[Stock] KH-47 Kinchook Helicopter

[Jon144]

 Incompatible with joint reinforcement mods. For best results your game's physics should be under vanilla conditions. 

I thought you guys would appreciate me sharing my newest helicopter. This time it's a tandem rotor helicopter inspired by the CH-47 Chinook. As you can tell from the video the new high strength bearings and motors are very reliable and can even propel the helicopter to 30 M/s in forward flight. It has enough fuel for a flight to the island airfield and back. Being able to hover unloaded with only about 75% throttle the Kinchook has enough power and room to carry a decent load of cargo. This helicopter is great for all your utility and transportation needs.

Specs. KH-47C

Mass: Approx. 45 tons

Powerplant: (2) [ x3 Bladed Rotors powered by Juno Basic Jet engines ] + (2) Panther Engines

Part Count: 215 Parts

Minimum Take-off and Hover Throttle Percentage: 80%

Fuel Duration at 75% Throttle: 1 Hour

Spoiler

And you know the best part?

No Mods Required EVER! Always Stock all the time. 

[KH-47B] Download (Dropbox): https://www.dropbox.com/s/30rspmbe8m41kmr/KH-47B Kinchook.craft?dl=0

Kelaz-45T Refueling Truck: https://www.dropbox.com/s/dq5kikgvbtjlozf/Kelaz 45T.craft?dl=0

The brand new KH-47B variant of the Kinchook features refuel-able motors that can be docked with the Kelaz-45T fuel truck. With this new technology the Kinchook will have infinite range as long as there is a truck to refuel it. The KH-47B variant also comes with a claw on the underside to grab sling-loads off the ground. The rotor blades have also been tweaked to be more fuel efficient. This package comes with general cosmetic cleaning of the airframe of the helicopter.

If you're still not satisfied out of the Helicopter you can download the all new KH-47C variant that pushes the Kinchook to an even higher degree. Instead of having those rear cosmetic engines you have two real Panther engines attached to the rear rotor pylon that can be used to push the chopper to an amazing 50 M/S in forward flight. Like the rotors the fixed engines can be refueled by the Kelaz-45T fuel truck.

Newest Version Below!

[New KH-47C] [50 M/S Version] Download (Dropbox): https://www.dropbox.com/s/q49bfjb2dqdbvg6/KH-47C Kinchook.craft?dl=0

Blender Renders Courtesy of Esinohio

Please visit his render farm for more awesome renders! 

 

Edited February 7, 2017 by Jon144
The version isn't new anymore

[pTrevTrevs]

Good work, it seems to me that using Mk3 partial make a practical yet good looking helicopter, and adding stick rotors makes it even more impressive.

 

Just some food for thought...

[Majorjim!]

Yeah nice one Jon144! It looks to be reliable and controllable too, excellent work!

[Scarecrow]

It's rare that I download other people's craft, but this looks amazing and so I thought I would give it a go.  I have to ask is there some secret to flying it though?  At launch, I stage to fire up the motors, and the rotors start to spin, but after a couple of minutes they still aren't rotating fast enough to generate enough lift to leave the ground, and that's at full throttle.  Is there something I should be doing to lessen the friction on the bearings to allow the rotors to spin faster?

Basically I am throttling up to 100%, leaving SAS turned off and then staging to fire up the motors, as I figured that if I turned SAS on before staging, it might affect the ability of the rotors to spin freely.  But even checking that the motors are running at full throttle by using the [ ] keys, I can't get it to leave the ground.

Edited July 13, 2016 by Scarecrow

[Jon144]

2 hours ago, Scarecrow said:

It's rare that I download other people's craft, but this looks amazing and so I thought I would give it a go.  I have to ask is there some secret to flying it though?  At launch, I stage to fire up the motors, and the rotors start to spin, but after a couple of minutes they still aren't rotating fast enough to generate enough lift to leave the ground, and that's at full throttle.  Is there something I should be doing to lessen the friction on the bearings to allow the rotors to spin faster?

Basically I am throttling up to 100%, leaving SAS turned off and then staging to fire up the motors, as I figured that if I turned SAS on before staging, it might affect the ability of the rotors to spin freely.  But even checking that the motors are running at full throttle by using the [ ] keys, I can't get it to leave the ground.

It might be a mod or something. If you're using any type of joint reinforcement that will augment how parts behave in contact to each-other. This helicopter was designed to be use in a 100% stock version of the game. No idea how it behaves on modded installs. If this is not the case people provide me with screenshots or video because its a glitch I will fix. It might be that the rotors are falling out of the bearing before decoupling them and then once you decouple them get stuck? Or maybe you haven't decoupled them? Sorry man. 

In my test flights the helicopter can achieve flight unloaded with only about 75% throttle. So it must be something glitchy going on. You might have luck putting a strut connecting the rotor to the fuselage before decoupling the rotor to make sure it doesn't fall out of place in the meantime. 

But yeah. My guess if you have joint reinforcement or something installed. In my experience that mod breaks any and all stock bearings.

Edited July 14, 2016 by Jon144

[Jon144]

Hey guys! I have a neat update. I have built a new refueling truck for the helicopter. With this truck stationed at airfields the chopper should have nearly infinite range.

[Scarecrow]

I think you are right.  I have KJR installed and did wonder myself if that might be the problem.

[Jon144]

Hey guys! Thank you so much for all of your feedback and support. I have done major improvements on the helicopter today since the first release. I have now updated the craft file for the brand new Kinchook KH-47B variant that has awesome improvements in every category and now even has a ground vehicle that can refuel it for extended duration missions. I hope you guys like this! You can read the details and get the new craft from the updated OP. 

Edited July 15, 2016 by Jon144

[Jon144]

Yet another new version. If you want a faster version of the Kinchook you can take the KH-47C variant which comes with two panther engines strapped to the back that can increase it's speed in level flight to over 50M/s. On top of this it is less parts over the B version. The only drawback is a decreased cargo capacity due to the added weight of the engines and fuel.

[Majorjim!]

You're on a roll man! It looks awesome. How did you do that white background pic above?

[Jon144]

25 minutes ago, Majorjim said:

You're on a roll man! It looks awesome. How did you do that white background pic above?

Basic blender rendering. Forgot to add courtesy of Esinohio.

[Jon144]

Thank you so much Esinohio for the awesome render! Let all your rep go to him!

[Jon144]

Sorry again for double posting because I can't seem to find the delete button for a comment with this new forum system. 

Challenge IDEA!

But I wanted to get feedback on possibly making a challenge involving this helicopter. My idea is to have pilots pick up a fuel-tank off the runway with the claw and then fly it over to the island airfield and then return the helicopter to the KSC. It will challenge precision in picking up that fuel tank as well as fuel mileage.

Edited July 27, 2016 by Jon144

[esinohio]

A quick render/photoshop of the epic KH-47C Kinchook.  More to come soon^tm.

[Jon144]

I can say with confidence nobody makes better renders than Esinohio the master.

[Azimech]

Congratulations with your sticky, @Jon144!

[Jon144]

3 hours ago, Azimech said:

Congratulations with your sticky, @Jon144!

No way  it's not even a turboshaft or anything. It's the awesome renders by the master Esinohio. His blender-farm is what deserves a sticky. 

[pTrevTrevs]

43 minutes ago, Jon144 said:

No way  it's not even a turboshaft or anything. It's the awesome renders by the master Esinohio. His blender-farm is what deserves a sticky. 

Well, it is a tandem rotor helicopter that can carry significant cargo while still being 100% stock.

It's also based on the CH-47 Chinook, which counts for a lot in my book. It's probably my third favorite American helicopter (just behind the Huey and Blackhawk), and whenever I see one fly over it truly is an awesome sight.

[Jon144]

2 hours ago, pTrevTrevs said:

Well, it is a tandem rotor helicopter that can carry significant cargo while still being 100% stock.

It's also based on the CH-47 Chinook, which counts for a lot in my book. It's probably my third favorite American helicopter (just behind the Huey and Blackhawk), and whenever I see one fly over it truly is an awesome sight.

Yeah and since it's tandem rotor is the easiest to replicate and fly well in stock KSP physics. Since hueys and blachawks that I have tried to make before are singe-rotor that make them hard to control. The Chinook design transfers exceptionally well into KSP and is inherently more simple than coaxials. Hence 215 parts only.

Esinohio continues to make me very kind renders and animations. This time camera tracking of the helicopter over his house!

Edited August 2, 2016 by Jon144

[esinohio]

Grats on your pin @Jon144 !!!  Hopefully soon I'll have more footage of your epic helicopter. 

[m4ti140]

Wow, those rotor blades, the twist on them... I gotta test it under FAR

[Puderniczek]

How can I change throttle during flight when rotors engines are part of different ship?

[Jon144]

3 hours ago, Puderniczek said:

How can I change throttle during flight when rotors engines are part of different ship?

[ and ] keys switch between the rotors and the main helicopter chassis. Since it takes time for the jets to change thrust and the SAS makes the helicopter very stable you can control the throttle like this easily without causing any problems.

[THE NARWHAL]

Nice craft, could you post some shots with the inner workings of the rotor bearings? I'd like some for a "Future project."

[kiwi1960]

FYI... "chook" is Kiwi slang for chicken. (might be in more nations but I can only speak for NZ)

I love your chicken chopper... just add feathers and it will be perfect.