If blade track increases as speed increases, what adjustment is recommended?

If blade track increases as speed increases, what adjustment is recommended?

• A. Increase engine power
• B. Replace rotor
• C. Pitch change rods adjusted to correct discrepancies in blade track
• D. Adjust landing gear

Answer: (C)

Blade tracking is about making sure every blade follows the same path through the rotor plane. When the blade track gets larger as speed rises, it means the blades aren’t receiving identical pitch changes from the rotor head across all blades, so one blade’s path shifts relative to the others as RPM changes. The adjustment that fixes this is tweaking the pitch change rods so the pitch of each blade is balanced relative to the others. By correcting those linkages, you remove the differential lift that causes one blade to ride up or down in the track as speed changes, keeping all blades in the same plane across the speed range. After making the adjustment, verify by checking blade track at multiple speeds with a tracking tool or strobe, ensuring the tracks remain aligned. The other options don’t address the alignment issue: increasing engine power won’t fix a mechanical misalignment, replacing the rotor is unnecessary, and landing gear has no effect on blade tracking.

Blade tracking is about making sure every blade follows the same path through the rotor plane. When the blade track gets larger as speed rises, it means the blades aren’t receiving identical pitch changes from the rotor head across all blades, so one blade’s path shifts relative to the others as RPM changes.

The adjustment that fixes this is tweaking the pitch change rods so the pitch of each blade is balanced relative to the others. By correcting those linkages, you remove the differential lift that causes one blade to ride up or down in the track as speed changes, keeping all blades in the same plane across the speed range.

After making the adjustment, verify by checking blade track at multiple speeds with a tracking tool or strobe, ensuring the tracks remain aligned. The other options don’t address the alignment issue: increasing engine power won’t fix a mechanical misalignment, replacing the rotor is unnecessary, and landing gear has no effect on blade tracking.