Protective shroud for aircraft tail rotor

A rotorcraft comprising:

• a fuselage;
• an empennage aft of the fuselage;
• a tail rotor connected to a first side of the empennage;
• and
• a tail rotor shroud comprising:
• an inverted V-tail stabilizer connected to the empennage forward of the tail rotor, wherein a portion of the inverted V-tail stabilizer is on the first side of the empennage;
• and
• a shroud bar having a first end connected to an outboard end of the portion of the inverted V-tail stabilizer and a second end opposite the first end connected directly to the empennage aft of the tail rotor;
• wherein the tail rotor shroud provides ground strike protection for the tail rotor.

A protective shroud for a tail rotor on a first side of an empennage of a helicopter comprising a forward inverted V-tail stabilizer and an aft inverted V-tail stabilizer, the protective shroud comprising:

• a portion of the forward inverted V-tail stabilizer connected to the first side of the empennage forward of the tail rotor;
• a portion of the aft inverted V-tail stabilizer connected to the first side of the empennage aft of the tail rotor;
• and
• a shroud bar having a first end connected to an outboard end of the portion of the forward inverted V-tail stabilizer and a second end opposite the first end connected an outboard end of the portion of the aft inverted V-tail stabilizer;
• wherein the forward and aft V-tail stabilizers are configured to provide horizontal stabilization and vertical stabilization for the helicopter.