Code Number: 1H10.25
Demo Title: Helicopter Rotor
Condition: Good
Principle: Rotational Lift
Area of Study: Mechanics
Equipment:
Zoom Copter, Hand Helicopter.
Procedure:
Make sure the demonstrator is wearing safety glasses for this demonstration as there is an eye danger from the propellers. Set the Zoom Copter on the launching mechanism. Pull the string and at the same time lift the launch mechanism out and away from you. With practice the copter is supposed to come back to the launcher. However in the lecture rooms the air currents usually deflect the copter to some nearby point.
NOTE: Warn the students before doing this so they can catch the copter if it goes astray.
References:
- Philip Blanco, "Rotorcraft RPM on Mars", TPT, Vol. 59, #6, Sept. 2021, p. 388.
- Eric Ayars, Tori Goff, and Kirk Williams, "Things One Can Learn by Putting a Quadcopter in a Vacuum Chamber", TPT, Vol. 56, #5, May 2018, p. 317.
- Said Shakerin, "Helicopter Toy and Lift Estimation", TPT, Vol. 51, #5, May 2013, p. 310.
- Michael Liebl, "Investigating Flight With a Toy Helicopter", TPT, Vol. 48, #7, Oct. 2010, p. 458.
- Robert Ehrlich, "6.9 - Propeller on a Stick", Why Toast Lands Jelly-Side Down, p. 109.