He Wharekura-tini

Kaihautu 0 Aotearoa

THE OPEN
PDLYTECHNIC
UFNEW ZEALAND

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Main and Tail Rotor Contra/s

55535

CONTENTS

Main Rotor Controls

The Swashplate Assembly

l
1

Tail Rotor Controls

_
Tail Rotor PitchChange Mechanisms

12
12

Horizontal and Vertical Stabilisers

13

Stabiliser Bar and Control Rotor Systems

Control Rotor System

20
29

Stabiliser Bar System

21

Copyright

This material is for the sole use of enrolled students and may not

be reproduced W1thOUt the written authority of the Principai, TOPNZ

555/3/5

AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING

HELICOPTERS

ASSIGNMENT 5 Y
ROTATING FLYING CONTROLS
MAIN ROTOR CONTOLS

In our Basic Flying Controls assignment, we saw how the control

inputs for the main rotor were brought from
rotating part of a swashplate assembly. We
the relatively simple step of getting these
main rotor. The inputs are directly fed to

the cockpit to the non~

are now concerned with
inputs to the rotating
the main rotor by the

use of a swashplate, which is given different names by different

manufacturers, the most common names being
1.

The swashplate assembly,

2.

The fixed and rotating star assembly, and

3.

The azimuth star assembly.

The Swashplate Assembly

In simple terms, a swashplate is a circular plate mounted
obliquely on a shaft.

The swashplate assembly that is fitted to

a helicopter consists of two plates, one on top of the other,

separated by and running on a heavyduty ball- or roller-bearing.
The plates are mounted on a gimbal or large universal ball, which
enables the assembly to be tilted in any direction. The gimbal
encircles the main rotor driveshaft of mast.
The lower plate is fixed to a stationary part of the helicopter
and to it are attached the control rods bringing the cyclic and
collective control inputs from the pilot.

The upper plate is attached to the main rotor assembly and

thus rotates with the rotors. To it are attached the push~pull
rods taking the control inputs to the individual rotor blades.
9/88

555/3/5

_ 2 _

Figure l shows schematically a swashplate assembly and its controls

In Fig. l (a), the rotorblade dampers and the two lateral control
rods have been omitted.
In Pig. l (b), the rotating half of the
swashplate is positioned directly over the fixed half, and a
pitch-change horn is shown on only one blade.

This type of

swashplate is used in Sikorsky and Hughes helicopters.

The rotating scissors provide the drive to the rotating
half, and the fixed scissors axially restrain the fixed half of
the swashplate assembly. Movement of the cyclic pitch control will
tilt the swashplate about the universal ball, and movement of
the collective pitch control will raise or lower the whole assembly,
with the universal ball sliding on the rotor drive shaft.
Because
the two control systems are mifed before they arrive at the swashplate, it can be both raised and tilted at the same time. If it
is already tilted, it may be raised or lowered without any change
in the angle of tilt, and the tilt may be changed without
affecting the height setting.

In Fig. l (b), blade A is positioned immediately above the

foreeand-aft control rod attachment. If the cyclic pitch control
is moved forward to give forward flight, the foreand~aft control
rod will move down and the swashplate will tilt about the axis XX,
the fixed scissors will expand, and the rotating scissors will
contract.

This position will decrease the angle of attack of

blade A and increase that of blade C.

Because of gyroscopic
effect, blade A will be fully flapped down and blade C will be
fully flapped up when they reach a position 90 later in the plane
of rotation.

A lateral movement of the cyclic control would tilt

the assembly about the axis YY and, as before, the change in blade
angles is made 90 early. The swashplate assembly is thus offset
about the centre line of the helicopter to correct for the
ggroscqpig effect discussed in Assignment 3 of this course.

555/3/5

_ 3 _

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(a) Side View

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FIG. 1

Swashplate and its controls

555/ 3/ 5

_ q _
A gimbalmounted swashplate is u se d on the Bell H7 series
h .
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.
elicopters.
Besides transferring collective and cyclicpitch
co n t rol movements to the rotor-head assembly, it also mixes
these controls.
Fi gure 2 shows this swashplate assembl Y -

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1. Outer ring
2. Swash plate bearings
3. Swash plate
4. Gimbal ring
5 Pivoi ping
S. Swash bli support
I Pivot pins
B. Collective pitch sleeve
9. Collective pitch lever
10. Yoke
ii. Pivot sliaft l I
~,2_ Scissor "ever
13_ Scissor |eVe, pivot
14. Swivel fork
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A. Fora-and-all cyclic control

B. Lateral cyclic control
C. Collective control
D. Output to stabiliser bar

FIG. 2

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Gimbal~mounted swashplate

555/3/5

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_ 5 _

The outer ring (l) turns on the swashplate bearings (2),

which are mounted on the stationary swashplate (3).

This assembly

is attached to the gimbal ring (Q) by two pivot pins (5), and the
gimbal ring is attached to the swashplate support (6) by two
pivot pins (7). The collective~pitch sleeve (8) is splined to
the mast and lies in the centre of the swashplate and support
assembly. At its lower end, it is attached to the collectivepitch lever (9) by the yoke and bearing assembly (10). The
collective-pitch lever (9) pivots about the pivot shaft (ll) and
is connected by a system of push~pull rods and bellcranks to the
collective-pitch control column. Operation of this control will
raise or lower the rotating collective~pitch sleeve, which is
driven by, and slides on, splines cut on the mast. Mounted at
the top of the collectivepitch sleeve assembly (8) are two scissor
levers (l2), which pivot about centrally positioned bolts (13).
At one end of each scissor lever, at position D, is attached a
control rod going upward to the stabiliser bar assembly, and at
the other end is attached a swivel fork (1%), which is connected
by a swivel (15) to the outer ring (1).

The complete swashplate

assembly is secured to the top of the transmission by studs

passing through holes on the mount flange of the swashplate
support (6). Foreandaft movement of the cyclicpitch control
column is transmitted to horn A, and the lateral control movement
to horn B. In both cases, a system of push-pull rods and bellcranks
is used to convey these movements.
The swashplate (3) and outer ring (1) can tilt in any
direction through the action of the gimbal ring (Q). with a swivel
fork lying above the lateral horn B and the swashplate tilted
laterally, one scissor~lever output end moves down while the
other scissor output end lifts up. This movement is conducted
through pushupull rods and levers to the two rotor blades,
increasing the pitch on one blade and decreasing the pitch on the
other blade. Because the rotor blades are installed with their
spanwise axis at right~angles to the scissor levers, the pitch
change is thus made 90 before the pitch~change effect is to be felt
If collective pitch is increased, the collectivepitch sleeve is

555/3/5

_ 5 _

lifted up raising the pivot points of both scissor levers by

the same amount, thus lifting the push-pull rods at D by the
same amount. In this manner, any input from the collective control
is superimposed upon, or mixed with, any movement of the cyclic
control. Alternatively, any cyclic control movement is superimposed
upon any collective control movement.
The same series of events follows with a swivel fork (6)
lying above horn A. In this position, a change in cyclic pitch
is transmitted to the rotor head to produce forward or backward
flight. Because the swashplate can be tilted in any direction,
the rotor head can be controlled to give flight in any direction.
Figure 3 shows a ballmounted swashplate.

This swashplate

has its inner~ring (l) and outer-ring (2) assembly mounted on

and attached to the pivot sleeve (3), which incorporates a large
spherical surface at its top end.

This assembly can slide on

the bearings (Q) up and down on the support assembly (5).

The

collective lever (6) is pivoted and secured to the support

assembly by the idler link (7), and the inner end of the lever is
attached to the pivot sleeve by two pins (8) (only one pin is shown)
The drive to the rotating outer ring is through a collar set
(9) and drive linkage (l0). The collar set is splined and clamped
to the mast (ll), and the drive linkage is secured to the
outer ring by a nut.

555/3/5

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FIG. 3

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Ballmounted swashplate

555/3/5

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A. Collective lever control horn

B. Outer ring control horns
C. inner ring control horns

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Inner ring
Outer ring
Pivot sleeve
Bearing

5. Support assembly
6. Collective fever
7. ldier link
8.
9.
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_ 3 _

Movement of the cyclic-pitch control column is transmitted

by a system of linkages to the intermixing bellcrank, to two
hydraulic servo actuators, and then to the control horns C on
the inner ring (l).
Prom the intermixing bellcrank onward, the
cyclic control movements cannot be considered in terms of separate
foreand-aft or lateral movements, and so the horns at C cannot
be identified separately as the fore-and~aft horn or the lateral
horn.
Movement of the collective-pitch control column is transmitted
by a system of linkages through an intermixing bellcrank, where
cyclic movements are superimposed, and a hydraulic servo actuator
to position A on the collective lever (6). As the collectivepitch control column is raised, the inner and outer ring and the
pivot sleeve are lifted up, and the pushpull rods connecting
control horns B of the outer ring to the rotor head transmit
the movement to the main rotor blades.
Due to the intermixing bellcrank, as the collective pitch
is increased, the two cyclic control rods to the horns C are
raised by the same amount, the whole assembly being raised by
the collective lever (6). Thus, a cyclic pitch change can be
superimposed upon a collective pitch setting, and a collective
pitch change can be superimposed upon a cyclic pitch setting.
Another type of ball~mounted swashplate is shown in Fig. M.
The rotating swashplate is mounted on a heavyduty ball race,
which is itself attached to the stationary swashplate.

This

assembly is mounted on a spherical ball bearing and the

Complete assembly can slide up and down on the main rotor mast.

555/3/5

_ 9 -

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RHAINER

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FIG. 4

Spherical ball1nounted swashplate

Immediately below the swashplate assembly is the control

mixer assembly shown in Fig. 5, which is connected to the
swashplate assembly by the two mixer links and the longitudinal
link and is attached to the mast base at the mixe r support
bracket. In this installation, the longitudinal link and the
longitudinalpitch mixer bellcrank also act as the fixed scissors
and prevent the stationary star from rotating.

555/3/5

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LONGITUDINAL
PITCH IBLER

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Control mixer assembly

Figure 6 shows
l.

The ball-mounted swashplate and control mixer as they

are installed in the helicopter;

2.

The scissors crank and scissors link, or rotating

scissors WhlCh provide the drive from the rotor
hub to the rotating swashplate; and

3.

One of the four pitch~control rods that finally

transmit control movement to each main rotor blade.

555/3/5

_1]__

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FIG. 6

Ballmounted swashplate and control

mixer assembly

555/3/5

_ 12 _

TAIL ROTOR CONTROLS

We have seen in Assignment 3 that, for control about the

vertical axis, the pitch angle of all tail rotor blades is
simultaneously changed by the same amount and in the same direction
Because of this fact, all that is needed to control the tail rotor
is a simple mechanical arrangement to transfer control movements
from the fixed airframe to the rotating tail rotor.
Two main types of tail rotor pitchchange mechanisms are
used. One type uses a simple pitch-control assembly mounted
inboard of the tail rotor on the tailrotor gearbox output shaft.
The other type has a control rod passing through the hollow
tail rotor gearbox output shaft to a pitchchange head outboard
of the tail rotor.

Tail Rotor Pitch-Change Mechanisms

Figure 7 shows a layout of a tail rotor and its pitchchange
mechanism. The tail rotor assembly is located on and driven by
splines on the transmission output shaft, being held on the shaft
by a retaining nut and centralised by two split, matched cone
halves. Immediately inboard of the tail rotor assembly and free
to slide on the output shaft splines is the pitch control assembly.
This assembly is moved back and forth on the splines by movement
of the station 282 bellcrank, which is itself moved through a
system of pushpull rods by the tail rotor pedals.

The swashplate

of the pitchcontrol assembly is connected to the tail rotor blade

pitch-change horns by two fixed length pitch-control links.

555/3/5

_.3_3_

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FIG. '7

Tail rotor and pitchchange

mechanism

The pitchcontrol assembly of Fig. 7 is shown as an exploded

view in Fig. 8.

Figure 9 shows a side view of the assemblies,

with protective neoprene boots in position.

555/?/5

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Pitch~c0ntrol assembly

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FIG. 9

Tail rotor and pitch~control

assemblies

555/3/5

_ 15 _

Figure l0 shows a tail rotor and tail rotor gearbox

assembly with the pitch~change head situated outboard of the tail
rotor.
NOTE:

Figures 10, ll, and 12 are all different views

of the same gearbox and tail rotor assembly.

Thus, the numbered parts shown are common to all

three figures.

Control movement from the tail rotor pedals is transmitted

from tube assembly (l) to bellcrank (2) and then to the tail rotor
pitch-change mechanism (5) at the back of the tail rotor gearbox (3)
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1. Tube assembly
2. Bellcrank
3. Tail-rotor gear base
4. Tail-roior assembly
5. Piich change mechanism

FIG. 10

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Tail rotor and tail rotor gearbox assembly

by a short rod assembly (6). At the pitchchange mechanism in

Fig. ll, the control movement is fed into the control tube (7),
which passes through, and is turned by, a pin and key (8) in the
hollow tail rotor shaft. The change from nonrotating to a
rotating motion is effected by the trunnion (9), the bearing (10),
the levers (ll) and the idler link (12). The control tube (7)
always turns with the shaft, but it can also move axially the length
of its keyway.
555/3/5

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7. Control iube

8. Pin and K 93/

9. Trunnion
10. Bearing

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12. Idler link

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Pitch~change mechanism

The crosshead (13) is located by a pin-(1%) and secured

by a nut (15) to the control tube (7). Two pitch links (16)
connect the crosshead with the blade-pitch horns (17). The
trunnion (21) of the tail rotor assembly (Q) is located and
I

driven by external splines on the tail rotor shaft (18).

The tail rotor assembly is restrained by the static stop (19)
and secured by the retaining nut (20).

555/3/5

-17..

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36. Pitch link

17. Biede-pitch horn
18. Tail-rotor shaft
19. Static stop
20. Nut
21. Trunnion

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FIG. l2

Exploded view

Tail rotor assembly

555/3/5

_l8...

Movement of the tail rotor pedals will move the control

tube axially inside the tail rotor shaft and will alter the pitch
of the tail rotor blades, each one by the same amount, to give
the desired control of yaw.
HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL STABILISERS

Many helicopters have horizontal and vertical stabilising

surfaces, which give extra stability in normal cruise flight and
so permit the main and tail rotors to be relieved of some of
their directional control duties. The horizontal stabiliser may
be interconnected with the fore~andaft cyclic control

so that

forward movement of the control moves the trailing edge of the

surface down, and vice versa.
The surfaces usually consist of an airfoil section,
often of an unusual shape. Their "neutral" position on the
helicopter can look to be anything but neutral. These surfaces
must be installed, rigged, and maintained to the manufacturers
instructions if the helicopter is to achieve safety and reach
its design performance.

1,

SUMMARY
The swashplate transfers control movements from the
non-rotating cyclic and collective pitch controls to
the rotating rotor head.
Mixing of the collective and cyclic pitch controls may

take place at the swashplate.

To allow for the gyroscopic effect, discussed in Assignment
3 of this course,the fixed or stationary swashplate is
positioned so that control changes to the main rotor
blades are made 90 of rotation before they are to take
effect.

,~
ip

The tail rotor pitch~change mechanism transfers control

movement from the nonrotating tail rotor (rudder) controls to
the rotating tail rotor. A swashplate or a bearing

and trunnion assembly is used to make the transfer.

555/3/5

_ 19 _

PRACTICE EXERCISE A

State whether each of the following statements is true

or false:
1.

Another name for a swashplate assembly is an

azimuth star_emblg,

2.

A swashplate can be tilted in only one direction.

3.

A swashplate assembly must be mounted on a spherical

ball.

4.

The fixed scissor prevents vertical movement of

the swashplate.

5.

The cyclic and collective control movements may be mixed

at the swashplate.

6.

Mixing of the control movements superimposes

cyclic control on to collective control, and vice
versa.

7.

The rotating scissor drives and locates the rotating

half of the swashplate.

8.

A tail rotor pitchchange head is, in effect,

the rotating half of a swashplate.

9.

10.

The pitch of a tail rotor blade is controlled

cyclically and collectively.
The rotating part of the tail rotor pitchchange
mechanism can be driven by a key or by splines.

(Answers on page

555/3/5

25)

_ 29 _

STABILISER BAR AND CONTROL ROTOR SYSTEMS

The control rotor system used by the Hiller UH 12 helicopter

and the stabiliser bar system used by the older Bell helicopters,
help to control the main rotor. Both of these types of aircraft
will possibly remain in use in New Zealand for some years to come,
and so we shall briefly look at their main rotor~control systems.

Control Rotor System

In the control rotor system shown in Fig. 13, the rotor
head is underslung and gimbal~mounted. As a result, the rotor can
teeter spanwise and rock chordwise. The control rotor, which is
an integral part of the rotor head, consists of two small controllable in pitch aerofoils or paddles mounted at 90 to the main rotor
blades.

Cyclic controlcolumn movements are fed from the rotating

part of the wobble Elate (another name for swashplate) to each

paddle. The forces generated by the rotating paddles tilt the
main rotor in the desired direction. In effect, the pilot controls
the paddles, and the paddles control the main rotor.
Collective control is from the collective pitch~control lever
to the yoke assembly at the top of the gearbox, where movement is
transferred to a rod inside the rotating mainrotor driveshaft.

R55/R/5

_ 21 _

1. Cuff and trunnion

2. Contra! rotor
3. Push rod assembiy
4. Wobbie plate $11090"
5. Fore-and-aft control rod
6. Collective yoke assembly
7. Wobble plate
8. Lower scissor arm
9. Upper scissor arm
10. Ballast tube

'

FIG. 13

C1!

Control rotor system

On the top of the rotor head is mounted a cross arm, which carries
a push rod to each blade incidence arm and two ballast tube
assemblies, which balance the collective control forces.
Movement of the collective pitch lever increases the incidence
of both blades by the same amount and in the same sense.

Stabiliser Bar System

In the stabiliser bar system, the rotor head is gimbalmounted and free to teeter spanwise and rock chordwise. Each
blade grip is mechanically connected to the other by an equaliser
beam so that the angular positions of the blades on the yoke
will always be equal to each other. Mounted, usually below and
always at 90 to the span of the main rotor assembly, and splined
to the mast assembly, is the stabiliser bar and frame.
quote the manufacturer,

'

To

The inertia effect of the stabiliser bar tends to stabilise

the helicopter and to provide an absolute horizon in reference
to which the rotor is controlled independently of the body.

In Fig. 14 the stabiliser bar assembly (10) is splined to

the mast (13) and is pivoted at its centre. Its frame is
connected by two short links to the blade dampers (9) of the

555/3/5

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1. Collective pitch lever

2. Lateral horn
3. Fore-and-aft horn
4. Swash plate assembly
5. Collective pitch sleeve
6. Dust boot
7. Control rods
B.Damperfrarneassembly
9. Damper
10. Stabiliser bar assembly
11. Control links
12. Mixing lever
13. Mast assembly

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FIG. 14

Stabiliser bar system

555/3/5

- 23 _

damper frame assembly (5), which is splined and rigidly attached

to the mast. The outputs from the cyclic and collective~pitch
control columns are brought to the lever and to horns (1), (2),
and (3). These controls are mixed in the swashplate assembly (H)
andare carried by control rods (7) to the mixing levers (12) on
the stabiliser bar assembly.
Despite their name, the mixing levers (12) do not mix the
foreand-aft, lateral, and collective controls but mix the inputs
to the rotor head from the control rods (7) and the stabiliser
bar.
From the levers, the control outputs arecarried to each main
rotorblade horn by a control link (ll). The hydraulic dampers
restrict the pivot rate of the stabiliser bar frame.
Refer to Fig. 1H and consider the events when the cyclic
pitch-control column is moved to the right.
l.

The horn (2) is lifted up.

2.

The swashplate is tilted to the right.

3.

The red rod (7) goes up and the white rod (7) goes
down.

Q.

The inertia forces of the rotor head assembly will

try to resist a change in blade~pitch angles.

5.

Because of the resistance set up, the control links

will not move, and their attachments to the mixing
levers (12) become pivot points to allow rods (7)
to move.

6.

As rods (7) move, the red end of the stabliser bar

is pushed down, and the white end is lifted up.

7.

The stabiliser bar has now had its plane of rotation

displaced.

8.

with the cyclic pitchcontrol column held to the

right, the stabiliser bar will try to return to its
proper plane of rotation.

9.

The pivot point of each mixing lever is now the

attachment point of rod (7).

555/3/5

(9)

_ gu _

10.

The red rod (ll) is now lifted up and the

white rod (ll) pulled down.

ll.

action in (10) rocks the rotor head assembly about

its spanwise axis, lifting the leading edge of the
red blade up and that of the white blade down.

The

REMEMBER

__..........-._--I--

The blades are mechanically connected together with

equaliser beams.

12.

The red blade now has a greater angle of attack and

will generate more lift than the white blade.

13.

Due to gyroscopic forces or phase lag, the increase

in lift takes effect 90 later in the plane of
rotation, and the rotor disc tilts to the right.

1%.

As the rotor turns, the white blade comes to where

the red blade was, and in turn gets the increase in
angle of attack.

Q9221:

These events all take place together.

The same sequence of events takes place for a foreandaft movement of the cyclic pitch control. However, a collectiv
control movement moves the rods (7) equally and in the same
direction, and the stabiliser bar is not displaced at all. The
rate of response to the cyclic pitch-control is governed by the
stiffness of the dampers (9). Stiff or hard dampers give a
very quick and sensitive response.
The damper rate is decided by the helicopter manufacturer
and is checked and adjusted during normal routine servicing.

M
l

SUMMARY
A control rotor provides a form of power assistance
to the cyclic control.
A stabiliser bar gives a reference horizon base for
the control of the rotor. Its rate of movement is
governed by two hydraulic dampers.

555/3/5

e-

_ 25 _

PRACTICE EXERCISE B

State whether each of the following statements is true

or false:
l.

A control rotor assists collective pitch changes in

the control rotor system.

2.

The control rotors two small aerofoils produce

the force needed forcyclic control of the main rotor.

3.

A stabiliserbar is rigidly attached to the main rotor

drive shaft.

4.

In the stabiliser bar system, the cyclic and collective

controls are mixed before they reach the stabiliser bar.

5.

Two ballasted tubes balance the collective forces in

the controlerotor system.

6.

Two hydraulic dampers are fitted in the control~rotor

system to control the rate of response of the helicopter.

7.

Wobble plate is another name for a swashplate.

8.

The mixing levers of the stabiliser bar mix the

collective- and cyclic-control inputs.

9.

The timing rate of hydraulic dampers in a flight~control

system is important to the handling qualities of the
helicopter.

l0.

The control rotor forms an integral part of the rotor head.

(Answers on page 25)

ANSWERS TO PRACTICE EXERCISES

EXERCISE A

Statements 1, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 are true.

2.

False. A swashplate may or may not be tiltable.

The type used in the main rotor controls can be
tilted in any direction.

3.

False. A swashplate assembly may be ball-mounted, but

it may also be gimbal-mounted.

555/3/5

_ 25 _

4.

False. The fixed scissor stops the fixed half of

the swashplate from turning.

9.

False. The pitch of the tail rotor blades is

changed collectively only.
1

EXERCISE B

Statements 2, H, 5, 7, 9 and l0 are true.

l.

False. The control rotor produces the force for cyclic

control of the main rotor.

8.

False. The stabiliser bar is pivoted about a

core, which is splined to the mast.

6.

False. No hydraulic dampers are needed or

in the control-rotor system.

8.

False. The collective and cyclic controls are

mixed at the swashplate assembly. The stabiliser
bar mixing levers mix the inputs from the swashplate
with the movement of the stabiliser bar.

Tix

'9

fitted

TEST PAPER 5
l.

Describe the purpose and operation of a main rotor

swashplate assembly.

2.

What are the functions of the fixed and rotating scissors?

3.

Why is correct timing necessary for the dampers fitted to

a stabiliserbar assembly?

H.

With the aid of a simple sketch, describe a tail rotor

pitchchange mechanism, from the non-rotating input at
the tail rotor gearbox to the rotating pitch-change
beam/head of the tail rotor.

555/3/5

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