Survey Of The Application Of Reinforced Composites In European Helicopters

As was demonstrated at The National Forum in May, the US rotary wing aircraft industry is keenly interested in reinforced plastics. These materials offer a potentially significant reduction in helicopter cost and weight. The European helicopter industry also has been actively involved in developing new means to exploit these materials. In fact, Europe has in some respects far surpassed US efforts in this area. European developments include allcomposite rotor blades, which have been used on some production aircraft for nearly 10 years; a composite rotor hub, which is currently in preproduction status; tail booms and rotor drive shafts, which have been successfully tested; and concepts for many components - including gearbox housings and even gears - which are envisioned or on the drawing boards. This paper discusses several of these projects in terms of design, cost, and manufacturing technology. Where possible, the status of these components is compared to that of equivalent American systems. The paper clearly shows that the European helicopter industry has assumed a leading role in the application of reinforcedplastic materials.