Helicopter rotor and method of making a blade member thereof

Claim 1

THE COMBINATION IN A HELICOPTER ROTOR, OF A HUB ROTATABLE ABOUT AN APPROXIMATELY VERTICAL AXIS, A GRIP MEMBER CONNECTED WITH THE HUB FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT ABOUT A NONRADIAL AXIS IN FIXED RELATION TO THE HUB, A BLADE BODY EXTENDING RADIALLY OUTWARDLY FROM THE GRIP MEMBER AND HAVING AN AIRFOIL LIFTING PORTION, INTERENGAGING ELEMENTS RESPECTIVELY ON SAID GRIP MEMBER AND ON THE INNER END OF SAID BODY FOR PREVENTING BODILY MOVEMENT OF THE INNER END OF THE BODY IN ANY NONRADIAL DIRECTION WHICH ELEMENTS ARE CONSTRUCTED AND ARRANGED TO PERMIT SAID BODY TO MOVE RELATIVELY TO THE HUB MEMBER EITHER ROTATABLY ABOUT THE RADIAL AXIS OR RADIALY OUTWARDLY, FOUR SEPARATE GENERALLY RADIAL TENSION-TORSION MEMBERS FIXEDLY CONNECTED AT THEIR INNER ENDS WITH THE GRIP MEMBERS AND FIXEDLY CONNECTED AT THEIR OUTER ENDS WITH THE BLADE BODY WHICH TENSION-TORSION MEMBERS PREVENT RADIALLY OUTWARD MOVEMENT OF THE BLADE BODY AND WHICH TENSION-TORSION MEMBERS HAVE TORSIONAL RESILIENCY TO RESIST ROTATIVE MOVEMENT OF SAID BODY ABOUT SAID RADIAL AXIS WHILE PERMITTING SUCH MOVEMENT TO A LIMITED EXTENT, TWO OF SAID TENSION-TORSION MEMBERS BEING IN SUPERPOSED POSITIONS AND VERTICALLY SPACED FROM EACH OTHER THROUGHOUT THEIR ENTIRE LENGTH AND CONSTITUTING A PAIR OF MEMBERS SPACED IN THE LEADING DIRECTION FROM SAID RADIAL AXIS AND THE OTHER TWO OF SAID TENSION-TORSION MEMBERS BEING IN SUPERPOSED POSITIONS AND VERTICALLY SPACED FROM EACH OTHER THROUGHOUT A PORTION OF THEIR LENGTH AND IN ENGAGEMENT WITH EACH OTHER THROUGHOUT ANOTHER PORTION OF THEIR LENGTH AND CONSTITUTING A PAIR OF MEMBERS SPACED IN THE TRAILING DIRECTION FROM SAID RADIAL AXIS, A SERVO-FLAP CARRIED BY THE AIRFOIL PORTION OF THE BLADE BODY AND ANGULARLY ADJUSTABLE RELATIVE THERETO, AND MEANS FOR ANGULARLY ADJUSTING SAID SERVO-FLAP TO ENABLE IT DURING ROTOR ROTATION TO AERODYNAMICALLY EFFECT ADJUSTMENT OF THE BLADE BODY ABOUT SAID RADIAL AXIS AND RELATIVELY TO THE GRIP MEMBER AS PERMITTED BY THE TORSIONAL RESILIENCY OF SAID TENSIONTORSION MEMBERS.