Zephyr Net

This Video!!

http://homepage.mac.com/swaltner/flying/comanche.mov

OTHER VIDEOS
http://forums.frugalsworld.com/vbb/show ... hp?t=56855

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Centurian

the RAH-66 is SUCH a dead duck that the manufacturers are trying to sell it as a "battlefield communications node" even though pretty much EVERYTHING else is also becoming a com node including air refueling tankers.
I love the commanche, but it's mission is dissapearing and being taken over by UAVs.

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Fighting for justice with brains of steel

Let your anger be like the monkey which hides inside the piniata.

Yeah but a UAV will never be that awesome in flight and hell I'd rather have the Commanche with human brains than a UAV with a AI and a person flying it from thousands of miles away. You tend to be more focused when your life is at stake rather than just a robotic toy.

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Centurian

focused on what? staying alive? yeah, doing your job? nope.

I'd rather have a UAV being flown from thousands of miles away with the sensors being used by a capt in the field wondering what is over the next berm and how to deal with that threat. Rather than yet another chopper downed and all over the nightly news with moms and dads asking "why are we here". RAH-66 will be just as vulnerable to the threats in Iraq today as any other chopper.

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Fighting for justice with brains of steel

Let your anger be like the monkey which hides inside the piniata.

Thats a really bad and unfair thing to say about the pilots in combat flying helicopters today. The fact that they were in there means that they will do their job more than anything because it means coming home alive.

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Centurian

lol nice try , but you know me better than that to imply such a thing.

So what job are we talking about? The RAH-66's job is armed recon, with the emphasis on RECON. It is to be a replacement for the OH-58 Kiowa. It's job will be to find the baddies and report thier location back to HQ preferably with live video. Then monitor the situation till heavy forces can arrive in the form of tanks, artillery or Apaches if that's what HQ warrants or perhaps to simply surveill for a while. If nessesary they will be tasked with attacking to break up the enemy or slow their movement. This job can be done just as well with UAVs without HQ ever having to worry about what happens to the UAV if it gets spotted.

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Fighting for justice with brains of steel

Let your anger be like the monkey which hides inside the piniata.

The Hellfire load on that sucker also gives it an assault capbility. Put 6 stingers in the bay, 16 Hellfires on the stubs, and you got the Apache with 2 more stingers and a whole lot more stealth.

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Centurian

unless they changed something there is only one hardpoint per warwing. 2 hardpoints per, would likely keep the bay doors from opening. Kiowa also carries Hellfire.

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Fighting for justice with brains of steel

Let your anger be like the monkey which hides inside the piniata.

2 yeah oops sorry didn't mean 4. Kiowa can carry the Hydra and the Stinger.

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Centurian

AFAIK the RAH-66 can take 4 Hellfires on each external hardpoint (i.e. 16 altogether like the AH-64) + 6 Hellfires or 12 Stingers internal load.

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Well 8 externally, 6 internall for a full load of 14. But rather load the stingers internally to screw up enemy CAS

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Centurian

When did they reduce the maximum payload?

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Don't recall but it has been

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Centurian

2 externall hardpoints from the very first protos, dont know where the idea of 4 came from.
and Kiowa DOES carry Hellfire 2 at a time per side

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Fighting for justice with brains of steel

Let your anger be like the monkey which hides inside the piniata.

Yeah but it can carry Stingers and Hydra's as well.

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Centurian