PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Apache Longbow
Thread: Apache Longbow
View Single Post
Old 23rd April 2002 | 17:44
  #18 (permalink)  
BossEyed
25 Anniversary
 
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 605
Likes: 10
From: UK
Dangleberry, some clarification: WHL haven't assembled the aircraft wet: the components that came over from the US are essentially the same as every other country's AH-64 i.e. dry assembled. Any weight increases on the UK aircraft are not down to a jointing compound. Was wet assembly considered for the UK aircraft during the bid? Dunno, but I bet a non-standard production method like that would have put a few quid on the price, which is probably why it never happened.

The (manually) folding head was an essentially Boeing design, too - not WHL, although they were there... It's one of the UK-unique features of the Apache AH Mk.1 and may be "a larf" to use on a moving deck. It was part of the spec.

There are indeed a number of features of the Apache that may make the aircraft a challenge to take to sea. Not necessarily insurmountable though - for example, some countries put Pumas on deck, for which similar problems to those already identified in this thread can apply.
BossEyed is offline