INDEPENDENT ENGINEERING ANALYSIS OF PROPOSED AH-1W HELICOPTER FOUR-BLADED MAIN ROTOR DEVELOPMENT

THE U.S. MARINE CORP REQUIRES AN INDEPENDENT ENGINEERING ANALYSIS OF THE PERFORMANCE AND OPERATIONAL COST-BENEFITS OF FOUR BLADED MAIN ROTOR DEVELOPMENT FOR THE AH-1W ATTACK HELICOPTER. THE PROPOSED PHASE I EFFORT IS DESIGNED TO SATISFY THIS REQUIREMENT BY FIRST GATHERING APPROPRIATE ENGINEERING DATA ON BOTH THE BASELINE CONFIGURATION AND THE PROPOSED FOUR-BLADED MAIN ROTOR SYSTEM, DEVELOPING SUITABLE MODELS FOR THESE AIRCRAFT FROM THIS DATA SET, AND THEN EMPLOYING A FULLY DEVELOPED HELICOPTER PRELIMINARY DESIGN CODE (GTPDP) THAT HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY EMPLOYED IN SIMILAR HELICOPTER MODIFICATION ASSESSMENTS. THE ANTICIPATED PHASE II EFFORT WILL USE MORE ADVANCED ANALYSIS CODES SUCH AS DYSCO TO SUBSTANTIATE THE PHASE I PERFORMANCE ESTIMATES AND TO FULLY DEFINE THE TOTAL IMPACT OF THE CONTRACTOR PROPOSED FOUR-BLADED MAIN ROTOR SYSTEM ON THE AIRCRAFT STRUCTURES, DRIVETRAIN, AND DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS.