Technology Transfer

NASA License Improves Helicopter Performance

The license will allow BLRI to market the NASA-patented device to civil and military operators of single-rotor helicopters. The company has applied for Federal Aviation Administration certification to make the technology available to civil operators and owners.

Developed by a NASA-Army team of researchers, the helicopter strake technology is applicable to all single-rotor helicopters. It is patented by NASA as a "Low Speed Anti-Torque System."

BLRI has been exploring a variety of technology benefits. These include improved stability, less horsepower needed for the tail rotor, improved yaw (side-to-side) control, improved altitude performance, increased payload capability at altitude, reduced fatigue for tailboom and related flight critical components, and reduced maintenance costs.

The upper and lower tailboom strakes run the entire length of the tailboom on the port side only. The strakes are typically 10 to 15 feet long and extend diagonally from the surface about three inches, one near the top of the tailboom and one near the bottom. At slow airspeeds, these narrow surfaces provide resistance to the air coming down from the main overhead rotor, creating a high-pressure area on the tailboom's port side. This significantly counteracts a single-rotor helicopter's natural tendency to turn because of torque, improving the pilot's control over the helicopter.

BLRI President Robert Desroche said, "We are very pleased to be selected by NASA to further develop this technology and are anxious to get it to the operators where it can do some good. Operators work a very delicate profit margin, and this technology will help tip the scale in their favor since it can reduce maintenance costs and increase performance. The fact that it improves safety by improving yaw control margins is just icing on the cake."

The company recently shipped a set of helicopter strakes to the U.S. Army Flight Test Evaluation Center at Ft. Rucker, Alabama, to be evaluated for the Army's fleet of single-rotor helicopters. In the past few months, the Royal New Zealand Air Force and the Australian Defence Force have each outfitted UH-1H helicopters with strakes after learning of the technology from Army researchers at NASA and conducting their own evaluations with close collaboration from NASA.

BLRI designs and develops products that enhance performance of personal and business aircraft. The device represents the company's first venture into the rotorcraft modification market. Recently, the company announced a reorganization and the hiring of key staff to facilitate the anticipated growth of the new Rotary Wing Division.

For more information, contact Henry Kelley at Langley Research Center.
Call: 757/566-0321, E-mail: hkelley@widomaker.com
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