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Eurocopter starflex rotor hub


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Not made of metal, so it doesn't corrode

 

Flexible in plane and vertically, so it doesn't need complicated hinges with associated bearings and grease and oil and so on

 

Gives more control response than a teetering head, by having the virtual hinge displaced from the hub - when the blade flexes up it immediately imparts a force on the mast to make the fuselage follow. Poor old teeter heads have to wait for the whole disc to start flying in a particular direction before the fuselage reluctantly drags itself along.

 

And it's French, so they can do whatever they like with it and they don't give two continental hoots what you think.

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Not made of metal, so it doesn't corrode

 

Flexible in plane and vertically, so it doesn't need complicated hinges with associated bearings and grease and oil and so on

 

Gives more control response than a teetering head, by having the virtual hinge displaced from the hub - when the blade flexes up it immediately imparts a force on the mast to make the fuselage follow. Poor old teeter heads have to wait for the whole disc to start flying in a particular direction before the fuselage reluctantly drags itself along.

 

And it's French, so they can do whatever they like with it and they don't give two continental hoots what you think.

Sorry if this is a newbie question but when you say teetering head are you referring to a two rotor hub like the UH 1 or a 407 style rotor hub? I'm wondering how the star flex is different than other types of fully articulating rotor hubs like the 407.

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Teeter = B 204, 205, 206, 212 but not 407 or 412. Also in R22, R44, R66

 

Waiting for iChris to pop some pix up here -

 

Fully articulated heads are complex, with hinges and bearings to allow feather, flap, and drag. Each hinge adds to the weight and allows something else to go wrong. The starflex rubber bits and flexible fibreglass parts do all of that by themselves - as its name suggests it is a fibreglass star with a rubber flexy thing.

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Guest pokey

"elastomerics" were the rage. "composites" were the rage. The combination of them must be better. "the end of metal fatigue!" EUREKA ! If you will notice in the history of even modern helicopters. some parts just work better with good ole ball bearings; as Chevy Chase said as 'Fletch'.. "come on guys, its all ball bearings these days"

 

Enstrom even has a ($25,000) mod to eliminate them problematic "lamiflex" bearings? (well? lets do the math,, i hear one lami=thousand bucks. they last how many years?,,, how many Enstroms fly how many hours/year?

 

Chevy was wrong, its not ball bearings guys,, its SALES ! we need the $$ ! (last time i worked on an A-star was about 1989 & the cost of the starflex was ? 19 thousand?---they still sellin' them today too.

 

i know,, i know,, as the bug would say "again, pokey has added nothing to this thread". BUT? i feel i have, so? i am all warm & buzzy an gonna fuzz off.

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