Lighter, Safer, Quieter Helicopter Blades

Faster, Lighter, Safer Helicopter Blades

Companies in the Westland Group, together accounting for most helicopter manufacture in the United Kingdom, are increasingly using composites nowadays. These materials are lighter and stronger and have better load carrying and more durable properties than conventional metal alloys, while in certain rotary wing applications, design to more exacting specifications is possible.

Initial work towards the development of new aerofoils undertaken by the UK Royal Aerospace Establishment (RAE) incorporated sections that showed improved aerodynamic performance and delayed stall on the retreating blade, eventually including swept tips. This early expertise by RAE and Westland culminated in the British Experimental Rotor Programme (BERP), the intention beingthatWestland would design and build

a new blade using composite materials. Flight trials with a single blade modified to determine and confirm the characteristics predicted were an integral part of the early work. The design gives major improvements with both advancing and retreating blades and, when combined with distributed camber profiles, provides a significant increase in speed and lifting capability. One notable early achievement occurred in August 1986, when a Westland Lynx equipped with BERP blades set a new world record for helicopters at an average speed of 400km/h (precisely 216. 3 knots).

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