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Precision Systems Let Helos Land in Sandstorms, Snow 

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by Roxana Tiron 

The U.S. Army will start retrofitting its helicopters with sensor kits that would allow aircraft to operate in brown-out and white-out conditions, a problem that has plagued pilots in Iraq and Afghanistan. The program office for utility helicopters plans to start upgrading birds as early as April, Keith Roberson, the deputy program manager told National Defense.

Poor visibility created by sand or snow blowing up has jeopardized helicopter landings for many years. “In the last 5-10 feet, you are engulfed in a dust cloud, you lose visual reference to the ground,” said Col. William Gavora, head of the U.S. Army’s Aviation Applied Technology Directorate.

The technology that the U.S. Special Operations Command has used on its helicopters served as “inspiration” for the kits the Army now is developing, said Roberson.

“The SOCOM units are equipped differently, and they already have this technology in their aircraft,” he said. The Army examined how SOCOM integrated the precision sensor information into the helicopters’ displays, said Roberson. “It’s all about knowing where you are with precision,” he added.

The AATD, together with Sierra Nevada Corporation, is testing a new technology, called the Guided Launch and Recovery System. “It encompasses a hover-page in the aircraft,” said Roberson. “We are taking input from sensors on board the aircraft. That, in turn, is going to be displayed to the pilot on a multi-function display panel,” which shows him what his altitude and latitude is “relevant to the ground to guide him to the ground in a safe manner once he reached a brown-out condition,” he said.

G-LARS, a GPS-based system, now is being tested on the Chinook CH-47 at Fort Eustis, Va., the home of AATD, said Roberson. A “common solution” for all helicopters will be developed for the problem.

“We have been working with this system over the last year, demo-ed it to just about every stakeholder and FCS [Future Combat Systems] in the Army. The PEO Aviation has mandated to his PMs for Black Hawk and Chinook that he wants this problem fixed now,” said Gavora.

Gavora stressed that G-LARS may not be the exact system that is going to be implemented on the helicopters. “We are not loyal to any particular brand. It is the answer that matters,” he said in an interview. “Each PM has to decide which approach is best for his aircraft. The PMs now are looking at a number of solutions. We are interested in survivability.”

During the AATD demonstrations, brownouts were simulated by masking the cockpit to remove all outside reference to the pilot at the controls. In this configuration, the pilot was able to perform normal takeoffs and landings to a designated spot, perform vertical takeoffs to a high hover, hold position over a designated spot to simulate sling load operations and perform vertical landings from a high hover to a designated spot.

The cost of retrofitting the Black Hawks with new sensor kits would be about $200,000 per aircraft, said Roberson. While “non-recurring engineering” and testing are funded, the program office has to present its case to the Department of the Army and prove the worth of the technology before it receives any money for the installation of those kits.

Roberson is optimistic about the program. “The target is to start as quickly as we can,” after the money comes in, he said. It would take the Army three to six months to begin retrofitting the aircraft, which will put them in the April-June time frame. “Our goal is to be able to retrofit aircraft sent to Iraq and Afghanistan,” he said.

Additionally, AATD is looking at technological solutions for adaptive landing gear, which is “particularly significant,” said Gavora.

“The weight on the aircraft has changed significantly since our aircraft was put into service,” he said. “The one thing that comes into contact with the ground is the landing gear and it bears the load.” AATD already has been working on landing gear for Apache helicopters, and is expecting to move on to the Chinook and the Black Hawk, he added.

AATD also is developing a Laser Obstacle Detection System (LODS), which is “something we are advocating very strongly to the user community,” said Gavora. Helicopters are endangered by power lines and wires, pylons, wind power stations, towers and various terrain. LODS “gives us the ability to see obstacles in flight and in all weather,” Gavora said. He added that he was mostly concerned with power lines and wires. AATD has been testing a German system called Hellas, for this purpose.

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