HELIPORT PARKING, TAXIING, AND LANDING AREA CRITERIA TEST PLAN

Abstract : This flight test plan describes the methodology to examine and validate the current heliport surface separation and maneuvering criteria as defined in the Heliport Design Guide and determine if changes can be made to the current criteria. Operational measures will be collected at the Indianapolis Heliport, Indiana, and Wall Street Heliport, New York. Additional flight tests will be conducted at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Technical Center, Atlantic City International Airport, New Jersey, using instrumented UH-lH and S-76 helicopters. Flight maneuvers at the Technical Center are to identify vertical variation from the recommended taxiing heights and lateral variation from a predetermined path, under various wind and lighting conditions. Wind velocity and barometric pressure data will be collected during hover operations to determine rotorwash effects at different locations around a helipad, taxiway, and parking areas. This data will be used to create a baseline to be used in characterizing heliport surface maneuver areas. The test development, test equipment, data collection, and data reduction and analysis of the flight data are discussed. A schedule for the completion of the associated tasks is presented.