Autorotation is when a helicopter loses power to its engines and the rotors begin to spin due to air resistance. Pilots can then safely land the helicopter because of this
But I just don’t understand how it works. Surely if the helicopter is falling then the air will push the rotors in the opposite direction to how they normally spin and that won’t create lift? Can someone explain?
In: 2
One really cool thing about helicopters is that the pilot is continuously adjusting the angle of the blades. They can adjust them all the way from “zero lift” (upwards force) to “hovering” to “accelerating me upwards”. But they can also go in the opposite direction, essentially making the blades push them down.
When a pilot autorotates, they change the blade angle to “push me down” mode, and as they fall, this speeds up the rotor speed (it spins faster). Then, as they get near the ground, they switch back to “push me up” mode, and use the already-spinning rotor to slow their fall.
Your best bet at understanding is this SmarterEveryDay video.
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