Lakota UH-72A 'copters - too hot to handle

EADS North America (part of German EADS) supplied 2 UH-72A Light Utility Helicopters ( the 11th and 12th delivered to date , 2nd and 3rd made in the USA) to the U.S. in October . These were delivered from from the newly-expanded state-of-the-art Lakota 325,000 sq. ft. production center at Golden Triangle Regional AirportColumbus, Mississippi,operated by the American Eurocopter business unit of EADS North America. This is basically a modified version of the commercial version of the Eurocopter EC 145 and this order marks EADS first major military contract in the North American market, and is among their larger orders overall and has a long list of US based parts suppliers.

Up to 322 Lakotas will be supplied for use within the United States for a total US$2.6 BN. They will be used for homeland security operations, medical evacuation, passenger/logistics transportation and drug interdiction missions with delivereies of 3 a month next year rising to 5 a month in 2009.

Joe RedCloud, a chief of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Lakota Nation was present at the ceremony on December 12th 2006 at Columbus, MI delivering the first unit - The US Army has a tradition of using American Indian names, such as terms, tribes and chiefs for its helicopters, (and tanks after Generals) .."In the case of the Lakota aircraft, the linkage is between the Lakota legacy as stalwart defenders of their homeland and the nature of the aircraft's intended domestic missions. "

AP report however on the basis of internal reports they have seen prepared by Charles McQueary, the Defense Department's director of operational testing - They aren't safe to fly on hot days.

Flying in mild mild, 80-degree weather in unexpectedly sunny South California, cockpit temperatures in the UH-72A Lakota soared above 104, the point at which the Army says the communication, navigation and flight control systems can overheat and shut down.

The Army has told AP that to fix the cockpit overheating problem, it will take the highly unusual step of adding air conditioners to many of the 322 helicopters ordered.

The Lakota represents the Army's first major effort to adapt commercially available helicopters for military use. Air conditioning is standard in commercial versions of the aircraft, which have not had overheating problems. But the military usually avoids air conditioning in military aircraft to reduce weight and increase performance.

A commercial design was chosen to cut costs and speed aircraft into the field replacing ageing Vietnam-era helicopters, the Kiowa and Huey. The Lakota deployment should also free up more Blackhawks to send to Iraq for medical evacuation flights.

The Lakota represents the Army's first major effort to adapt commercially available helicopters for military use. Air conditioning is standard in commercial versions (air conditioning unit per aircraft is about US$98,000, )of the aircraft, which have not had overheating problems. But the military usually avoids air conditioning in military aircraft to reduce weight and increase performance.

"We don't need air conditioning in the Blackhawks, so we didn't think it would be an issue" in the Lakota, McCuin said. "But when we got the helicopter into the desert, we realized it was a problem."

Inadequate ventilation, heat from electronic systems and sunlight streaming through the large windows caused cockpit temperatures to reach 104.9 degrees during a simulated mission in California.

The report did not say how long the helicopter was in the air before it reached that temperature. The Lakota is supposed to be able to fly for 2.8 hours.

The Lakota has another problem: Testers said it fails to meet the Army's requirement that it be able to simultaneously evacuate two critically injured patients. The Lakota can hold two patients, but the cabin is too cramped for medics to actually work on more than one of them at a time, the testers said.

Also, the Lakota cannot lift a standard 2,200-pound firefighting water bucket, though it can handle a 1,400-pound one. The Army said it had no intention of using the Lakota to fight wildfires anyway.

PS: The Osprey (Albatross) was due for deployment in Iraq in October 2006 - early 2007 - late 2007.....

In the photograph from EADS above, the Space Shuttle Atlantis touches down at Edwards Air Force base as a UH-72A Lakota stands ready to provide medical airlift support


See
Army defends light chopper amid warnings it could fail By Roxana Tiron "The Hill" November 20, 2007