Advanced Technology Helicopter Landing Gear.
Abstract
This report covers the work performed on the advanced helicopter landing gear program by Hughes Helicopters. The objectives of the program were to design, fabricate, and test a wheel-type advanced main landing gear concept possessing high-energy-absorbing characteristics for helicopters in the 15,000-pound class. These objectives were achieved by formulating design criteria through a data search, choosing the most cost-effective composite material, and through a design analysis, selecting the most promising landing gear concept. This concept used graphite epoxy as a structural material to fabricate the trailing arm of the main landing gear of the Hughes YAH-64 helicopter by wet-filament winding (WFW). The graphite arm was successfully tested, demonstrating the practicality of employing composite structures in the construction of high-energy-attenuating landing gear components. The program showed that the graphite trailing arm was 11 percent lighter than the baseline steel arm. The weight of the baseline landing gear could be reduced by maximizing the use of composites: 7 percent by using existing WFW equipment, and 26 percent by developing and using a toroid winding machine. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1977
- Accession Number
- ADA048891
Entities
People
- Ralph E. Goodall