Stealth Helicopter?

[KowalskiCamaro]

Looks a little like Airwolf. Remember that show?

[CamaroSpike23]

Originally Posted by GTAHVIT

I was wondering if that was you following me the other day...

[GTAHVIT]

Originally Posted by CamaroSpike23

I was wondering if that was you following me the other day...

Damn! what gave us away...

[PQ]

Wait. Didn't that Pakinstani guy twitter about all the noise the choppers made the whole time they were there?

[CamaroSpike23]

Originally Posted by GTAHVIT

Damn! what gave us away...

normally, they fly farther up as to not draw attention. but since you were right behind me, I figured it was you trying to mess with me. next time, just drop in the bed and save on fuel

[NoSyT]

Originally Posted by aldaron327

There's one thing that would make a "stealth helicopter" stick out on radar that they can't fix: Rotor blades turning at hundreds of RPM. Those blades turning really stand out on radar.

Also, I'm not sure how much noise mitigation they've come up with over the years but from personal experience, a person can hear a helicopter coming from pretty far out depending on wind direction/velocity, altitude of the aircraft, etc.

Still, it's a cool concept... I just don't think that the physics of how a helicopter flies supports it.

Ever hear of the RAH-66 Comanche? It was supposed to be the first "stealth" helicopter, but the program got cancelled years ago. If the images above are close to true, then it's technology derived from the Comanche. I actually saw one on a test flight and I can tell you that I have never heard anything that sounded like it.

Originally Posted by AZCamaroFan

This really sucks, because the parts that are left are in the hands of Pakistan, and could be sent to the Chinese. If our leaders had any brains they'd demand the parts back or the Pakistani's get no more aid.

Looking at the pictures, the only thing that could be gathered from what's left is the special paint composition (if it is a special paint like the F-117 and B2) and materials, assuming that it isn't regular aircraft grade aluminum skin.

[1o.f00t.570rk]

The probability that the SEALS didn't destroy something critical or important is extremely slim in my mind. While it is definitely possible that they may have left something important, it was likely something that is more complicated than it appears.

Take the gurney flap for instance on spoilers. Nobody understood what it was for a long time and so even though they duplicated it, they didn't know what it was doing and as such didn't understand the benefit of having it, and sometimes made changes to it which negatively impacted the intent of the element.

From an engineering standpoint, even if you have a fully functioning copy of a competitor's product, it doesn't guarantee that you'll understand even the basic physical design and what does or doesn't make it work. That's why I would be more worried about keeping track of the engineers and scientists who do know how it works more so than about the bits and pieces they left behind in Pakistan.

[2ndgenz28]

Id say the communication equipment would be a big info target if survived, stuff they use has to be 10x what we could wish for. If your talking black ops unknown aircraft. Its gonna be well beyond standard issue.

[cab2g]

I wondered why a perfectly good helicopter would just "stall" then "hit a wall"

If it was some sort of prototype, I can see that. Prototypes are always buggy as crap! Good thing they blew most everything up!

[GTAHVIT]

something to note.

taking small arms fire... so obviously we're speculating.... but..

helicopters are under enormous stresses when transitioning from forward flight to hover... you are basically beating the air into submission to keep the aircraft from smacking the ground which is what it is trying to do. couple that with the fact that it was Hot, heavy, and out of ground effect.. a simpey hydraulic line failure or an engine failure, would cause it to land hard... in this scenario the aircraft was probably not in a single engine state, so if an engine flamed out while transitioning into his hover he'd have to plant it... now way he could lift out under single engine power...

Now, could small arms fire have contributed to the cause of the mechanical failure...

I guess we'll never know...

[2ndgenz28]

Originally Posted by GTAHVIT

something to note.

taking small arms fire... so obviously we're speculating.... but..

Thats the issue now kinda, as it seem to be the same old situation.

The original story has now changed. News org's are saying there was no firefight, they got the drop on them and no one had a gun now.

[8cd03gro]

One thing is for sure, our armed forces (or certain groups within rather) have a hell of a lot of weapons tech that we've never seen before. I'm not saying there's some big conspiracy with plasma rifles or any stupid crap like that, but think about the fact that the f-22 came out in what, 1997? In 1997 I was on a Mac with half the computing capacity of my current cell phone.

[Apex Motorsports]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

True or not, it's a fairly interesting concept.

I have no doubt it is true. The Army has been toying with a stealth helo for years. The Commanche may have been cut but stealth capability for inserting Special Ops is a no brainer.

[DGthe3]

I wouldn't be surprised if there is a handful of modified Pavehawks that have reduced IR, radar, and acoustic signatures. I'm doubtful that there is a new class of stealth utility helicopters that the US is operating though.