It ismost commonly pronounced Ky-o-wuh. Rhymes with Iowa.
But to the People of that nation it is pronounced Key-o-wuh.
60
Hey Chief and the rest of you! Just joined up and noticed the questions regarding the naming of the BlackHawk helo. If you have ever seen the logo - it is a black hawk bird. The name was actually suggested by their Chief Transmission Design Engineer and it just worked out that the name was supportable from the Native American Tribes to be acceptable to the US Govt. This is the inside scoop from an ex-Sikorsky empoyee. So, now you all know the rest of the story!!
Happy Hovering
Chief Snake wrote the following post at 12-15-2006 1:37 AM:
BlackHawk was a Native American of the SAUK tribe. They spoke an Algonquin dialect and were midwestern in location. The BlackHawk war in 1832 is where the name enters history as BlackHawk led the conflict against the usurped sale of their tribal lands. The UH-60 is the only US Army helicopter named after a singular Native American.
Chief Snake
Welcome 60MTPGal!
Good to have another Army Aviator on here! You’re in good company. We’ve got pretty much all the services covered here and a depth of knowledge and modeling skill that’s really incredible.
Take care, and welcome aboard!
Jon
I think y’all got the indian name thing covered, one note on the ARH - yes, Arapaho is the rumored name that’s been chosen. We can’t help but think of all the pilots who will be known as 'Ho Drivers…
On the UH-72, yes, it looks a little odd, but it’s a little hot rod. Dynamic systems are derived from the MBB / Kawasaki BK-117 (son of MBB BO-105). Unless they severely screwed it up in the transition, that baby is fully aerobatic - you can call it ugly, but it will do barrel rolls around your Apache all day long. I had a BK-117 for use in helicopter air-to-air trials in the '80s. Cruise was only about 135, but loops and rolls were no trouble at all. The MBB test pilot told me he could hold it in inverted forward level flight (-1g), and the only limitation was that the fuel system wasn’t built for inverted, and the engines would starve out after about 4 seconds.
I wonder what kind of neat tricks the ARNG aviators will do once they figure out what it’s capable of…
Dan H.
Well, it looks like the 'Ho is holding on by its fingertips. I honestly don’t see the program continuing unless there’s some MAJOR restructuring, both on the Army and contractor sides.
As for the -72, sure its a great civilian helicopter. Never argued against that. But with the 'Ho in jeopardy now, they’re ALREADY talking about pressing it into the scout/light attack role. I’m sorry, but any advantage that thing had for maneuverability is going out the window the second they start hanging sensors, weapons and armor on it. I’m sure if the Apache didn’t have all of the self protection systems, armor, self sealing tanks and weapons systems, it’d out-maneuver the Lakota in a heartbeat. We’re still pretty maneuverable and I can use that maneuverability to put my gun/rockets where I want em.
My argument has not been with the Lakota at all. Its been with the shortsightedness that has pigeonholed it into a “non-deployable asset” role, in an environment where we need helicopters that can deploy. It just seemed to me that the -72 is still just a civilian helicopter, even if you paint “US Army” on the tailboom (they can’t fit UNITED STATES ARMY on the -72’s tailboom, its too short!)
Ok… goin to take a nap now…
Jon
Understand your concerns with the -72. I think you’re dead-on. (disclaimer - that’s just my personal thoughts. I do not speak for anyone in DOD). What it was really all about was the States complaining that the UH-60 was eating their lunch on operational costs in NG (non-combat) ops. You don’t need a Blackhawk if you’re only kicking hay out the door for stranded cows or pulling flood victims off rooftops. As for ARH, the word I’m getting from here is that the idea of using the Lakota as an ARH was considered and rejected. The decision from DOD is to go forward with Bell and the current program. They’re trying to figure out how to do that now. For now, it’s no longer holding by a thread - it’s a going program.
Dan H.
I know it’s not in line with traditional American mil copters, but I kind of like it. The few new ones that Fort Irwin has have popped up here and there already. A friend of mine got a good shot of one at Edwards the other day. It had a red cross on the side doors. Apparently they decided to use them in support for the space shuttle. I was watching on TV after it landed and noticed three 60’s from the RedHawks in the background doing security, along with one of the new 72s. They all flew off in a line back to Irwin when they were done.
Dave
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