Future Vertical Lift Program

A new study by Army researchers is looking at inserting carbon nanotubes into the structural design of helicopter rotor blades in hopes this approach fixes a list of deficiencies highlighted particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Dr. Bryan Glaz, a research aerospace engineer within the U.S. Army Research Laboratory's Vehicle Technology Directorate, co-leads ARL's effort investing ways to augment the inherent stability of the helicopter structure so future helicopters could be built better to eliminate some of these constraints on the performance and the design of the aircraft that have been in place since helicopters have been built. He explains the notional idea of inserting carbon nanotubes into the helicopter's composite materials to see if they achieve necessary stability characteristics. (Video produced by T'Jae Gibson and Larry Shank, ARL Public Affairs Office and Dr. Stephanie Piraino, ARL researcher.)