The downing of Trudy's Samson
 

I've noticed something odd about the destruction of Trudy's Samson. As you know, modern helicopters that have tail rotors can be taken down by damaging the tail rotor of the aircraft because the reactive torque of spinning the rotor causes the aircraft to spiral out of control (lucky shots to the tail rotor caused the shootdowns of two MH-60L Blackhawk helicopters in Somalia in 1993). However, the tilt-rotors of the helicopters in Avatar are coaxial, so that if one of the tilt-rotor fans is destroyed, the helicopter should be able to controllable, provided that the power of the other fan is reduced, and the control surfaces are rearranged to compensate for the asymmetric lift. In the movie, I noticed that when the Dragon’s gatling guns destroyed one of Trudy’s engines, the helicopter began flat-spinning out of control. Since the fan spools coaxial rotors, the helicopter shouldn’t be flat spinning, but rather rolling along its length.

Any physics experts want to take a crack at this? (I will be taking AP Physics starting in fall of 2010, so I haven’t mastered the subject yet)

I would guess, because the other engine was still running full power then. When she actually gets shot down, it appears to be more stable.
As it was, when the engine gets hit, she shuts it down (the switches on the roof).

The downing of Trudy's Samson
 

This is a good theory, I never even thought about this! Though Im not much help Im actually horrible at physics :D

Trudy was immediately hit at that moment, so it might've taken some time for her to stabilize the craft. Still didn't do much good, because during the time she spent adjusting her blades, Quaritch was positioning his craft so he'd get a clear shot of her (and it worked).

A very similar situation existed with the Titanic. The ship started taking on water immediately after it hit the iceberg, and it took about 5-6 minutes to get the WT doors closed. That didn't do any good since the gash in the side extended beyond where any water could be contained, so the WT areas just bought time, rather than saving the ship.

Anything is possible. The shot wiring could have messed with the electronics and sent her aircraft spinning in circles.

When the Dragon got hit, it also spinned out of control

Quaritch's weapons tore right through her craft, so it must've been more than her engine that was destroyed.

I study physics but I dont think that's the issue behind it, it's more a need to know the schematics of a Samson and see if any vital components were damaged during the attack (such as Hydraulic fluid). You can see Trudy at her controls when her Samson is hit, she must've been trying to compensate for the damage but it seems it was irreperable.

It's a movie. They can't use all branches of science ALL the time.

missile>sampson anyday

It did just hit the engine (well, it probably damaged the cargo area too, but not the cockpit)... She had it under control when it was actually shot down, theoretically a samson/scorpion would still be controllable with only one, just not as manoeuvrable.

Well maybe she realised after her Samson was hit that it was as good as over for her. Y'know, why try and stay airborne if Quaritch is going to blast you with missiles anyway?

Well, they were all flying in the "flux vortex," presumably a strong magnetic field. And while the Samson is probably mostly non-ferrous metal, magnetic flux can cause "eddy currents" in any sufficiently conductive metal (e.g. aluminum) which could cause that metal to resist changes in motion or to be moved by changes in the magetic field. In other words: In the flux vortex, strange things probably happen to metal objects.

If you have the means, I recommend dropping a strong spherical magnet down a copper or aluminum tube. Heavy though the magnet may be, it will float to the bottom like a feather. Great trick to amaze your science geek friends with!

I guess you could say the flux vortex works on Pandora like the Bermuda Triangle works on Earth.

What I want to know is what happened to the eight missiles in Trudy's missile pods :) When they flee Hell's Gate the pods are fully loaded. When she attacks the Dragon, they are empty. What did she use them on? Just one missile into those huge ordnance pods on the side of the Dragon, or one right through the open cargo hatch on the shuttle into the pallet of mine explosives and game over!