Comprehensive Analysis at Boeing: Methodology and Its Application to Rotor Dynamics, Loads, Vibration, and Aeroelastic Stability The 44th Alexander A . Nikolsky Honorary Lecture

Over the past four decades, comprehensive rotorcraft analysis has undergone a dramatic evolution. During my 44–year career, including 33 years at Boeing, my goal has been to leverage this evolution and push the limits of existing analysis tools for advanced rotorcraft applications. In pursuit of this goal, I have applied state-of-the-art multidisciplinary analysis tools to a variety of rotorcraft products (e.g., CH-47 Chinook, V-22 Osprey, AH-64 Apache, and RAH-66 Comanche), new concepts (e.g., Boeing Heliwing VTOL uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) tail-sitter, dual-plane tiltrotor, and DARPA DiscRotor), and rotorcraft development programs such as the Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstration and CH-47F advanced composite rotor blade. I had an opportunity to apply a rotorcraft comprehensive analysis tool to Boeing’s high-altitude, very flexible, propeller-driven UAS for the DARPA Vulture program—a breakthrough for design analysis, loads, and whirl flutter stability. Each new application drove new requirements for analysis tools and expanded our horizons for rotorcraft design through the addition of fuselage and flight control modeling, VABS-based rotor blade properties, improved wake theory with viscous vortex particle method, and numerous other modeling and analysis improvements. This paper provides an in-depth review of the rich history of comprehensive analysis code development and applications, organized by decade to highlight the progression over time.