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Army gets new Tilt-Rotor


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But, but, but! It has tandem rotors.

We like Chinooks, am I right?

Hahaha sorry to steal your thunder, Zack! Don't see you around here much anymore. And...the only Chinook I like is the MH-47G ;)

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Looks like a tilt-rotor C-23 Sherpa. First test flight in 2017, it'll easily be 2030 before it hits the field. The Commanche was in development for 20 years and it was still 7 years away from fielding when it was canned.

 

In 20 years the CV-22 technology will have matured and we might actually have a viable tilt-rotor design. As much as I love the 47G, the airframe design has about maxed out on what can be improved and re-designed.

 

Mike-

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That's okay, you can steal my thunder; I cast the first lightning bolt anyhow. ;)

 

 

Here's a super awesome promo video by Bell... :huh:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O3Onyas984

 

p.s. Army has me very busy these days

Sweet!! I've always wanted to fly a CGI helicopter.

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If that promotional viedo was supposed to be inspiring...it wasn't:o) That thing doesn't look big enough to carry a squad, much less a Plt. The part they missed was "Holy sh*t, we just browned out at 200'" which is the big heal for the Osprey. Titl-rotors take a painfully long time to transition from forward to hovering flight, historically the same time we take RPGs, so until they figure out a way to make it a faster transition it'll be relegated to offset LZs just like the 22'. But hey, the war's almost over right?

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If that promotional viedo was supposed to be inspiring...it wasn't:o) That thing doesn't look big enough to carry a squad, much less a Plt. The part they missed was "Holy sh*t, we just browned out at 200'" which is the big heal for the Osprey. Titl-rotors take a painfully long time to transition from forward to hovering flight, historically the same time we take RPGs, so until they figure out a way to make it a faster transition it'll be relegated to offset LZs just like the 22'. But hey, the war's almost over right?

But didn't you notice? It has some sort of advanced system because in the video, the helicopter didn't vibrate at all! :lol:

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Like Mike said, it'll be a long time before it enters service. At the rate it takes the Army to field anything these days, you all will be retired by the time it goes operational. We had a bunch of guys in my class trying to get 58s because it was going to be retired for the Comanche. You can see how that worked out for them.

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I also like the concept. The problem is, if they can't get the aircraft at a reasonable price, have reasonable operating costs and have a reasonable OR rate, it'll never get purchased. They better do their homework from the cost / reliability problems of Osprey to get the price down. You have to ask, can this aircraft really distance itself from other traditional platforms with the added costs? For the Comanche, that question was no. For this aircraft, I really hope so. Army Aviation needs to upgrade from legacy helicopters designed in the 60s and 70s. We need either a tilt rotor or a pusher prop (S-97) configuration to continue to remain the greatest tactical transport service in the world.

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That's okay, you can steal my thunder; I cast the first lightning bolt anyhow. ;)

 

 

Here's a super awesome promo video by Bell... :huh:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O3Onyas984

 

p.s. Army has me very busy these days

"It flys like a plane and hovers like a helicopter. El Valor! El el valor!" That's all I thought about from that video...

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The tiltrotor demonstrator was flying demos in the early 80's making it at least 30 year old technology. The ABC was flying demos about the same time. I wonder what happened to that program. Anyway almost all helicopter technology today is minor improvements on technology that is pushing 60 years old. I keep yearning for the next great "New" technological leap that isn't just a slight improvement over decades old design.

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