Hi Mike,

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...it's grandson isn't a beauty but it perfroms beautifully:

The Sikorsky RAH Comanche could've come in handy back then. However I have a soft spot for the machines which are built like tanks and are not delicate.

Cool cockpit too!

Give us two dozen of each of these birds thirty-five years ago (and the parts and weapons to keep them flying) and things might have turned out differently.

Here is a quote from October 1965 American Aviation;

"Older Helicopters in Viet Nam are running into logistics problems. Main rotor blade life under such conditions has been cut to about one-tenth of the 'book' valuw. Other components also are in short supply as spares procurement was made on the basis of about 30 hours per month flight time. Operations in Viet Nam are running closer to 70 hours per month."

No one will ever accuse the US of over-supplying our fighting men...

Or in the words of the scowling rocker Billy Idol:

"Yeah, sometimes too much is never enough."

Best wishes,

SDAI-Tech1