This is why most military aircraft have ashtrays
Just as with civilian flights, ashtrays on an aircraft make little sense. According to both civilian<…
Why it’s (nearly) impossible to land a helicopter on Mt. Everest
Straddling the border of Nepal and China stands the world’s highest mountain: Mount Everest. To the locals, it’s known as the “Goddess of the Sky,” and to intrepid adventurers, reaching its summit has long been seen as the ultimate test of human…
This stealth helicopter was awesome right up to the point the program was canceled
Heat, smoke, and that loud “wop-wop” sound make helicopters easy targets on the battlefield. For these reasons, helicopters make the unlikeliest candidates for stealth technology. But during the 1990s and early 2000s, Boeing-Sikorsky challenged th…
This specops helicopter just retired after seeing more fights than anything should
A special MH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter and one of the oldest and most famous helicopters in the Air Force’s inventory has officially retired. A 32-years-old helicopter with more than 11,000 flight hours and dozens of combat deployments, the MH-60G Pave Hawk with tail number 009 flew for the last time in early May. Its final … Continued
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter carries a piece of the Wright Flyer
NASA announced its target date for the first powered, controlled helicopter flight on Mars as no earlier than April 8, 2021. The 4-pound helicopter, named Ingenuity, is attached to the belly of the Mars Perseverance rover which landed on the Red Planet on February 18, 2021. Perseverance is en route to a designated “airfield” where … Continued
How the Pave Low ruled as a rescue and special ops helicopter
When people think about special operations helicopters, the specialized, stealthy Blackhawk that was used on the raid to take out Osama bin Laden comes to mind. One might even think of the MH-47D, a variant of the Chinook that was upgraded with seve…
Here is how a Chinook pulled off that amazing rescue on Mt. Hood
A video made the rounds last year of a CH-47 Chinook pulling off an amazing rescue on the slopes of Mt. Hood in central Oregon. If you’ve seen it, you may be wondering just how the heck that happened — after all, the Chinook is a very big helo th…
Comanche: America’s stealth helicopter that could have been
The U.S. has long led the world in stealth technologies, and for a time, it looked as though America’s love for all things low-observable would extend all the way into rotorcraft like the RAH-66 Comanche Helicopter. Despite being only a decade away from ruin, the Soviet Union remained a palpable threat to the security and … Continued
Army pilot’s invention could have saved Kobe Bryant
When Nick Sinopoli saw the first reports of the crash that claimed NBA star Kobe Bryant, his daughter and 7 others, his gut told him the cause. “I knew right away what probably happened,” he said. IIMC, or Inadvertent Instrument Meteorological Conditions, is when a pilot flies into clouds or low visibility conditions unexpectedly. Aviators … Continued
This Army helicopter crew responded to a car crash in Germany
Since April 2014, U.S. Army Europe has rotated units from the U.S. to the European continent in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve. The ongoing operation aims to enhance NATO’s eastern flank against Russian aggression and deter future conflicts like the War in Donbass. The rotations and joint and multinational training build readiness and strengthen bonds … Continued