To improve and replace the current Helicopter Icing Spray System (HISS) equipment that generates an artificial cloud with controlled and quantifiable characteristics which a System Under Test (SUT) flies into for the purposes of testing the SUT’s de-icing capabilities. OHISS is a DoD Test Resource Management Center (TRMC) Central Test and Evaluation Investment Program (CTEIP) , which will continue to be a unique national asset supporting multi-Service aviation development and icing certification.
DESCRIPTION:
The OHISS project is developing a replacement airborne icing capability that will provide low-speed icing test mission support at low altitudes, produce a large cloud capable of full immersion of a test aircraft and be able to accurately simulate natural rain and Federal Aviation Administration icing conditions (used as a standard for icing qualification by both Government and industry). OHISS is fielding two capabilities: the UH-60-based Cloud Characterization System, which will replace the current C-12 Airborne Cloud Measurement System; and the Cloud Generation System, which will replace the current 35-year-old U.S. Army HISS. Artificial icing clouds provide a safer, more reliable and more controlled flight-test environment for evaluating de-icing technologies. Small-scale rain conditions can be created to provide a safer, more controlled flight-test environment for evaluating rain effects on critical aircraft surfaces, sensors and engine inlets.
