The Baldwin Mono Tiltrotor project is a research effort into a

tiltrotor A tiltrotor is an aircraft which generates lift and propulsion by way of one or more powered rotors (sometimes called ''proprotors'') mounted on rotating shafts or nacelles usually at the ends of a fixed wing. Almost all tiltrotors use a trans ...

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

that uses only one rotor. Like other tiltrotor configurations, the mono tiltrotor combines the vertical lift capability and structural efficiency of a

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

with the speed and

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

of a

fixed-wing aircraft A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air flying machine, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using wings that generate lift caused by the aircraft's forward airspeed and the shape of the wings. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinc ...

Development

Work on the Mono Tiltrotor (MTR) was initiated in 2004. A concept study was performed under an

Office of Naval Research The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is an organization within the United States Department of the Navy responsible for the science and technology programs of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Established by Congress in 1946, its mission is to plan ...

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

and this study concluded that the MTR, if technically realizable, would be half the size and one-third the weight of legacy helicopter concepts for a mission.Article title
Leishman, J. G., Preator, R., Baldwin, G. D.,Conceptual Design Studies of a Mono Tiltrotor (MTR) Architecture, U.S. Navy Contract Number: N00014-03-C-0531, 2004. In 2005 and 2006, design of the 9400 pound

gross weight In science and engineering, the weight of an object is the force acting on the object due to gravity. Some standard textbooks define weight as a vector quantity, the gravitational force acting on the object. Others define weight as a scalar qua ...

MTR Scaled Demonstrator (MTR-SD) was performed under a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

contract at the US Army Research Laboratories.http://www.baldwintechnology.com/MTR_AHS_Jan07.pdf Baldwin, G. D., 'Preliminary Design Studies of a Mono Tiltrotor (MTR) with Demonstrations of Aerodynamic Wing Deployment', AHS International Specialists Meeting, Chandler, Arizona, January 23–25, 2007. This work included the following tasks:

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

selection;

transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission *** ...

design; hub, controls, and blade preliminary design; comprehensive performance and aeroelastic analysis; analysis of critical

stress concentration In solid mechanics, a stress concentration (also called a stress raiser or a stress riser) is a location in an object where the stress is significantly greater than the surrounding region. Stress concentrations occur when there are irregularitie ...

s; conceptual design of the fixed wing and cargo pod;

wind tunnel Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft ...

testing of wing deployment; and

longitudinal static stability In flight dynamics, longitudinal stability is the stability of an aircraft in the longitudinal, or pitching, plane. This characteristic is important in determining whether an aircraft pilot will be able to control the aircraft in the pitching pla ...

analysis from hover through

cruise A cruise is any travel on a cruise ship. Cruise or Cruises may also refer to: Tourism * Booze cruise * Music cruise * River cruise Aeronautics and aircraft * Cruise (aeronautics), a distinct stage of an aircraft's flight * Aviasouz Cruise, a R ...

. This work resulted in a definition of each component's and each subassembly's weight,

moments of inertia The moment of inertia, otherwise known as the mass moment of inertia, angular mass, second moment of mass, or most accurately, rotational inertia, of a rigid body is a quantity that determines the torque needed for a desired angular accelera ...

, location on the aircraft, and

aerodynamic drag In fluid dynamics, drag (sometimes called air resistance, a type of friction, or fluid resistance, another type of friction or fluid friction) is a force acting opposite to the relative motion of any object moving with respect to a surrounding fl ...

. The predicted range and speed were derived from this aircraft design data. In 2007 and 2008,

demonstrations Demonstration may refer to: * Demonstration (acting), part of the Brechtian approach to acting * Demonstration (military), an attack or show of force on a front where a decision is not sought * Demonstration (political), a political rally or prote ...

and validations of the MTR-SD design were performed under an Army contract.http://www.baldwintechnology.com/MTR_AHS_08.pdf Baldwin, G. D., 'Mono Tiltrotor (MTR) Validation Activities', Proceedings of the 64th Annual National Forum of the American Helicopter Society, Montreal, Canada, April 29 - May 1, 2008. The three unprecedented hardware mechanisms of the MTR were demonstrated in small scale flight tests: 1) the

aerodynamically Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dyn ...

deployed wing panels; 2) the pitch axis suspended cargo pod; and 3) the tilting centerline rotor. Furthermore, a

diameter In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest chord of the circle. Both definitions are also valid for ...

rotor

remote control In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such as ...

MTR Functional Demonstrator (MTR-FD) that integrates these three features was designed, built, and hover tested.

Bell Helicopter Textron Bell Textron Inc. is an American aerospace manufacturer headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. A subsidiary of Textron, Bell manufactures military rotorcraft at facilities in Fort Worth, and Amarillo, Texas, as well as commercial helicopters in Mir ...

used proprietary methods for advanced concept design and analysis to validate the rotor MTR-SD design. Bell Helicopter's assessment resulted in validations of the MTR-SD vertical lift capacity, engine power required and power available, cruise thrust and propulsive efficiency, aircraft weight, and airplane mode cruise lift. Bell Helicopter also generated and reported MTR-SD

flight dynamics Flight dynamics in aviation and spacecraft, is the study of the performance, stability, and control of vehicles flying through the air or in outer space. It is concerned with how forces acting on the vehicle determine its velocity and attitude w ...

data. A

computational fluid dynamics Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical analysis and data structures to analyze and solve problems that involve fluid flows. Computers are used to perform the calculations required to simulate th ...

drag assessment was performed, and in combination with the Bell Helicopter assessment this validated MTR-SD projected drag and aircraft cruise range performance. In early 2009, a

Concept of Operations A concept of operations (abbreviated CONOPS, CONOPs, or ConOps) is a document describing the characteristics of a proposed system from the viewpoint of an individual who will use that system. Examples include business requirements specificatio ...

(CONOPS)

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

was produced showing the MTR-SD performing the missions specified in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

- Cargo Unmanned Aircraft System - Universal Need Statement (USMC Cargo UAS UNS) and in the Office of Naval Research – Cargo Unmanned Aircraft System – Request for Information (ONR Cargo UAS RFI). In early 2010, under a multi-year contract with the Office of Naval Research (ONR),http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=defense&id=news/BALDWIN.xml "Persistence Pays Off For Mono Tiltrotor Inventor", Aviation Week 171.16, October 26, 2009, page 64 the CONOPs and aircraft design were refined for Navy shipboard compatibility.http://www.baldwintechnology.com/MTR_AHS_10.pdf Baldwin, G. D., 'A Cargo UAS Design and CONOPs', Proceedings of the 66th Annual National Forum of the American Helicopter Society, Phoenix, Arizona, May 11–13, 2010. On October 2, 2010, the first full conversion between helicopter and airplane modes of flight was achieved using a revised Mono Tiltrotor - Functional Demonstrator (MTR-FD), 4 foot diameter, small-scale remote control model.http://www.baldwintechnology.com/deepdive.html, Full Conversion Flight Demo (2 minutes)

Specifications

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Baldwin Technology Company, LLC website
Tiltrotor aircraft Abandoned civil aircraft projects of the United States Aircraft with contra-rotating propellers

Development

Specifications

See also

References

Further reading

External links