Preliminary Airworthiness Evaluation of the UH-60A/ESSS (External Stores Support System) with Hellfire Launcher Installed

摘要

The airworthiness evaluation of the UH-60A helicopter configured with the External Stores Support System (ESSS) and 16 HELLFIRE (4 HMMS) missiles installed was conducted at the Sikorsky flight test facility at West Palm Beach, Fl (elevation 28 feet). A total of 16.2 productive hours during 18 flights were flown between 21 May and 3 June 1987. Tests were conducted to determine handling qualities and performance of the UH-60A in the 16 HELLFIRE (4 HMMS) missile system configuration at an average mission gross weight of 17,000 pounds. The handling qualities of the UH-60A with the 16 HELLFIRE (4 HMMS) missile system installed were essentially unchanged from those previously reported for the UH-60A in the normal utility configuration. The equivalent flat plate area of the 16 HELLFIRE (4 HMMS) missile system was determined to be 11 square feet over that of the UH-60A in the ESSS only configuration. One miscellaneous observation was made regarding the initial installation and fit of the production ESSS fairings. Keywords: Helicopters; Air to surface missiles; Guided missile launchers; Handling qualities/ HELLFIRE modular missile system; Performance decrement.