True... main thing I find curious is they're using the same "High Maneuverability" illustrations and talking points as Lockheed did on Cheyenne, which was scrapped when it was found that all that maneuverability and close-combat engagement brought it RIGHT into the kill-boxes for the early MANPADS.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>YOU IDIOTS! I WROTE 1984 AS A WARNING, NOT A HOW-TO MANUAL!--Orwell's ghost
Psalms 109:8, 43:1
LIFE MEMBER - NRA & SAF; FPC MEMBER Not employed or sponsored by any manufacturer, distributor or retailer.
Two big ones are:
- rigid rotors so they can be spaced much closer than semi-rigid/teetering rotors (lower profile, shorter control runs, etc)
- offloading retreating rotors so they don't suffer from retreating blade stall
ABC + prop allows for much higher speeds than traditional helicopters and much better hover characteristics than tiltrotors. You can actually do pitchless forward flight OR maintain a specific pitch attitude during forward flight. Plus, the prop can go full reverse to act as a gigantic speed brake to bring the helo to a stop very quickly.
Scout Rider for the Mongol Hordes
Quite frankly, if Boeing can't do this by now, they need to up their game. I mean, Kenner showed us the way in 1985:
Experience is a cruel teacher, gives the exam first and then the lesson.
They already did once by killing the Kiowa and insisting the AH-64E could do the same thing. I think they realize how badly they screwed up with that, so I think this program will be a go - whether it ends up as something useful is to be determined.
I saw a wind-tunnel prototype of a new Apache concept that is pretty much this thing with a push prop and stub main rotor blades. Similar, I think, to what caporider above is talking about. Found it:
https___s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com_the-drive-cms-content-staging_message-editor%2F1583258612136-.jpg
Last edited by sundance435; 03-04-20 at 14:30.
Last edited by TexHill; 03-04-20 at 16:59.
A person who is not inwardly prepared for the use of violence against him is always weaker than the person committing the violence. - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago
Actually, that's a 1980s or '90s design study for a navalized "Sea Apache." The resemblance to Cheyenne, whose collapse made Apache necessary, is uncanny.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_AH-56_Cheyenne
Problem with Longbow-replacing-Kiowa is Longbow's sensor suite is radar, while Kiowa's "eyeball" is optical/IR.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>YOU IDIOTS! I WROTE 1984 AS A WARNING, NOT A HOW-TO MANUAL!--Orwell's ghost
Psalms 109:8, 43:1
LIFE MEMBER - NRA & SAF; FPC MEMBER Not employed or sponsored by any manufacturer, distributor or retailer.
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