XV-15 aeroacoustic testing at NASA Ames

Two tests were completed by NASA Ames Research Center to measure the acoust ics and performance of an XV-15 rotor. These tests were a flight test of th e XV-15 aircraft and a wind tunnel test of a single, full-scale XV-15 rotor . Acoustics and performance measurements were obtained for helicopter-mode forward flight and descent conditions. This paper summarizes the data obtai ned from these tests. Comparisons are made of blade loads and acoustics dat a obtained from the two tests. These comparisons indicate that, for the sin gle test condition examined, pitch-link, flap bending, and chord bending lo ads agree reasonably well. No discernible effect was observed on blade bend ing loads by the presence of the wind tunnel test model or aircraft wing/fu selage. Several alternative methods of correlating flight and wind tunnel t est data are discussed. These comparisons provide insight into both wind tu nnel and flight test experimental techniques and capabilities.