Latest Hueys, Cobras make huge strides

[unhappycamper]

The new four-blade UH-1Y helicopters have greater range, speed and lift than the old UN-1N.


Latest Hueys, Cobras make huge strides
By Gidget Fuentes - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Jan 4, 2009 8:37:58 EST

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — At a distance, the new UH-1Y helicopters look similar to those born during the Vietnam era, but the four-blade Huey, which Marines call the “Yankee” model, is a different bird entirely.

It has greater range, speed and lift than the old UN-1N — with less vibration. It carries 2,700 pounds of fuel, nearly double the capacity of the “November” model, and its integrated avionics, navigation and communications system give the aircrew access to much more data and mission planning while in flight.

As they settled into the cockpit ahead of a recent flight from Camp Pendleton’s air station, Maj. Christopher Chown and Capt. Rodney Dean spun up the UH-1Y’s pair of T100 engines and scanned the monitors as they ran through a series of preflight checklists.

The blades smoothly lifted the helicopter’s skid off the concrete deck. There was no deep vibration, a noticeable change from the twin-blade UH-1N. It’s at this point, hovering just a few feet above the ground, when the crew members say they really feel the lift generated by the four blades’ larger surface.

“You have so much more power,” explained Sgt. Zach Lucas, 23, a crew chief from St. Louis. “Everything happens a little faster. You feel it right away.”


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2009/01/marine_hueycobra_010409w/%2e



uhc comment: Of course the costs for these are buried in the H-1 upgrade program --> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-1_upgrade_program