The Boeing Vertol 107-II was a civil tandem-rotor transport that led to the CH-46. See its design, airline use, variants and key differences.
The Boeing Vertol 107-II was a twin-turboshaft, tandem-rotor transport helicopter developed as the civil production version of Vertol’s Model 107. Built in the early 1960s after Boeing acquired Vertol, it carried passengers or cargo without a tail rotor and became the direct basis of the military CH-46 Sea Knight.
In our Aviation & Real-World Flying library, the key distinction is that 107-II originally denoted a civil transport, not another name for every CH-46 or CH-47. The Roman numeral distinguished the improved production model from the original V-107 prototype.
What was the 107-II designed to do?
The 107-II was intended to combine an airliner-style passenger cabin with the vertical access of a helicopter. The original V-107 prototype flew in 1958; after Boeing acquired Vertol in 1960, the improved 107-II flew later that year and received US civil certification in 1962.
Its main features included:
- Two General Electric T58 turboshaft engines, with ratings varying between versions.
- Two counter-rotating, three-bladed rotors mounted above the forward and rear fuselage.
- A configurable cabin for passengers, freight or mixed loads.
- Airline layouts accommodating about 25 passengers, depending on the operator and interior.
- A rear loading opening that made cargo handling easier than on many conventional helicopters.
New York Airways operated a small fleet on scheduled services around New York, connecting airports and urban heliports. The civil airline market remained limited, but the underlying design proved much more successful in military, search-and-rescue and utility service.
How did the tandem rotors work?
The two rotors turned in opposite directions, cancelling torque and removing the need for a tail rotor. An interconnecting drivetrain kept them synchronised and allowed one engine to power both rotor systems after an engine failure, within the aircraft’s one-engine performance limits.
The tandem layout put lifting rotor area at both ends of the fuselage, leaving a large central cabin and providing a useful centre-of-gravity range. That did not make loading unrestricted: passengers and cargo still had to remain within approved forward and aft centre-of-gravity limits.
Was the Boeing 107-II the same as the CH-46?
The 107-II and CH-46 belonged to the same design family, but they were not identical aircraft. The military Model 107M became the CH-46 Sea Knight, while the CH-47 Chinook was a separate, substantially larger tandem-rotor design.
| Designation | What it was | Primary role |
|---|---|---|
| Boeing Vertol 107-II | Civil production Model 107 | Airline passenger, freight and utility transport |
| CH-46 Sea Knight | Militarised Model 107 derivative | Troop transport, cargo and shipboard operations |
| Kawasaki KV-107-II | Licensed Japanese-built family | Civil transport, military lift, rescue and specialist duties |
| CH-47 Chinook | Larger, separate Boeing Vertol design | Heavy military transport |
The CH-46 incorporated military equipment, structural changes and mission-specific systems absent from an airline 107-II. Engine fit, weight limits and performance also differed between subvariants, so specifications from one version should not be applied automatically to another.
Who built and operated the 107-II family?
Boeing Vertol built the original civil machines, while New York Airways became their best-known scheduled airline operator. Boeing later licensed the design to Kawasaki Heavy Industries, whose KV-107-II versions served in civil and military roles, including transport, search and rescue, and airborne minesweeping.
This licensed production explains why photographs loosely captioned “Boeing 107-II” may actually show a Kawasaki-built KV-107-II. Our account of Boeing’s wider aircraft and corporate history places the Vertol acquisition and tandem-rotor family in context.
How can simmers identify the correct 107 variant?
The designation in the aircraft documentation is more reliable than its shape or paint scheme. Most simulation models associated with the 107 family depict a CH-46 rather than the rare civil airline configuration.
- Check the designation: BV 107-II indicates the civil Boeing model, KV-107-II indicates Kawasaki production, and CH-46 identifies the US military derivative.
- Inspect the equipment: military interiors, defensive equipment and service markings normally indicate a CH-46 or military KV variant.
- Match the performance data: use figures for the exact subvariant and engine installation rather than generic “Model 107” numbers.
Our flyable FSX representation of the related CH-46 illustrates the family’s tandem-rotor layout, but it should not be treated as an exact civil 107-II or as a source of real-world operating procedures.