It was so stealthy, they lost it entirely.

@alternativewalls4988

3 жыл бұрын

Lol reminded me of when the entirety of US Army lost a whole T28 Super Heavy Tank bc someone parked it in the bushes

@jehoiakimelidoronila5450

3 жыл бұрын

It's like opportunity went like "whoosh."

@xXJAKMACKXx

3 жыл бұрын

shipped it to BiBi and Xi

@toadinthehole8085

3 жыл бұрын

Absolute belter , 😆

@matterisnotsolid8295

3 жыл бұрын

I came here to say this...

This is a fascinating episode; my wife worked for the Army as a civilian contractor at the time of the Comanche's cancellation. It was so sudden, her desk was inundated by servicemen and women who were slated to enter the training program and start flying that bird literally a month from that day, they had sold their homes, readied their families to move, etc. and suddenly had no idea what the next day would hold! It was madness. Seven years prior, and for similar reasons (paying for an Endless War) the M8 Buford light tank was cancelled, and the fallout was the same.

@jaytrock3217

3 жыл бұрын

To bad they didn't cancel the Bradley.

@zabercrombie24

3 жыл бұрын

Wow discussing that they did that to our service men and families

@RidinDirtyRollinBurnouts

3 жыл бұрын

It's crazy. My brother went to Embry Riddle in early 2000s and saw these on a few occasions. It seemed like these were going to the future of helicopters for the military.

@RidinDirtyRollinBurnouts

3 жыл бұрын

@@jaytrock3217 what's wrong with the bradley

@lahma69

3 жыл бұрын

@@RidinDirtyRollinBurnouts I guess you've never seen the movie, "The Pentagon Wars"? You should give it a watch. Despite it being a comedy, MUCH of what it covers are real life events that took place during the Bradley's development. Needless to say, it was a circus show.

Not only did they waste a perfectly good helicopter, they also wasted a perfectly good helicopter name

@King_Flippy_Nips

3 жыл бұрын

they sometimes reuse the names, like the blackhawk for example, it was the name of a cancelled attack copter before the one we have now, its the company that develops them that chooses the name it seems, im sure the military can change it tho if they want to.

@Calvin_Coolage

3 жыл бұрын

Maybe one day the successor to the Apache will finally bear the name.

@sam8742

3 жыл бұрын

@@Calvin_Coolage A-36 apache, look it up

@Calvin_Coolage

3 жыл бұрын

@@sam8742 Which is kinda funny that it was a prop plane. Gotta love it.

@sam8742

3 жыл бұрын

@@Calvin_Coolage also "p-47 thunderbolt" Pretty sure that one was made by fairchild as well

The “tail-ducted fan” is also called a fenestron, if I am spelling it right. The Comanche was an amazing technology demonstrator; a real work of art.

@titansboytc

3 жыл бұрын

You spelled it right

@jaybee9269

3 жыл бұрын

@@titansboytc >> Yay, me!

@nocalsteve

3 жыл бұрын

"Fenestron" is trademarked by Airbus helicopters. Only Airbus/Eurocopter/Aerospatiale helicopters can use the name.

@jaybee9269

3 жыл бұрын

@@nocalsteve >> Learn something new every day. It was the same device in the Comanche, essentially, making copyrighting the term a little silly, but I’m not a marketing person so what do I know?

@dutchlogitechclan

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah but it's just a trademark name by Airbus for their Helicopters.

"no one at the time figured this out" - At least no one whose voice mattered, but I'll bet the engineers knew.

@David-yo5ws

3 жыл бұрын

Yep. 99 times out of 100: If there's a problem, look at the manager or management. That's what all those TV shows of mentors going to save a business, show. Bosses trying to run the staff, instead of managing the business and sticking to the goals and objectives. I told my boss when he was on the phone, tell the freight company to take a B train to the customs bay, because the freight won't fit anything else and yet 'he knew better saying they will know that'. Guess what happened? Cost him an extra $400 to get it on time. No skin off my nose but $s from his profit margin. Even the engineers knew the Challenger Space Shuttle would explode, but senior management did not listen to them. Engineers get treated like 2nd class citizens, yet are the back bone for modern development. Glad I am out of that environment now after 24 years.

@ian6083

3 жыл бұрын

Absolutely! You're increasing it's weight and cross-section. It's definitely going to be more sluggish. Especially since they went through all the initial trouble to have it's other weapons enclosed so not to affect airflow over the body.

@DKTAz00

3 жыл бұрын

Engineer goes to manager : We have problem bird is too heavy to fly Manager goes to his manager: We have a small problem That manager to his manager: We have a potential problem etc. to the top of the line. It was the managers percieved job to not have problems, naturally the person is going to downplay the problem. When in reality, its not thier fault, but its thier job to bring it to attention. This happens all the way up the chain, untill nothing is done, and shit dosnt fly. Or does fly, in the case of challenger.

@Daimo83

3 жыл бұрын

Nobody wants to risk their promotion by giving bad news so everybody lies a little bit and gets promoted. Everybody wins except the taxpayer and the user.

@michaelmoorrees3585

3 жыл бұрын

Didn't matter. It was a govt funded project. Just hire more people, so you can suck more tax dollars, from the DoD. As far as the DoD. Didn't care either. As long as they filled out the proper forms, their jobs and pensions are secure.

It's annoying that people complain about NASA's budget, when the army spends the same amount on a single project that wasn't even completed.

@0mikr0n

3 жыл бұрын

That's because it's all political. It's like complaining about PBS budget. Team A doesn't want it because Team B wants it. Friggin stupid.

@thetruthexperiment

3 жыл бұрын

NASA cancels things al the time.

@donaldbadowski290

3 жыл бұрын

NASA and the military both suffer from the same delusion, that they can create workhorse vehicles when they don't even have a working prototype. We had never done anything like the Space Shuttle, but NASA went ahead without even building an unmanned prototype to see if a aircraft covered in glued on tiles could survive reentry and reuse. The Pentagon went ahead with the F35 based on nothing but a mockup and a lot of promises. The promises certainly were not kept, and the F35 is nothing like the mockup that was proposed.

@pickeljarsforhillary102

3 жыл бұрын

Cut the $4 trillion we spend a year on welfare.

@bobbvomm9437

3 жыл бұрын

@@donaldbadowski290 Wow, slow down there buddy. The Joint Striker programs for the Lightning 2 was serios business. They did make actual planes and had to prove their functionality. Lockheed won the contract because its plane completed more successful demonstrations than the others.In the days of social media is has become very fashionable to hate on the F35. Its a great plane. The Pentagon shouldn't have spent so much money, sure, but the plane is great, never mind russian trolling and YT experts on military aviation.

Shortly after termination of the program I ran into a former coworker who had been one of the Comanche executive program managers. He described the ride he took in that helicopter as one of the most amazing things he'd ever experienced. The Comanche was an incredible aircraft, and what was learned from it has been applied to other frames to great effect.

@aleksanderolbrych9157

3 жыл бұрын

Which ones? The next generation helicopters currently developed?

@marc0523

3 жыл бұрын

@@aleksanderolbrych9157 I think the one that crashed in Pakistan had a lot of the same DNA.

@joshschneider9766

3 жыл бұрын

The one that crashed in Pakistan was a stealth hawk. Tech from the Comanche program has been added to a classified number of black h asks belonging to the 160th special operations aviation regiment for missions in heavily defended airspace.

@chrissmith7669

3 жыл бұрын

I served with some mechanics who were sent to work on the technology demonstrator to show any private with about a dozen hand tools could do any repairs required. We gave them grief calling them the simplest mechanics the army could find. Lol

The Army changing the goalposts by deciding near the end that what they _really_ wanted was a medium attack helicopter instead of a light scout helicopter sounds like it made the program uncompletable.

@remiel3315

3 жыл бұрын

The army has always been like that. just look at the M2 Bradley.

@penzlic

3 жыл бұрын

You didn't watch "Pentagon wars" , did you?

@remiel3315

3 жыл бұрын

@@penzlic no, I served as a M2A3 Bradley crewmember/driver

@Ripper13F1V

3 жыл бұрын

Just to come full circle, back to light scout with the Bell Invictus. Though the Army has been anything but forthright on most of Bells programs except for the OH58.

@chrissmith7669

3 жыл бұрын

Then it became bigger and heavier than an Apache.

I worked for Boeing on the Apache Longbow crew trainer flight simulators across the street from the Comanche Flight Training facility as it was being built. I was shown the plans, where the high bays and maintenance offices were to be and I was selected to transfer from the Longbow project to the Comanche project. I was very excited and looking forward to the whole thing. As I watched the new Comanche facility nearing completion, I had no idea the Army already made up it's mind to perpetrate the costliest Army project cancellation in history. They finished the building, erected a sign designating it the RAH Comanche Training Facility and immediately announced the cancellation of the entire project. I blame "scope creep" as the main reason.

@mhamma6560

3 жыл бұрын

The US military pioneered "moving goalposts" and has been successfully using it for over 3 decades to bork up all sorts of great programs. While it's unfortunate that the RH66 isn't a thing today, its development wasn't wasted entirely. Drone control now resides in apaches, IR exhaust reduction lives on in the S97 and defiant, though the tail rotors have been ditched for pushers.

@feloniouscraphammer

3 жыл бұрын

@@mhamma6560 Yeah, there were a lot of advancements in tech that were utilized on other platforms, but to me the most egregious example of stupidity was the fact that landing gear and weapons could never be retracted at the same time which eliminated stealth as an attribute. In addition, if the missiles were ever to be retracted, once you opened the weapon doors, the missiles couldn't be fired until they re-initialized and re-oriented their guidance systems and re-acquired their targets. I still have color posters of the RAH-66 the way it was supposed to be. It just never got there.

@ibubezi7685

Жыл бұрын

@@mhamma6560 Enclosed tail rotors have been in use in helicopters for decades - Aerospatiale (FR) used it in the 70's already. Based on the Vietnam-experience, I wonder why it was not adapted by the US (it would have saved at least one soldier who was chopped up when the chopper he disembarked from, turned its tail into him at night).

I heard the military was dissatisfied with their performance versus the Hulk

@jehoiakimelidoronila5450

3 жыл бұрын

No wonder it was cancelled. They need something more than able to get the hulk.

@AceKiller9000

3 жыл бұрын

Lmao just watched the Hulk movie yesterday. Was wondering if it was same

@sk61181

3 жыл бұрын

"Target angry, target angry".

@sgx9874

3 жыл бұрын

theoretically, the amount of 'armor' on the hulk would make his skin the most valuable mineral on earth, even more so than diamond. and idk if he doesn't die from a nuclear bomb, then he's basically not even matter.

@JazzJaRa

3 жыл бұрын

So they will remove the M1 Abrams out of service next?

Army: we want a sexy, stealthy, superfast scout heli Sikorsky: here! The comanche! Army: oh fred says he wants more missiles and sam wants better mileage, mom wants it cheap too Sikorsky: wtf man... russians: drone better comrade

I remember playing a game of Comanche back in the late 90s. I really wish the Comanche project wasn't cancelled. Such a great helicopter that wasn't given a fair chance.

Why can't we stick to a plan and see it through? Another masterpiece relegated to a museum exhibit.

@tokyosmash

3 жыл бұрын

The Army is wonderful at this, look up the Cheyanne, I drive by one on my way to work every day and drown.

@Pathfinders_Ascend

3 жыл бұрын

b/c the political and military situation is constantly being shifted, therefore, shifting requirements

@randomuser5443

3 жыл бұрын

Welcome to America

@INWMI

3 жыл бұрын

a mix of idividual interest, corporate interest,changes in political situation, changes in global situation. Right now they are doing the same with tanks, they have an open competition for the next gen tank again, but they are also unsure if the tank how we know it today will be still relevant . is very complex

@thomasstevenhebert

3 жыл бұрын

Ultimately, its a problem that the program takes a decade, but the world doesn't stay still.

Typical program with moving goals. Keep adding features not originally envisioned until the project is untenable. I've seen this so many times. Great video Paul.

@44R0Ndin

3 жыл бұрын

My question is why does it seem like nobody knows how to say "No!" to these new features? That seems like the simple answer. Step 1. Stick to the plan. Step 1a. If the plan changes, you didn't stick to the plan. Step 2. Since the plan changed, go make a new plan, but make it have as little in common with the first plan so that it's REALLY OBVIOUS that somewhere along the line the rug got pulled out from under you against your will and advice. EDIT: In other words, if the plan gets changed on you, figure out where that plan change came from and figure out a way to ruin that person and/or committe's career advancement prospects.

@judih.8754

3 жыл бұрын

@@44R0Ndin The typical vested interest that politicians have in maintaining jobs in their district is one, but I believe programs are sold on incomplete prognosis (request the minimum to get it kicked off) and rapidly advancing technologies that aren't always understood. At least that's been my experience in defense avionics.

@44R0Ndin

3 жыл бұрын

@@judih.8754 Well the vested interest thing would be better served by NOT having the project get saddled with new requirements, go over budget, and then get cancelled, no?

@judih.8754

3 жыл бұрын

@@44R0Ndin Agreed!

''We want it all.'' -''But it doesn't work like that'' ''But if it did it would be brilliant''

I'll never forget these formidable beasts in Mercenaries POD. SKs were savage

Army: I know I said I wanted a small sports car, but I changed my mind and want a Winnebago with lots of guns instead.

@nautdead3197

3 жыл бұрын

But it still needs to be as fast and maneuverable

@nocalsteve

3 жыл бұрын

@@nautdead3197 You mean the Urban Assault Vehicle from "Stripes."

@pew3561

3 жыл бұрын

i also wanna either go to europe for my holydays by myself, or in the back of cargo plane, pretty please can you do it ?

@movax20h

3 жыл бұрын

Yes. Super annoying reasoning for decision makers, shifting goals, and expanding the scope, beyond what the original design or physics allow. Just use two different helicopters completely, maybe share some parts, which is helpful.

@laure5333

3 жыл бұрын

@@movax20h That is a textbook example of how the (so called...) decision makers (politicians and military alike...) don't know history...!!! Just one example which happened to come in my mind : a WW2 fine design jet fighter, the Messerschmitt Me-262 "Schwalbe" have had its production and, subsequently, its introduction to operational squadrons, delayed for years, just because Hitler wanted its design to be changed on to a bomber, thus coming with dire consequences for the entire run of the air war for German side, as its introduction in the very critical late phase of the war did too little, too late...!!! As with the Comanche helicopter : what a waste of a fine design, what a (subsequent) waste of money...!!!

The best helicopter that never was followed by the Cheyenne.

@jaytrock3217

3 жыл бұрын

That thing would have been a beast. Can't wait to see the Raider X and 360 Invictus.

@davidmay9956

3 жыл бұрын

@@jaytrock3217 too bad the Cheyenne was scalped

@tyms13

3 жыл бұрын

They have one on Fort Rucker.

@Idahoguy10157

3 жыл бұрын

Yes...but that was fifty years ago. The alternatives were the A-10 and the AH-1.

@jaytrock3217

3 жыл бұрын

@@Idahoguy10157 A-10 is great saved my ass many times. As the AH-1. Many think the Cheyenne would have been better. All of those developed in the 70s. I say if the Air Force doesn't want to fly the A-10 let the Army fly fix wings again. F-35 is a POS and I wouldn't want that to do CAS.

I used them in Command and Conquer: Generals!

@ianhenderson3491

3 жыл бұрын

same. And the enemy ai always used to horde like 8 of them over the command center and youd need a ton of quad cannons or raptors to take them down before the rocket barrage destroyed everyone

@RameenFallschirmjager

3 жыл бұрын

@@ianhenderson3491 I always played as the United States army, so never experienced a helicopter attack from the enemy. And I played this only in single player mode. I had a blast!

@cappuccinogoodfinger

3 жыл бұрын

The Zero Hour’s Airforce Commanches werre nightmare to deal with...that and the Airforce Raptor...

@thanewage403

3 жыл бұрын

Still playing that Gem of a Game. “Can I have some shoes?”

@Reaper_03-01

3 жыл бұрын

@@cappuccinogoodfinger You didn't see those Comanches.

I was really bummed when the project was cancelled. It was hyped up with such promising reviews.

This helicopter was such a big part of my infancy because of the Comanche 3 Game

@JohnMichaelson

3 жыл бұрын

Comanche vs Hokum filled a lot of my afternoons back in the day.

@slit555

3 жыл бұрын

Comanche Gold fucked harrrrrd boy

@nicholashylton6857

3 жыл бұрын

Same here!

@raykewin3608

3 жыл бұрын

Command and Conquer Zero Hour as well.

@cokeforever

3 жыл бұрын

you youngster! we grew on LHX and Abraams ;)

The Comanche looked like a sure thing back in the day, no way we wouldn't have a fleet of them. Fast forward to today, its basically forgotten about.

@midgetman4206

3 жыл бұрын

by the U.S yes, but I think that Japan and South Korea would have loved them as their neighbors aren't exactly nice

@mytmousemalibu

3 жыл бұрын

@@midgetman4206 It certainly had a lot of potential. I would not be surprised if its ginetics resurface someday down the road though. As typical of military contracts, the goals are fixed at first and come to find out the goalposts have wheels on them because the military can't help but move it around. Our military: We want a small, light weight, fast, nimble jet fighter for air superiority and ground support. And 2-3 years later: we still want the original design criteria met but also can it do long-range bombing, high altitude recon, buddy fueling, ground attack, carrier op's, awacs, ASW, and it needs to be able to accept palletized cargo and air drop capability. Then: what's taking so long? Why is it so expensive? It costs too much, never mind we something else.

@mikecimerian6913

3 жыл бұрын

I never forgot its unique flight characteristics. It was the most maneuverable helicopter ever made. It was so ahead of the game that it had no real opponent. Maybe they were too successful. It was a definite 5th gen system and it took twenty years for other battlespace integration projects to roll out. Like Stryker Land Warrior and the F-35.

@mytmousemalibu

3 жыл бұрын

@@mikecimerian6913 It really had today's technology a couple decades ago. It was cutting edge but that technology was extremely difficult to deal with in its day. Hard to make that level of technology work reliably when everything around it is 15-20yrs behind. The power curve is so steep its hard to hit the approach and climb without face planting into it. I've worked in experimental aviation and now working on what was cutting edge now legacy aircraft that had the same challenges in their day and continued difficulty after.

@TheBooban

3 жыл бұрын

@@midgetman4206 not really. Stealth helicopters are a pointless endeavor as proven after the gulf war Apache raid when they all got shot up because people can see them with their eyes, no radar needed it.

And there it is, the 23mm shell resistance. Thank you ZSU-23 Shilka, you TRULY left a mark on modern military aviation.

How refreshing to see a real presenter providing pertinent information.

The Ole' American Two Step. This cost too much, make it do more. Now it really costs too much, let's start over and make a cheaper, specialized product.

@NorroTaku

3 жыл бұрын

they never learn

@grndzro777

3 жыл бұрын

Unless of course you have the mainline fighter that has to do 3 different roles, be stealthy, and inexpensive..oops scratch that last one the contract went to Lockheed.....

@midgetman4206

3 жыл бұрын

@@grndzro777 well you can't deny that the F-35 B isn't cool and does what it was asked to do

@grndzro777

3 жыл бұрын

@@midgetman4206 Yea that IMO is the most useful one in the bunch. Give it a super stealthy conformal fuel tanks and axe the other 2. Wipe out the immediate threats and let the super eagles mop up. The entire project was supposed to be for one VTOL plane that could fill all the roles needed. Not 3 separate platforms. All it needs is a few air 2 air, and AGM88 missiles.

@altoclan21

3 жыл бұрын

@@grndzro777 this time, it's the navy that screw thing up, lol

A stealth helicopter that can fire it's weapons facing any direction while moving... And it's stealth. Sounds Comanche to me, our stealth and horsemanship was legendary. Our symbol was a snake moving backwards, you only knew we were there after we left.

@googiegress7459

3 жыл бұрын

I don't think it's a coincidence that the US keeps naming military helicopters after First People tribes!

@joshschneider9766

3 жыл бұрын

It is not at all a coincidence. Matter of fact it's completely on purpose.

@sc1338

3 жыл бұрын

That’s why the military honors native Americans with their naming

@joshschneider9766

3 жыл бұрын

even the apache openly respected and admired the tenacity of commanche war fighters.

@TheWizardGamez

2 жыл бұрын

@@googiegress7459 it’s literally part of the naming program. After the UH-1 was officially designated the Iroquois it was set in stone that military helicopters would have Native American tribe and even influential people named.

damn, this channel is really underrated, keep up the good work

Bell 360 Invictus is a modern version of the RAH-66. Very similar in appearance. Of course it is still needs to have a flying prototype built and not just a mock up.

@Power5

3 жыл бұрын

Does look similar. But not quite as sexy. The body is more smooth and not quite there, especially with the wings. But if it gets built that would be great.

@FirstDagger

3 жыл бұрын

Look at Bell and McDonnell-Douglas' LHX proposal.

@wee1575

2 жыл бұрын

@@Power5 fax it’s like a Apache and 369 had a kid

I'm of the opinion that when the company/agency you're contracted with keeps adding feature requests beyond what was agreed upon, they want to cancel your contract but not be the ones to initiate it.

@christopheralexander2494

3 жыл бұрын

Fair point, but this was a result of the Soviet collapse. It was supposed to light tanks in the Fulda Gap for Apaches to kill. Then- it was supposed to be fighting semi-literate Afghan villagers. Tough to repurpose anything from high tech to no-tech foes.

@thomasbrand2650

3 жыл бұрын

Sometimes the military is just funding the research to push the limits and see what else we might be able to do without having any particularly large interests in buying the product. These companies still are making millions just off of getting their research and prototypes funded and it usually transfers into their civilian productions. If anything really good happens to come from it, then the military will buy it. For instance, the army's competition in the 80's - 90's for a replacement for the M16. The army never replaced it but Colt released a good optic alongside their rifle and the Army still uses it today.

@CakePrincessCelestia

3 жыл бұрын

My past bosses in a nutshell

I remember having this helicopter available for Command & Conquer Generals and its expansion, Zero Hour. My favorite was the Stealth version that the US Air Force General Malcolm 'Ace' Granger used.

@tyms13

3 жыл бұрын

really good game! one of my top 5 of all times.

@fangabxyfangabxy8563

3 жыл бұрын

I was looking for this comment

I grew up in Ft Rucker, Al. We were there from 1990-1999. I seen one of these flying during that time. I used to go to that museum, in Ft. Rucker, to get out of the Al heat. I am grateful for this video. I always wondered what happened to the amazing helicopter I seen that day. It ended up in that museum! Thank you, god bless!

Thanks Paul, I was waiting on a video about the Comanche. Your presentations, narrative structure, and voice are great. Really appreciate this channel.

Rotorcraft are under appreciated, glad to see some representation here!

@tyms13

3 жыл бұрын

See and hear them everyday. In fact as it type this there is a UH-60 flying over.

played the Comanche 3 game- can still remember the music and utterly intense missions. One of the best.

Paul, just want to say your videos are amazing. You do a fantastic job researching, writing and presenting these interesting bits of hardware. Love your work.

I live near a place where they used to test radar on aircraft. It's called the upside down airforce base. I saw this when I was a kid and I thought it was a space ship. They would wrap them up and griffis afb and sneak them through the roads at night. They still have a bunch of old aircraft there in pieces just sitting there. If you're creative on Google earth you can see it. Between Schuyler and Newport NY.

Damned shame the RAH-66 never went into production...

@fasterthandragons7908

3 жыл бұрын

Those damn retards and politicians never can make up their damn minds, always trying to fill their pockets instead of providing the warfighter better equipment.

@TomOostenrijk

3 жыл бұрын

Eh, the age of manned military Airfcraft is rapidly coming to an end anyway. It's a cool looking mchine, But I don't think the need for it is really there anymore.

@chrishoesel

3 жыл бұрын

It's being resurrected apparently the need for a Kiowa replacement is still there. Can't remember where I read the article but the RAH-66 is coming back in a bigger, better form.

@doncalypso

3 жыл бұрын

@@chrishoesel you mean the Bell 360 Invictus? Definitely Comanche-esque, but lighter, single-engined, and not as stealthy.

@fasterthandragons7908

3 жыл бұрын

@@doncalypso it's such a shame really, the Comanche was golden.

No matter how many jet or helicopter videos you make , nothing will ever be as fly as you and those shirts

@googiegress7459

3 жыл бұрын

I was dazzled

@jehoiakimelidoronila5450

3 жыл бұрын

You're not the only one who took notice and realized that!

@77thTrombone

3 жыл бұрын

🤣🤣🤣🤣 He do rock that orange! Seriously, tho, I do like this guy's content lots better than *"Mr Breathless"* of the Dark Footage channel, via which KZread baited me here.

@FlyingSofa28

3 жыл бұрын

word

My favorite hicopter. It's so beautiful =) So sad it didn't come to service. I loved it when I played Comanche 3 and Comanche 4 =)

I was in this project for its last few years. I can attest that there were management problems. There were also some amazing technologies, some of which began to show up in Boeing's and Sikorsky's other, more successful, products. In particular, the rotor hub was highly innovative and was reaching design maturity at about the time the project was canceled. The Apache adopted a similar design, taking advantage of lessons learned on the Comanche

Never knew there were only 2 prototypes. The games in the ninetees made it seem they were put into action. Though.. I also couldn't help but to hum the tune to Airwolf when looking at the test flight footage with its aerobatics and retractable weapon mounts and landing gear. It looks so fun (and terrifying) to fly such a nimble machine.

@ppvk2610

3 жыл бұрын

Rumor has it the prototype was actually stolen, and is hidden in a mountain cave where the pilot flies covert missions for the agency

Remember when the ‘Hulk’ knocked two of these out of skies in the 2004 movie.

@makemap

3 жыл бұрын

N, it was becuase them aliens kept shooting it down. Why US abandoned it. It was too outdated.

I used to watch this awesome helo being tested by Sikorsky when I used to drive 🚗 back and forth from work. Flying upside down and backwards under a highway bridge was the best one.

I just gotta say... I love every episode you guys do, and the presenter himself,Paul Shillito, speaks in a way that makes you become more and more curious. A very pleasant voice to listen to. Great work!

When you said Boeing was involved, I knew there'd be lots of little, expensive, problems.

@oscarbanana6159

3 жыл бұрын

You could insert literally any defense contractor world wide and make that sentence true.

@sircrapalot9954

3 жыл бұрын

@D Hill the Comanche was a joint venture between Boeing and Sikorsky, which at the time was owned by United Technologies. Sikorsky was sold to Lockheed Martin in 2015.

@4DCResinSmoker

3 жыл бұрын

Boeing is where government programs go to die.

@AaronShenghao

3 жыл бұрын

Boeing wasn't half bad untill in recent years...

@titansboytc

3 жыл бұрын

@Esperantrul Tristam which now the pentagon is regretting dearly

"We've become accustomed to SEEING stealthed aircraft" :) I see what you did here

You have a natural and relaxed, non-waffle approach. Much appreciated pal :)

I found my helicopter passion addressed with the same enthusiasm here! Your content is just what I needed!

The Comanche was super cool, I remember playing a flight simulator in 1998 that had the Comanche in it, equipped with hellfire and stinger missiles.

@tomniedringhaus2755

3 жыл бұрын

I spent many hours playing the game.

@mavrick351

3 жыл бұрын

I had 1500 hrs on that game

@FlyboyHelosim

3 жыл бұрын

Probably Comanche 3 or Comanche Gold.

Hah, remember building a model of this as a kid, thought it was one of the coolest designs for helis, still is to my mind. The only reason I brought this up is that the thumbnail uses the Italeri model kit box art, instantly recognisable!

It is long ago but i can still hear the voice it in my ears like it was Yesteray: Bay doors open Bay doors closed Bay doors open Bay doors closed Ah the memories!

@donmichaelcorbin4417

2 жыл бұрын

Awesome game!

My favourite helicopter in the world, its unique and looks cool

What a beautiful looking craft!

Friendly baldy man gives me what I want. And I am happy.

Damn I remember these in C&C Generals! Always wondered what happened with the real life versions, they seemed so cool in the game and seeing all their real life details and stealth features is so much better.

I worked in a carbon fiber facility, I worked on the Comanche landing gear doors, missile doors, front radar housing, and the tailrotar section, both the tooling and prototype parts, This was the AIRWOLF of America 🇺🇸 It's sad that it was lost to drones, The real truth hurts

Plot twist: These helicopters are widely in use.... You just can't see them

@MrJimheeren

3 жыл бұрын

Isn’t that trumps idea of an stealth aircraft

@ScienceDiscoverer

3 жыл бұрын

Black Helicopters in the skies!

I can imagine Boeing and Sikorsky tearing their hair out after hearing the army want it to be able to ferry across the Atlantic. Apart from the absurdity of pegging that on a machine whose dimensions were already set around being able to be airlifted into theatre, it illustrates the all too common phenomena of officers steeped in tactical and strategic thought but having no grasp of the state of their technology and asking for stupid things.

I love it when I think "wellll, this doesn't seem that interesting, I'll just watch the first minute" and then watch the entire video :D.

i remember when i was in the Army all the hype around this, i watched them finish deactivating the AH-1 Cobra and most of us could not imagine something better than the AH-64 Apache without our minds wandering to something out of Airwolf

To be honest I never knew this was cancelled. I thought it had just quietly gone into service with a whimper because of all the cost overruns and drawn out development time, like the Osprey!

@joshschneider9766

3 жыл бұрын

The bin Laden bird is called a stealth hawk. It's exactly what it sounds like and it's part of a fleet of them operated by the 160th special operations aviation regiment

CD: I never get enough of these episodes. I sure enjoy them.

Interesting despite some inaccuracies about helicopters. As a former helicopter experimental test pilot, I was a little surprised by some statements: 1. "The Apache lacked the light manoeuvrability of the Cobra". I don't think so, it's even the opposite. The Cobra, in the version deployed in Vietnam, was based on the Huey: same engine, same rotors. For cost-effectiveness reasons Bell had chosen a two-blade rotor: it's cheap to build and to maintain but ... regarding manoeuvrability it's desastrous and this is linked to the principle of a two-blade rotor. Moreover two-blade rotors are subject to a dangerous phenomenon called "mast-bumping" which can end in a catastrophic situation and consequently minimize even more the manoeuvrability through flying limitations. Two-blade helicopters are precisely the worst that can be made in terms of manoeuvrability. The Apache is definitely more manoeuvrable and agile than the Cobra. 2. The chop, chop, chop sound from the rotor has nothing to do with the interaction between the main rotor and the tail rotor, it has to do with the rotor speed and the number of blades, among other things. Should it be true, Kamov helicopters (using contra-rotating rotors) or the NOTAR helicopters from McDonnell Douglas would be "silent" since they don't have a tail rotor. 3. The idea of an "enclosed ducted fan to reduce the airflow interaction with the main rotor" is completely wrong. This kind of fan is a French technology developed by Aérospatiale (at the time, now Airbus H/C) and implemented on the SA341 Gazelle in the early 70s. The aim was to increase the cruise speed since the fan (called now internationally "fenestron") being smaller than a tail rotor, it allows to have a horizontal stabiliser (like fixed wing aircrafts) on top of it. Implemented with an appropiate angle, this stabiliser takes over a substantial part of the anti-torque function in cruise speed so that more power is available for the main rotor. Moreover it has obvious advantages in safety. This technology was protected by a patent but this was valid only for a certain period of time (10 years or so) so that it was legally usable for the Commanche and that's why they did it. Nothing to do with the H/C noise reduction. 4. The "fan" tail rotor "tilted over to be less reflective": that's also wrong. Nothing to do with reflectiveness: classical tail rotors are also tilted sometimes. The aim is to allow the H/C to stay horizontal in hover (and also in cruise speed) by deflecting the force produced by the tail rotor (UH60, MH53, ...). Otherwise there is a momentum which is compensated by a bank of the H/C, right or left depending on the rotation direction of the main rotor. The lowest is the tail rotor relative to the rotor plane, the biggest is the bank. The fan being "small" and low, they tilted it, that's it. 5. "Sophisticated control systems allowed the H/C to change direction whilst travelling in a straight line ... it could fly sideways ...". This is only related to the power produced by the fan or the tail rotor, not to magic control systems. 6. "5 composite blades downward-canted to reduce the noise". Well, there is no silent H/C and this looks a little like a fantasy: downward-canted will not have a significant effect on noise since the rotor noise is due to many other factors. Sorry to ruin your video : I'm not criticizing you, just providing some clarifications on some technical aspects which are really wrong. You explain very well the main points: why the program was eventually cancelled (poor management on many sides, development of too many new technologies in the same time, delays and budget overruns). Don't worry, you are not the first one to make mistakes about helicopters, the operating principles of which being less "intuitive" than airplanes so that it's very easy to say untruths in all good faith. No hard feelings.

Great video... Brings back memories during the design phase. They had teams of engineers trying to incorporate all the requirements the Army wanted. Which sad to say added monthly. One of the favorite things I remember was the ability to tour Ivan Sikorsky’s office at the Stanford Plant, where we had our meetings. They kept his office the same as he left it, the day he died. Exciting times in Army Aviation 30 years ago.

I saw it at Ft. Benning in 1998. Pretty cool, because know of us knew it was there.

@jaytrock3217

3 жыл бұрын

@D Hill In 1991 or 92 I was camping with my dad in Joshua Tree to stargaze with a telescope. Moonless night, but since it was out in the desert it was pretty bright from the stars. We saw the B-2. We had no idea what it was at the time. We both thought it was a F-117 at first, but realized it was shape different and much bigger. It did a couple of low passes over in hour and disappeared. Curious if they were using our fire to test their targeting system.

@ianholmquist8492

3 жыл бұрын

Know of us

@radscientist

3 жыл бұрын

Must have forgot to turn the stealth off.

@tyms13

3 жыл бұрын

@@jaytrock3217 here around Fort Rucker you some times get painted by lasers from the Apaches. You can tell if you have radar detector's that pick up lasers. I always had to turn mine off going down Hyw 27 though the ranges on Rucker.

They need to bring this back as an updated platform. With technology now a day, this could be an amazing new helicopter.

Thanks Paul it's good to see your video's....!

The Comanche is one of the models featured in the Gunship 2000 PC game in the early 90's. Love this game!

I remember learning about RAH-66 when I was younger. I thought it was so cool, but I get the fact it isn't needed. Maybe the technology used could be transferred to use in drones?

@kruleworld

3 жыл бұрын

They could, but it's more profitable to start again from scratch.

@LeReVaQ

3 жыл бұрын

It already has been implemented in drones

@Transilvanian90

3 жыл бұрын

It was needed, but the army managed to micromanage the project right out of existence.

@albertjackinson

3 жыл бұрын

@@Transilvanian90 I was saying it is not needed right now. I get it was needed in the past.

@albertjackinson

3 жыл бұрын

@@LeReVaQ Really? Interesting!

Excellent subject matter!

Absolutely love the old military tech and your videos how much research you put into them like the corona satellites and the Cheyenne. Keep up the great work !

I worked on the competing team (Bell/MacDonald Douglas) on the electronics for the LHX with Hughes Aircraft. We lost the competition and just trashed years of work, but I wondered what (if anything) became of the LHX project. This was a very interesting story on what happened after we were out of the picture. Thanks for producing it.

Shout out to any military helo fans like me who were (or still are) also aero modellers.. the thumbnail art on the video is from an Italeri 1:72 scale model kit which I made twice back in the day, one of my favourites.

Great video again! You quickly showed a picture of the Ka-58, so it made me think of the existing Ka-50 and Ka-52. Could you consider making a video of those or some other Russian or possibly old Soviet helicopter, such as the Mi-24?

I've literally been waiting this whole time. Thanks for letting me down gently.

Wow. Beautiful and Lethal. Fatal Attraction. Worth every penny.

"Cost overruns which ended up tripling the development cost."

So glad feature creep doesn't only affect my personal projects!

@redgeneral5792

3 жыл бұрын

At least its not like the Bradley development cycle.

I love your channel Paul. I’ve watched every video you have put out multiple times. Keep it up brother.

My spouse happens to work for Bell and brings me all kind of swag, for which this ties in. I may be a month behind but my eyes keep stopping on the Bell Invictus which was the helo of the month for either February or March. You'll definitely see some similarities to the Comanche, even though Bell is saying it isn't outright for stealth...

"Gunship reporting in" -RAH 66 Comanche

NASA needs to be given a much larger budget than it currently has.. there’s no reason why the military has such an enormous budget.

@ivanfreely6366

3 жыл бұрын

NASA needs to be made into an independent agency. The Oval Office have no business setting their goals.

@matchesburn

3 жыл бұрын

"there’s no reason why the military has such an enormous budget." R&D takes money. And there's a lot of things you enjoy and utilize today that were in some part funded in development by the Department of Defense at some time. When you throw all of that out and stop using them in your life, then you can make ignorant comments about the cost of things and be taken seriously. Not until then, however.

@3User

3 жыл бұрын

You could give NASA a budget of a trillion dollars and they'd still pump out projects at the same rate. There's no escaping bureaucracy.

@carbon_no6

3 жыл бұрын

@@matchesburn - it’s not an ignorant comment you fool. I’m well aware of what comes from the technology derived from them, but all of this 20X the budget of other organizations is ridiculous! Next time you want to pop your mouth off you should know that you may be saying something as a point of fact when you haven’t a clue if what you’re saying is valid. You then become the ignorant one. Willfully ignorant at that.

I grew up in Stratford,Ct. Were Sikorsky Aircraft is located.It made it a prime target for the Soviet Union.Also,my Great Grandfather was a Russian Cossack who fought for the Czar so he made his way here,his best friend was Igor Sikorsky.

Seriously amazing aircraft years ahead of its time thanks for an another outstanding upload

"How 'bout those rocket pods?"

@jonathonspears7736

3 жыл бұрын

"Rocket pods are now available, sir"

i'm pretty surprised that they didn't, almost immediately, know that adding more weapon systems would make it overweight. surely they could have done a napkin calc with the weapon weight and estimated the stub wings from other helicopter stub wings? i wonder if it actaully was a pretty complicated calc, or if they just didn't do the math when they should have.

@whydontyouhandledeez

3 жыл бұрын

Probably a case of admin over promising without asking anyone who actually knew what they were doing first.

@matchesburn

3 жыл бұрын

The stub wings were removable, but you do have to have attachment points and structural rigidity there to hold the weight. My guess is that doing that, so abruptly, caused an engineer (more likely a team of engineers) to waste hundreds of hours of their time redesigning the interior structure where the wings would attach and thereby increasing the weight.

@googiegress7459

3 жыл бұрын

They should have said to the Army, let's take a grunt and stick his 70# of gear on, and now let's just go ahead and throw on another 70# and have him run the obstacle course.

@andy4an

3 жыл бұрын

​@@googiegress7459 not really a great way to communicate to a client. treating them like they are dumb is pretty disrespectful. when one of my clients asks for something extra, i'll say something like "we can do that, but it has these ramifications..." and then i can lay out cost and schedule items"

@FlyboyHelosim

3 жыл бұрын

@@matchesburn The stub wings were also intended to be disposable and jettisoned once all ordnance carried on them was used, further adding complexity to the design.

Another great video, Paul!

Decision making behind the scenes at the Pentagon: "hey bro, you know that cool lightweight, fast, sleathy, air transportable scout helicopter we're building?" "yeah the comanche right?" "yeah, so imagine if it also had enough missiles to fight an armoured division, and carried enough fuel to fly across the Atlantic without being loaded into a plane!" "bro that would be so sick, I'll ring those boys down at Sikorsky and get them to add that to the weekly list of changes"

I found it quite useful in C&C!

@nikkity5491

3 жыл бұрын

i found it to be a pain in renegade

@justsomerandomguy2862

3 жыл бұрын

yeah haha damn I miss my childhood times

This seems to be one of those projects that they should NOT have given up on.

2:43 "more like an airborne tank." I'm laughing in Mi-24.

Stealth coatings on 1200 Comanche helicopters sounds incredibly expensive. Endless maintenance hours. But what a platform! I had been excited about the Comanche joining the army fleet, 15+ years ago

I thought I recognised the voice then knew straight away. It’s the dude with the loudest shirts on KZread 😂😆👍

When will you do my fav helicopter? The truck, sports car and dragster of the helicopters, the chinook

@vintagethrifter2114

3 жыл бұрын

I used to work with a man who's father was on the design team. The Chinook version that we have now is the small version. There were original two larger concept Chinooks planned. The largest one was twice the size of the one that we have. In theory, all you had to do was just make the parts bigger. In the end, it didn't work that way.

@tyms13

3 жыл бұрын

LOL the flying school bus!!! I almost got blown off the road by there air field on Fort Rucker as on took off over my car!

@vintagethrifter2114

3 жыл бұрын

@@tyms13 Try standing in line behind them, waiting to board, and getting burned by their exhaust.

@joshschneider9766

3 жыл бұрын

yeah anyone that's ever been in a Chinook would not ever call those stinky beasts dragster lol. Great birds but yeah

My favorite helicopter, ended before it could really shine... Also those NovaLogic games tho. Some of my fav games as a kid.

@CakePrincessCelestia

3 жыл бұрын

Those times though :)

My all time favorite helicopter. Thank you for the vid.

I remember playing LHX (From when EA wasn't trash) a lot, decades ago. This was my fav helicopter in that game.

@BrySkye

3 жыл бұрын

It was also in Jungle Strike, another EA game of that time.

Quite a tame shirt today there Paul.....running low on stock? Another awesome video!

I believe Bell has developed a counter rotating chopper with the rear prop turned 45 degrees to a pusher design and it reportedly can achieve 260mph

Comanche Maximum Overkill was one of the first Dos games I played as a kid. Great vid mate! Alot of interesting info here