[LUconn]

Is it just me or are these things huge turd buckets? It seems like every couple of years we get a story about these things crashing with no enemy fire. Maybe it's a normal failure rate for a helicopter and you just don't here about the other ones because they're not carrying as many people?

[PAmedic]

yes.

you hit the nail on the head- very reliable airframe- though choppertony could elaborate.

its just that they carry 5 times the amount of guys you normally see in a civilian helicopter so it looks worse.

they fly thousands of sorties in those things and there's usually no problem.

also used for rescue work a lot- and the situations these aircraft are put into between Rescue and combat really up the chances that something's going to go wrong.

[Purple Haize]

My cousin is in Afghanistan (and is a transport contractor in his non service time) with the military. He is checked out on all rotary wing aircraft and LOVES the Blackhawk. He really loved the Chinook b/c of its lift capacity and other big words. He said no one was happier than he that they did put the Osprey to rest. You also have to figure that A) Sinc e"BlackHawk Down" the name holds some meaning now, so when we hear about it it sticks in our head B) Not a lot of people on the board were around to remember how many Huey's went down in 'nam and C) they have been around for awhile. Good aircraft have a way of serving long after they were supposed to be phased out. See: B 52, A - 10, F-14/15 (recently retired)

[Sly Fox]

The Blackhawk is the workhorse of today's military. When you have as many in service as our services employ, you are going to have some incidents. But this is not one of the defende departments major concerns when it comes to its weapons.

[Rocketfan]

The Blackhawk is the workhorse of today's military. When you have as many in service as our services employ, you are going to have some incidents. But this is not one of the defende departments major concerns when it comes to its weapons.

Plus i read somewhere, that the sand and heat in the middleeast present problems for every vehicle. However if a tank seizes up we never hear about it, but a blackhawk in the air, its not as easy to avoid casulaties when you get some mechanical failure.

[RubberMallet]

i'm assuming most is user error

[RubberMallet]

now if we can just get reinstated the SR71 blackbird

[El Scorcho]

now if we can just get reinstated the SR71 blackbird

The SR-71 is definitely the coolest thing to ever fly the friendly (or unfriendly) skies IMHO, but I'm not sure if we have any use for it these days.

Well, I take that back. I wasn't sure about it until the test China did last year where they destroyed one of their own satellites with a ground based laser. Depending on how many of those they can deploy, our intelligence (not to mention GPS and communications) services would be hurtin' in a hurry. Might be nice to have some old fashioned upper-atmosphere intelligence still happening.

[RubberMallet]

its by far one of my favorite aircraft....a few years back i saw a documentary on them....seeing all the fuel spilling all over the runway before it took off was surreal....

everyone associated withthem hated them...

the lineman who had to clean up after it after takeoff, anyone at the airport (it had to be shut down for an hour or so while the tarmak was cleaned) the gvt cuz they were a bazillion dollars, the pilots hated flying them....

but man they were awesome...

[hoopsmalone]

its by far one of my favorite aircraft....a few years back i saw a documentary on them....seeing all the fuel spilling all over the runway before it took off was surreal....

everyone associated withthem hated them...

the lineman who had to clean up after it after takeoff, anyone at the airport (it had to be shut down for an hour or so while the tarmak was cleaned) the gvt cuz they were a bazillion dollars, the pilots hated flying them....

but man they were awesome...

My friend steve basically shares your view. He's actually flying them over in baghdad right now and everytime i hear about a crash it definitely prompts a quick prayer. God bless our men and women in uniform.

[PAmedic]

now if we can just get reinstated the SR71 blackbird

don't need it

we have the Aurora






or DO we?

[El Scorcho]

I think we do, but I don't think the scramjet tech is quite reliable enough yet for it to be put into service.

[RubberMallet]

yeah the aurora makes me all tingly....not sure if thats normal or not..