Regarding the importance of helicopter operations over aircraft carriers and the increment of the workload of the pilot during takeoff and landing manoeuvres, it has been performed a study of the flow downstream the island of an aircraft carrier in crosswind conditions. The main objective of this work is to characterize the aerodynamic flow in that critical area providing insight for future investigations directed to reduce the workload and improve safe operational conditions. Then, a wind tunnel test campaign was carried out using particle image velocimetry and laser Doppler anemometry techniques. Finally, wind tunnel results have been compared with on-board measurements showing a good agreement between full-scale and model-scale wind tunnel tests.

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