Flight Testing and Real-Time System Identification Analysis of a UH-60A Black Hawk Helicopter with an Instrumented External Sling Load
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Authors
McCoy, Allen H.
Subjects
HELICOPTERS
LOADS (FORCES)
SYSTEMS STABILITY
MILITARY OPERATIONS
MILITARY HELICOPTERS
FLIGHT TESTS
FLIGHT CHARACTERISTICS
UH-60A HELICOPTER
TESTING TIME
SYSTEM IDENTIFICATION
REAL TIME OPERATION
FLIGHT SIMULATION
COST REDUCTION
LOADS (FORCES)
SYSTEMS STABILITY
MILITARY OPERATIONS
MILITARY HELICOPTERS
FLIGHT TESTS
FLIGHT CHARACTERISTICS
UH-60A HELICOPTER
TESTING TIME
SYSTEM IDENTIFICATION
REAL TIME OPERATION
FLIGHT SIMULATION
COST REDUCTION
Advisors
Date of Issue
1998-06
Date
Jun 01, 1998
Publisher
Language
Abstract
Helicopter external air transportation plays an important role in today's world. For both military and civilian helicopters, external sling load operations offer an efficient and expedient method of handling heavy, oversized cargo. With the ability to reach areas otherwise inaccessible by ground transportation, helicopter external load operations are conducted in industries such as logging, construction, and fire fighting, as well as in support of military tactical transport missions. Historically, helicopter and load combinations have been qualified through flight testing, requiring considerable time and cost. With advancements in simulation and flight test techniques there is potential to substantially reduce costs and increase the safety of helicopter sling load certification. Validated simulation tools make possible accurate prediction of operational flight characteristics before initial flight tests. Real time analysis of test data improves the safety and efficiency of the testing programs. To advance these concepts, the U.S. Army and NASA, in cooperation with the Israeli Air Force and Technion, under a Memorandum of Agreement, seek to develop and validate a numerical model of the UH-60 with sling load and demonstrate a method of near real time flight test analysis. This thesis presents results from flight tests of a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter with various external loads. Tests were conducted as the U.S. first phase of this MOA task. The primary load was a container express box (CONEX) which contained a compact instrumentation package. The flights covered the airspeed range from hover to 70 knots. Primary maneuvers were pitch and roll frequency sweeps, steps, and doublets. Results of the test determined the effect of the suspended load on both the aircraft's handling qualities and its control system's stability margins. Included were calculations of the stability characteristics of the load's pendular motion. Utilizing CIFER(R) software, a method for near-real time system identification was also demonstrated during the flight test program.
Type
Technical Report
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Organization
Unspecified Center
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
RTOP 581-30-22
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.