Flight Evaluation, Honeywell Ultrasonic Wind Vector Sensor System. Fire Control Wind Sensor Report

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Flight Evaluation, Honeywell Ultrasonic Wind Vector Sensor System. Fire Control Wind Sensor Report

B. H. Boirun / G. E. Hill / J. C. Miess

Tests were conducted to evaluate the Honeywell ultrasonic wind vector sensor (UWVS) system as an airspeed and relative wind sensor system on the AH-1G helicopter. The prototype system included the sensor unit, electronic computer, and a set of velocity meters. The system measures the total flow velocity and 3-orthogonal velocity components which may be used to calculate aircraft true airspeed components, sideslip, and angle of attack. The tests were conducted on an AH-1G helicopter. The UWVS system computed true airspeed and relative wind direction in a repeatable and accurate manner when operating in forward flight and free of the rotor downwash effects in all locations tested. The best performance was obtained with the system mounted above the rotor mast. When mounted below the rotor, significant nonlinearity and system error occurred, due to rotor wake flow and self-induced turbulence over the sensor, producing unusable results in some flight conditions. Inadequate airflow through the temperature probe was also noted in some low-speed conditions. If these problems are corrected, the UWVS system can be an effective three-dimensional velocity sensor, which could be calibrated to provide accurate helicopter airspeeds in most normal flight conditions.