Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.

Scott Wolthuis

Paul K Oldroyd

Paul Branson Sherrill

Drew Alan Sutton

James Braswell, Jr

Robert Arnold Brack

J Donn Hethcock

Robert Brack

Jr James Braswell

Brack Robert

James Donn Hethcock

A rotorcraft rotor blade assembly includes an upper skin portion extending substantially a full span of the rotor blade assembly and a lower skin portion extending substantially the full span of the rotor blade assembly. Each of the upper skin portion and the lower skin portion is configured to carry at least substantially 30% of rotor blade assembly loads.

Rotorcraft rotor blade assembly

A method of manipulating a thin-walled structure includes providing a thin-walled structure in a first unconstrained configuration, constraining the thin-walled structure to a first constrained configuration in which a first feature of the thin-walled structure is spatially located relative to the a second feature of the thin-walled structure in a predetermined manner, wherein an open volume of the thin-walled structure is constrained to maintain a predetermined open volume shape, and machining the thin-walled structure to a second constrained configuration in which the first feature of the thin-walled structure remains spatially located relative to the second feature of the thin-walled structure in the predetermined manner.

Method of machining a thin-walled structure

Growing community of inventors

Weatherford, TX, United States of America

Scott Wolthuis