Dear Colleagues,

Rotorcraft have been in development since the early days of aviation, and were conceived originally as a solution for very low speed flight. Helicopters have the almost unique ability to hover and gain access to difficult locations that are all but impossible with fixed wing aircraft. This makes them ideal for tasks such as search and rescue, emergency support and medical evacuation, observation, supply for offshore platforms, small ship operation, and a multitude of military operations. Rotary wing flight is far more complex than fixed wing flight, however, whether it is for an unpowered rotor in the case of an autogyro, or a powered rotor in the case of a helicopter. Rotorcraft have unique handling and control issues, the aerodynamics and flight mechanics are so closely compounded to the extent that they cannot be considered separately, and the aerodynamics and fluid mechanics are rich with interesting phenomena. They are fascinating from a variety of perspectives. Versatility is the key to the success of rotorcraft as a field of aviation, and future developments promise to extend their speed, range and acceptability. An important class of rotorcraft that has emerged in recent years is in the form of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that typically includes quadcopters. These exploit the versatility of rotorcraft in a very low cost platform, and while they have the potential to be very useful devices, their rapid rise in popularity has led to ethical questions and changes in the law about their use. Rotorcraft therefore have a broad appeal from a wide range of perspectives, including basic science, challenging engineering, sophisticated robotics and autonomous guidance. This Special Issue will address this by inviting papers relevant to rotorcraft including computational and experimental aerodynamics, acoustics and vibration, aeromechanics, flight dynamics, handling qualities, operational aspects of rotorcraft, future concepts, and rotary wing UAVs.

Dr. Richard Green
Guest Editor

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• Helicopter
• rotorcraft
• tilt rotors
• compound helicopter
• rotorcraft aeromechanics
• rotary wing aerodynamics