Airworthiness and Flight Characteristics Evaluation, UH-60A (Black Hawk) Helicopter

The United States Army Aviation Engineering Flight Activity conducted an Airworthiness and Flight Characteristics Evaluation of the third and fourth production UH-60A (Black Hawk) helicopters from 27 October 1979 through 9 October 1980. Performance, handling qualities, and vibration characteristics were evaluated to provide data for the operator's manual and to determine compliance with the applicable paragraphs of the Prime Item Development Specification. The UH-60A met 5 of the 7 performance comments evaluated with reference to the Prime Item Development Specification. The performance of the UH-60A was better than the YUH-60A because of the lower primary mission gross weight of the aircraft, the reduced power required, and the increased power available. Due to the priorities set by United States Army Aviation Research and Development Command the handling qualities portion of the Airworthiness and Flight Characteristics Evaluation was extremely limited. The excellent engine torque matching greatly reduced pilot work load in the area of power management. When maneuvering, the limited load factor envelope at heavy gross weight was easily exceeded. The vibrations were found to be quite high in several areas and were considered to be excessive for a new generation helicopter.