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Re: Flat bottomed steering wheels - why??

Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2018 2:10 pm
by dvenman
Pontoneer wrote:Oh , if you ever progress to helicopters , you then have cyclic ( stick ) , rudders , and collective which give additional degrees of freedom over fixed wing .


<Pedant mode on>

Cyclic - yes, controls the tilt of the disc.

Collective - yes, controls how much lift the disc provides.

Rudder pedals - no. Torque pedals or yaw pedals, please - there's no rudder fitted to helicopters, the pedals control the pitch of the tail rotor blades, therefore how much or little thrust the t/r produces to counteract main rotor torque and point the nose of the aircraft where desired.

</Pedant mode off>

And they might not go as high, as far or as fast but they're a damn sight more fun than fixed wing!

Re: Flat bottomed steering wheels - why??

Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2018 4:38 pm
by jont-
dvenman wrote:And they might not go as high, as far or as fast but they're a damn sight more fun than fixed wing!

Everyone knows rotary don't fly, they're just so ugly the ground repels them :P

Re: Flat bottomed steering wheels - why??

Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2018 4:41 pm
by Horse
Really pedantic people might comment that some helicopters have a ducted fan rather than rotors. And a really annoying pedant might mention NOTAR ;)

Re: Flat bottomed steering wheels - why??

Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2018 7:26 pm
by dvenman
Horse wrote:Really pedantic people might comment that some helicopters have a ducted fan rather than rotors. And a really annoying pedant might mention NOTAR ;)


Yep, still not rudder pedals :)

Re: Flat bottomed steering wheels - why??

Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2018 7:51 pm
by Pontoneer
dvenman wrote:
Horse wrote:Really pedantic people might comment that some helicopters have a ducted fan rather than rotors. And a really annoying pedant might mention NOTAR ;)


Yep, still not rudder pedals :)


I know there isn’t a rudder as such , but that is how my instructor described them to me ; and pretty sure I’ve seen them described as such in texts , if not indeed in the R22 manual when I was learning to fly it .

Agree , though , on the effect of each of these controls .

Re: Flat bottomed steering wheels - why??

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2018 9:59 pm
by Horse
Gah - What is it in my brain that says "Google it!" ?

11 Feb 2017 · Bulletins, Service Letters, & R22 Maintenance Manual/Illustrated Parts Catalog revisions. $65.00. R44 ...... X. 1. A366-2. Stop – Rudder Pedal ...

Re: Flat bottomed steering wheels - why??

Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2018 7:05 am
by sussex2
I have just had three weeks driving a car with such a wheel, and did it bother me? Not at all, in fact I really quite liked it as it gave you a decent place to rest your hands.
It certainly wouldn't put me off buying a car that had one.
The car in questions was a Citroen C4 Cactus which on first aquaintance seemed a little odd, a Citroen after all. I grew to like it as you sit high, it has decent handling and is sufficiently different to be interesting. It's really a very clever bit of design.