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Dryden researcher helps improve helicopter performance
Aerospace Projects Writer Dryden's Daniel Banks and Henry Kelley of the Army Aeromechanics Laboratory at NASA Langley have developed a simple modification to helicopter tail booms that could improve helicopter flight performance. A patent for the modification has been applied for and is entitled "Alleviation of Helicopter Tail Boom Loads Through Passive Venting." Banks and Kelley investigated several methods to modify airflow around tail booms in an attempt to reduce adverse forces acting on them, primarily from air flow from the main rotor. These methods involve connecting regions of high pressure to regions of low pressure to relieve adverse forces that rob power from helicopters and can make them more difficult to control. Kelley and John Wilson, another Army Aeromechanics Laboratory employee, had previously patented another tail boom modification, that of boom strakes. "Tail boom venting can make a helicopter much easier to control in hover and sideward flight, while at the same time reducing required engine power," says Daniel Banks. "It can also be used in combination with strakes for an additional benefit," Banks said. |
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Responsible NASA Official: John Childress For questions, contact: Dryden Web Group Page Curator:WD-Team Modified: September 26, 2000 |
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