Improved Mathematical Model for Helicopter Flight Dynamics Applications

This paper is concerned with the mathematical model development issues necessaryfor better prediction of dynamic responses of articulated rotor helicopters.the methodology is laid out based on mathematical model development forarticulated rotor helicopters, using the theories of aeroelastisity, finite elementand the time domain compressible unsteady aerodynamics. the helicopteris represented by a set of coupled nonlinear partial differential equations forthe main rotor within nonlinear first order ordinary differential equationsrepresentation, describing the dynamics of the rest of the helicopter. thecomplexity of the formulation imposes the use of numerical solution techniquesfor dynamic response calculations. the validation is performed by comparingsimulated responses to flight test data for a known configuration. the resultsshow improvement in dynamic response prediction of both on-axis and crosscoupledresponses of helicopter to pilot inputs.