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The Fatigue Substantiation of the Lynx Helicopter

A.D. Hall BSc, CEng, MRAes (Chief Stressman, Westland Helicopters Limited)

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology

ISSN: 0002-2667

Article publication date: 1 October 1975

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Abstract

This article outlines the procedures being used at Westland Helicopters Limited to establish the fatigue lives of the dynamic and structural components of the Lynx and to demonstrate how an adequate safety level is achieved under the loading sustained by the aircraft. For the newcomer to the fatigue problem a brief introduction to the phenomenon of fatigue will be provided and it will be shown how it is applicable to a helicopter. A philosophical outline of the fatigue procedures in current use at Westlands follows and then a description of the Lynx is given. The article will then describe the fatigue testing, flight testing and substantiation procedures used with the Lynx and it will be shown how the eventual fatigue lives are estimated. Finally some thoughts are put forward about the future of fatigue substantiation.

Citation

Hall, A.D. (1975), "The Fatigue Substantiation of the Lynx Helicopter", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 47 No. 10, pp. 4-17. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb035277

Publisher

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MCB UP Ltd

Copyright © 1975, MCB UP Limited

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