Pilots often underestimate the danger of helicopter wake vortices, but FAA research demonstrates they are significantly more potent and complex than fixed-wing aircraft wakes, capable of causing ...

The rotor wake of a helicopter comprises a system of interconnected vortical structures generated by blade tip circulation. The primary tip vortices dominate the near-field flow, convecting downstream ...

A vortex ring state study undertaken by EASA will focus on recovery methods for various helicopter types. A vortex ring state study undertaken by EASA will focus on recovery methods for various ...

When rotor downwash hits the ground surface, the vortex circulation is outward, upward, around and away from the main rotors in all directions. Credit: U.S. Army Helicopter wake turbulence is more ...

A European study into Vortex Ring State (VRS) – one of the helicopter industry’s most pernicious and persistent safety risks – has concluded there are only minor differences between the effectiveness ...

Detailed topological descriptions of vortex-wall interactions identify new vortex shapes caused by aircraft taking off and ...

Computational fluid dynamics performed by NASA Ames Research Center illustrates the variation in vortices caused by advancing and retreating rotor blades. Credit: NASA The FAA in the past conducted a ...