A Navy Test Pilot School UH-72 Lakota. They got these a couple of years ago to replace the old TH-6s.
It’s not widely known, but the Naval Test Pilot School is the only military test pilot school in the country that trains helicopter test pilots. Which means that the Army has a 50% stake in the rotary-wing program, supplies half of the instructors, half of the aircraft (including these), and owns half of the billets. A few years ago, we even had an Army officer as CO of TPS.
Nice birds, but the Army screwed up by not getting the air conditioning package. The avionics puts out too much heat for desert operations. We had one of the National Guard Lakotas out here last year at Marana and they ended up not flying it because of the heat. Nice birds, though. I’m looking forward to seeing how they develop since they’re operating under the EC-145 type certificate and so fall under the FAA regulations. Excellent way to keep the costs down, plus we’ve got a lot of mechanics getting their A&P certificates now to support them.
I tried a few times to leave a comment here. I failed. The selection of Eurocopter baffles me. We have Boeing, Sikorsky, and Bell. I have no idea why comments don;t appear, but WTF, O?
I was disappointed, initially, that the MD 904 NOTAR didn’t get the nod, being a latest generation follow on to the Little Bird. However, as i started boning up on the Lakota, I couldn’t help but be impressed that the correct choice was made. Useable load in high/hot environments far surpasses the NOTAR, and those aft gull wing doors open the way to some nice pax and logistics options.
Bummer about there not being A/C for avionics, Pogue. One would assume that to be a no-brainer. BTW, are you stationed out of Silverbell these days? That’s just up the road a piece.
@ChrisP – The Eurocopter selection was unexpected but predictable in hindsight. Sikorski wasn’t in the light helicopter business at the time, and I’m not sure they’re really in it now even though they bought Schweitzer (the old Hughes 300). I don’t think Boeing had an offering – MD Helicopters was trying to bid one of their 500 series, but had major (business) performance problems and it was questionable whether they could deliver. Plus their major selling point appeared to be “You need to bail us out!” Bell had it’s hands full with the ARH (Armed Recon Helicopter) and there was some concern about their on time on budget capabilities. Enough so that they ended up getting cancelled. Interestingly enough, now Boeing has bought the military line from MD Helicopters so the AH-6 is being mentioned as an ARH possibility, and Bell has a pretty impressive Armed Scout bird they’re floating based on the 407. Eurocopter was in production and ready to play.
@Mongo – I’m out of Papago in Phoenix. I get down to the WAATS for training once in a while. I’m not sure what the specifics are, but the Army evaluated the NOTAR and was unimpressed. As far as the air conditioning in the Lakota goes, I think the Army was thinking in terms of “You’ve got the doors and windows open, the AC isn’t going to do you any good, anyways.” Unfortunately they didn’t realize how much heat the avionics generated. I’m guessing they’ll end up retrofitting.