Joined: Sep 16, 2006 Posts: 736 Location: North England
Posted: Sat May 21, 2011 9:22 am Post subject: Sikorsky, US Army claim whisper-flapcopter test success
Posted in Science, 3rd May 2011 10:21 GMT
A wind-tunnel test programme aimed at producing new, hi-tech rotor blades for helicopters has finished. The trials, which used blades fitted with trailing-edge flaps like those seen on aeroplane wings, reportedly offer the prospect of much-enhanced copters in future – in particular, the long-heralded "whisper mode" for covert (or domestic) urban operations may be on the horizon.
The just-completed flapcopter push was a joint effort between famous whirlycraft company Sikorsky and the Aviation Applied Technology Directorate of the US Army (AATD – the US Army is a much bigger operator of helicopters than the US Air Force).
"We have validated the concept of properly controlled, high authority flaps to favourably impact external rotor noise, and vibration," says Sikorsky bigcheese Jim Kagdis. "Our test results show reductions in vibration, rotor hub and controls loading, and a reduced acoustic emission."
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