Uh, not necessarily. Depending on the type of chopper, as long as the transmission isn’t jammed, a helicopter can and does have the capacity to autorotate. If the engine quits working like when a bullet or two goes through the intake, a pilot or peter pilot simply drops collective and when the aircraft is about 100 or so feet above the ground he then pulls a full collective thereby changing the pitch of the rotors. It’s never a really good way to land and may wreck the heck out of the skids but it works. The main problem with all of it is that a helicopter is a hydraulics nightmare. If that goes out then it takes 2 men and a small boy to work the collective. And of course, there’s always a problem if the tail rotor malfunctions but in a Huey, even if the rotor falls off or has major blade strike, as long as the aircraft is going at least 60 knots, it will stay trim. That said, at 60 knots or more, landing is a more than harrowing experience. I have had such an experience. Still, like I wrote before, I’d love to have a gyro but there are no aircraft other than commercial allowed to fly around Redstone Arsenal. Heck, I haven’t even heard of a drone being legal to fly around here even though I have been tempted to buy one.
Uh, as much time as I have on a Huey UH1-D &C, I wasn’t aware that there is a neutral “drive”. Now, you can roll off and set the collective to a neutral pitch if that is what you’re talking about but the transmission is always engaged with the engine from start to stop. That’s why I explained that if the transmission isn’t locked up, then autorotation can be implemented. That said, I won’t argue the point because we might be talking about the same thing but the terminology is lost in the translation.
My dear sweet Hal. While I appreciate your mention, I know very little about the Cierva Autogyro. I am the electronics broadcast engineer and windsurfing chick. I know some about ballistics and making firearms, but aviation has never been my thing. Interesting post.
Bobby, I have an R/C helicopter, which has a fully-functional collective mechanism, operated by a servo on the chopper from the stick on the control box. Hal
HEY! Just finished watching a movie where the Groom arrives at the Wedding in an AUTOGYRO! The Bride deserts the ceremony and elopes with Clark Gable! "It Happened One Night" starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, 1934. Hal