AW139 Ship Interface: Experimental Trials And Simulations

In 2011 AgustaWestland, in response to a specific Customer request, has conducted a ship trial campaign at sea to define a reference ship operation envelope. After this experimental campaign, an expansion in the SHOL envelope (Ship Helicopter Operating Limitations) was envisaged, implying another series of trials at sea, with all the associated project and schedule risks. It was therefore decided to complement the initial experimental data with a simulation campaign, consisting in an initial validation of the approach based on the flights, followed by the actual simulation of the expanded envelope. This paper describes the AW139 SHOL simulation campaign and illustrates the framework for ship operations and the experimental tests, discussing in particular the methodology used to effectively setup -in a short timeframe- all the elements of the simulation process as well as lessons learned and future perspectives in this field.