Airfoils for Rotor Blades

INTRODUCTION [9] [10]

• A low pitching moment to minimize blade torsion moments and control loads.

• An aft aerodynamic center position to minimize the nose ballast required to balance the blade.

• Enough thickness for efficient structure.

• Easy-to-manufacture contours.

Unfortunately, because many of these requirements are conflicting, the choice of the best airfoil is not easy. (This situation is not unique to helicopters. For even such simple aircraft as sailplanes, there is no single airfoil that is considered optimum by a consensus of designers.) It is, however, possible to use wind tunnel Results to show the effects of various physical parameters on the static aerodynamic characteristics, and to a lesser extent on the dynamic aerodynamic characteristics, for use either in the analysis or in the design process. For a discussion of airfoils in general* especially as viewed by the airplane aerodynamicist, the reader is referred to reference 6.1.