User:Bachcell/Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne

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The Cheyenne program developed future technology and demonstrated impressive performance, but was never made to work as a functional gunship.

But as American involvement in Vietnam was winding down the Army canceled the Cheyenne program on 9 August 1972. By that time, Bell had already delivered 1,000 Cobra gunships. . The Cheyenne program developed future technology and demonstrated some impressive performance, but would prove to be over-ambitious, over-complex and over-budget. It was never made to work as a functional gunship.

In 1965, Bell first flew the dedicated AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter which was adapted from the UH-1 Huey. The Army started to ordered the much simpler Cobra only as an stopgap until the Cheyenne became available. But as American involvement in Vietnam was winding down near August 1972, the Army had already purchased about 1,000 Cobras and canceled the Cheyenne program. Controversy over the Cheyenne's role in combat, as well as the political climate regarding military acquisition programs had caused the Army to amend the service's attack helicopter requirements in favor of a twin-engine, conventional helicopter; viewed as less technical and more survivable. The Army announced a new program for an Advanced Attack Helicopter on 17 August 1972. This lead to the successful AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, a conventional helicopter emphasizing armor protection, armed with laser-guided missiles and cannon.

n 1965, Bell first flew the dedicated AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter which was adapted from the UH-1 Huey. The Army started to ordered the much simpler Cobra only as an stopgap until the Cheyenne became available. But as American involvement in Vietnam was winding down near August 1972, the Army had already purchased about 1,000 Cobras and canceled the Cheyenne program.

Cheyenne development continued in the hope that the helicopter would eventually enter service. In 1966 the Army ordered the simpler AH-1G Cobra as an interim attack aircraft for combat in Vietnam.

During the Vietnam War, the Army continued to purchase large numbers of the simpler AH-1 Cobra which as a drastic modification of the ubiquitous UH-1 Huey into a sleek attack helicopter which, though less capable than the Cheyanne had proven its worth in combat, and continues to serve into the twenty-first century.

As a result, the Army Material Command (AMC) conducted a study to determine if the development objectives were feasible and also established a Program Manager's office for the Fire-support Aerial System (FAS). AMC recommended to narrow the competition to compound helicopters, as they were considered the only helicopter configuration at the time capable of being developed to meet the objectives. In March 1964, the Secretary of the Army advised DDRE that modification of existing aircraft would not approach the required performance of the FAS program; the Army would continue using UH-1B aircraft until development of the FAS could proceed. Despite the Army intent to build the Cheyanne, Bell produced its own dedicated AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter which first flew in 1965 as straightforward adaptation of the UH-1 Huey. Until the Cheyenne became available, the Army also ordered the AH-1G Cobra in 1966 as an interim attack aircraft for combat in Vietnam.

Until the Cheyenne became available, the Army also ordered the simpler AH-1G Cobra attack helicopter in 1966 as an interim attack aircraft for combat in Vietnam.

The Cheyenne program was canceled by the Secretary of the Army on 9 August 1972. By that time, Bell had already delivered about 1,000 Cobras. The helicopter's large size and inadequate night/all-weather capability were reasons stated by the Army for the cancellation. The Cheyenne's analog and mechanical weapons systems were becoming out of date as new digital systems that were more accurate, faster, and lighter were being developed. The Cheyenne's unit cost had increased and was likely to increase further if new avionics were incorporated. The project had proven to be over-ambitious, over-complex and over-budget. While the Cheyenne program demonstrated some impressive performance, it had never been made to work as a functional gunship.

On 17 August 1972, the Army initiated the Advanced Attack Helicopter (AAH) program. AAH sought an attack helicopter based on combat experience in Vietnam, with a lower top speed of 145 kn (167 mph, 269 km/h) and twin engines for improved survivability. Lockheed offered the CL-1700, a modified version of the Cheyenne with two engines and omitted the pusher propeller, without success. The AAH program lead to the AH-64 Apache which did not enter service until 1984, about 20 years after the start of the original Cheyenne program.

aircraft in focus It was an ambitious and radical design, definitely not a “keep it simple and stupid” type of aircraft. The Cheyenne program was killed by intractable technical programs stemming from the program’s ambitious requirements and budget constraints resulting from the Vietnam war. Ultimately the McDonnell-Douglas AH-64 was developed to replace the AH-56 program.

vietnam.warbirdsresourcgroup AH-1 The AAFSS requirement would give birth to the Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne – a heavy battlefield helicopter that would prove to be over-ambitious, over-complex and over-budget, before being canceled 10 years later in 1972. The Cheyenne program developed future technology and demonstrated some impressive performance, but was never made to work as a functional gunship. It served to underline an important rule of the combat helicopter – survival would be ensured only by the right mix of speed, agility and weapons. By June 1967, the first AH-1G HueyCobras had been delivered. Bell built 1,116 AH-1Gs for the U.S. Army between 1967 and 1973, and the Cobras chalked up over a million operational hours in Vietnam.

aviastar However the Cheyenne was technically too complicated and US Army orders were cancelled and development suspended in 1972. Despite its technological sophistication, or perhaps because of it, the AH-56A was fated never to enter regular Army service. The flight test programme revealed several significant problems with the aircraft's innovative propulsion system, problems which ultimately resulted in the fatal crash of one of the ten prototypes. In addition, by March 1979 significant cost overruns had increased the per-unit Cheyenne price by more than $500.000, an increase that was unacceptable in light of the Army's continued high expenditures in support of operations in Vietnam. And, finally, the USAF had become increasingly vocal in its opposition to the Army's acquisition of an aircraft as capable as the Cheyenne, and continued to push for the cancellation of the AH-56 project. The Army ultimately decided to develop a cheaper and less sophisicated helicopter in place of the Cheyenne, and in August 1972 formally terminated the AH-56 programme.