CH53G Experiences with a Flight Director for Slung Load Handling

This paper describes the concept and the flight test results of a flight director for the large cargo helicopter CH53G with slung load. The flight director aims at providing the pilot with a convenient aid to effectively damp the load pendulum motion and to allow manoeuvring without exciting oscillatory load modes. Swinging helicopter external slung loads often lead to dangerous situations which not only can result in a total loss of the transported load itself but also can endanger the safety of the helicopter and its crew. The development of a demonstrator system on the DLR BO105 helicopter is outlined. The design and development of a prototype slung load flight director system for the large cargo helicopter CH53G is described in detail. Flight test results of the damping capability and increased manoeuvrability when flying a moderately stable external load are shown.