The Boeing Model 360 is an American experimental medium-lift
tandem rotor
Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction.
The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...
cargo
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
developed privately by Boeing to demonstrate advanced helicopter technology. The aircraft was intended as a technology demonstrator, with no plans to put the type into production, and many of its design features were carried onto other programs including the
RAH-66 Comanche and
V-22 Osprey. The sole prototype has been preserved and is a static exhibit at the
American Helicopter Museum in
West Chester, Pennsylvania.
Design and development
Boeing Vertol developed its Model 360 in the 1980s as a technology demonstrator with company funds. It was a new design and made significant use of composites.
The Boeing Model 360 differed from its brethren
CH-46
The Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is a medium-lift tandem-rotor transport helicopter powered by twin turboshaft engines. It was designed by Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol following Vertol's acquisition by Boeing.
Development of ...
and
CH-47
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name ...
tandem rotor helicopters by incorporating extensive amounts of composite materials in structural and dynamic components, namely in advanced rotor heads composed of fiberglass and graphite composites, along with graphite fuselage frames and longerons. The exterior of the craft integrated a Nomex core, surfaced by a Kevlar woven mesh with graphite-strengthened edges. The two tandem four-bladed counter-rotating rotors were each driven by
Avco Lycoming AL5512 turboshaft
A turboshaft engine is a form of gas turbine that is optimized to produce shaftpower rather than jet thrust. In concept, turboshaft engines are very similar to turbojets, with additional turbine expansion to extract heat energy from the exhaust ...
engines mounted on either side of the rear fuselage. In another departure from its military brethren, the Model 360 had no external sponsons containing the landing gear or fuel, the tricycle landing gear instead retracting into the main fuselage. Fuel was contained in three crashworthy cells below the cabin floor.
The Model 360 featured a
glass cockpit with six
multi-function display
A multifunction display (MFD) is a small-screen ( CRT or LCD) surrounded by multiple soft keys (configurable buttons) that can be used to display information to the user in numerous configurable ways. MFDs originated in aviation, first in mil ...
s (MFD).
Specifications
See also
References
External links
Boeing 360 on Janes AircraftGround Shake Test of the Boeing Model 360 Helicopter Airframe NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
, March 1989, Retrieved Dec 12, 2008
N360BV Prototype on Airliners.net
{{Boeing Vertol
360
1980s United States experimental aircraft
Tandem rotor helicopters
1980s United States helicopters
Aircraft first flown in 1987