Hughes 269 Blades

FRANK'S

Super Supporter
Joined
Sep 25, 2015
Messages
571
Location
ONTARIO CANADA
Aircraft
1975 Bensen B8-M A65 Continental
Total Flight Time
3
Hello I have Hughes 269/300 blades on my Gyro.
they have to be ran upside down
for them to work best on a Gyro,

Now I would like to know how good of a blade set
are they?
they are in perfect condition no nicks or delamination
do they perform well enough that it's not worth replacing?

I need to make a budget for my Bensen restauration project and if the blades are good then I don't need to replace them, but if they are not good or marginal performance then worth replacing.
 
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rotor.jpg Here are some measurements I made a number of years ago.
I was using an airspeed indicator that measured true airspeed, which produces readings a bit higher than would be indicated with a standard aircraft airspeed indicator. Corrected for summer heat and humidity in Florida, the equivalent pitot airspeed indicator reading would have been ~40 mph.
 
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Now you have opened me with many question with this chart.
I'm sure I don't understand it 100% so I will ask a few questions
till I do.
how was this measured how did you get your reading from ?
how where you 269 blades installed right side up like on Heli or upside down ?
do you have a chart that can messure performant in a way I can understand don't forget I'm still new and this
and I want to lean I'm in it for the long haul. I'm not going away :p and I need you all.
 
There was a pressure sensor mounted on the rotorhead that measured force along the roll pivot axis and an inclinometer mounted on the keel. From this, the angle of the roll pivot could be determined and total rotor drag could be calculated.

Profile drag, the aerodynamic force resisting the passage of the rotorblade through the air is the important number. A rotorblade that is splattered with bugs will have more profile drag. A rotorblade with a lumpy airfoil will have more profile drag. Rotorblade airfoils with inappropriate shapes will have more profile drag.

Induced drag has nothing to do with airfoil quality; it depends only upon disc loading and airspeed but must be known if profile drag is to be segregated from total rotor drag.
 
Then in your graft induced drag would be the potential to create lift?
 
Heavier than air flying machines fly by accelerating air mass downward; makes no difference whether it’s a FW, helicopter or ducted fans. The drag incurred in doing so is called induced drag.
 
Ok then explain me your chart and findings like I was a preschooler, I need to know if blades have good lift and if I should use them in my restauration or swap them out.
like do they have good lift and controls for a 620lbs machine and pilot?
 
Lift is an often misused term. If a gyro weighs 630 lbs and flies, the rotor is developing 630 lbs of lift. If it doesn’t fall out of a turn, it’s developing the necessary amount of lift.

When someone says; “my rotor has good lift” he means his rotor holds up his gyro with minimum drag, leaving some power left over for climb and maneuver.

Inverted Hughes rotor blades will out perform any other 7” gyro rotorblade except DWs. But a good prerotator is required, hand starting being extremely difficult.
 
wow now I understand. Thanks, I have a prerotator.
your help is greatly appreciated.
In a few week I will start a long term project of restoring my Bensen B8M with new power plant.
But first I must get it registered to my name.
 
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