When You Were Growing Up

	1990 Jean Tinsley
	This flight test pilot is the first woman to pilot the XV-15 tiltrotor aircraft.

	1991 RASCAL starts flying
	NASA researchers turn their UH-60 helicopter into a flying laboratory. It is called the RASCAL. RASCAL stands for Rotorcraft Aircrew Systems Concepts Airborne Laboratory, R-A-S-C-A-L. This flying lab tests new rotorcraft equipment.

	1993 New invention for rotorcraft research
	The Large Rotorcraft Test Apparatus or LRTA invented. This machine is used in a wind tunnel for rotor tests. New rotors are placed on the LRTA. The wind tunnel starts blowing air around it. Computers measure how well the rotors work. Rotors of almost any size can now be tested in a wind tunnel using the LRTA.

	1995 Blade Control research
	NASA researchers test a new device that makes rotorblades turn quietly.

	1996 NASA Tests Helicopter Radar
	NASA researchers use the UH-60 Rascal rotorcraft to test a new radar machine. This new radar machine helps pilots to fly more safely when they fly close to the ground. It also helps pilots to see when they fly through heavy fog or through thick smoke. NASA researchers will test the new machine to make sure it works well.

	1997 NASA Rotorcraft Sling Load Research
	NASA researchers will use the UH-60A Blackhawk helicopter to learn more about the best way helicopters can lift and carry a heavy object.

	1998 NASA Rotorcraft Vibration Research
	NASA researchers use the AH-1S Cobra helicopter to study how a helicopter's engine vibrates when it flies. Test pilots will fly the helicopter fast and slow. They will fly the helicopter through sharp turns and wide turns. They will fly the helicopter up and down. A computer with special sensors will record how much the engine vibrates. Researchers will learn how to make helicopters vibrate less.

	1999 V-22 Osprey
	The Osprey is a new tiltrotor. It is bigger than the XV-15. It is built to carry people and cargo. It will be used to carry passengers back and forth between cities.

	2001 Groen Brothers and the Gyroplane
	Groen Brothers company builds a gyroplane called the Hawk. It has one propeller in the back. It has a rotor on top. It can fly faster than a helicopter, but cannot hover. It can fly slower than an airplane without stalling. It does not need a lot of space for landing or for taking off. If the engine stops working, the gyroplane will use the rotor to slowly fly to the ground for a safe landing.

Back to the When your parents were growing up section.

Forward to return to Intro page.

Return to the Rotorcraft Timeline page