REAL MAN TRUCKWORKS & SURVIVAL

GENERAL TOPICS => Coffee Induced Early Morning Rant => Topic started by: Dawg25385 on March 30, 2015, 12:17:25 PM

Title: Inside the Chinook
Post by: Dawg25385 on March 30, 2015, 12:17:25 PM

Saw this on the net while on vacation... Some pretty cool photo's of the CH-47F, apparently the new gen Chinook (sorry, just a noob civilian here!)

http://www.cnet.com/pictures/inside-the-armys-new-ch47f-chinook-helicoptor-pictures/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdrxwrJMM5s

Thought it was a cool view into the aircraft talked about so much here, and thought it was worth sharing!

Title: Re: Inside the Chinook
Post by: Dustoff35 on March 30, 2015, 09:38:05 PM

From the article:

"It practically flies itself," a crew member said.

Probably a good thing, I know a few of those Chinook pilots...

Title: Re: Inside the Chinook
Post by: Flyin6 on March 30, 2015, 09:43:16 PM

Magnificent aircraft

Title: Re: Inside the Chinook
Post by: Dustoff35 on March 30, 2015, 09:49:44 PM

…most of them delusional...

Title: Re: Inside the Chinook
Post by: TexasRedNeck on March 30, 2015, 09:57:25 PM

Very cool.  It really gives a sense that the pilot is in a glass bubble and probably not a completely bullet proof one at that...

I still want to know what that rail is running down the port side of the craft on the exterior near the top.

Title: Re: Inside the Chinook
Post by: KensAuto on March 30, 2015, 09:59:39 PM

Tex, I thought Nate said it was an rf(?) antennae.

Title: Re: Inside the Chinook
Post by: TexasRedNeck on March 30, 2015, 10:03:22 PM

If he did, I missed it.  Thanks!  Seems like a weird antenna shape

Title: Re: Inside the Chinook
Post by: KensAuto on March 30, 2015, 10:05:55 PM

I would imagine that if it had a vertical automotive style antennae, there might be an interference issue with the rotors. :poketex

Title: Re: Inside the Chinook
Post by: Flyin6 on March 30, 2015, 10:26:06 PM

Man, I answered that once already...Where were you knuckleheads?

It's an HF (High frequency) antenna operating at some pretty high power. That's why the big fuselage standoff. Actual wattage is classified, but I'll tell ya, it's a bunch.

Title: Re: Inside the Chinook
Post by: TexasRedNeck on March 30, 2015, 11:09:23 PM

I'll claim sometimers disease... sometimes I remember, sometimes I don't.

Interesting Don,  HF at that angle allows for NVIS (near vertical incidence skywave) which is used by a lot of military forces.  It takes some great propagation properties and directs them upward and bounces them off the ionosphere and directly back down for effective communication not requiring line of sight and for a radius of about 650km.

More than about 2500 watts at that distance from your head in the pilot's seat and you'd probably have some mental issues......oh, wait.....never mind.

Title: Re: Inside the Chinook
Post by: Flyin6 on March 31, 2015, 07:51:49 AM

...That explains a lot...

Bouncing it off the ionosphere...check!

Luckily for me, HF was almost never used. We use UHF and VHF and FM mostly. Some birds use Satcom with around the world range.