Can You Take Down a Helicopter?

[Chitose]

Hello, Chitose wonder chick again.

To be hornest, I don't even sure this is a right place to post this question in engineer froum.

sorry for that

........

Here the question.

This is a roter of helicopter right?

from what I think, this is weak sport of helicopter. I only saw it in movie and games but...

Is is possible to take down entire Helicopter by throw hard object into roter while is spining (flying)? Or even shoot it with gun?

Roter is design to lift up entire Helicopter, so it should be very strong right? that why I'm bit confuse here.

............
P.S. English is not my native language, forgive if I'm wrong in grama or spelling.

and move this post to right place if you see this is not place for asking these kind of question.

 

[Cyrus]

Hi Chitose,

Your observation about the helicopter being suspended by the rotor is correct. Note that the rotor hub you pictured is designed to withstand substantial forces on the order of several tons generated by the blades. Small arms fire would do almost nothing to the hub.Side: Looks like a Huey rotor hub in your picture from the drag braces.

 

[FredGarvin]

Taking an aircraft down with small arms fire is not impossible, but very unlikely. You need a very lucky shot and those would usually just make it a rough ride home. The push/pull tubes on the flybar are hollow so if you had a large enough round and had a one in a million shot, you could possibly make control tough.

Not that I advocate in any way to do this, but to take a helicopter down, you would be better off shooting at the pilot, the engine or the tail rotor.

 

[Chitose]

I see, odinary gun can't do it, forget about throw rock at it - -'

what about Sniper rifle or armor piercing bullet? servel shot of military rifle are enough to break roter?

.........

In my novel I try to make my heroine skillfull to take on helicopter by herself, so I ask to any trick can find.

 

[Cyrus]

Its a novel, it doesn't have to be realistic.

 

[Mech_Engineer]

In fiction there are all kinds of ways to take down a helicopter! Shoot the engine/fuel tank, lure it into a suspended wire, throw something into its rotors, etc. etc. Your readers won't be critically evaluating the feasability of your heronie's actions.

 

[Cyrus]

Throw kittens at it.

 

[Ranger Mike]

fred garvin has it right...very rare that an ancient muzzle loader can take out a rotor or other mechanical part unless the pilot is having a very bad day...let alone a cross bow...

 

[Chitose]

O...kay... not much different from what I know, but thankyou anyway.

My novel is one of sci-fi kind, that's why I need some realistic explanation of almost every incident in it. (Even if it's just theory)

I post my another question in physics group.

 

[AverageJoe]

If you're going to do that, sabotage the air filters on the engines and throw in some copper fragments. They will liquefy enough to take out the Inconel fan blades and cause a chain reaction destroying the engine. I used to weld the darn things and hoooboy can they take a beating. Easily one of the toughest metals out there.
Either that or an armor piercing incendiary round from from a .50 cal BMG put through the engine would do the trick. But all in all, targeting the rotors is not ideal, the power source is where it's at.

Most military helicopters are designed to take small arms fire so that's out of the question. You'll need anti-tank AP stuff.

 

[russ_watters]

Throw kittens at it.

I doubt that kittens are dense enough to cause meaningful damage...perhaps jet engine manufacturers should use their chicken launchers to test their engines with a few kittens just to be sure though?

Anyway, I agree that since it is a novel, it doesn't have to be very realistic (and is usually better if it is somewhat creative/dramatic). So how 'bout an armor piercing .50 cal sniper bullet to crack the central hub, causing the centrifugal force to pull apart the rotor?

 

[Phrak]

Luring a hapless helicopter into a tunnel has been a good trick. I saw it twice in some excellent movies.

 

[nucleus]

It happened for real today.

"A police helicopter that responded to the incident was fired on and forced to land with a ruptured fuel tank."
http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...topics/3697226/Re_Gunman_kills_several_in_cen

 

[FredGarvin]

We had sealing tanks that prevented that scenario. I guess the OP never said if it were a civilian or military helicopter.

Kittten cannon...check.

 

[minger]

It happened for real today.

"A police helicopter that responded to the incident was fired on and forced to land with a ruptured fuel tank."
http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...topics/3697226/Re_Gunman_kills_several_in_cen

Heard it on the news this morning and for some reason immediately thought of this thread.

 

[mgb_phys]

I doubt that kittens are dense enough to cause meaningful damage..?

You throw the kitten at the pilot who is so distracted by it's cute antics that they crash.

 

[Ranger Mike]

Ha,,,lot of cat lovers on this forum...can't imagine chopper jock would be distracted by the kitten..kitty (cat) would turn his head tho!

 

[dr dodge]

kittens won't work well
but wild barn cats, now we are on to something
how'd you like to be in the cab after cat-a-pulting one inside
it'd look like the tasmanian devil from a bugs bunny cartoon

dr

 

[FredGarvin]

how'd you like to be in the cab...

Blasphemy!

 

[AverageJoe]

If you're going to use a meaty wild barn cat...it's got to be thrown with a trebuchet of course. :P
Catapults are far too instantaneous an acceleration...they will waggle all over the place in the air.

 

[Wetmelon]

Blasphemy!

Hehe. Those darn non-pilots!

My old drama teacher, a Capt. John P. McAfee (Ret.) of the Green Berets, wrote an interesting semi-fictional book about his experiences in Vietnam at the Spec. Forces A Camp #134. In it, they manage to crash a helicopter by leaving a snake in a bag that gets loaded into the cockpit and subsequently crawls up on the pilot, and he doesn't take the venom so well... Fun book :D And sad :(

The book, if anyone is interested: Slow Walk in a Sad Rain

 

[dr dodge]

Blasphemy!

opps, I mean cockpit
damn, I have been hanging around trucks wwaaayyyy too long

dr

 

[Ranger Mike]

someone forgot their lunch...typical A Detachment blues..you get a nice treat and forget to bring it with you after unass the slick...oh well, still got the tabsco sauce and LRRP...

 

[Tex the Knife]

I seem to remember reading that several helicopters were downed during the Vietnam War as they began to lift off when tree branches were thrown into the rotors. I agree that hitting the hub with a bullet probably wouldn't bring a helicopter down, but I would think any disruption to the smooth spinning of the rotors is going to cause a lot of problems, even if it doesn't crash. Causing a break to the rotor assembly also shouldn't be required; if the rotor speed is suddenly disrupted any linkage or connecting rods could bend or get get knocked out of alignment, possibly to the point where the helicopter can no longer maintain altitude. Kind of like bending the crankshaft of a lawnmower by hitting a stump or rock. If this is correct, you might use it in your novel to initiate a controlled or uncontrolled descent and write it into the story as a segue to other action. When it gets close to the ground you can even write in a kitten or two getting sucked into the rotors.

Tex