23rd Congress of International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, 8-13 September, 2002, Toronto, Canada
Paper ICAS 2002-3.11.1

WIND TUNNEL TESTING TO DETERMINE UNSTEADY LOADS ON A HELICOPTER FUSELAGE IN A SHIP AIRWAKE

R. Lee, S. J. Zan
IAR/NRC, Canada

Keywords: dynamic interface, ship airwake, helicopter, unsteady aerodynamic loads

Pilots of maritime helicopters face significant challenges when operating from a small non-aviation ship. In addition to the effort required for tracking and landing on a small moving flight deck, at times in a rough sea, a maritime helicopter pilot must also cope with unsteady aerodynamic loads arising from the turbulent airwake of the ship. This paper describes sub-scale wind tunnel experiments designed to determine the unsteady aerodynamic loads acting upon a rotorless helicopter fuselage in a ship airwake.

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