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Adventures in Low Disc Loading VTOL DesignThis memoir covers the first eight years of my 37 year career in VTOL aircraft design. It starts with family and how I came to be an engineer with a passion for aviation and a desire to make a difference. At MIT I acquired a solid understanding of basic physics, learned the basics of the various engineering disciplines and gained design experience. After over a decade on the East Coast I was homesick for Northern California. I decided to take a chance on working for the government instead of industry in order to return home. I was hired by Dr. Richard M. Carlson in March 1975 and joined a wonderful Army/NASA technical environment. The Interservice Helicopter Commonality Study was an important introduction to Joint Service aircraft design. The Advanced Attack Helicopter Source Selection Evaluation Board was an opportunity to learn acquisition system fundamentals and to lead a small team in a major technical evaluation. The Advanced Scout Helicopter Concept Formulation was an opportunity to learn how an aircraft development program is created and it formed a partnership between Dr. Carlson's Labs and Charlie Crawford's Development and Qualification directorate. The Army was Executive Service for the first year (1982) of the Joint Services Advanced Vertical Lift Aircraft (JVX) program. The JVX Joint Technology Assessment concluded that there was at least one design configuration, the tilt rotor, which could satisfy all JVX mission requirements with a high degree of inter-service commonality. The Navy became Executive Service at the end of the year and promptly released a JVX RFP to industry. This RFP resulted in the V-22 Osprey tilt rotor as the third type of VTOL aircraft to enter production and service. I was very lucky to have a useful role early in this program.
Document ID
20180007293
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Technical Publication (TP)
Authors
Scully, Mike
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
October 30, 2018
Publication Date
September 1, 2018
Subject Category
Aeronautics (General)
Report/Patent Number
ARC-E-DAA-TN60420
NASA/TP-2018-219981
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: SAA2-401897
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
VTOL Design
Low Disc Loading
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