RSRA vertical drag test report

The Rotor Systems Research Aircraft (RSRA), because of its ability to measure rotor loads, was used to conduct an experiment to determine vertical drag, tail rotor blockage, and thrust augmentation as affected by ground clearance and flight velocity. The RSRA was flown in the helicopter configuration at speeds from 0 to 15 knots for wheel heights from 5 to 150 feet, and to 60 knots out of ground effect. The vertical drag trends in hover, predicted by theory and shown in model tests, were generally confirmed. The OGE hover vertical drag is 4.0 percent, 1.1 percent greater than predicted. The vertical drag decreases rapidly as wheel height is reduced, and is zero at a wheel height of 6 feet. The vertical drag also decreases with forward speed, approaching zero at sixty knots. The test data show the effect of wheel height and forward speed on thrust, gross weight capability, and power, and provide the relationships for power and collective pitch at constant gross weight required for the simulation of helicopter takeoffs and landings.