Lynx Main Rotor/Tail Rotor Interactions: Mechanisms and Modelling

Abstract

A flight trial has been conducted by the Defence Research Agency (DRA) Bedford using a Lynx AH Mk5 helicopter fitted with an instrumented tail rotor to collect data on tail rotor aerodynamic performance. The analysis carried out to date has concentrated on the effects of main rotor wake interactions on the tail rotor. This paper describes the trial and the analysis in broad outline and discusses in detail mechanisms to explain three out of the six main rotor/tail rotor interactions found. The modelling of these effects to improve the fidelity of ground-based flight simulation is also covered.