LIMITED FLIGHT LOADS SURVEY OF THE AH-64 WITH EXPERIMENTALLY REPAIRED MAIN ROTOR BLADES

Typically, the major aircraft manufacturers conduct structural flight testing or will lead an industry/Government combined test team (CTT) since they possess the requisite aircraft-specific structural knowledge and technical expertise. In this particular case, the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM), Aviation Research, Development and Engineering Center (AVRDEC) identified an extremely cost-effective method for repairing the very expensive, recurring problem of debonding AH-64 main rotor blades. However, when the major manufacturer declined to do the flight testing, AVRDEC tasked the U.S. Army Aviation Technical Test Center (ATTC) to lead a CTT that capitalized on the strengths and resources of several U.S. Army Aviation Research and Development (R&D) and Test and Evaluation (T&E) organizations to successfully complete the structural flight testing. This paper documents the innovative composite repair of the AH-64 main rotor blade and the innovative and cost-effective approach to conducting the structural flight testing through an Army CTT.