Ian Cheeseman was born in Andover, Hampshire (UK) on June 12th 1926. He was taught mathematics at grammar school by Mr Ozipof, a Russian wartime expatriate, who inspired Ian’s interest. Ian’s career started in the Royal Air Force (RAF) which he joined at the very end of the war. He worked on radar maintenance and travelled to various bomber bases. It is at this point that he developed a love of flying.
On leaving the RAF in 1947 and being particularly adept at Mathematics and Science, he went up to University at Imperial College, London to read Mathematics.
He pursued his studies gaining his doctorate in Nuclear Physics and, on leaving University in 1951 Ian managed to follow his love of aviation. His first job was at Vickers Supermarine in Portsmouth followed by two years at the Aeroplane and Armaments Establishment at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire. In 1956 his career changed back to his doctoral subject by joining the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston.
His work within the rotary wing world started when he joined the National Gas Turbine Establishment close to the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough.
He worked on different projects but, probably, the most famous was the blown cylinder rotor which had its lift varied by means of blowing through slots in the cylindrical rotor blades. He then joined the Aeronautics Department at the University of Southampton in 1969 where he became Westland Professor of
Helicopter Engineering. He supervised many students for their doctorate and taught at undergraduate and postgraduate level.
Ian was always enthusiastic about projects he worked on and encouraged a forward thinking approach. He possessed a confidence to overcome obstacles using the favourite phrase: “The impossible we do at once – miracles take a little longer.”
Whilst at Southampton University, Ian Cheeseman in 1975 organised the inaugural European Rotorcraft Forum. This annual event continues to this day through the dedication of the national representatives, supporting organisations, authors and audiences.
Below you will find an overview of the previous Cheeseman Best Paper Awards
| ERF | Year / Place | Winner | Paper Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 49 | 2023 Bückeburg | Frederic Guntzer, Airbus Helicopters, France | A comprehensive helicopter acoustic modeling tool based on simulation and experiment |
| 48 | 2022 Winterthur | Richard Brown, Sophrodyne Aerospace, UK | Are eVTOL aircraft inherently more susceptible to the vortex ring state than conventional helicopters? |
| 47 | 2021 Conference call (virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic) | Michele Zilletti, Leonardo Helicopters, Italy | Damper model identification using a hybrid physical and machine learning based approach |
| 45 | 2019 Warsaw | Tim Waanders, Frank Roth, Airbus Helicopters Germany GmbH (Germany), Bernhard Singer, Dennis Fadljevic, Jürgen Plorin , Hensoldt Sensors GmbH (Germany), Maya Shpak, Omer Hasharoni, Avishay Limonad, Elbit Systems (Israel) | Integration and Test of a Degraded Visual Environment System on H145 |
| 44 | 2018 Delft | Martine Godfroy-Cooper, San Jose State University Foundation, NASA ARC, USA | Isomorphic Spatial Visual-Auditory Displays for Operations in DVE for Obstacle avoidance |
| 43 | 2017 Milan | Ulrich Schäferlein , Manuel Keßler and Ewald Krämer, Institute of Aerodynamics and Gas Dynamics (IAG), University of Stuttgart | Aeroelastic simulation of the tail shake phenomenon |
| 42 | 2016 Lille | Sascha Schneider, Airbus Helicopters, Deutschland GmbH | BLUECOPTER™ demonstrator: The state-of-the art in low noise design |
| 41 | 2015 Munich | Dr. Marius Bebesel, Airbus Helicopters | Bluecopter demonstrator – an approach to eco-efficient helicopter design |
| 40 | 2014 Southampton | Joon Lim, US Army Aviation Development Directorate | Consideration of structural constraints in passive rotor blade design for improved performance |
| 39 | 2013 Moscow | Marilena Pavel, Delft University of Technology | Adverse rotorcraft-pilot couplings – modelling and prediction of rigid body RPC |
| 38 | 2012 Amsterdam | Thorben Schönenberg, DLR | Handling qualities studies into the interaction between active sidestick parameters and helicopter response types |
| 37 | 2011 Gallarate | Gilles Joubert, ONERA | Investigation of dynamic stall control by deployable vortex generator using time-resolved PIV analysis and URANS computations |
| 36 | 2010 Paris | Yuri Nikiskov, Georgia Institute of Technology | Finite element-based damage tolerance methods for aircraft composites |
| 35 | 2009 Hamburg | Manfred Imiela, DLR | High-fidelity optimization framework for helicopter rotors |
| 34 | 2008 Liverpool | Pierre Spiegel, DLR | Aeroacoustic flight test data analysis and guidelines for noise-abatement-procedure design and piloting |
| 33 | 2007 Kazan | H. Marze, M. Gervais, P. Martin, P. Dupont, Eurocopter | Acoustic flight test of the EC130 B4 in the scope of the Friendcopter Project |
| 32 | 2006 Maastricht | Uwe T.P. Arnold, Daniel Fuerst, ZFL, Tom Neuheuser, Hamburg University, Rainer Bartels, DLR | Development of an integrated electrical swashplateless primary and individual blade control system |
| 31 | 2005 Florence | C.L. Bottasso, L. Riviello, Politecnico di Milano | Rotorcraft trim by a neural model predictive autopilot |
| 30 | 2004 Marseille | ||
| 29 | 2003 Friedrichshafen | P. Cranga, T. Krysinski, H. Strehlow, Eurocopter | GAHEL: General code for helicopter dynamics |
| 28 | 2002 Bristol | R. E. Brown, Glasgow University, J. G. Leishman, University of Maryland, S. J. Newman, F. J. Perry | Blade twis effects on rotor behaviour in the vortex ring state |
| 27 | 2001 Moscow | V. Anikin, V. Leontiev, Central Aerohudrodynamic Institute (TsAGI), KAMOV Company | Nonlinear mathematical model of helicopter motion |
| 26 | 2000 The Hague | ||
| 25 | 1999 Rome | R. Pezzoni, Agusta Italy | Non destructive testing of wide scale helicopter structures using shearography |
| 24 | 1998 Marseille | E. Berton, D. Favier, C. Maresca | Experimental and numerical investigations of dynamic stall at IRPHE/ASI laboratory |
| 23 | 1997 Dresden | M. Hamers, W. von Grünhagen, DLR | Dynamic engine model integrated in helicopter simulation |
| 22 | 1996 Brighton | Pierre-Marie Basset, ONERA | Modeling of the dynamic inflow on the main rotor and the tail components in helicopter flight mechanics |
| 21 | 1995 St. Petersburg | ||
| 20 | 1994 Amsterdam | ||
| 19 | 1993 Cernobbio | ||
| 18 | 1992 Avignon | ||
| 17 | 1991 Berlin | H. Rapp and R. Wörndle, ECD | Influence of cross section variations on the structural behaviour of composite rotor blades |
| 16 | 1990 Glasgow | K.H. Fu and J. Kaletka, DLR | Frequency domain identification of BO 105 derivative models with rotor degrees of freedom |
| 15 | 1989 Amsterdam | A.E. Staple, Westland Helicopters Ltd. | An evaluation of active control of structural response as a means of reducing helicopter vibration |
| 14 | 1988 Milano | B. Guimbal, Aerospatiale | Design, evaluation and proof-of-concept flights of a main rotor interblade viscoelastic damping system |
| 13 | 1987 Arles | A. Desopper, P. Lafon, J.J. Philippe, J. Prieur, ONERA | Effect of an anhedral swept back tip on the performance of a helicopter rotor remark: Since 1987 the Best Paper Award was called Cheeseman Award after Ian Cheeseman (explicitly mentioned in the CfP of the 13th ERF). |
| 12 | 1986 Garmisch-Partenkirchen | R. Müller, RWTH Aachen | The influence of winglets on rotor aerodynamics |
| 11 | 1985 London | B. Enenkl and V. Klöppel, MBB | Design verification and flight testing of a bearingless soft inplane tail rotor |
| 10 | 1984 The Hague | G. Lehmann, DFVLR | The effect of HHC to a four bladed hingeless model rotor |
| 9 | 1983 Stresa | ||
| 8 | 1982 Aix-en-Provence | P. G. Wilby, RAE and J. J. Philippe, ONERA | An investigation of the aerodynamics of an RAE swept tip using a model rotor |