This paper discusses the evolution of crash survival design criteria, its influence on the formulation of a US Army military standard for rotary-wing aircraft crashworthiness, and its application to current and new-generation Army helicopters. Emphasis is given to the need for a total systems' approach in design for crashworthiness and the necessity for considering crashworthiness early in the design phase of a new aviation weapon systems development effort. The actual application of crashworthiness to Army helicopters is presented with statistics that show dramatic reductions in fatalities and injuries with implementation of a crashworthy fuel system. Current and planned US Army R&D to improve crashworthiness technology is discussed, including full-scale crash testing, human tolerance definition, improved energy absorbers, crew restraint systems, and crash impact characteristics of composite helicopter structures. Applicability of the work within Army helicopter crashworthiness to commercial/civil helicopters is shown. The cost effective aspects of designing helicopters to be more crash survivable are also discussed. (Author)
Army Helicopter Crashworthiness
1983
17 pages
Report
No indication
English
Aircraft , Transportation Safety , Human Factors Engineering , Helicopters , Army aircraft , Crashworthiness , Aviation safety , Human factors engineering , Composite structures , Survival(General) , Casualties , Military requirements , Rotary wing aircraft , Structural analysis , Fuel systems , Drop tests , Impact tests , Tolerances(Physiology) , Energy absorbers , Cost effectiveness , Civil aviation , Conferencing(Communications) , Information exchange , Technology transfer , Component Reports
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