Hughes OH-6 Cayuse 3D Model

Description

The OH-6 Cayuse was one of the first helicopters with its fuselage aerodynamics optimized at the very beginning of its design process. This favourably increased the top speed and decreased the fuel consumption, meaning better range and smaller empty weight (meaning greater usable payload). The design process also concentrated on crash behavior and crew survivability. This led to a design that gave the crew exceptionally good chance in case of a ground impact – which was many times proven during the Vietnam War. This design consisted of an integral “safety cage” around the crew seats, to which all other components, like the engine, tail boom, main rotor and its mast were fastened in such ha way that they broke off in case of a crash, absorbing the energy and at the same time stopping to pose a threat for the people in the cabin. The OH-6 design also contained several features intended to decrease the workload necessary for everyday maintenance of the helicopter.