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Case Analysis : Piasecki Helicopter

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Piasecki Helicopter was a helicopter manufacturer from 1940 to 1960. Frank Piasecki founded the company. Frank Piasecki built one of the first helicopters to ever fly in the United States. The company change names many times during Helicopter production and in 1956, it was changed toVertol (Vertical take-off and landing) Aircraft Corp. Boeing bought the company in 1960 and renamed it to Boing Vertol. The US Army in conjunction with Boeing Corporation began a project in the 1960’s where they develop and advance helicopter prototype named, Boeing Vertol BV-347. The project started as a CH-47A Chinook Helicopter Airframe. Boing started implementing various concepts that were aimed at testing and improving the CH-47 for use in the …show more content…

It was a great designed but the gondola could not be retracted fast enough, in case of an accident, the gondola would have hit the ground before the airframe crushing the pilot in the process. The Boeing Vertol BV-347 Helicopter was a prototype that received a fly by wire system modification and stronger Lycoming T55-L-11 engines. These combinations provided a max speed exceeding 180 knots. These improvements combined with this new technology helped achieve better flying characteristics that helped develop some of the finest aircraft we now use in our fleet. Other impressive modifications included extending the cabin 110 inches. This provided excellent weight and balance distribution and less vibration compared to a regular CH-47. The aircraft received retractable landing gear resulting in the airframe improving its aerodynamics providing a greater top speed. A regular CH-47 has six main rotor blades. For this prototype, Boeing added two blades to the mix and extended all 8 by 30 inches. It also extended the rear pylon upwards by 30 inches. Level flight and hover were greatly improve, also vibration at the cockpit were reduced, and the pilot’s workload and overall stress were improved. Model 347 received a hydraulically actuated wing. This wing could be actuated up to 90 degrees vertically for hover or fixed position for flight at higher speeds. Depending on the aircraft speed and load, it had the ability to actuate

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