Posted on 11/18/2006 6:06:42 PM PST by SandRat
A powerful new combat rescue chopper may be whumping across Tucson skies in the not-so-distant future. The U.S. Air Force recently announced its chosen replacement for the aging HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters now flown from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.
Starting in 2012, the Pave Hawk's search and rescue work gradually will be taken over by the much larger HH-47, a modified version of the Army MH-47 Chinook now used by special-operations soldiers.
"This is a major milestone for the combat search and rescue community, not only at D-M, but worldwide," said Col. Michael Kor-check, commander of the base's 563rd Rescue Group.
The Pave Hawk has performed well for two decades, but "its reliability has begun to suffer with age," Korcheck said.
The new helicopters are faster and roomier and have advanced communications, navigation and defense systems, he said. And they'll perform better at night, at higher altitudes or in bad weather.
The bigger cabin can hold more injured people and more medical workers to treat them, Korcheck added. Air Force combat rescuers are responsible for saving troops who have been shot down or otherwise become stranded in hostile territory. They also perform disaster-relief work in the aftermath of earthquakes and other tragedies, such as last year's Hurricane Katrina.
The service plans to spend up to $10 billion to buy 141 of the new choppers, increasing the size of its fleet by more than 30 percent. The Air Force now has 105 Pave Hawks stationed at various locations.
It isn't known yet how many of the new choppers will come to D-M. The Tucson base currently has 14 of the old ones assigned to active-duty and reserve units. An environmental-impact study is required before the base can introduce new aircraft here, D-M officials said.
There is potential for extra impact on the community because the HH-47 is so much larger and more powerful than the bird it is replacing.
"There's a big difference between these two aircraft," said aviation expert Barney King, a retired Army officer who flew helicopters for 20 years. He now oversees the professional-pilot flight program at Kansas State University at Salina, one of 21 accredited university aviation programs in the country.
King noted, for example, that the new rescue chopper is about 99 feet long, compared with about 65 feet for the old one. It can carry twice as many people and weighs twice as much at maximum capacity, and its engines are about three times as powerful.
The HH-47 will be "definitely louder," he said. But from a military aspect, the new craft is well-suited to search and rescue work, he added.
D-M spokesman Tech. Sgt. Jim Fisher said it may be years before comparative data on noise levels is available. Testing on the new helicopter won't even begin until 2009, he said.
Helicopter noise at D-M already is a matter of some public concern. A civic committee that studied ways to reduce noise from D-M recently recommended that the base look at changing some of its flight routes to funnel more helicopter traffic over Interstate 10, away from more populated areas.
Fisher said efforts to cut noise "will continue as planned."
******** Contact reporter Carol Ann Alaimo at 573-4138 or at calaimo@azstarnet.com
HH-47 CSAR-X* Length: 99 feet; Height: 18 feet Speed: 196 mph; Engines: two Engine size: 7,258 shaft horsepower each Rotors: two main Max. takeoff weight: 55,000 lbs Source: U.S. Air Force * Exact specifications for the HH-47 are not yet available. These statistics are for the Army MH-47G, upon which the HH-47 will be based. Final data may vary slightly.
Old specs
HH-60 Pave Hawk Length: 64 feet, 8 inches Height: 16 feet 8 inches Speed: 184 mph Engines: two Engine size: 1,560 to 1,940 shaft horsepower each Rotors: one main, plus tail rotor Max. takeoff weight: 22,000 lbs
Sheesh! What a bunch of Cry-Babies.
how's it look?
I'm sure the hundreds of Boeing workers who will have jobs putting this baby together GIVE A RAT'S BEHIND about how some lib reporterette feels about it's noise. Really.
The life flight Helicopter out of UofM hospital is one of the noisiest I've ever heard and I doubt too many people complain much about that.
how's it look?
http://www.boeing.com/rotorcraft/military/hh47/index.html
What a bunch of wusses.
Considering that I live a whole three miles from where they make Chinooks, you might think I would have the biggest reason to complain. The truth is, they're not *that* loud. If we stop what we're doing when they fly over, it's because we want to see something that we know will be cool.
Basically it is the same helicopter Beoing has been building for 50 years with updates.
I love the sound of all our military aircraft and don't get to hear them enough her in southern Mi. To me it's the sound of security.
Well,... when DesertCoyote saw it all put together but as yet unstained and unvarnished she said; "Dad,... you know you're gonna get breath SQUEEZED Right out of you by Rebecca don't you?
And it looks even better now.
Window bench seat
22" high
60" long
18" wide
with an 18" X 60" shelf to store things.
Specifically designed to be a kit for easy transport requiring only a Phillips screwdriver and an adjustable wrench to put together in its finished form.
This is the real answer to your qquestion
Chinooks aren't loud. LOUD is the time I was standing on a pier at NAS Norfolk and had a C5 fly over on final approach to Chambers Field, which is only a mile (if that) from the base. THAT'S loud. *LOL*
People who live around Military bases love the jobs they bring in, they love the Fed payments to local schools, They love improved roads and services, then they complain about noise.
Paint it to look like a Military Brid and they would.
...troops who have been shot down or otherwise become stranded in hostile territory [such as San Francisco].
Try being in the wheel-well of a B-52G (H are quieter) during an engine run. Your bones vibrate!
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