TH-55 “Osage” Helicopter s/n 64-18070
TH-55 “Osage” Helicopter
The Hughes TH-55 Osage was a piston-powered light training helicopter produced for the United States Army. In 1955, Hughes Tool Company’s Aircraft Division carried out a market survey which showed that there was a demand for a low-cost, lightweight two-seat helicopter. The division began building the Model 269 in September 1955. It was initially designed as a fully glazed cockpit with seating for two pilots, or a pilot and passenger, It also had an open-framework fuselage and a three-blade articulated rotor. The prototype flew on 2 October 1956, but it wasn’t until 1960 that the decision was made to develop the helicopter for production. The original truss-work tailboom was replaced with a tubular tailboom and the cockpit was restructured and refined prior to being put into production. The Hughes 269 was designed with a fully articulated, three-blade main rotor, and a two-blade tail rotor that would remain as distinctive characteristics of all its variants. It also has shock absorber-damped, skid-type landing gear. The flight controls are directly linked to the swash plate of the helicopter so there are no hydraulic systems in the 269.
Crews
Two (2): Instructor Pilot and Student Pilot
Missions and Loads
Training helicopter; over 60,000 U.S. Army pilots had trained on TH-55 making it the U.S. Army’s longest serving training helicopter.
Specifications
- Manufacturer
- Hughes Tool Company’s Aircraft Division
- Model
- TH-55 “Osage”
- Type
- Training Helicopter
- First Year of Production
- 1964
- Production Total
- 792
- Engine
- 1 × Lycoming HIO-360-B1A
- Engine Rating
- 180 SHP (134 kw)
- Main Rotor
- 3 Blade
- Maximum Speed
- 78 knots (90 mph)
- Cruise Speed
- 65 kts (75 mph)
- Range
- 203 nm (233 miles)
- Service Ceiling
- 14,630 ft (4,460 m)
- Rotor Diameter
- 25 ft (7.6 m)
- Empty Weight
- 896 lb (406 kg)
- Loaded Weight
- 1550 lb (703 kg)
- Length
- 28 ft 11 in (8.8 m)
- Height
- 7 ft 11 in (2.4 m)
History
While the U.S. Army hadn’t found the Model 269 adequate for combat missions, in 1964 it adopted the Model 269A as its training helicopter to replace the TH-23 and designated it the TH-55A Osage. 792 TH-55 helicopters would be delivered by 1969, and it would remain in service as the U.S. Army’s primary helicopter trainer until it was replaced in 1988 by the UH-1 Huey. At the time of its replacement, over 60,000 U.S. Army pilots had trained on TH-55 making it the U.S. Army’s longest serving training helicopter.