Weekly Online Lesson Online Lesson Archive Grade Level: 7-10 Subject: Multidisciplinary

Retiring Helicopters

On Friday, September 7, 2001, the United States Army announced it would retire the UH-1 Huey and AH-1 Cobra helicopters -- workhorses of the Vietnam War -- as it reduces its helicopter fleet from 4,500 to 3,500 by the year 2003.

Under the new plan, the Army will operate only four types of helicopters by 2003: the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, the UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopter, the OH-58 Kiowa scout helicopter, and the Ch-47 Chinook transport helicopter. The Army also plans to speed up purchases of the next-generation Comanche reconnaissance helicopter, which should begin service in 2006.

The money saved by eliminating 1000 older helicopters will help the Army better maintain the remaining fleet, and should increase their reliability rate from 75 percent to 90 percent.

In this week's lesson you will learn about the science of helicopter flight and the history of helicopters in the military.

How Helicopters Work

Start this week's lesson by learning about helicopters, "the most versatile flying machines in existence", and how helicopters work. The best place on the web for this is How Helicopters Work, from Marshall Brain's HowStuffWorks site. The article index is at the top right in case you want to skip around, but the best way to read the article is straight through. Scroll down the page as you read and study the graphics, and then click Next Page at the bottom to continue. Why are helicopters harder to fly than airplanes? What directions can a helicopter fly that a plane can't? What are the pedal controls in a helicopter for?

On the second page of the article, you can click on each of the helicopter images to see video clips of a helicopter demonstrating various maneuvers. Why is it impossible for a plane to perform these maneuvers?

The third page explains how helicopter rotors create lift. Why are the blades narrow and thin? What are the most common types of helicopter engines? What is the purpose of the tail rotor, and what would happen if a helicopter didn't have one?

Continue reading through the other four topics until you have finished the article.

History of U.S. Army Helicopters

In a minute we'll look at some of the helicopters in use by the Army today. But first, take a look back at the helicopters used by the military since as early as 1945. Visit Historic U.S. Army Helicopters. Scroll down past the index and start reading at Page 1: World War II thru early Vietnam era helicopters. As you can see by the note, the blue arrows indicate links to images or drawings; read about each model and then click to see an image of it. Describe the early Platt-LePage models. What was the British nickname of the Sikorsky R-5, and why was it fitting? Which helicopter was commonly called the "flying banana"? How were helicopters used in the Korean war?

Continue on to Page 2: Vietnam era helicopters. Read and study the images as before. How did the Huey get its name? In what ways were these versatile helicopters used? When was the AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter introduced?

Continue on to Page 3: Modern era helicopters. When was the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter introduced, and who built it? Which helicopter did the UH-60 Black Hawk replace? What makes the RAH-66 Comanche useful for for both reconnaissance and attack missions?

Virtual Cockpit

What's it like sitting inside an AH-1F Cobra attack helicopter? Find out at the Virtual Cockpit page by Butch Lottman, a former Army attack helicopter crew chief. When the drawing of the cockpit loads, roll your mouse around to find hot spots, like the control stick. Read about that item, and then go back and look for more clickable items. How important do you think training is for Army helicopter pilots?

Newspaper Activities

Helicopters are used in the military for such things as transport, lifting, surveillance, and offensive strikes. Civilian helicopters are also used for a wide range of purposes: medical evacuation, wildfire fighting, public safety, filming motion pictures, tourism, and many more. How would you rate the importance of helicopters in military and civilian applications?

What if helicopters were as common as automobiles? What might they be used for then? Speculate by browsing through a current issue of The Denver Post or Rocky Mountain News. Look for innovative new applications for helicopters. Draw pictures depicting your ideas.

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