BO - 105 : Historical helicopter

HELIHoMe history 📜 😜 : The Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Bo 105 is a light, twin-engine, multi-purpose helicopter developed by Bölkow of Ottobrunn, Germany. It holds the distinction of being the first light twin-engine helicopter in the world, and is the first rotorcraft that could perform aerobatic maneuvers, such as inverted loops. The Bo 105 features a revolutionary hingeless rotor system, at that time a pioneering innovation in helicopters when it was introduced into service in 1970. Production of the Bo 105 began at the then-recently merged Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB). 📝 The main production facilities for producing the Bo 105 were located in Germany and Canada; due to the level of export sales encountered, additional manufacturing lines were set up in Spain, Indonesia, and the Philippines. MBB became a part of Eurocopter in 1991, who continued production of the type until 2001. The Bo 105 was formally replaced in Eurocopter's product range by the newer Eurocopter EC135, which was itself a development of the Bo 105. 📖 In 1964, development work began at Bölkow upon the helicopter that would become the Bo 105, although work on the hingeless rotor it would use had begun earlier. On 16 February 1967, the second Bo 105A prototype conducted its maiden flight at Ottobrunn in Germany; the first public demonstration was held in May 1967. The test program was broken down into stages as the Bo 105 comprised a new airframe, new rotor system, and a new engine; thus the flying Bo 105 prototype was initially equipped with a main rotor from Westland Helicopter's Scout rotorcraft and a pair of Allison Model 250 turboshaft engines instead of their production counterparts. Sud Aviation worked with Bölkow on developing the rotorcraft; an Alouette II helicopter was modified with the Bo 105's rotor and used to test its performance envelope. The third Bo 105 prototype was equipped with the initial production standard MAN Turbo 6022 turboshaft engines; a total of six pre-production Bo 105s were constructed for testing. 📰 Offshore-configured Bo 105 On 13 October 1970, the German Civil Aviation Authority certified the Bo 105; initial deliveries for the first customers, ADAC Air Rescue and the Bavarian State Police, took place shortly thereafter. In 1972, further type certification was granted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), enabling export orders from the United States and Britain respectively, which soon followed. In 1972, an improved version of the rotorcraft with more powerful engines, the Bo 105C, was developed, this model quickly superseded the Bo 105A. On 25 September 1973, the prototype Bo 106 performed its first flight; the Bo 106 shared many similarities to the Bo 105, the principal difference being a widened cabin area, capable of seating three abreast in the front row and four abreast in the rear of the cabin. However, nothing further came of the Bo 106 project.[10] In 1976, the Bo 105CB, equipped with more powerful Allison 250-C20B engines, was introduced. In 1977, the German Ministry of Defence selected the Bo 105C for its light observation helicopter (VBH) program, leading to the procurement of another 100 rotorcraft. 📚 During the 1970s, MBB issued a license to produce the Bo 105 to Indonesian Aerospace (IPTN) as part of a wider agreement to help develop Indonesia's aviation industry. Within ten years, manufacture of the Bo 105 had been entirely localised within IPTN's own facilities. The Bo 105 has been used by various branches of the Indonesian National Armed Forces; military-operated Bo 105s have been reportedly used during the 1999 East Timorese crisis and the Papua conflict. Indonesian Bo 105s have also participated in several large-scale joint exercises. The Mexican Navy operated a number of armed Bo 105s to perform maritime reconnaissance duties; during the early 1980s, Mexico procured a number of a Uribe-class patrol vessels which were equipped to handle the Bo 105 for off-shore operations. In 2005, work was completed on a series of upgrades upon 11 of the Mexican Navy's Bo 105s, having received Forward looking infrared (FLIR) sensors, Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, search radars, new rotor blades, armament pylons, and other changes. In November 2014, Jet Rescue Air Ambulance inaugurated Mexico's first dedicated civil air ambulance rotorcraft using a Bo 105. During the late 1990s, the Republic of Korea Army aviation procured a number of Bo 105s as part of an ongoing drive to improve the force's reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities; these were manufactured under a co-production arrangement between Eurocopter and the newly formed Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), receiving the designation Korean Light Helicopter(KLH), KAI also promoted the type to export customers. The Bo 105 gained widespread use by emergency medical service (EMS) / medevac operators; in 1998, Flying Magazine reported that between the Bo 105 and the MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 (a newer rotorcraft derived from the Bo 105), MBB held 35% of the EMS market share. The first EMS-orientated Bo 105 in Scotland entered service in 1989; in November 2015, the last Bo 105 air ambulance operated in Britain was retired, the type having typically been replaced by the newer Eurocopter EC135. In 2009, the last Bo 105 to be produced was purchased by Canadian EMS specialist Dam Helicopters. In May 2014, Airbus Helicopter reported that the worldwide Bo 105 had accumulated a total of 8 million flight hours, and that approximately 700 Bo 105s remained in service. Since 1979, the German Army received 212 PAH anti-tank versions and 100 M-versions as liaison and observation helicopters totaling 312 Bo 105s. The helicopter was retired from German Army service on 13 December 2016 with an 18-aircraft formation flyby from their base in Celle. The Bohicans, as their pilots were called, clocked over 1.38 million flying hours. 🚁 * Bo 105A : First production model primarily for civil use and equipped with two Allison 250-C18 turbine engines. * Bo 105ATH : Anti-tank version for the Spanish Army. * Bo 105C : Initial version. Developed in 1972 and equipped with two Allison 250-C20 turbines engines. * Bo 105CB : Light observation, utility transport version. Developed in 1976 and equipped with two Allison 250-C20B turbine engines of which 30 were delivered to The Royal Netherlands Air force. * Bo 105CBS : Utility transport version, with the fuselage stretched by 10 inches and an extra window for emergency medical service duties. * EC-Super Five : High performance version of the Bo 105CBS. * Bo 105CBS-5 : Also known as Superfive, with increase lifting capabilities similar to the LS A3 Superlifter * Bo 105D : UK certified offshore version. * Bo 105GSH : Armed scout version for the Spanish Army. * Bo 105HGH : A high speed research variant wint aerodynamic refinements, such as a rotor head fairing, rear fuselage fairing, small individual skids and 6 m (20 ft) long fixed auxiliary wings. * Bo 105 KLH : license-produced combat version of CBS-5 custom-fitted with Korean mission equipment package including communication, navigation, electronic warfare and target acquisition system, to meet Republic of Korea Army's operational requirements. KLH also has greatly improved rotor blade and transmission system. 12 are in service. * Bo 105LOH : Observation version for the Spanish Army. * Bo 105LS A1 : Developed in 1984 with stretched fuselage and two Allison 250-C28C turbine engines. * Bo 105LS A3 : Developed in 1986 with maximum take-off weight increased to 2,600 kg. * Bo 105LS A3 "Superlifter" : Developed in 1995 with maximum mission weight increased to 2,850 kg. * Bo 105M : With its army designation "VBH" (Verbindungshubschrauber; 'liaison chopper'), is a light transport and surveillance helicopter. They were outphased and replaced by disarmed and modified PAH1. * Bo 105MSS : Maritime version, fitted a search radar. * Bo 105P/BSH Proposed escort version for the German Army, armed with Stinger air-to-air missiles. * Bo 105P/PAH-1 : With its army designation "PAH-1" and "PAH-1A1" for the upgraded version (PAH=Panzerabwehrhubschrauber; 'Tank-defence helicopter'), is an anti-tank helicopter armed with wire-guided HOT ATGMs (HOT2 for the upgraded A1 version).[12] Following the arrival of the Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopter, some were retired while others disarmed and downgraded to the VBH version for continued service. * Bo 105P/PAH-1A1 : Improved anti-tank version for the German Army, fitted with six HOT missile tubes. * Bo 105P/PAH-1 Phase 2 : Proposed night attack version for the German Army. * Bo 105S : Search and rescue version. * Bo 105/Ophelia : Test and trials aircraft fitted with a mast-mounted sight. * NBO-105 : Were Manufactured by IPTN under licence from MBB (now Eurocopter) 1976–2011; only rotors and transmission now supplied by Germany; originally NBO-105 CB, but stretched NBO-105 CBS available from 101st aircraft onwards. 122 were produced, Dirgantara Indonesia stopped production in 2008. * NBO-105S : Stretched version. * Bo 105 Executaire: Boeing Vertoland Carson Helicopters manufactured a 24.5 cm stretched version of the Bo 105 under license as the Executaire in an attempt to break into the U.S. light helicopter market, but sales were dismal. * Bo 105E-4 : 12 German Army Bo 105P upgraded and overhauled for a 10 million euro contract and donated to Albania first batch delivered in 2006, the helicopters have better performance and avionics. The conversion of other Bo 105 helicopters from the German Armed Forces is also under consideration with a view to future sales. * Bo 106 : Widened cabin to seat 7 instead of 5. First flight was on 26 September 1973. * A single helicopter of that variant has been made (registration D-HDCI, serial no. 84). The Bo 106 was also equipped with more powerful Allison 250 C 20B engines. In 1981, the German air rescue organization Deutsche Rettungsflugwacht/DRF Luftrettung bought that prototype and had it rebuilt into a 105 CB-2 with a standard cabin. It flew for DRF until November 1993 under the registration D-HCCC, but in 1994 it was put aside to gain spare parts for another DRF helicopter (Bo 105 CBS-S, registration D-HNNN, serial number 662). ⚒ Technical characteristics * Crew: 1 or 2 pilots * Capacity: 4 * Length: 11.86 m (38 ft 11 in) * Rotor diameter: 9.84 m (32 ft 3½ in) * Height: 3.00 m (9 ft 10 in) * Disc area: 76.05 m² (818.6 ft²) * Airfoil: NACA 23012 * Empty weight: 1,276 kg (2,813 lb) * Max. takeoff weight: 2,500 kg (5,511 lb) * Powerplant: 2 × Allison 250-C20Bturboshaft engines, 313 kW (420 shp) each Performance * Never exceed speed: 270 km/h (145 knots, 167 mph) * Maximum speed: 242 km/h (131 knots, 150 mph) * Cruise speed: 204 km/h (110 knots, 127 mph) * Range: 575 km (310 NM, 357 mi) * Ferry range: 1,112 km (600 NM, 691 mi) * Service ceiling: 5,180 m (17,000 ft) * Rate of climb: 8 m/s (1,575 ft/min) Armament * Missiles: 6x Euromissile HOT (Bo 105 P) or 8x BGM-71 TOW * Good day, flight, landing and friday 🌤 😉 * #Helihome #helihomehelihistory #airbushelicopters #eurocopter #BO105 #helihistory #history #goodday 🚁 💨