Rotorcraft
NASA Conducts Rotorcraft Landing Wind Study
Project aims to find out how wind and weather at landing sites are affected by buildings

NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, recently completed a six-week wind study aimed at enhancing future air taxi aircraft safety during takeoffs and landings. Included in the research were the Alta-X quadrotor VTOL and Droid 2 light airplane.

The research aims to fill knowledge gaps to resolve wind and weather unknowns at altitudes below 2,000 feet agl that could hinder advanced air mobility flights. Both remotely piloted aircraft flew repeated passes at predetermined altitudes up to 2,000 feet. The Alta-X hovered while mounted sensors obtained data on temperature, pressure, and relative humidity in addition to three-dimensional wind data.

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