Bozeman, Mont. - A new technology for improving all-around performance of single rotor helicopters is being tested by a Washington company and assessed by the United States Navy (USN). Boundary Layer Research (BLR), a small company in Everett, Washington, has contracted with the USN to provide a helicopter tailboom strake kit and engineering services so the Navy can assess the performance enhancements of the strakes on its UH-1N helicopter. This agreement was facilitated through the Montana State University TechLink Center in Bozeman, Montana.

"The BLR tailboom strake kit is the most cost-effective performance enhancing modification ever developed for single rotor helicopters," said Bob Desroche of Boundary Layer Research. The design and configuration are based on six years of research by a joint team of NASA and U.S. Army engineers. The strakes improve hover, climb, and cruise performance; reduce tailboom fatigue; and increase safety margins for all single rotor helicopters with enclosed tailbooms. These improvements will be vitally important to Navy and Marine Corps operations in difficult terrain such as that in Afghanistan.

BLR licensed the strake technology from NASA in 1998 exclusively for commercial development. The company has since validated and improved the tailboom strakes to optimize performance for several helicopter models. The BLR strake modification is sold in kit form and can be installed in the field environment within a day using two technicians.

BLR is a leading aircraft modifier specializing in the development and practical application of after-market aerodynamic modifications. These include winglets, vortex generators, aft body strakes, delta fins, and the NASA-patented helicopter tailboom strakes. These devices offer substantial increases in operational flexibility, safety, and performance, while reducing total operating costs.

The UH-1N helicopter strake assessment will be performed at the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), Patuxent River, Maryland. NAVAIR supports the Navy and Marine Corps by developing, acquiring, and supporting naval aviation and related technology systems with which the United States' operating forces can train, fight, and win.

TechLink is located at Montana State University in Bozeman and funded by the Department of Defense and NASA to link companies in Montana and the surrounding region with federal laboratories for joint research and technology transfer. Its main purpose is to contribute to the success of both technology-based companies and key resource-based industries in the state and region.

CONTACTS:

Will Swearingen
MSU TechLink
(406) 994-7704
wds@montana.edu

Bob Desroche
Boundary Layer Research
(800) 257-4847
bob@blrvgs.com

Major John Bowen
U.S. Marine Corps
(301) 757-5493
bowenjr@navair.navy.mil

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