Abstract:
The application of Higher Harmonic Control (HHC) and Individual/Independent Blade Control (IBC) offer the potential for significant improvements in rotary wing performance. Despite large investments by industry and government agencies over the past 20 years, a successful transition of HHC and IBC to a production aircraft has not yet occurred. Failures of prior IBC designs to achieve practical application has been attributed to deficiencies in existing material, mechanical power generation and system control technologies. Alternatively, the case can be made that prior IBC concepts failed due to their inherent design impracticality. The new IBC technology of Mechanically Programmable Displacement (MPDC) offers a rapid path to the practical implementation of an HHC/IBC system using currently existing proven technologies.