Height of Spray Produced by Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) Aircraft

Abstract : The flow phenomenon involved in the production of spray by a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft hovering over smooth water is examined, and a method for predicting spray height is developed from a correlation of the limited amount of large-scale data available. The method is limited to conditions where the spray height does not exceed the nozzle or rotor height and includes VTOL concepts ranging from the helicopter to jet VTOL'S. Application of the method shows that the spray height is primarily dependent on the operating weight of the aircraft and is only slightly dependent on the disk loading.