Andre Yoskowitz
26 Feb 2010 22:12
Although not in our normal niche, this article was too interesting to pass up.
Eurocopter has created a new helicopter blade, dubbed Blue Edge, that significantly reduces noise from the rotor blades. Testing on an EC155 helicopter has seen noise reduced by 4 decibels.
Says Wired: "The technologies are able to reduce noise by minimizing the blade-vortex interaction of the main rotor on a helicopter. Blade-vortex interaction is the source of the pulsating sound most of us are familiar with when helicopters fly overhead. The noise is created when a rotor blade hits the wake vortex left behind from the blade in front of it."