XV-15 Tilt Rotor Research Aircraft Photogrammetry and Metrology Measurement

A new measurement capability was created by combining photogrammetry and metrology techniques to accurately measure one half of the XV-15 Tilt Rotor Research Aircraft at the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy museum. The challenges imposed by the fuselage and surrounding environment at Udvar-Hazy were overcome by careful application of photogrammetry and metrology techniques. Data analyses and processing included the use of multiple reverse engineering programs to accurately generate a complete 3-dimensional water-tight geometry of the aircraft and rotor blade. This paper describes the photogrammetry and metrology measurement systems, technology and hardware set-up, data analysis and processing methods, future work, and lessons learned. In addition, selected measurement results of the fuselage and rotor blade are presented.