EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF ALTERNATIVE FLOW DIVERTING DEVICES FOR THE MODIFIED MH-6J HELICOPTER

The United States Army Special Operations Aircraft Regiment is tasked to provide helicopters in support of the operations of the US Army Special Operations Command. These operations may need be implemented on short notice and can be highly demanding for the personnel participating in them. The passenger combat effectiveness is reduced with the current design of the MH-6J (Little Bird) Special Operations Aircraft due to the large amount of inflow into the rear passenger cabin. The purpose of this experiment was to conduct an investigation into the flow fields generated around the fuselage of the current MH-6J Little Bird. Through a qualitative analysis, a potential solution to alter the flow field around the rear passenger compartment was identified. Implementation should enhance the mission performance of the passengers through the reduction of fatigue brought on by the high inflow of air during the enroute phase of the mission. Several different flow diverting devices were tested in two locations on the exterior fuselage of the MH-6J. Testing results indicated that the 6 inch sawtooth flow diverting device attached to the forward portion of the fuselage minimized the flow of air entering the rear passenger compartment.