Abstract: A flexible, resilient seal protects a bearing in a pitch joint of a helicopter blade assembly from contaminants. The seal includes a flexible, resilient body having a first end bonded to a stationary portion of the joint, and a second end biased into sealing engagement with a displaceable portion of the joint. The body includes an intermediate bellows section surrounding the bearing that expands and contracts to accommodate displacement between the stationary and movable portions of the joint. The second end of the seal includes a lip that rubs on a sacrificial wear layer formed on the second portion of the joint.

Abstract: A droop stop mechanism for a helicopter rotor blade includes a pair of opposing stops disposed on opposite sides of the blade's flap hinge. An interposer is mounted at the end of an arm on a rotatable shaft for rotation in a plane perpendicular to the hinge. A torsion spring disposed concentrically about the shaft has a first end that is fixed and a second end coupled to the shaft to bias the interposer to a position disposed between the stops, thereby limiting blade droop. A weight is attached to the shaft such that, with rotation of the rotor, centrifugal forces acting on the weight cause the shaft and arm to rotate so as to overcome the bias of the spring and urge the interposer out from between the stops, thereby allowing greater blade droop. The spring and shaft are sealed in a canister for protection from the elements.

Abstract: A flexible, resilient seal protects a bearing in a pitch joint of a helicopter blade assembly from contaminants. The seal includes a flexible, resilient body having a first end bonded to a stationary portion of the joint, and a second end biased into sealing engagement with a displaceable potion of the joint. The body includes an intermediate bellows section surrounding the bearing that expands and contracts to accommodate displacement between the stationary and movable portions of the joint. The second end of the seal includes a lip that rubs on a sacrificial wear layer formed on the second portion of the joint.