Blue Edge™: The Design, Development and Testing of a New Blade Concept

The Blue Edge™ programme is an initiative to develop new rotors allowing the reduction of noise generated from Blade- Vortex Interaction (BVI). In 1999, a scaled model of a new blade concept featuring a double-swept configuration underwent wind tunnel testing and the results were conclusive. At the end of 2000, a new project was launched in order to test a fullscale blade in flight. The programme addressed ambitious technical objectives early in order to ensure excellent flight performance while retaining acoustic benefits obtained in the wind tunnel. This paper reviews the engineering, manufacturing and testing activities performed to meet this ambitious target. The new Blue Edge™ blade was first tested on a whirl tower for vibration and performance, before finally being tested in flight on board an EC155 in 2007. Main flight test results will be covered in this paper and a special focus will be placed on the significant noise reductions which were measured.