Flight: How Do Helicopters Fly?
Clip: Special | 1m 4sVideo has Closed Captions
How do helicopters fly?
How do helicopters fly? They face the same forces that planes do, but they have a special feature to help them hover and go where no plane can. Find out more.
Science Trek is a local public television program presented by IdahoPTV
Major Funding by the Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation and the Idaho National Laboratory. Additional Funding by the Friends of Idaho Public Television and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Flight: How Do Helicopters Fly?
Clip: Special | 1m 4sVideo has Closed Captions
How do helicopters fly? They face the same forces that planes do, but they have a special feature to help them hover and go where no plane can. Find out more.
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Science Trek
Science Trek is a place where parents, kids, and educators can watch short, educational videos on a variety of science topics. Every Monday Science Trek releases a new video that introduces children to math, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) career potentials in a fun, informative way.[MUSIC] JOAN CARTAN-HANSEN, HOST: The first practical helicopter took flight on September 14, 1939.
Helicopters and planes may look different, but they face the same challenges when it comes to getting off the ground.
Planes fly because they can use or overcome four forces.
The thrust from the engine helps planes move forward, causing the wind under the wings to lift.
That overcomes the drag that holds them back and the gravity that pulls them down.
Helicopters fly because they're also designed to use these same four forces.
Helicopter rotor blades act like fixed wings on a plane.
As they move faster, the blade create lift which overcomes gravity and allows a helicopter to rise.
Helicopters also use those same rotor blades for thrust.
While flying, the pilot tilts the rotor disc in the direction they need to travel.
Tilting the blades allows a pilot to move a helicopter forward, backward or sideways.
This design allows helicopter to hover and go place where no planes can fly.
For more information about flight, check out the Science Trek website.
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Science Trek is a local public television program presented by IdahoPTV
Major Funding by the Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation and the Idaho National Laboratory. Additional Funding by the Friends of Idaho Public Television and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.