered rotor and is why gyro copters don't need any sort of tail rotor to maintain yaw control as the lifting rotor is purely driven by external forces and is not rotated by the engine.

[@masterimbecile]

1:45 what’s your first language?! I can kinda tell, but starting from high school? Now that’s not what I thought!

[@KenzoGT]

one of the few sponsorships i enjoy watching

[@bc-guy852]

I ALWAYS learn something interesting when watching your episodes!! What was your native language? (You do well in English!)

[@marcopohl4875]

I need to know too

[@NotWhatYouThink]

My accent? It’s not what you think 😁

[@jimsvideos7201]

Fun fact, people have tried putting various sorts of rocket or jet engines on the tips of rotor blades. Needless to say they haven't been successful.

[@RoySherfan]

I was feeling really good by the end of the video. Then they showed the V22 Osprey. My feelings were, erm, dashed.

[@KelliEagle71]

Sir, I really like hearing your voice when talking 😊👍

[@brytonmassie]

10:07 Actually, depending on the "aircraft's" weight it would not require a pilot's license. "If unpowered, weighs less than 155 pounds", and "If powered, weighs less than 254 pounds empty weight, excluding floats and safety devices which are intended for deployment in a potentially catastrophic situation", weight does not include the pilot.

[@lhpl]

Given that a boat is one big float, you could exclude its weight?

[@picklesthechicken7216]

Idk why, but 7:05 is just really funny to me

[@patrickoneill1011]

Auto Rotation is indeed a fantastic safety feature by design, but if even one of the main engine blade's were destroyed or ejected, the helicopter will then fall like a rock.

[@jerryblue017]

True but so will a plane if you cut off one of its wings.

[@srthebox4946]

@@jerryblue017unless its an f15

[@RageAgainstTheDyingOfTheLight7]

​@@srthebox4946and if you chop off the whole wing not just half

[@NO-pf2gp]

Just wanna say, this is one of the best channels on youtube. You never fail to cover something interesting.

[@christostiphor2972]

I would have to say, helicopters would definitely have a bit more challenge to it. Ive flown a plane and it really isnt that hard lol, for me at least, but anyways, the only thing that had a bit of difficulty twords flying a plane was landing. A helicopter has a whole lot of attention to detail, like if you accidentally pull that yolk a bit to hard you can enter a roll and it could be really hard to pull out of it.

[@marcush4741]

I learned about this as a kid, thanks to the Discovery store. Got into model rockets with Estes rockets from walmart. When the discovery store opened at our local mall, it had a whole model rocket section. Rockets with cameras, rockets with multiple engine compartments, rockets that were inches long, rockets that were 5 feet tall, rockets with weird recovery systems. My dad was nuclear navy. He brought home a box labeled "helicopter rocket" one day. He explained the entire thing to me. I didnt get it till he showed me a maple seed. It blew my 6 year old mind.

[@gushendricks1952]

13:11 Because planes can usually carry more passengers than helicopters

[@keyztroke]

9:12 that music is fire bro 🔥🔥🔥

[@nautica8745]

10:34 I think that's footage of some Alaskan parks service people removing the bus that was the focus of "Call of the wild", since too many people were making pilgrimages to it in the middle of a dangerous area.

[@Fantastic_Mr_Fox]

Huh

[@calebhasty7171]

oh yea now i know where ive seen that bus from!

[@dazm901]

The Alaska Army National Guard transported the bus to a secure site. Two hikers have died and at least 15 have had to be rescued while trying to reach the bus, in the remote Alaskan wilderness. NYT

[@Someone-cd7yi]

Well, that has really decreased my anxiety to step in a helicopter. Because I really thought it would fall like a brick if the motors failed. Thanks for explaining!

[@HappyKatze]

1:07 😂😂

[@random_dwed]

incredible, fun and amazing. teaching aviation things in the best way possible.

[@NonEuclideanTacoCannon]

Neil Degrasse Tyson is the Elon Musk of Carl Sagans.

[@sulfo4229]

LOL true

[@Dell-ol6hb]

no he's not, Elon Musk knows very little about his field whereas Neil is very educated in his particular field

[@brnhnd07]

Brooooooo, your English is top tier from an ESL student to another a tip of the hat, sir

[@XyminEdits]

Neil deGrasse Tyson is wrong about quite a lot of things that he preeches. I'm glad you pointed this one out because the public really needs to reconsider their view on his knowledge as well as intelligence.

[@The105ODST]

There are times his head is far too high his Uranus

[@owen.turner.8925]

The AristoCraft at 0:26 is beautiful.

[@gritilazz_3478]

6:43 NWYT: "Allowing for safe ejection" Video: BOUSH!!!

[@woahhbro2906]

I love how Neil DeGrass Tyson is lauded as some national genius, but he has some of the most BS low IQ tweets ever

[@TheVRtist]

This same physics is how Ryu is able to jump off a 20 storey building and land unharmed 😊

[@DangerZone2580]

0:13 answer

[@raymoreton3184]

In the 90's I was in air cadets in England and one of the summer camps I went to was one of the RAF helicopter training bases and saw this a lot.

[@GoodBoyTheOne]

You changed the title and icon about a dozen times. That's impressive.

[@mordet2]

this must have been one of the coolest thing I've ever learned.

[@LodewijkVrije]

the Ka-52 does NOT have an ejector seat. the seat remains in the aircraft. instead a drag line is launched, with a rocket at one end and the pilot or co pilot on the other end. this drag line pulls the occupant out of his chair, and out of the cockpit.

[@scottt7371]

Hey man you do a great job speaking English for learning in high school

[@JustLuckyVR]

helicopter pilots are some of the coolest people

[@nobleherring3059]

Something felt very oddly familiar and comfortable about this video. Took me a while to notice the backing music in some places. You're right, the Sim Copter hangar theme is the perfect call.

[@RamadaArtist]

Thank you for this. I've understood auto-rotation, conceptually, for years, but I don't think I've ever seen video of it before, and the footage of that Chinook was really impressive, as well as the sliding landings. The horizontal airspeed is often much slower than what I expected.

[@peika8324]

Helicopter and airplane, are still way safer than any automobile

[@anasepho]

Love that you slipped in a VTOL for the ending, a type of plane with hovering capabilities due to the tiltrotors.

[@TrevorGray4758]

I flew in H60R for 6yrs as a SAR Swimmer. I couldn’t wait until my enlistment was over. Terrified every day. Pilots we’re wreck less and lots of close calls. Glad I survived🙏

[@MashBro-if3vy]

5:30 WAS THAT WORLDS FIRST HELICOPTER BUTTER LANDING??😱😱💀💀

[@ralphgreenjr.2466]

While in the 82d Airborne Division, I had the experience to be aboard a UH-1H, C model that autorotated in, just off Sicily North dropzone. I knew, I NEVER wanted to do that again! I'm 74 now, thanks to two fantastic pilots. While I was soiling my shorts, they were being professional.

[@anybody4802]

"Come on Neil, were you tweeting from uranus?" LOOL SAVAGE🤣

[@lolitbairiganjan2940]

Kinetic energy = Rotational Kinetic Energy+ Translational Kinetic Energy. As the helicopter falls down the gravitational potential energy gets converted to KE. More is the conversion into Rotational KE the fall velocity of the helicopter is greatly reduced.

[@n1vz3r]

The resonance thing was totally new to me, thanks for the interesting fact!

[@MNation69]

Damn it's been a minute since I learned something as profound as this. Thanks for the video! It's hard to believe this isn't more common knowledge

[@norcheden3473]

May I ask what is your native language?) Your English sounds perfect (at least for a Ukrainian)!

[@Charles37400]

The only thing id guess at (and id love to be given a lesson if im wrong because this stuff is interesting) is that a plane might be easier/ more intuative to someone new than a helicopter. Planes just make more sense to me in general. I have no idea how to fly anything, but if i had to choose between being stucking in a plane or helicoper alone with a dead pilot, id pick the plane. I understand the basic physics of both, but the helicopter seems like it would take more skill and experience to operate.

[@khalil-si]

Wow, that was a really informative video.

[@kengoold7157]

that's great mate. well produced

[@ayowhatdadogdoin8619]

12:24 I love how this dude throws an ok sign in the middle of a sinking plane

[@sonomos]

Thanks a lot, very education video. With understandable form.

[@m00se37]

10:32 such a great piece of footage with an amazing story behind it itself.