sheppard@caen.engin.umich.edu (Ken Sheppardson) (01/20/89)
In article <3204@cbnews.ATT.COM>, nak@cbnews.ATT.COM (Neil A. Kirby) writes: > > The standard load for years on the outermost pylons of the Apache is a > pair of Sidewinders. No it's not. The Apache carries up to 16 Hellfires mounted on pylons in groups of four, or up to 4 2.75 in rocket pods, besides its permanently mounted head-tracked chain gun. There's been alot of talk about equiping the Apache with *Stingers*, but I don't believe that's ever been attempted to date. Some (most?) LHX concepts have a Stinger at the end of each pylon in a config similar to the way Sidewinders are mounted on the tips of the wings of the F-16 ( along with four Hellfires on each pylon ) and have avionics similar to air superiority fighters in many respects. The airframe of the Apache is strong enough to support the load from some pretty drastic maneuvers. I believe the Apache is the only Helicopter to ever do a loop. Although in one of the first few attepts the rotor sagged enough to scrape the canopy. The Apaches air-to-air combat capability has been demonstrated to the Army ( against an AV-8B ) and they were quite impressed. Apache/Apache Air-to-air ( and I can only assume -- Apache/LHX and Apache/Hind ) is now quite common. ( Just do a hammerhead, Stop at the center of their turn, look at 'em, lead a little, and pull the trigger ) NOTE : As a co-op at MDHC, I was never told just what I could talk about and what I couldn't, so I guess I should say that these opinions are not only not those of my former employer, but they may not even be my own. - Ken Sheppardson University of Michigan Aerospace Engine Deptartment
sheppard@caen.engin.umich.edu (Ken Sheppardson) (01/21/89)
I wasn't terribly clear in my last posting. Hopefully this will clear things up and provide a little more info. In article <3278@cbnews.ATT.COM>, I wrote: > >> The standard load for years on the outermost pylons of the Apache is a >> pair of Sidewinders. > > No it's not. > [ While the Sidewinder has been TESTED on the Apache, it hasn't become ] [ standard armament because -- for one thing -- the Army thinks it might ] [ tempt pilots to go looking for a fight instead of killing tanks like ] [ they're supposed to be doing. ] > The Apache carries up to 16 Hellfires mounted on pylons in groups of > four, or up to 4 2.75 in rocket pods, besides its permanently mounted > head-tracked chain gun. [ Each 2.75 in Hydra pod carries 19 unguided missles ] >[...] > The Apaches air-to-air combat capability has been demonstrated to the Army > (against an AV-8B) and they were quite impressed. Apache/Apache Air-to-air > ( and I can only assume -- Apache/LHX and Apache/Hind ) is now quite common. [While the Apache has indeed been flown against the Harrier, the A/A A/LHX ] [and A/Hind have been/ will be SIMULATED air-to-air combat. MDHC has ] [several simulators connected for what they call "dome-to-dome". Each of ] [the domes can be "flying" a different flight model. ] > (Just do a hammerhead,Stop at the center of their turn, look at 'em, lead a > little, and pull the trigger ) [Hughes is investigating ways to make the Chain Gun more suitable for ] [air-to-air combat, and Rockwell is looking at the feasability of giving ] [the Hellfire an anti-helicopter capability by adding a proximity fuse and ] [modifying the control laws. ] > NOTE : As a co-op at MDHC, I was never told just what I could talk about and > what I couldn't, so I guess I should say that these opinions are not > only not those of my former employer, but they may not even be my own. > > - Ken Sheppardson [ Ken Sheppardson ] [ University of Michigan ] [ Aerospace Engine Deptartment ]
fiddler@Sun.COM (Steve Hix) (01/24/89)
In article <3278@cbnews.ATT.COM>, sheppard@caen.engin.umich.edu (Ken Sheppardson) writes: > > The airframe of the Apache is strong enough to support the load from some > pretty drastic maneuvers. I believe the Apache is the only Helicopter > to ever do a loop. Some of the Apache's technology was developed during the late '60s in Lockheed's Cheyenne. (I will now prepare for the roasting as it turns out I got the name wrong...:}) It (not the Apache) was used to prove some new ideas in rotor systems, and demonstrated loops several times, as well as setting some rotorcraft speed records. I went to high school a few miles from the Pt. Mugu NAS, and remember one afternoon seeing a Cheyenne flying arund the area. It was *loud*, and the sound was quite different from any other helicopter I've head before or since. Similar to an OH-5 (Hughes/McD-D 500), but and octave or so lower. A couple of French helicopters have demonstrated loops, as has at least one of Agusta's designs. All of them tend to be careful to maintain positive G throughout the maneuver.