MH-139A Grey Wolf to replace USAF UH-1Ns

TomcatViP said:
A bit of delay to get FAA certification for the specially modified model. Some slight redesign needed:
Boeing is also having to redesign one of the sensor fairings on the front half of the aircraft, which have been discovered to impact the airflow to the helicopter’s pitot tubes — potentially leading to incorrect airspeed readings that can trigger a crash.
“There’s pitot tubes on both sides of the aircraft, so in certain conditions, the pitot tubes would not have the same airspeed readings,” Rogers said. “Boeing is right now in the process of testing the redesign. They have a couple of options and they’re doing the company testing now.”
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www.defensenews.com

Air Force to delay production of Grey Wolf helicopter

It's taking longer than expected for the Boeing-made helicopter to move through FAA airworthiness testing.
www.defensenews.com www.defensenews.com
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Boeing and pitot tubes...
 
Is the AW139 not FAA approved?
 
yasotay said:
Is the AW139 not FAA approved?
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It is, but the extent of the mods done for the MH-139 apparently required an updated certification.

www.airforcemag.com

MH-139A Cut From 2022 Budget Due to FAA Delay | Air & Space Forces Magazine

The Air Force did not request any money to purchase the MH-139A Grey Wolf in the 2022 budget as Boeing faces a delay in FAA certification.
www.airforcemag.com www.airforcemag.com

Given the extent of the cruft they've hung on the nose, I'm not shocked they are seeing an issue with the pitot tubes. I mean, look at this:

MH-139 nose.jpg
 
I guess the USAF thought a FAA certification would be cheaper than a military one?

It would appear that the USMC is the only element of the DoD competent with rotorcraft requirements and specifications.
 
yasotay said:
I guess the USAF thought a FAA certification would be cheaper than a military one?

It would appear that the USMC is the only element of the DoD competent with rotorcraft requirements and specifications.
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Are you sure about that?

news.usni.org

Marines Ditch MUX Ship-Based Drone to Pursue Large Land-Based UAS, Smaller Shipboard Vehicle - USNI News

The Marines have ditched their plan to field a very large drone on amphibious ships, instead breaking the four-year-old MUX program into a family of systems that will include a very large land-based unmanned aerial vehicle and a medium-sized one for shipboard operations. Deputy Commandant of the...
news.usni.org news.usni.org
 
TomS said:
yasotay said:
I guess the USAF thought a FAA certification would be cheaper than a military one?

It would appear that the USMC is the only element of the DoD competent with rotorcraft requirements and specifications.
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Are you sure about that?

news.usni.org

Marines Ditch MUX Ship-Based Drone to Pursue Large Land-Based UAS, Smaller Shipboard Vehicle - USNI News

The Marines have ditched their plan to field a very large drone on amphibious ships, instead breaking the four-year-old MUX program into a family of systems that will include a very large land-based unmanned aerial vehicle and a medium-sized one for shipboard operations. Deputy Commandant of the...
news.usni.org news.usni.org
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Well the requirements were good right up to the time the Commandant changed the entire direction of the the USMC. The US Army and Air Force just seem to do three stogies on a far more regular basis.
 
Stovepipe said:
RavenOne said:
Welcome MH-139 Grey Wolf the latest USAF helo.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1207715232421949440

View attachment 623513
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When a name was first suggested for the AW 139, The Irish Air Corps, as new operators of the 139, suggested Wolfhound. It wasn't taken up.
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Would make sense with the Irish connection. Unfortunately, the US already has a Wolfhound, the C-146A (Dornier 328) transport.

www.af.mil

C-146A Wolfhound

The C-146A is a twin-engine, high-wing aircraft equipped with a configurable cabin capable of various passenger and cargo combinations, as well as casualty evacuation missions.
www.af.mil
 
One point to note about 139s is that the skinny tyres are no good for any kind of soft ground operations so the Irish 139s routinely fly with "snowshoes" on the gear, so they can only fly with gear extended, if they plan to land on a football pitch or open ground. I hope Leonardo learned all the lessons from feedback from the Irish and other operators. Another "gotcha" was floors cracking, as they were never designed to cope with heavily loaded soldiers.
 
Surprised that it didn't get an in-sequence H-74 number, but it's about time the USAF stopped flying Hueys.
 
Scott Kenny said:
Surprised that it didn't get an in-sequence H-74 number, but it's about time the USAF stopped flying Hueys.
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A recent habit of the DoD when they buy off-the-shelf. I don't love it, but so far it's not been a real issue.
 
TomS said:
Someone with way too much experience writing fitreps.


"vastly comparable"? "absolutely inherent"? o_O
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Another Fun Fact, the Grey Wolf inverted can mow up to 5 acres of tall grass per hour and with additional special ops liquid dispensing tanks for marking it's territory, beware enemy, urine trouble now....
 
Maxwell AFB welcomes first active duty flying training unit since end of WW2 with the Detachment 3 of the 58th Special Operations Wing
www.kirtland.af.mil

Maxwell welcomes first active-duty flying training unit since 1945

The 908th Airlift Wing has an active-duty associate mission partner on Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama for the first time.Detachment 3 of the 58th Operations Group had an official activation ceremony
www.kirtland.af.mil
 
I have a question that has little to do with aerospace matters, but why would the USAF call a new type "Grey Wolf", with the adjective "grey" spelt the British way, when the American spelling has always been "gray"?! I'm sure some will say it has something to do with it being originally a European type, but what we have here is a helicopter marketed by Boeing in America for a branch of the U.S. military, so I really can't see the logic here...
 
aim9xray said:
Occam's Razor. They don't know how to speel.
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Try applying Hanlon’s Razor which forces you to chose between malice and stupidity when trying to understand someone’s motives for doing something that hurts you.
Most of the time the answer is “stupidity.”
 

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