High Fidelity Rotorcraft Towing Modeling and Simulation with Towed Magnetic Anomaly Detection System

Towing of a Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD) system is an important aspect of rotorcraftmaritime operation. The oscillatory rotorcraft combined with the long and flexible towingcable, the low mass ratio of the towed body to the towing aircraft, and the rotor wake effecton the towed body presents a challenge for integration of a modern MAD system withrotorcraft platform. The research objective is to develop a high fidelity coupled rotorcraft and towing system simulation methodology to support the design of a stable towed body to carry MAD sensors. The integration goal is to maintain a stable towed body attitude and altitude change as required for the towing. The development of a high fidelity flight simulation tool to accurately model the towing system to satisfy both towing stability and safety as required for the towing operation. The proposed Phase II research will emphasize: (a) the enhancement andvalidation of the towing simulation methodology as initially formulated and tested in Phase I, (b) the design and analysis of a towing system to satisfy both towing stability and safety as required, and (c) high fidelity full flight simulation models of USN for supporting towing applications.