TAIL ROTOR DESIGN

REFERENCES
1. Cook, C. V., “A review of tail rotor design
and performance”, Vertica, Volume 2,
Number 3 / 4, 1978, pp. 163-181.
2. Prouty, R. W., “Tail rotor design”, Chapter
21, “Helicopter Aerodynamics”, (“Rotor &
Wing” articles); Phillips Publishing Inc.,
1985

1
 TAIL ROTOR FUNCTIONS

1. Provide anti torque reaction

2. Provide yaw control.
3. Provides yaw stability.
Important to ensure sufficient tail rotor
power under “Hot and High”, Maximum
AUW conditions
(No user ever says that the tail rotor has
been over designed.)
2
 Design Parameters

1.Diameter
2.Tip speed
3.Disk area (Disk loading)
4.Number of blades
5.Twist
6.Pusher or Tractor?
7.Direction of rotation

3
1. Diameter
• Large diameter: Reduces power required
• Small diameter: Lower weight; smaller problems
with helicopter c. g. position; better ground
clearance; better clearance with main rotor,
horizontal stabilizer and tail boom.
• Aim for smallest possible diameter that meets all
design requirements.
2. Tip speed
• Low tip speed : minimizes noise and
compressibility effects. Requires higher torque.
• High tip speed: minimizes component weight and
stall effects. Higher noise, higher control forces4.
3. Disk area (Disk loading)
Low disk loading: lower power required, larger tail
rotor, higher weight of tail rotor and tail boom.
Disk loading should be sufficiently high to avoid
vortex ring state at the design sideward speed.

4. Number of blades
• Fewer blades: cheaper to build and maintain
stubby blades & higher tip losses
Thumb rules:
• Blade aspect ratio between 5 and 9.
• Solidity between 0.03 and 0.06.

5
5. Twist
Similar to main rotor blade. High twist is good for
hover
But penalizes forward flight performance. Usually
less than 10 degrees twist is used.

6. Pusher or Tractor?
• Tractor: blows air on fin; Pusher: sucks air past
fin.
• Net thrust on tractor less than on pusher.
• For U.S. main-rotor rotation, pusher is located on
the left side and the tractor is on the right side of
the fin.
• Most helicopters use pushers 6
 PUSHER AND TRACTOR TAIL ROTORS

Wake away from fin Wake towards the fin

Thrust

Thrust

PUSHER TRACTOR

7
7. Direction of rotation :“AFT AT THE TOP”
- Minimizes unsteadiness in left sideward flight
• Examples:
A. Lockheed Cheyenne: With “Forward at the top”
rotation, pilot ran out of left pedal is sideward flight
between 14 and 18 knots due to flight in the vortex
ring state. Problem disappeared when direction of
rotation was reversed.
B. Mi-24 “Hind” tail rotor was moved to the opposite
side of the fin to avoid problems with changing the
gear box.
C. Westland changed direction of rotation when
developing WG 30 from the earlier WG 13 8
Tail rotor dimensions

9
HOVER ATTITUDE OF FOR DIFFERENT LOCATIONS OF M R AND T R
10
 V
V

11
TAIL ROTOR:
THREE CRITICAL ZONES FOR DESIGN
1. WIND FROM RIGHT
2. WIND FROM AFT
3. WIND FROM LEFT
12
CASE1. WIND FROM RIGHT: TAIL ROTOR AFFECTED BY TIP VORTICES
FROM WING.

13
HELICOPTER NEAR GROUND, TAIL ROTOR IN GROUND VORTEX, WIND FROM
AFT “AFT AT TOP” DIRECTION IS HELPFUL 14
WIND FROM LEFT: POSSIBILITY OF TAIL ROTOR VORTEX RING STATE
15
 16
PUSHER TAIL ROTOR-FIN INTERFERENCE
 17
POWER PENALTY ASSOCIATED WITH PUSHER AND TRACTOR LAYOUTS
EFFECT OF FIN BLOCKAGE ON THRUST COEFFICIENT 18
“AFT AT TOP”

19
 TAIL ROTOR THRUST
REQUIRED
MAIN ROTOR TORQUE
550 HPmr Rmr
Qmr 
Rmr
TAIL ROTOR THRUST
Qmr  I zz
Ttr 
Ltr
HPmr  Main rotor horsepower, hp
R mr  Main rotor radius, ft
R mr  Main rotor tip speed, ft/sec
Qmr  Main rotor torque, ft - lb
I zz  Mass moment of inertia of helicopter about in yaw, slug - ft 2
  Yaw acceleration, rad/sec2
Ltr  Distance between centers of main and tail rotors, ft.
20
21
PREPONDERANCE WEIGHTS TO REDUCE LOADS
22

Eurocopter EC 135
Note the large Vertical tail ,
Ventral fin and end plates
Fenestron
Advantages:
-Protection from tree strikes, ground
strikes
- Good Maneuverability: Can have
higher rates of turn compared with
conventional tail rotor (Avoids large
flapping angles due to the flow is
always axial)
Disadvantages
-Heavier due to support structure and
the duct shape
- The fan axis must be on the tail cone
center line; otherwise, need for
intermediate gear box which increases
the weight
-Small fan takes more power especially
at high rates of turn
- Large ventral fin needed for stability
in forward flight. (Fan is shielded by
the duct)
23
 Fan-in-Fin or Fenestron

EC 120 Tail Rotor

24
EC 120 Tail Rotor

25
Helicopter Fan RPM Vtip,fps
RAH-66 2865 675
H-76 2935 605
S 67 3000 732
XOH-1 3504 662
EC135 3545 607
EC120 4567 588
SA366 3740 705
SA365N 4693 725
SA342 5774 695
SA341 5774 695
Cabri G2 5734 531

26