Rotor for rotary wing aircraft

Claim 1

For a rotary wing aircraft a rotor including a hub arranged for rotation about a generally vertical axis and supporting a plurality of rotor blades, the rotor hub comprising, in combination, a central portion, a plurality of connecting arms extending radially from the central portion, each including first and second parts, each first part comprising a pair of outwardly extending opposed plates and a joining member connecting the opposed plates to define therewith a cavity, an elastomeric bearing means located on the radial inner side of the joining means, each second part including a U-shaped radial inner part with the bottom of the U passing through said cavity and connected to the radial inner side of said elastomeric bearing and the legs of the U extending radially outwardly beyond said joining member, a pivot means on the second part radially outwardly of the joining member for attaching a rotor blade to permit folding of the rotor blade in a generally horizontal plane about said pivot axis, and a locking means operable between the first and second parts for locking said first and second parts against movement relative to each other and for clamping in compression the said elastomeric bearing.