Selected aerodynamic design issues for the single‐rotor remotely piloted helicopter

Some of the fundamental problems associated with the aerodynamic configuration of a single‐rotor remotely piloted helicopter are discussed in this paper. A method for selecting the aerodynamic shape of a fuselage and determining the locations and parameters of a horizontal stabilizer and a tail rotor in the preliminary design analysis is given. The application of this method to a remotely piloted single main rotor and tail rotor helicopter developed at the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics is described. A raindrop shaped fuselage is chosen for the remotely piloted helicopter and the low drag characteristics of the fuselage are demonstrated from the wind‐tunnel experimental data. The experimental results on the pitching moment characteristics of the horizontal stabilizer are also presented and analyzed. The design considerations of the horizontal stabilizer and tail rotor of the helicopter are discussed in detail.