And now, on a purely technical level

Post #91,112 by cwbrenn 3/24/03 4:26:42 PM Reply	And now, on a purely technical level How many freaking helicopters have gone down in the space of a few weeks? There are no reports of the helicopters going down due to friendly fire, and at a least a few just sort of "crashed." What the hell??? If these things are so unreliable, why do we keep using them? I ask because I do not know... perhaps they have some kind of advantage that makes the unreliability of them worth the risk? "We are all born originals -- why is it so many of us die copies?" - Edward Young
Post #91,118 by inthane-chan 3/24/03 4:38:27 PM Reply	We generally don't use them around large volumes of sand.
Post #91,120 by drewk 3/24/03 4:42:03 PM Reply	Service rivalry For the most part, the Air Force prefers to fly fixed-wing, specifically fighter jets. The Army only flys rotary-wing (helos). The Air Force doesn't like flying ground support. The best ground support aircraft is the A-10 (fixed-wing). Do the math. This is why the Marine Corps doesn't want to give up the A-10, even though the Air Force keeps trying to kill it. === Implicitly condoning stupidity since 2001.
Post #91,144 by Simon_Jester 3/24/03 5:40:29 PM Reply	And it's beyond that... The air force (imo) doesn't even like fighter jets that much. They have them, don't get me wrong, but they also have the major transport planes (C-130's etc), B-52 bombers (with a revolving cruise missiles) and their space wing watches over both the ICBM's and the Delta/Titan/Atlas. Ground support? (We'll drop a load of bombs (or anything else) on the target).
Post #91,121 by Brandioch 3/24/03 4:45:01 PM Reply	Is that a request for one of my war stories? Well, I'll take it as one anyway. Back in Yakima, I'm part of an attack helicopter battalion. The top brass likes helicopters. But they need to "prove" that helicopters are effective. So we're playing war games and our helicopters have to take out the "enemy" tanks. We know how many tanks, where they are and where they are going. The "enemy" commander knows that we know this. So, in the middle of the NIGHT, he advances his tanks under BLACKOUT conditions. The next morning, his objective wakes up with him waving at them. BZZZZZZZTTTTTTT!!!!!!! He is pulled in and talked to. New rules are issued. NO ONE moves at night. "It's not SAFE and we practice SAFETY." The entire battlefield is reset and we "prove" that Cobras kick tank ass! The NEXT time we're playing against this guy, he puts everyone he can on the ridgelines with stingers to take out our helicopters as they pop over them. Helicopters are GREAT, in the roles that they are great in. And, in the desert, they take severe environmental damage. The cockpit glass is sandblasted. Dust clogs the filters. If there's anyway for dirt to get into the lube, it will and it will wear out parts. Not to mention the thermal expansion (day) and contraction (night) that opens lots of problems.
Post #91,135 by cwbrenn 3/24/03 5:28:36 PM Reply	Ah, ok It just seems like there's little point in using them right now. They seem to be dropping out of the sky like rocks. "We are all born originals -- why is it so many of us die copies?" - Edward Young
Post #91,206 by boxley 3/24/03 9:22:15 PM Reply	The Brass seem mystified that an farmer with an a47 took out an apache, .762 to the main rotor assembly is where I was taught to aim. Dunno if its still true. thanx, bill will work for cash and other incentives [link\|http://home.tampabay.rr.com/boxley/resume/Resume.html\|skill set] questions, help? [link\|mailto:pappas@catholic.org\|email pappas at catholic.org] To a lot of people in California hunting anything but the wild tofualope was equivelent to sacarificing babies to satan. S.M. Stirling

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