Why aren’t there airplane sized helicopters? Helicopters seem better in terms of no long runway needed, and the ease of moving in any direction.
In: Engineering
Helicopters are terribly inefficient as a means of moving through the air. Airplanes have wings that provide the lift they need to stay aloft; wings work even when the engines are not working. Airplane engines just have to overcome the backward drag of moving through the air, while a helicopter engine has to produce enough downward thrust to keep the helicopter in the air, and the helicopter has to burn fuel to make that thrust, while the airplane is basically just coasting along keeping itself going forward. As a result helicopters us a LOT of fuel compared to airplanes to move the same weight the same distance. The reason helicopters get used is because sometimes it’s needed to be able to get off the ground without having a long runway to build up speed. So you often see helicopters fly people from downtown to the airport to get on a plane. The helicopter is faster and more convenient than a car for the trip, but a lot more expensive than the car. The helicopter simply couldn’t carry enough fuel to cross an ocean, for example, and helicopters can’t go nearly as fast a planes, either, for reasons!
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