The five-seater BO105 of the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) Flight Experiments is an extremely reliable helicopter. BO105 has been operated very successfully for various applications worldwide. The Airbus helicopter BO105 is considered to be one of the best of its kind in the world, based on measurements made in wind tunnels and flight tests.
A resilient and ideally sized helicopter
The multipurpose BO105 helicopter of the DLR Flight Experiments facility has special Low Speed Sensing and Indicating Equipment (LASSIE), an IFR cockpit and, in future, will be fitted with instruments on the main and tail rotor blades, a rotor head equipped with instruments, and a detachable nose boom. The BO105 was the first helicopter to have rotor blades made of glass fibre-reinforced plastic. It is powered by two Rolls-Royce/Allison 250-C20B engines. It was the first helicopter in Germany to be fitted with a rigid rotor head and two turbines as standard.
Having been modified over time, the BO105 has proven its strengths through the abundance and accuracy of the data that it has provided, which make it extremely attractive for a variety of research purposes. It has a multifunctional support platform that can be used to install sensors weighing up to 130 kilograms. The interface is currently being used for two projects. It also offers the option of attaching and testing external loads quickly and easily.
The data generated by this type of helicopter serve as valuable points of comparison for the ongoing improvement and expansion of DLR’s computer simulation programmes. Flight test laboratories give German students a unique opportunity to experience the special features of the helicopter in flight for themselves.
Contact
Volker Speelmann
Head of Research Infrastructures
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Executive Board department for Innovation, Transfer and Research Infrastructure
