Scale Explorer

Vehicles

How big is a Black Hawk helicopter?

UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter · UH-60A / UH-60L, rotors turning

Overall length (rotors turning)
≈ 19.76 m 64.83 ft approx.
Height
≈ 5.13 m 16.83 ft approx.
Main rotor diameter
≈ 16.36 m 53.67 ft approx.
Fuselage length
≈ 15.431 m 50.625 ft approx.
Show
Human, Car, School bus, UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter drawn to the same scaleHuman: height 1.61–1.75 m. Car: length 4.915 m. School bus: length (65/66-passenger type c) ≈ 10.86 m. UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter: overall length (rotors turning) ≈ 19.76 m.Human: 1.61–1.75 mCar: 4.915 mSchool bus: ≈ 10.86 mUH-60 Black Hawk helicopter: ≈ 19.76 mUH-60 Black Hawk helicopter≈ 19.76 mSchool bus≈ 10.86 mHuman1.61–1.75 mCar4.915 m
Everything is drawn to the same scale, standing on the same ground line. Silhouettes are simplified outlines scaled to the measured dimension. A faded outline shows the top of a size range.

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Dimensions

MeasurementMetricImperialNotesSource
Overall length (rotors turning) ≈ 19.76 m ≈ 64.83 ft 64 ft 10 in, main rotor tip to tail rotor tip; the Army describes all dimensions as approximate. Approximate [1]
Height ≈ 5.13 m ≈ 16.83 ft 16 ft 10 in, ground to the upper tip path of the canted tail rotor. Approximate [1]
Main rotor diameter ≈ 16.36 m ≈ 53.67 ft 53 ft 8 in; Sikorsky's historical archives give 53.6 ft. Approximate [1] [3]
Fuselage length ≈ 15.431 m ≈ 50.625 ft 50 ft 7.5 in. Approximate [1]
Length (rotors and pylon folded) ≈ 12.6 m ≈ 41.33 ft 41 ft 4 in. Approximate [1]
Tail rotor diameter ≈ 3.4 m ≈ 11 ft Four-blade tail rotor, canted 20 degrees. Approximate [1] [3]
Maximum gross weight 9.19–9.98 t 20,250–22,000 lb Slick configuration: UH-60A 20,250 lb; UH-60L and UH-60M 22,000 lb. Range: varies [2]
Empty weight 5.1183–5.6749 t 11,284–12,511 lb UH-60A 11,284 lb, UH-60L 11,782 lb, UH-60M 12,511 lb. Range: varies [2]

About the Black Hawk helicopter

The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is the U.S. Army's main utility helicopter, used for air assault, medical evacuation and command roles; it first flew in 1974 and more than 5,000 have been built. The Army's operator's manual gives an overall length of 64 ft 10 in with the rotors turning and a main rotor diameter of 53 ft 8 in. With the rotors and tail pylon folded for storage it shrinks to 41 ft 4 in long.

  • The fuselage is 7 ft 9 in wide; with external fuel tanks on the stub wings the helicopter spans 21 ft. [1]
  • A Black Hawk carries 11 troops, and the UH-60M's cargo hook can lift 9,000 lb. [2]
  • The Black Hawk first flew on October 17, 1974, and over 5,000 have been delivered, making it Sikorsky's longest production program. [3]

How many fit?

  • ≈ 12 × Human · height lined up end to end match the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter · overall length (rotors turning)
  • ≈ 100–130 × Human · body mass on the scales weigh as much as UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter · maximum gross weight
  • ≈ 1.6 × City bus · length over bumpers lined up end to end match the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter · overall length (rotors turning)

Counts divide one sourced figure by another. "End to end" uses each object's main measurement; weight and volume rows appear only when both figures are sourced.

How it compares

  • 12× A Black Hawk helicopter is about 12 times as long as an average adult is tall. See side by side
  • 1.6× A Black Hawk helicopter is about 1.6 times as long as a city bus. See side by side
  • 0.8–1.3× A Black Hawk helicopter is roughly as long as a megalodon: between 0.8 and 1.3 times as long, depending on size. See side by side
  • 1/1.3 A blue whale is about 1.3 times as long as a Black Hawk helicopter. See side by side
  • 1/2 A Boeing 737 is about 2 times as long as a Black Hawk helicopter. See side by side
  • 1/3 The Leaning Tower of Pisa is about 3 times as tall as a Black Hawk helicopter is long. See side by side

Factors compare the overall length (rotors turning) of a Black Hawk helicopter with each object’s own main measurement (height for a human). Where a size varies, the factor is given as a range.

Notes on these figures

  • Dimensions come from the Army operator's manual for the UH-60A and UH-60L (hosted on the Internet Archive, distribution statement A: approved for public release). No primary source giving UH-60M overall dimensions was found; Lockheed Martin's product page and UH-60M brochure give weights only.
  • Lengths are stored in decimal feet converted from the manual's feet-and-inches (for example 64 ft 10 in = 64.83 ft).
  • The manual's height figure is to the top of the tail rotor's path; the fixed structure and main rotor hub are lower.

Sources

  1. Headquarters, Department of the Army, TM 1-1520-237-10 Operator's Manual for UH-60A, UH-60L and EH-60A Helicopters (31 October 1996), Figures 2-2 and 2-3. Accessed 25 September 2026.
  2. Lockheed Martin (Sikorsky), Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter brochure. Accessed 25 September 2026.
  3. Igor I. Sikorsky Historical Archives, Sikorsky S-70A: UH-60L Black Hawk Family. Accessed 25 September 2026.

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