Tyger
Super Member
"A gyro’'s primary attribute, its ability to safely fly low and slow, makes it an ideal vehicle for chasing feral hogs around Florida bayheads but its inherent inefficiency – wings going 500 mph while the rest of it goes 50 mph, makes it as useful as an item of transportation as a rowboat." – C. Beaty
OK, after reading that, I decided to do a quick calculation of how many mph the tips of my 28' rotor are going at any certain rotor rpm. The interesting coincidence is that, for a 28-ft-diameter rotor, mph is almost exactly the same number as rrpm!
28π (feet per rev) x 60 (min/hr) = 5278 ft (per rpm per hour). There are 5280 ft in a mile, for those non-US folks reading this. So when I have 325 rrpm (typical), my blade tips are going just about 325 mph.
OK, after reading that, I decided to do a quick calculation of how many mph the tips of my 28' rotor are going at any certain rotor rpm. The interesting coincidence is that, for a 28-ft-diameter rotor, mph is almost exactly the same number as rrpm!
28π (feet per rev) x 60 (min/hr) = 5278 ft (per rpm per hour). There are 5280 ft in a mile, for those non-US folks reading this. So when I have 325 rrpm (typical), my blade tips are going just about 325 mph.