Bo 105
Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm · West Germany · first flew 1967 · helicopter
The Bo 105 was the world's first light twin-engined helicopter and the first with a rigid, hingeless main rotor, making it famously agile — it could loop and roll. It pioneered the layout the EC135/H135 later refined.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, rotary |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 2 × turboshaft, fuselage-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Slim pod-and-boom fuselage with clamshell rear loading doors |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Rigid hingeless titanium rotor head — the first fully aerobatic helicopter
- Slim pod-and-boom fuselage with clamshell rear loading doors
- Skids under a rounded cabin, with small endplate fins on the tailplane
Spot the slim pod-and-boom profile on skids, clamshell doors at the tail of the cabin, and a small four-blade rotor on a distinctive bare hub. The high tail boom carries a tailplane with endplate fins.
Specifications
- The Bo 105 has a length of 11.86 m (39 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 9.84 m (32 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 242 km/h (150 mph).
- Typical crew: 1-2 pilots.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Bölkow flew the definitive prototype on 16 February 1967 at Ottobrunn, and production ran from 1970 to 2001 under MBB and later Eurocopter. Its revolutionary titanium rotor hub with composite blades gave crisp, fighter-like handling that display pilots exploited with full aerobatics.
Variants
Civil CB and CBS (stretched) models served EMS and police roles worldwide, while the German Army fielded hundreds of PAH-1 anti-tank versions with HOT missiles and VBH scouts. Licence production ran in Canada, Indonesia, Spain and the Philippines.
Where you'll see it
Over 1,400 were built and the type served with dozens of militaries and countless air-ambulance operators; in the UK it flew with early police units and Bond's Scottish air-ambulance operation before H135s replaced it. Many survive with private owners and display teams — The Flying Bulls still loop one.
Related aircraft
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