English

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Rotor blade hinges - the alpha hinge is the one parallel to the z axis

Noun

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alpha hinge (plural alpha hinges)

  1. (aeronautics) On rotorcraft, a hinge perpendicular to the plane of rotor rotation about which the blades trail or lag.
    • 1953, Daniel Otto Dommasch, Elements of Propeller and Helicopter Aerodynamics, page 129:
      Similarly, as a blade with an alpha hinge lags through an angle §, ...
    • 1958, Aviation Week and Space Technology - Volume 69, page 226:
      When rotor goes to autorotation, an inclined alpha hinge provides automatic change of blade pitch to three degrees as the shaft stops rotating.
    • 2013, Wayne Johnson, Rotorcraft Aeromechanics, →ISBN, page 218:
      When flap and lag hinge inclination was introduced on the autogyro rotors, the inboard (flap) hinge was designated the “delta hinge,” and the outboard (lag) hinge designated the “alpha hinge.”