Aviation: Coming of Age on the Battlefield

Nothing in the U.S. arsenal in Viet Nam has produced more spectacular results than the helicopter, which is now used for rocket and strafing attacks, troop hauling, supply runs, rescue missions and reconnaissance. Success in war is also producing spectacular results for the $900 million-a-year helicopter industry. With the increasing U.S. commitment in Viet Nam the Pentagon this year has ordered an additional $600 million worth of helicopters from Bell, Hughes Tool and Boeing-Vertol, which are (along with Sikorsky) the leaders of the industry.

More than 1,300 helicopters are in commercial use in the U.S.—for airport service, executive aircraft, industrial and farm work—but the military already uses 8,500 helicopters, now takes 90% of the industry’s production.

Civilian growth has been slow because, for all their land-on-a-dime convenience, helicopters are costly to buy, expensive to operate, relatively slow-moving (best cruising speed: 100 m.p.h.) and apt to be grounded on foggy days. All that is being rapidly changed, however, by competition for Government orders and bolder engineering to meet requirements in Viet Nam. The industry is pushing along helicopter development to produce craft that go faster, haul more, operate longer and require less maintenance—all to its eventual commercial benefit.

New Huey. The need for speed and for minimal down-time in Viet Nam has vastly increased the use of the turbine engine, which provides more power than pistons and can fly about four times longer without an overhaul. The most common helicopter in Viet Nam up to now has been the workhorse Huey (the nickname for Bell’s UH-1B), but the trend today is toward larger, more powerful craft. Vertol’s 44-passenger, turbine-powered Chinook has already gone into service, and the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) is using Sikorsky’s turbine-powered CH-54As—or Skycranes—which can carry 87 men or six Jeeps. Because its Hueys were being hit by groundfire, Bell developed an armor-plated HueyCobra with a turbine engine, is hoping for Pentagon approval. Hughes Tool last spring won a contract for a light observation helicopter, is building more than 700 OH-6As, which cruise at 145 m.p.h. and can lift slightly more than their own weight (1,084 lbs.).

The industry’s eleven companies are also working on some major innovations. Lockheed is experimenting with an odd-looking, stub-winged plane that takes off as a helicopter with rotors spinning overhead, folds the rotors into its body, then flies on at speeds of up to 500 m.p.h. Vertol is designing a tilt-winged aircraft that also lifts off as a copter, with its wings in a vertical position, then speeds forward as the wings are tilted horizontally and propellers take over to pull it along. Hughes’s experimental XV-9A shoots hot gases out of rotor-tip vents for increased power. The industry has also developed all-weather instruments, automatic stabilizers, rotor blades that function for longer periods, more efficient rotor heads and gearboxes.

Added Advantage. These innovations have spurred helicopter manufacturers to take a fresh look at the civilian market. While awaiting Pentagon approval for its HueyCobra, Bell this week showed off a new civilian helicopter—a five-seat Jet Ranger that goes 140 m.p.h., lifts 1,500 Ibs. and is 50% more economical to operate than piston helicopters. Hughes is producing a civilian version of its observation helicopter, and Fairchild Miller, which lost out to Hughes in the military competition, is pushing its FH-1100 as a turbine-driven, $85,000 executive plane.

Mass transportation is also a promising field: the bigger, better helicopters being proven out today may some day fly Washington-New York or Los Angeles-San Francisco routes with almost the speed of fixed-wing aircraft and with the added advantage of being able to land downtown. Pioneer Igor Sikorsky, who has been building helicopters for 56 years and recently sent his Skycrane to Viet Nam, believes the day is coming when helicopters carrying 100 passengers or more will serve the same function as buses and commuter trains.