High Speed Tracking of the Helicopter Ditching

This paper presents the tracking method and results of the model tests of helicopter ditching, aimed at the study and certification of a helicopter for marine missions. The experiment, realized by Institute of Marine Engineering (CNR-INM), requires the design of a specific set-up to guarantee free ditching according to specific parameters and assuring the repeatability, required accuracy of the measurements and scalability of the results. Such kind of experiment is not a standard task of a hydrodynamic model testing institution, so it brings an innovation in the testing methodology. Tests were performed both in calm water both in regular wave conditions, main aim of the set-up is to synchronize the model free-fall with wave phase to ensure the correct water entry in specific wave positions. The paper presents the details of the test stand and the model itself, design of the experiment, as well as an overview of the results. The following figures shows some preliminary results of a wave-ditching parameters obtained with high-speed image tracking technique.