What makes more of a difference than the side of the tail boom is the direction of rotation - top going aft appears to be more efficient in terms of producing thrust in all relative wind directions.
The other problem is blockage of the airflow either onto or out of the tail rotor.
The vertical CG position is going to depend on the fuel quantity and the number of passengers and other variables. With little or no fuel, the CG will be higher than with full fuel and passengers.
As far as I know, no-one ever bothers with determining this position, which is a shame, as it has a...
The lead lag hinge is to relieve loads on the blade / hub. It is needed due to the blade moving forward and back in the plane of rotation.
The three things that drive the requirement for the hinge are:
1) change in drag as the blade rotates in forward flight
2) movement of the CG in and out and...
If you put more sideslip on the helicopter you will increase the total drag, just like a fixed wing. So, you will descend. THe maneuver is typically not used like it is in a fixed wing aircraft as the helicopter has a much higher descent rate / angle when the power is reduced.
Operationally...
Wheeler type VGs (as used in Airtabs - see www.airtab.com) are better than vane type VGs as they only need to be .25 to .3 times the height of the boundary layer to have an effect.
contact me if you want more info (shawn.coyle@airtab.com)
