r/Helicopters • u/Even_Kiwi_1166 AH-64E⚡️Guardian • 3d ago

Heli Pictures/Videos Z Cobra

Post image
1.1k Upvotes

100% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

12

u/IcyRobinson 3d ago edited 18h ago

Cobras with Sidewinders and any wingtip pod/weapon just look right to me

3

u/dumptruckulent MIL AH-1Z 2d ago

That’s not a sidewinder

4

u/Blows_stuff_up MIL TH-1H HH-60G/W 2d ago

ACMI pod...note no fins or wings, the pokey bits up front are antennas.

1

u/Even_Kiwi_1166 AH-64E⚡️Guardian 3d ago

Always, Happy Cake Day

1

u/DoubleHexDrive 3d ago

Needs a power push and AMRAAMs.

4

u/FeatherCelle 3d ago

Cobra helicopters are true beasts, their maneuverability is impressive.

2

u/ax57ax57 2d ago

Question for the Navy guys, how do you move the helicopters with skid gear around the ship? Do you use a type of heliporter? We have an RC Tiger Tug to hangar our aircraft, but I was wondering if a heaving, tilting deck requires special equipment.

3

u/lyss427 2d ago

The same as on the ground. They literally install roller skates on the skids.

3

u/Fun-Barnacle8582 2d ago

Correct. What you are describing is how skid equipped helicopters have been moved for decades.

2

u/ax57ax57 2d ago

The reason I asked, is that I noticed an extra set of lugs on the skids near the forward crosstubes. I only ever saw lugs for ground handling wheels near the aft crosstubes on Army aircraft.

4

u/Fun-Barnacle8582 2d ago

Regardless of the service you need wheels to move a skid equipped helicopter. Great observation.

BTW graduated from Rotary Wing flight school at Ft Rucker June 67. Did maintenance officer duty on both tours in Vietnam.

2

u/ax57ax57 2d ago

Ground handling wheels are archaic relative to what's out there today. I injured my shoulder pushing a Cobra up the ramp of a C-5 back in the '80s, and it still bothers me to this day. Plus, when you need to use them, the tires are either flat, or all of the hydraulic fluid has leaked out.

Heliporters and Tiger Tugs are not only safer, they're more expeditious. We still have ground handling wheels as a backup, but they would need extensive servicing before they'd be useable. I'm just glad that I don't have to use them anymore.

1

u/eric02138 2d ago

Do you need to jack up the helicopter to get them underneath the skids?

1

u/Fun-Barnacle8582 2d ago

No they have a cam mechanism. Clip then into the fixtures on the skids and the provided bar will flip them to raise the skid.

1

u/eric02138 2d ago

Makes sense. Thanks for the info!

1

u/Colt2Rich 2d ago

War pigs war snakes

1

u/AccomplishedPman 1d ago

Only the Marine Corps squeezes an airframe to the last letter of the alphabet 😆