Posted on 06/22/2014 9:25:57 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
I believe in the meme of the harsh Winters providing them an extra measure of tenacity and perseverance.
Never underestimate your adversary. ;)
We Build good stuff too bet lets face it, it was Russian engineers that really perfected it in the first place.
The Hind is a stealthy BEAST
They are almost perfection. Fast, nasty, unstable as hell at speed - which you need when you are evading or attacking something faster than you, yet the belly armor makes them a rock solid attack platform at lower speeds.
I’ll give the Apache points for sheer nastiness in terms of load out and attack capability, and it’s far lower radar sig, but the Apache can’t pick up a squad who are up the proverbial creek. The Hind can, and the recommended load is more of a suggestion than a rule. You can cram 14 people with full kit into a compartment built for 8 if they don’t mind getting cozy.
Almost everything in the cockpit is analogue, which is useful since the voltage spikes when you hit full power usually trip at least one of the circuit breakers. It’s pretty much entirely black box for repairs - you just plug in replacement components for the systems as needed. None of this touch screen nonsense - toggle switches and push buttons are the order of the day. They are rough as hell. Uncomfortable, but totally magic.
For a fun video on start up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDRf7f_rHu4
As you can tell - I adore these machines. Been flying them since Rwanda and have exactly zero intention of stopping doing so.
I heard a rumor that the entire design philosophy behind the A-10 were based on the Hind, down to the heavy belly armor and the modular design.
Good synopsis.
The more complex aircraft require highly trained flight crews to operate them and even better trained repair crews to keep them flying. I suspect they are short of the repair technicians.
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