US Army Airworthiness Approval for UH-60 Fly-by-Wire Aircraft Flight Testing

Prior to flight testing of the UH-60 Fly-By-Wire (FBW) Aircraft, a substantial effort was undertaken to verify the system design was safe for flight. Flight test approval was a concerted team effort involving the aircraft company, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, the Army's Utility Helicopter Program Management Office, and the Aviation Engineering and Software Engineering Directorates (AED and SED) of the Army Research, Development, and Engineering Center. This paper is focused on three major areas related to aircraft handling qualities which, when satisfied along with other criteria not covered by this paper, led to a safety of flight airworthiness release from the Army's Airworthiness Authority, AED, to commence flight testing. These areas are System Safety Assessment, Flight Control System Level Integration and Simulation Testing, and Analysis of the Control System Design. Detailed descriptions of the evaluation in each of these areas will be presented.