Helicopter Hover Power CalculatorDescriptionThis calculator estimates the power consumption of a hovering helicopter rotor. Probably the best book on helicopter performance is Prouty's Helicopter Performance, Stability, and Control. EquationsThe following equations are used to estimate the power consumption \( P \) from the input air density \( \rho \), main rotor radius \( R \), and gross weight \( W \). These equations assume a non-ideal rotor with figure of merit \( F \) and thrust \( T \) 2% larger than the helicopter weight (to counteract fuselage download from rotor wash). It's also assumed that the tail rotor consumes 10% of the power required by the main rotor. The assumptions and equations are only rough estimates of reality. \[ A = \pi R^2 \] \[ T = 1.02 W \] \[ v_i = \sqrt{T / 2\rho A} \] \[ P_{MR} = T v_i / F \] \[ P = 1.1 P_{MR} \]For more details including the derivation of these equations see our article on helicopter performance. |