Induced Drag is generated by the airflow circulation around the rotor blade as it creates which force?

Induced Drag is generated by the airflow circulation around the rotor blade as it creates which force?

• A. Lift
• B. Weight
• C. Thrust
• D. Drag

Answer: (A)

Induced drag comes from the same airflow that’s being circulated to produce lift on the rotor blade. When a lifting surface like a rotor blade creates lift, the air must be redirected downward and around the blade, forming trailing vortices and a downwash. This circulation carries a reaction in the air that has a backward component relative to the helicopter’s motion, which we experience as drag. In other words, induced drag is the drag associated with generating lift, not weight or thrust, so the force being created by the airflow to produce that drag is lift.

Induced drag comes from the same airflow that’s being circulated to produce lift on the rotor blade. When a lifting surface like a rotor blade creates lift, the air must be redirected downward and around the blade, forming trailing vortices and a downwash. This circulation carries a reaction in the air that has a backward component relative to the helicopter’s motion, which we experience as drag. In other words, induced drag is the drag associated with generating lift, not weight or thrust, so the force being created by the airflow to produce that drag is lift.