The Boeing Model 360 is an American experimental medium-lift
tandem rotor cargo
helicopter 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 Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, tiltrotor military aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionality of a convention ...
. The sole prototype has been preserved and is a static exhibit at the
American Helicopter Museum
The American Helicopter Museum & Education Center (AHMEC) is located at 1220 American Boulevard, West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States. The transport museum focuses on the history, science and technology of rotary wing aviation. The collect ...
in
West Chester, Pennsylvania
West Chester is a borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Located within the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,461 at the 2010 census. West Chester is the mailing address for most of its neighb ...
.
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 and
CH-47 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 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
A glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features electronic (digital) flight instrument displays, typically large LCD screens, rather than the traditional style of analog dials and gauges. While a traditional cockpit relies on numerous mech ...
with six
multi-function displays (MFD).
Specifications
See also
References
External links
Boeing 360 on Janes AircraftGround Shake Test of the Boeing Model 360 Helicopter Airframe NASA, March 1989, Retrieved Dec 12, 2008
N360BV Prototype on Airliners.net
{{Boeing Vertol
360 360 may refer to:
* 360 (number)
* 360 AD, a year
* 360 BC, a year
* 360 degrees, a circle
Businesses and organizations
* 360 Architecture, an American architectural design firm
* Ngong Ping 360, a tourism project in Lantau Island, Hong Kong
* Q ...
1980s United States experimental aircraft
Tandem rotor helicopters
1980s United States helicopters
Aircraft first flown in 1987