Flying has been a fascination with humankind since the early days, inspiring the entrepreneurs, scientists, and common folk alike to discover new ways to touch the skies. The Wright brothers demonstrated the possibility of flight by successfully operating a powered heavier-than-air aircraft in 1903.
But the ingenuity of trying to find novel solutions to fly in addition to improving upon the existing ideas has continued since.
We currently have several types of aircraft that are divided into two main categories, helicopters, and airplanes, or as they are technically referred to as rotary-wing and fixed-wing airplanes.
Here are some of the main differences between helicopters and airplanes!
| Helicopters | Airplanes | |
| How they generate lift | Rotor blades mounted on top (or in some cases, sides) generate lift. | Fixed wings generate lift once enough air is flowing over them |
| Stability | Helicopters are less stable in the air, and require a second rotor to keep the body from spinning. This makes them harder to operate. | Airplanes are inherently stable, and tend to return to a balanced position if all control inputs (pilots control on the yoke or rudder paddles) are neutralized. |
| Safety | Helicopters are safer than general aviation, but not as safe as commercial aviation. | Commercial jets have a fatality rate of one death per 2.7 million boardings, which makes them the safest means of transportation available. |
| Service Ceiling | Most helicopters have a service ceiling ranging from 10000ft to 20000ft | For commercial jet airliners, the service ceiling is around 40,000ft whereas many military fighter jets often have a service ceiling around 50,000ft. |
| Speed and range | Helicopters are slower and have a shorter range than airplanes. This is compensated by their maneuverability. | Jet airplanes can cruise at high speeds, using much less fuel than helicopters, which makes them ideal for long flights. Some airplanes are capable of flying up to 18,000 km (9,700 nmi). |
| Uses | Commonly, if people need to fly shorter distances in areas where they do not have an airstrip or runway available, helicopters are the aircraft of choice. | Airplanes are used for longer flights, as they are more economical |
| Costs | Helicopters are much more expensive to operate and purchase than airplanes. Helicopters are generally produced in smaller quantities and have many moving parts, which makes them expensive. In addition, the main rotor uses a lot of fuel to keep aloft! | Airplanes are much cheaper to buy and operate than helicopters. Some of the reasons are that they are produced in larger quantities, and use a fixed-wing to generate lift. |
Visually, helicopters and airplanes are quite distinguishable as there are not any rotor blades mounted on top of airplanes or any fixed wings attached to a helicopter. In addition to these basic differences, the visual details of a helicopter and airplane are certainly different as airplanes tend to be more aerodynamic whereas helicopters are designed keeping in view their utility.
Let us have a quick review of their visual features before diving into technical differentiation.
Helicopters typically have a minimum of two rotors that are commonly designed so that one rotor produces lift whereas the other one provides rotational stability.
Airplanes or fixed-wing aircraft have life-generating wings which as the name suggests, are fixed.
Table of Contents
1. How Lift Is Generated in Airplanes Versus Helicopters
Lift and drag are two keywords of aerodynamics. During the design of any aircraft, engineers try to maximize lift all while minimizing drag.
Helicopters and airplanes have their unique ways of generating lift that represent the biggest difference between them.
Helicopters have giant rotor blades mounted on top (or in some cases, sides) that generate lift. These rotor blades generate airflow over them through their rotational motion and therefore act like rotating wings that lift the helicopter cabin.
In most helicopters, we also notice a second vertically installed, the smaller rotor, which is there to counteract the rotational torque of the main rotor. This smaller rotor is the reason, the helicopter cabin does not spin in the direction opposite to the main rotor.
Airplanes have fixed wings that generate lift one enough air is flowing over them smoothly. That is why airplanes need to take-off from runways using thrust provided by one or multiple engines mounted on the aircraft.
The aircraft in this category are aerodynamic and each surface of these planes is designed to offer minimum resistance to air so that drag is minimized. The wings generate sufficient lift once the airplane gains speed, to keep it flying through the sky while the flight controls installed on the wing and tail of the airplane provide maneuverability.
Of course, non-lift generating sections of the aircraft like the fuselage, rudder, etcetera is designed to be aerodynamic and therefore offer the least amount of drag.
2. Stability of Helicopters Versus Airplanes
Airplanes are designed to be inherently stable and can glide in the air since the fixed wings can generate lift if sufficient airflow is available. An airplane stalls once the airflow over the wings is either turbulent or not enough and that is when it starts to free fall towards the ground.
Additionally, the wings, the tail, and the control surfaces of an airplane contribute to the stability by allowing it to return to a balanced position if all control inputs (pilots control on the yoke or rudder paddles) are removed. For example, if an airplane is banking and the pilot removes his control command, most airplanes return to a balanced angle.
Contrary to airplanes, helicopters are inherently unstable due to counter-torque being produced by the main rotor. Therefore, the tail rotor of helicopters is actively trying to counter the rotational torque of the main rotor to keep the helicopter stable. Although this balancing is done automatically by modern helicopters without any input from the pilot, this comportment of a helicopter design makes it unstable.
By the way, have you ever wondered which aircraft are more difficult to fly, helicopters, or airplanes? Well, this is a never-ending debate between the pilots but suffice to say that operating these two types of aircraft is quite different and they have their utilities. For example, an airplane cannot hover (for extended periods) or fly slowly for observation and a helicopter cannot glide or fly at higher altitudes. Let us go through a quick comparison between the service ceilings of airplanes and helicopters!
3. Safety
Helicopter safety has increased a lot during the last ten years or so. In fact, the accident rate has been cut half in late years , making helicopters the safest means of transportation when compared to general aviation.
| Fatal accidents rate per 100,000 hours (US 5 year rolling average ending in 2019) | ||
| Helicopters | 0.63 | |
| General Aviation | 1.07 |
As we see, helicopters are safer in terms of fatal accidents per flown hours, when compared to general aviation.
This has to do with several factors, such as the comparably low speed of helicopters, their ability to land on small patches of land, and the fact that much of the flight is carried out at low altitudes. The latter demands that the pilot always remains aware of his surrounding, and refrains from venturing out too far without being certain that a safe place to land is available in case of an emergency.
Looking at the same time period, we also notice that the number of accidents is far lower for helicopters than for General Aviation.
| Accidents rate per 100,000 hours (US 5 year rolling average ending in 2019) | ||
| Helicopters | 3.75 | |
| General Aviation | 5.91 |
However, when compared to the safety of commercial jets, the latter is the clear winner with a fatality rate of one death per 2.7 million boardings!
4. Service Ceilings of Helicopters and Airplanes
In general, the service ceiling of helicopters is much lower than that of airplanes. While some helicopters can reach around 25000ft, most commercial and military helicopters have a service ceiling ranging from 10000ft to 20000ft.
As the air gets thinner at higher altitudes, a helicopter engine finds it difficult to breathe and the lift being generated by propellers is affected, since the air is much thinner. The maximum altitude at which a helicopter can hover is much lower than its service ceiling, since a helicopter in movement will generate more lift than one that’s hovering.
For commercial jet airliners, the service ceiling is around 40,000ft whereas many military fighter jets often have a service ceiling around 50,000ft. This difference is the service ceiling of helicopters and airplanes is quite basic and can be understood by the fact that it is quite common for commercial jet airliners to cruise above FL35 (35,000ft) but for a helicopter to reach its service ceiling, their engines have to be stretched to the limits.
To understand this difference, consider the engine of an airplane that must produce maximum thrust during the take-off phase. Once the airplane is in the air, during the cruise or climb, the thrust requirement is much lower than take-off.
However, a helicopter engine also produces maximum torque during the flight whenever the pilot commands a higher altitude, since the propeller needs to move faster to generate sufficient lift in the thin air.
5. Speed and Range of Various Helicopters and Airplanes
Airplanes due to their fixed-wing design can fly only in one direction whereas rotary-wing planes (helicopters) can fly in all six (06) axis in addition to hovering. This maneuverability of helicopters comes at a cost of their speed. Mid-range commercial helicopters fly around 160knots which is much slower than most jet airplanes.
Owing to their slow speed, they have much less range as compared to airplanes as well.
This lack of speed and range of helicopters is compensated by their maneuverability. Yes, airplanes fly much faster than helicopters, but helicopters can land anywhere and do not require an airstrip or a runway. These two types of aircraft are quite distinguishable in terms of their design, flying as well as utilities.
We therefore often notice that the utilities of helicopters and airplanes do not overlap. How you may ask?
6. Differences in Utility of Helicopters and Airplanes
If a mountaineer, trying to conquer a tough peak, gets stuck, and manages to communicate his emergency to authorities, a helicopter would be sent to find him and get him out of trouble.
Such a rescue mission can only be performed by a helicopter as they can fly close to the surface, maneuver around tricky terrain, and hover to pick up the mountaineer and bring him to safety.
Similarly, if you buy a ticket to travel across Europe by any airline, you expect to be seated in a plane that can take you across thousands of miles comfortably. Therefore, the utilities of helicopters in the commercial world are demarcated.
Commonly, if people need to fly for shorter distances in areas where they do not have an airstrip or runway available, helicopters are the aircraft of choice.
In military aviation, fixed-wing fighter jets and helicopters have their distinctive missions. Combat helicopters are utilized by armies around the world to provide support to ground troops or for transporting the soldiers to or from an active battlefield. Whereas military jets fly higher, quicker laced with air-to-air and precision-guided air-to-ground missiles.
Military jets have designated combat roles such as attack, reconnaissance, bombers, or electronic warfare aircraft.
7. Landing and Takeoff Procedures
Airplanes while coming in, to land at airports follow one of the specified approach procedures published by that airport which include following a glideslope to land on the runway. But helicopters can take-off and land wherever they want which presents a challenge for airports, as helicopters may navigate into the path of airplanes taking-off or coming in for a landing.
To ensure safe operations most airports require helicopters to follow a similar approach and take-off procedures as airplanes. We can sometimes see helicopters landing at airports with a controlled descent just like airplanes and then follow the taxiways till their designated parking spot and land there.
If the aerodrome procedures for helicopters and airplanes are similar, are the regulations pertaining to operations and maintenance similar as well?
8. Regulatory Oversight of Helicopters as compared to Airplanes
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) provides basic standards and recommended practices to all countries within its framework. The standards for international aircraft operations are mentioned in Annexure 6 and are different for airplanes and helicopters.
The ICAO Annex 6 Part-I provides the standards for Airplanes whereas ICAO Annex 6 Part-III provides the standards for Helicopter operations. These standards are defined keeping in view the distinct and unique utilities of airplanes and helicopters as well as their operational capabilities and limitations.
For the maintenance of airplanes and helicopters, the regulatory framework is similar. The regulatory framework for maintenance categorizes large helicopters (having multiple engines) and large airplanes (weighing more than 5700kg) into one category and smaller aircraft (airplanes and helicopters) into another.
9. Differences in Licenses
Although each country has some differences, the process to gain a license as a pilot of helicopters and airplanes is quite similar in terms of the path that is followed.
The requirements of theoretical knowledge and flying hours to gain a Private Pilot License or Commercial Pilot License differs for helicopters and airplanes, depending upon the regulatory framework of different countries.
Although being a pilot of helicopter or airplanes is entirely different, but the process followed to be a license holder is similar.
As far as license requirements for airplane and helicopter mechanics are concerned, they are similar both in terms of theoretical knowledge and practical experience requirements.
Summary and Conclusion
Helicopters and airplanes are two very broad categories of airplanes having their distinct utility in commercial and military spheres.
The helicopters and airplanes differ not only in terms of their design and visual appearance, but they also have a significant gap in their average range, speed, service ceiling, and flight control mechanisms.
Helicopters find their utility in commercial operations and military missions where an aircraft is required to hover and maneuver freely in 6-axis of motion, but these advantages are gained at a cost of speed, range, and service ceiling.
Contrary to this, airplanes provide better range and service ceiling, but they are unable to navigate as freely or fly as slowly as helicopters.
Despite their differences, both types of aircraft have served humankind for almost a century and we will continue flying them for centuries to come. Happy flying!
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