How Does A Helicopter Work: Everything You Need To Know About Helicopters

A helicopter works on the principle of aerodynamic lift - an upwards force that opposes the weight of the helicopter and holds it the air. So how exactly do the rotors of helicopters help them fly? For any object to fly in the air, it must have the force of lift pushing it upwards, but for that to happen, the air must pass around an airfoil. In the case of a chopper, the airfoil is its main rotor wings. The blades of a chopper are uniquely designed so that they can generate lift; more specifically, they are curved on top and flatter at the bottom. This curved shape makes air flow faster over the top, which causes the air pressure on top of the blades to decrease. These wings rotate at a very high speed which causes air to pass over them in such a way that lift is generated due to Bernoulli’s principle. Helicopters steer in a given direction by generating more lift on one side than the other. Basically, when they need to go left, they generate more lift on the right and vice versa. Some choppers can even fly upside down! An inverted chopper can use its blades to generate lift towards the bottom of the chopper the same way it normally uses them to generate lift upwards. This video explains everything you need to know about helicopters.