Fundamentals of Forward Flight
by
Lieutenant Colonel Andrew T. Bellocchio
Academy Professor and Associate Professor,
Department of Civil & Mechanical Engineering
U.S. Military Academy
Monday, December 9
11 AM - 12 PM
Guggenheim 442
About the Seminar:
In forward flight, tilting the rotor disk’s tip path plane disrupts its axisymmetric flow, introducing complexities in performance analysis. This lesson expands momentum theory from a hover to encompass forward flight. It introduces key parameters such as the advance ratio and inflow ratio, which account for the loss of axisymmetric flow. The effects of forward flight on induced velocity and power requirements are also explored. Additionally, the lesson examines critical phenomena including dissymmetry of lift, transverse flow, and effective translational lift, providing an introductory understanding of helicopter aerodynamics in forward flight.
About the Speaker:
LTC Andy Bellocchio is a native of Vestal, New York. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in Aviation through the United States Military Academy in 1997. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from West Point. He earned both a Master of Science (2005) and a Ph.D. (2018) in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. His military education includes completion of the Aviation Officer Basic Course, Initial Entry Rotary Wing Course, Aviation Captain’s Career Course, Combined Arms Service and Staff School, Command and General Staff College Intermediate Level Education, Airborne school, and Air Assault school. LTC Bellocchio is a Senior Aviator in rotary and fixed-wing aircraft. He holds aircraft qualifications in the OH-58C Kiowa, UH-60 Black Hawk, C-12 Huron, C-182 Skylane, RC-12X Guardrail, and KA-300 Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (MARSS).
LTC Bellocchio has served as Platoon Leader and Assistant S-3 in 2-10 Aviation (Assault) and company Executive Officer for Echo Company, 1-52 Aviation (Air Traffic Control) with the 10th Mountain Division. While stationed in South Korea, LTC Bellocchio served as 2d Infantry Division’s Assistant Division Aviation Officer and commanded Headquarters & Headquarters Company, 2d Aviation Brigade. From 2006 to 2009, he taught in the Department of Civil & Mechanical Engineering at West Point. He then led a military transition team (MiTT) to Mosul, Iraq. Over the next 4 years, he served as the S3 Operations Officer for the 306 MI (Aerial Exploitation Battalion), Task Force ODIN-Enhanced, and the 116th MI Brigade (Aerial Intelligence). He has one operational deployment to SFOR6 in Bosnia, one combat tour in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and two combat tours in Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan.
Among LTC Bellocchio’s military awards are the Bronze Star (1 Oak Leaf Cluster), Meritorious Service Medal (1 Oak Leaf Cluster), Army Commendation Medal (1 Oak Leaf Cluster), and Army Achievement Medal (2 Oak Leaf Cluster).
LTC Bellocchio currently serves as an Academy Professor and Associate Professor in the Department of Civil & Mechanical Engineering at the U.S. Military Academy. He has previously taught aeronautical engineering, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, ballistics, and design. Additionally, he has course-directed cadet capstone research in mechanical engineering and led interdisciplinary projects for the Academy. His active research is in aircraft reliability, structural health monitoring, and thermal-fluid applications.
He is married to the former Katie Ramey of Russellville, Arkansas. They have two daughters.