Hughes TH-55A Osage
Hughes · United States · first flew 1956 · helicopter
The Hughes TH-55A Osage is a light two-seat training helicopter used by the US Army to train thousands of helicopter pilots during the Vietnam War era.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, rotary |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, fuselage-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 6.8 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Tiny bubble-cockpit US Army training helicopter
- Open lattice tail boom
- Three-blade semi-rigid main rotor
An extremely compact helicopter with a bulbous Plexiglas cockpit bubble, slender open-framework tail boom, and a small three-blade rotor; one of the smallest military helicopters ever procured.
Specifications
- The Hughes TH-55A Osage has a length of 6.8 m (22 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 7.71 m (25 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 153 km/h (95 mph).
- Typical crew: 2.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
The Hughes 269 first flew in 1956 and was selected by the US Army as its primary helicopter trainer in 1964 under the designation TH-55A. During the Vietnam era, it trained over 30,000 Army helicopter pilots at Fort Rucker, Alabama.
Variants
The civil equivalent was the Hughes 269A/B/C and 300; later development led to the Schweizer 300 series after Schweizer acquired the design.
Where you'll see it
The US Army operated the TH-55A from 1964 until 1988, when it was replaced by the Bell TH-67 Creek; production and civil variants remained popular worldwide.
Related aircraft
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