Advantages of Vortech Rotorblades

VORTECH, INC. ALUMINUM ROTORBLADES *Advantages Of the Extruded Rotorblades Over Riveted-Bonded Rotorblades*
The Vortech, Inc. (VI) line of extruded-aluminum Rotorblades, manufactured for both helicopters and gyroplanes, incorporate a major design advance over typical rotorblades: the virtual elimination of parasitic drag—one of the primary challenges in maximizing rotorblade efficiency. Drag* is the force that tends to resist a rotorblade's movement through the air, impeding the thrust of the rotor system. Thrust is the force that creates the forward momentum of a rotor system necessary for achieving lift. Lift is the force that counteracts gravity. Parasitic drag in rotorblades is caused by the wind resistance of structures that may be necessary for the assembly of the blades, but do not contribute to—and in fact detract from—lift. Structures that create parasitic drag include rivet heads and the edges of interfacing materials used in blade construction. Many rotorblades are constructed by riveting an upper and lower skin to a leading-edge extrusion, then riveting the trailing-edge together or to another extrusion (see Fig. 2, below). The rows of rivets and the overlapping blade sections create drag and excessive weight, and are a possible cause of fatigue cracks and blade failures. The VI Rotorblades elegantly eliminate this drag and excessive weight by creating the entire airfoil (the shape, or curvature of the blade) from a single aluminum extrusion (see Fig. 1). Additional advantages include greatly increased strength, reliability and torsional rigidity (resistance to twisting), yielding far smoother performance and greater freedom from vibration. Although there are numerous ways in which rotorblade manufacturers assemble the materials from which their blades are constructed and thereby attempt to minimize drag and weight, no other rotorblade uses so simple, elegant and efficient a design as the VI Rotorblades. *Vortech, Inc. is a distributor for Falcon Industries, Inc., owner/seller of the "VI" extruded-aluminum rotorblades.
	Fig. 1 The VI Rotorblade Formed as a single all-aluminum extrusion
	Fig. 2 A Typical Rotorblade Formed from several sections, riveted together

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