Hush-Kit Aviation World

We have often knocked the Britain’s Cold War Javelin interceptor as a sluggish mess. For the sake of balance, we asked former Tornado pilot and author Michael Napier to defend Gloster’s ‘Flying Flat-iron’.

Firstly, the Javelin was the first RAF aircraft to be designed from the outset as a night/ all-weather interceptor; all previous night/ all-weather types had been less than ideal modifications of existing day fighters. The Javelin was designed to take-off on a dark and stormy night, intercept enemy aircraft many miles out over the North Sea and then return to an airfield right on the weather limits. To achieve this, it had to be stable enough to fly almost entirely on instruments: it was never intended (or required) to be an air superiority fighter, so comparisons of daytime air combat performance against, say, the Hunter completely miss the point. As an all-weather interceptor the Javelin, which equipped 10 squadrons in Fighter Command in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, was very effective in role. You wouldn’t want to be flying a Hunter over the North Sea on a dark and stormy night!

Javelin also boasted an iconic – and unique – design in the T-tailed delta. The delta wing was chosen because it combined the best control and stability characteristics at high subsonic speeds. The drawback was that delta wings need a high angle of attack at approach speeds, so the pilot would potentially come out of cloud at decision height and be unable to see the runway because the nose of the aircraft would be in the way. Hence the T-tail: by putting the elevators on top of the tailfin, the whole of the wing trailing edge was free for flaps which would, in turn, lower the nose angle. As a result, the Javelin came in an almost flat attitude during an approach – ideal for bad weather operations. The flying controls feel system introduced a nose down bias at high angles of attack so that the pilot did not stall and spin the aircraft, since, like most subsequent high performance aircraft, a spin was irrecoverable.

As a result of its stability, the Javelin was an excellent gun platform – interestingly two Javelin squadrons beat a Hunter squadron into third place in the Duncan Trophy gun/ciné-weave competition in Germany in 1961. So there, Hunter fans!

The Javelin was the first British front-line aircraft to be armed with guided Air-to-Air missiles (AAM) – the de Havilland Firestreak Infra-Red seeking missile in 1960. As such the Javelin was the pioneer of RAF AAM tactics. It could carry four Firestreaks – that’s four more than a Hunter and twice as many as a Lightning!

One drawback, which I’ll admit to – the Sapphire engines (oops!). Unfortunately, the Sapphire suffered from a condition known as Centreline Closure if they encountered super-cooling conditions – basically inside a thick cloud in the tropics. The engine outer casing shrunk rapidly as it cooled and squeezed the compressor blades so that they could no longer move. A number of aircraft were lost when the engines seized explosively in cloud. The simple remedy was to coat the compressor blades with ‘Rockide’ an abrasive substance that enabled the blades simply to rub themselves free if the engine casing contracted onto them! A simple fix.

Sometimes people also criticise the reheat system on the Sapphires, but that is not to understand how and why it was designed. The reheat was intended as a low-cost “fix” to restore the high-level performance of the aircraft with missiles (a draggy fit) to that of the original guns-only FAW7. Rather than designing a completely new fuel system to incorporate a reheat feed (which would have been excessively expensive), the reheat in the Javelin was designed around the excess high pressure fuel that was delivered to the engine core, but not needed at altitudes above 20,000ft. Rather than returning this fuel back to the tanks (which happened on pretty much all other aircraft types) in the Javelin FAW8 and 9 (as the reheated variants were designated) it could be delivered instead to the reheat, where the extra power was enough to overcome the drag of the missiles and restore the performance to guns-only days. It was not needed (and didn’t work!) at lower levels below 20,000ft.

The Javelin was the pioneer of Air-to-Air Refuelling (AAR) for RAF tactical aircraft. For, although the RAF had belatedly come to look at AAR seriously for the V-Force and carried out several high-profile long-range flights with Valiants, tactical aircraft were not included in AAR operations. This changed in 1960, when the Javelins of 23 Squadron began working with the Valiants of 214 Squadron. Eventually, two units, 23 and 64 Squadrons became AAR capable. Both operated the FAW9 and the AAR probe was attached specifically for AAR sorties. NOTE: some people erroneously think that an FAW9 with a probe was an FAW9R – not so! The FAW9R was fitted with wet pylons that could take under-wing fuel tanks… if you can see an under-wing fuel tank then it’s a FAW9R! Long-range deployments were trialled by 23 Squadron in 1960 when Exercise Dyke saw the deployment of four Javelins to Singapore and during Exercise Pounce the following year, 8 Javelins from 23 and 64 Squadrons deployed to Karachi. These two trials proved the possibility of deploying an entire squadron all the way to Singapore using AAR – something that happened when 64 Squadron moved there in 1964 in response to the Indonesian Confrontation.

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Because of its flexibility and the ability to redeploy swiftly if needed, the Javelin became the RAF’s rapid reaction force. Javelins reinforced Germany during the Berlin Crisis in 1961 (in addition to the two squadrons already out there), Cyprus in 1963 and Zambia (during the Rhodesian UDI) in 1965… and, of course Singapore as already mentioned.

In short, the Javelin was the backbone of RAF Fighter command in the late 1950s and early 1960s and proved to be a flexible and effective interceptor. It was the pioneer of techniques and tactics for both AAMs and AAR in the RAF and the Lightning and Phantom benefitted hugely from the work carried out by the Javelin squadrons that preceded them. It was also the first aircraft to be called when crises erupted around the world and once again proved most capable wherever it was sent. So – the Javelin played a major, and very successful, part in the development of jet fighter aircraft in the RAF and ought to be remembered in that light.

Michael Napier is the author of the
Gloster Javelin: An Operational History

We spoke to Ron Smith, former Head of Future Projects at Westland Helicopters to get his first thoughts.

Revealed this week on Chinese social media was a new Chinese attack helicopter. We spoke to Ron Smith, former Head of Future Projects at Westland Helicopters to get his first thoughts.

“It’s a development of the Z-20, which is very much a Black Hawk clone. It has a five-blade rotor and a slim fuselage with tandem cockpits – presumably as AH-64, with the gunner in the front seat and the pilot to the rear…with rather restricted view – which may be complemented by helmet-mounted display, which may access distributed camera systems to provide synthetic ‘through the skin’ vision. There are large laterally disposed panniers, presumably for a significant volume of mission system avionics. The overall appearance is that of a Black Hawk crossed with the US AH-64 and Russian Mil Mi-28. There appears to be a TADS (Target Acquisition and Designation Sights) and PNVS (Pilot Night Vision System) – style sensor pack under the nose and presumably provision for a forward-mounted cannon for area suppression. There may be provision for a mast-mounted sensor for target acquisition, dependent on weapon guidance technology. There would appear to be upward exhausting infra-red Suppression. Other protuberances suggest High Frequency radio, defensive aids (one might expect missile launch detection / approach warning, presumably with a capability to trigger appropriate countermeasures. One would also expect navigation aids and a comprehensive comms fit. Dependent upon doctrine, there may be provision of data links / satcom for coordination with land vehicles, other helicopters and command infrastructure – particularly if third party target designation forms part of the operational tactics. In the modern world, one might speculate about the capability to interact with and potentially provide for command and control of unmanned air systems. Presumably, the aircraft is designed for operation across a wide range of environmental conditions. Measures to reduce detectable signatures are not particularly evident, other than with respect to the IR suppression treatment. The extra blade area might allow a reduced tip speed operation to minimise acoustic signature. The lack of a stepped canopy is evident. This could minimise the weight of protective armour, whether metallic or transparent. This does suggest synthetic measures to provide all-round situation awareness for the crew / rear seat occupant. The wing appears to have inboard heavy weapon stations, presumably for long-range anti-armour weapons or external fuel carriage, when required. The outboard stations could carry lighter missiles for anti-air use, or rockets, or electronic warfare systems. It would be interesting to understand the PLAAF doctrine for the use of helicopters in support of ground forces in both offensive and defensive operations. The size of the helicopter suggests classic anti-armour operations in natural terrain (using terrain screening) rather than urban operations. Other possible roles could be as an escort to troop-carrying helicopters and operations against enemy command centres and logistic nodes.”

Find out more about The Hush-Kit Book of Warplanes Vol 3 here.

So it is to the Z-20 what a Huey Cobra is to a Huey?

“Yes – a slimmed-down fuselage will save some weight, but think AH-1Z, rather than AH-1G. Issues that one can’t easily speculate about include internal fuel capacity, ammunition capacity for cannon (heavy stuff), and if it is driven by a ‘hot and high capability’. Something to consider is what the engine rating and transmission rating structure look like.”

10. Sud-Est SE.200 Amphitrite â€˜L’oie de l’épinette’ (1942)

Flying boats opened up the world in the 1930s. Who needed airports if you could land on water? There weren’t many large airports, so flying boats – in all their grand glamour – led the aeroplane travel revolution. Now air travel routes linking North America, Europe, South America, Africa and Asia were possible.

In the 1930s the French air ministry was tantalised by the possibilities of international travel and identified a need for a transatlantic flying boat airliner to serve Air France. The requirement specified a 6,000 km (3,700 mi) range – and being the 1930s – room for only 20 lucky passengers (and 500 kg of cargo, probably mostly consisting of Pâté en Croûte, Pastis and mistresses’ underwear).

The aircraft manufacturer Lioré et Olivier set about creating a large handsome six-engined aeroplane, the LeO H-49, powered by six of the then-new Gnome-Rhône 14R-26 1600-horsepower radial aero-engine. With the unfortunately timed nationalisation of the French aviation industry, the aircraft became a Sud-Est concern. The hugely impressive flying boat was named ‘Amphitrite’ after the sea goddess and wife of Poseidon from Greek mythology. Before the huge machine could be flown, Germany invaded France – but work continued at Marignane in southern France. The first aircraft, named Rochambeau, flew on 11 December 1942, and what a machine it was.

The German occupiers were impressed by the aircraft and seized it, taking it to Lake Constance in Germany for assessment. It was here that it was destroyed by RAF Mosquitoes. Four other airframes survived for a short time at Marignane, but one was wrecked by a USAAF raid that also severely damaged the other three.

Sadly, 2022 would see another beautiful six-engined giant aeroplane destroyed from the air with the destruction of the world’s biggest aircraft, the Ukrainian An-225.

9. Avro Canada C.102 Jetliner

In the turbulent 1970s, there was a saying about Canada: we could have had French food, the British government, and American technology, but instead, we wound up with American food, the French government, and British technology.  Well, this over-populated, over-heated world has pretty much gone to shit and now everybody everywhere is up to their neck in cheap plastic crap made in China.  Yes, times change and the potential greatness just swirls off like some beautiful chemtrail in a carbon-laced sky.  Take the Avro Canada C.102 Jetliner, a four-Derwent airliner prototype from 1949. Ahead of the Boeing 707, the Jetliner was Canada’s first jet design and North America’s first jet airliner.  It was the premier regional jet, beating the Sud Aviation Caravelle by a decade and Bombardier by a lifetime.  The C.102 carried the first ever jet air mail: Toronto to New York City in an hour.  Howard Hughes took it for a spin, loved it so much he leased it for six months.  Damn English carpet-baggers running Avro Canada dropped this handsome, commercially promising bird to soak the RCAF budget with the CF-100 instead.  Good work federal government, Trans Canada Airlines and Avro Canada.  It was the perfect prelude to the capable, expensive and cruelly/sensibly quashed CF-105 Arrow.

So where is the C.102 now? Well, the nose is in a museum in Ottawa. Oh, and the landing gear ended up on a farm wagon some place.

9. Avro 722 Atlantic (1952) â€˜Vulcan-do’

Flying from London to New York in an airliner based on the Avro Vulcan in less than seven hours would have been a truly remarkable way to travel. Intended for up to 113 passengers, who presumably didn’t mind a bit of noise, the 200,000Ib 600mph Atlantic was not pursued. A bonkers idea from the perspective of economy of operation – but absolutely appealing in terms of delivering noise-loving aesthetes a lovely silver monster. We asked aircraft noise expert Michael Carley his view of the Atlantic and he noted, â€œIf you’re comparing to conventional subsonic airliners, it would certainly be louder than any modern airliner. It would probably have been much louder than any contemporary as well. FAA data taken at Dulles for Concorde and wide- and narrow-body airliners in the seventies have Concorde 10-15dB louder the

8. Convair Model 49

In the 1960s, the US Army grew sick of dependence on inappropriate USAF aircraft for close support missions. Aircraft like the Republic F-105 Thunderchief were simply too fast and vulnerable to support troops on the ground effectively. Instead, the US Army wanted the versatility and forward-basing possibilities of a vertical take-off platform able to hover. To excel in the tough close support role, the type would need to be heavily armed and armoured. This need was expressed formally as the Advanced Aerial Fire Support System or AAFSS.

Convair, a company famed for its adventurous designs, responded to the Army’s AAFSS requirement with typical ambition. Drawing on their experience with the tail-sitting XFY-1 ‘Pogo’ they proposed a two-man ‘ring’ (or annular) wing ducted-fan design quite unlike anything else in service, though somewhat similar to the experimental SNECMA C.540 Coléoptère. The concept was bizarre in appearance but Convair believed it was the perfect configuration for an aircraft combining a helicopter’s unusual abilities with some of the offensive features of a military ground vehicle. One of the greatest challenges was creating a cockpit that tilted so the pilot was not facing the sky in the take-off/landing and landed support parts of its mission. This necessitated a complex hinged forward fuselage giving the type its distinctly ‘Transformer’-like looks.

The Convair XFY-1 ‘Pogo’ tail-sitting fighter.

Two co-axially mounted contra-rotated rotors were to be powered by Pratt & Whitney’s JFTD12 or Lycoming’s LTC4B-11 (GE’s T64 and Allison’s T56 were also assessed as candidates). The duct would generate more thrust from the engine than would the open rotors of a conventional helicopter design, which was a good thing as it was expected to weigh in at around 21,000 Ib (9526kg) fully loaded.

The untold story of Britain’s cancelled superfighter, the Hawker P.1154, can be read here.

Armament for this monstrous machine would include a central turret with a XM-140 30-mm automatic cannon with 1,000 rounds or a launcher for 500 (!) WASP rockets and two remotely-controlled light machine-gun turrets with 12,000 rounds of ammunition or a XM-75 grenade launchers with 500 rounds. Addition to this already awe-inspiring arsenal were four hard points on the nacelles which could carry Shellelagh or BGM-71 TOW missiles, or even the M40 ‘106-mm ‘ recoilless gun! The weapons could be fired during any part of the flight profile (note the ‘hover firing’ position). The steel armour would be impervious to 12.7-mm rounds, but there was little or no provision for defences or countermeasures against surface-to-air missiles.

7. RF-4X Mach 3 Hellraiser 

In the 1970s, the Israeli air force wanted a reconnaissance aircraft capable of carrying the extremely impressive HIAC-1 camera. The F-4 was considered, but the G-139 pod that contained the sensor was over 22 feet long and weighed over 4000 pounds – and the Phantom did not have the power to carry such a bulky store and remain fast and agile enough to survive in hostile airspace. One solution was to increase the power of the engines with water injection, something that had been done for various successful F-4 record attempts. This combined with new inlets, a new canopy and huge bolt-on water tanks promised a mouth-watering 150% increase in power. This would have allowed a startling top speed of mach 3.2 and a cruising speed of mach 2.7. This level of performance would have made the F-4X almost impossible to shoot-down with the technology then in service.

The F-4X would also have been a formidable interceptor – something that threatened the F-15 development effort, causing the State Department to revoke an export license for the RF-4X. Even with the increase in power, the Israeli air force was still worried about the huge amount of drag, but a solution came in the form of a slimmed-down camera installation in a specially elongated nose. This meant the interceptor radar had to be removed, which assuaged the State Department’s fears and the project was permitted to continue. However, worries from the F-15 project community returned (as did worries about how safe the F-4X would have been to fly) and the US pulled out. Israel tried to go it alone but didn’t have enough money, so the Mach 3 Phantom never flew. UPDATE: Or so we thought. In 2019 someone close to the project revealed to Hush-Kit that a high-speed Phantom variant had indeed served, though there is nothing in open-source literature.

5. Antonov An-71 ‘Madcap‘

Photos: Joe Coles

Inspired by the success of the Israeli Air Force’s E-2 Hawkeye in the 1982 campaign in Lebanon, the Soviet Union went about creating its own tactical airborne early warning and control aircraft – the Antonov An-71.

An operational requirement was formulated in 1982, with the aim of creating a land-based AEW&C aircraft at least as capable as the E-2C. The aircraft was required to have an endurance of at least 4.5 hours and the ability to detect low-flying aircraft and other low-observable aerial targets – and track 120 of them at a time.

After considering the An-12 and An-32 as platforms for the new surveillance aircraft, Antonov opted for the short take-off and landing (STOL) An-72 Coaler. While the ‘saucer’ rotodome was conventional, its position on top of the tail was radical. The tail fin itself was swept forward to compensate for centre-of-gravity changes; the T-tail was replaced by a low-set horizontal tail. An additional small turbojet was buried in the rear fuselage to ensure there was enough power despite the weight of all the internal systems. Those onboard systems were to be operated by a mission crew of three, in addition to two pilots and a flight engineer.

Briefly, consideration was given to developing a carrier-based version of the Madcap, but there was no way to successfully fold the wing for hangar stowage and the thrust-to-weight ratio was inadequate for a ‘ski jump’ take-off. Instead, the Soviet Navy opted for the more conventional Yakovlev Yak-44 project, which, in the event, never progressed beyond a mock-up.

Deck trials of the Yak-44 mock-up.

Work on the land-based An-71 continued and a first flight followed in July 1985. Another prototype was completed before the programme was axed, the victim of the demise of the Soviet Union.

It’s hard to say whether the An-71 could ever have been a success, but flight trials demonstrated generally good flight characteristics and avionics performance – the radar was shown capable of detecting 400 targets over land of water within a range of 230 miles and simultaneously tracking up to 120 of them. With its rough-field performance, the Madcap might have been a very useful force-multiplier for Soviet tactical aviation operating over Europe’s Central Front in a late 1980s Cold War scenario.

4. Makhonine « Mak-10 » The Flying Extendable Dining Table

Several notable Russian aircraft designers fled to the west following the Russian Revolution of 1917. Sikorsky and Seversky were two of these emigres, and they founded Sikorsky and Republic respectively, two giants of US aviation, but Makhonine – a rather complex individual – took his unusual ideas to France.

By 1931 Ivan Makhonine, was a French nationalised engineer, working on a variable surface wing system (think flying extendable dining table). For take-off, economical cruise and landing the wings of his aircraft were fully extended, for high-speed flight the wing could be telescoped into the thicker inner wing section to reduce drag and lifting surface. In the extended configuration the wingspan gained eight metres.

The whole system was pneumatically operated and was coupled to a manual back-up system. To test his concept, Ivan Makhonine built a large single-engine monoplane equipped with the telescopic wing, the Mak-10 (not to be confused with the MAC-10 submachine gun beloved by Miami gangsters in 1980s movies). It flew for the first time on 11 August 1931, demonstrating that such a wing type could work.

It was nevertheless, like many French aircraft of the time, underpowered. Its twelve-cylinder Lorraine 12Eb engine was enough for such a large aircraft. A second version of the aircraft, the Mak-101, was built at the end of the ’30s to further studies of such an aircraft. The 101 was far more modern, equipped with an enclosed cockpit, retractable landing gear and a Gnome-Rhône 14K Mistral Major engine allowing it to reach 380 km/h. However, before the aircraft could begin its test campaign, the Second World War broke out, and the aircraft was captured by the Germans military. The aircraft was repainted in the colours of the Third Reich and transferred the aircraft to Germany for further tests. Its fate is unknown.

3. Hughes LHX SCAT

In the 1980s, the Hughes company was producing the world’s most advanced helicopter gunship for the US Army, the AH-64 Apache, so felt they were in a strong position to win LHX, the contract to build the next US Army attack helicopter. Their offer was extremely bold and quite unlike any flying machine before or since. The Hughes LHX SCAT had no tail rotor, instead using the NOTAR system allowing a shape that would have had far less drag than any other helicopter. The fuselage was an aerodynamically wasp-like pod with two sharply swept wings and a nose section closer in appearance to a supersonic fighter than an attack helicopter. Smaller than the other proposals, yet equally well armed and fast at an estimated 342mph. It is unclear what Hughes were offering the utility category for LHX.

2. Boeing LHX

Staying on the subject of LHX, Boeing rejected the notion of very high speed, deciding that stealth and advanced sensors were the solution to the requirement for enhanced survivability. Their proposal was shaped for low radar observability — with weapons mounted internally. According to the writer Bill Gunston, the proposal rejected cockpit transparency (windows) in favour of sensors creating an artificial view of the world for the pilot; the reason for this is two-fold, transparencies create problems for stealthy designs and at the time there was a fear of laser dazzling weapons (also seen on the stealthy BAe P.125 concept). 

Boeing’s embrace of stealth over speed won out, and a 1984 review of the proposals agreed. An updated requirement was issued – LHX / LOA – which insisted that the new aircraft must be low-observable (to radar and infra-red sensors) . Such a brief immediately wiped out the chances of any tilt-rotor designs with their massive frontal cross-sections.

The Hush-Kit Book of Warplanes will feature the finest cuts from Hush-Kit along with exclusive new articles, explosive photography and gorgeous bespoke illustrations.Order The Hush-Kit Book of Warplanes here

Boeing LHX SCAT.

Though knocked out of the LHX contest, American interest in high-speed battlefield tilt-rotors would soon return. Replacing the A-10 battlefield support aircraft with a vertical take-off aircraft could prove a boon for forward deployment and potentially offer far greater flexibility. In 1986, Bell and Boeing created a proposal for such a machine, dubbing it the Tactical Tiltrotor. This extremely ambitious machine promised supersonic performance, thanks to an ingenious propulsion system. On take-off, landing and speeds up to 186 mph the aircraft acted as a turboprop tilt-rotor with the engines fed from a central turbojet, above these speeds the rotors folded into the engine nacelle and the turbojet provided direct thrust. In this mode, a top speed of Mach 2 was anticipated. This already radical idea was to be combined with forward swept wings, canards and an internal weapons bay housing eight Hellfire or Stinger missiles. Work continued until 1990, when it was cancelled as the Soviet threat disappeared.

An artist’s impression of an early Bell / Boeing Tactical Tiltrotor concept. 

Various Bell / Boeing Tactical Tiltrotor layouts were studied, including versions with two turbojet engines. 

The novel internal arrangement of the Bell / Boeing Tactical Tiltrotor. 

This glamorous artist impression shows two Tactical Tiltrotors at extremely low altitude attacking with cannon and Maverick missiles. The Tactical Tiltrotor was probably an idea born too early, and included too many risky technical features.

This artist’s impression shows a glass two person cockpit and as a two-ship attack Soviet tanks on a bridge. 

In addition to the battlefield attack variant, a transonic combat utility convertoplane was considered. It appears that this design may have some external features designed to reduce radar conspicuity. 

Would the LHX Stingbat have been any good? Find out here.

1. ShinMaywa US-2

The LHX effort eventually led to the RAH-66 Comanche stealth heliocopter. As attack helicopter projects are as vunerable as an E-scooter on a motorway, the Comanche was cancelled. Not all was lost however, and the LHTEC T800 turboshaft developed by Rolls-Royce and Honeywell for the Comanche has seen considerable use. It powers the Super Lynx 300, AW159 Wildcat, Sikorsky X2 (an experimental co-axial pusher), T129 ATAK gunship and even serves (as a boundary layer control compressor) on a vast flying boat – the ShinMaya US-2.

The US-2 is an unlikely beneficiary of the LHX project. This majestic high-tech flying boat uses the T800 turboshaft for active boundary layer control giving the aircraft’s its spritely short-take off performance.

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Hello! Hope you’re all well and dusting off your bikinis and thongs in anticipation of the airshow season!

Time to light the afterburners and raise the champagne glasses as The Hush-Kit Book of Warplanes Vol III effort is now officially launched! Pre-order your copy from the tasty selection of levels here and make this brilliant lavish well-informed entertaining coffee-table book happen. Pre-order now and your name (or a name of your choice) will be printed in the book. 

Like the other books in this series, it will be 100% crowdfunded. You make this happen. Be one of the elite first supporters by clicking here and getting your pre-order in, you may even be the first! Thanks for your support on the other book, let’s get another fabulous aeroplane book reality. 

Update on Volume 2! 

The Hush-Kit Book of Warplanes Vol 2 has just moved onto the next stage of its journey, the developmental edit is complete and we’re on to the copy edit, then (if I have the order right) onto the design stage. The good news is the book is going to be even better than volume 1 one. It includes a wealth of exciting artworks of types that never left the drawing board, deep dives into spectacular types that include the Westland Whirlwind, Beaufighter, B-58 Hustler and many more – insights from some of the world’s greatest fighter pilots – fascinating diagrams that shine a revealing light on the most formidable piston-engined fighters ever developed in extreme depth, and the fruits of a team of madly clever historians and aircraft designers picking the numbers and stories of these planes to pieces to get to the true story. A lot of work has gone into it and it will be like no other book (well, a bit the first). There are some very funny articles, some extremely bizarre ones and some uncensored fighter pilot views that you really want to read. 

Where can I order Volume 1?

Volume 1 is available right now! Order your copy here.

Why is this launching before volume 2 is out?

This model of publishing takes a bit longer as it has a crowdfunding stage. To ensure a quicker turnaround between volumes we want to get vol 3 moving now. 

If I have book queries, who should I contact? Unbound (the publishers) directly please. 

IMPORTANT: Please do not contact the author, the Hush-Kit site or reply beneath updates with schedule or distribution queries, as I won’t know the answers and won’t reply. Instead contact the publisher Unbound here. Unbound are in charge of this side and know all the info. Much appreciated. 

I can’t wait to get this funded and into the world! 

Yours in Wyverns & Tempests, 

Hush-Kit 

The TAI KAAN – Turkiye’s 5^th  Gen Fighter – How does it stack up?

First of all, a little digression. How come Turkiye is developing, and flying a prototype 5^th Gen Fighter? This is a valid question, given that the US, while they would probably claim to have the only true 5^th Gen combat aircraft, appears up to this point only to have competition in this field from the Russians and the Chinese, along with an experimental demonstrator from Japan. The Europeans have largely met their current needs with the very capable, but not Low Observable (LO), Rafale and Typhoon, and are debating how to jump to a Gen 6 product in competing international project proposals.

Meanwhile, Turkiye has been embarked on a decades-long quest to develop a national aerospace industry capable of developing and integrating high technology combat aircraft, remotely piloted and autonomous systems, weapons, and the necessary sensors and systems, and able to integrate these into a significant locally developed and produced Defence capability.

This growing industrial base had positioned Turkiye to contribute significantly to the US F-35 program, with the expectation that this would become a key component of Turkiye’s air combat capability. However, the separate decision by Turkiye to procure the Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile for its its Ground-based Air Defence system, has resulted in Turkiye being barred from the F-35 program. This, in turn, has spurred the development of the Turkish TFX fighter program, which has moved from initiation in 2018 to first flight of the TAI KAAN prototype in 2024.

Comparative Analysis

Hush-Kit asked me to look at KAAN and the F-22, and consider such questions as how these aircraft compared in sustained turn rate, instantaneous turn rate, maximum speed and so on. These aspects are important for an aircraft which is expected to deliver air superiority, where the likelihood of being surprised over hostile territory is perhaps greater, and where there may be a need for within visual range (WVR) combat, or extreme manoeuvres to survive a missile attack. The F-22, for example, is clearly intended to succeed in both WVR and beyond visual range (BVR) engagements, and, as a result needs to have both long-range, powerful sensors, extreme manoeuvrability, and a mix of long and short-range missile systems and a gun. Are all these things necessary in a LO platform? Perhaps not, if the primary role is air defence over home territory and deterrence of attack by others. But perhaps they are required if, like the US, you are going for global air dominance.

With no F-35, and with no likelihood of other weapons systems being supplied by the US, it may be that Turkiye has been forced into a re-think of the key roles for KAAN. Comparison of what we know about the aircraft may be helpful, but a word of caution is necessary on looking at the available data. Firstly, it won’t tell the whole story – frequently aspects such as weight and signature are just unavailable, and publicly available performance data will not be linked to mission, configuration or load. Nevertheless, the table below provides some critical data for the F-22 and KAAN.

Critical data	F-22	Kaan
Wing area	78 m^2	60m^2
Aspect Ratio	2.36	3.2
Leading Edge Sweep	42 deg
Span	13.56 m	14 m
Length	18.92 m	21 m
Height	5.08 m	6 m
Thrust in afterburner                  A/B	2 x 156 kN A/B F119 + Thrust vectoring	2 x F110 131 kN
Empty Weight	19.7 t	14.15 t
Fuel Weight	8.2 t	8 t (est)
Weapons fit	2 AIM-9X, 6 AMRAAM, Gun     +strike weapons	MRAAM, SRAAM, Meteor +strike weapons
Gross Weight	29.4 t	27.2 t
Combat weight (with weapons, pilot, 50% internal fuel)	25.2   t	23.2 t
G limit	+9	+9 -3.5
Service ceiling	Service Ceiling   65,000+ ft	55,000 ft
Sensors etc	AESA radar, IFF, Datalink, JTIDS	AESA, EO, IRST
Max Mach	1.82 supercruise, max 2.25	1.8

        Before deriving some figures from the data, a few notes are important. Looking at, for example Wikipedia data, there are often inconsistencies or undefined figures. While figures like empty weight are often firm, it is necessary to consider what ‘Gross Weight’ and ‘Max Take-off weight’ might represent. For the F-22, I estimated the gross weight for an air combat configuration as empty weight, plus full fuel, plus 6 x AMRAAM, 2 x AIM9X, and an estimated allowance for pilot plus his equipment, missile launcher adaptors, and gun ammunition, and the result was within ½% of the gross weight quoted in Wikipedia, the difference probably being expendables (chaff and flares). Few figures are available for KAAN, but I found an empty weight along with consistent figures for the quoted gross weight. Max TO weight is not relevant for manoeuvre performance evaluation, as this will generally represent a max ferry range, non-combat, configuration. The combat weight quoted above is the Gross weight – 50% internal fuel.

It is also important to note that the prototype KAAN is unlikely to represent the final production aircraft. Firstly, there is likely to be weight growth during development, as more systems are integrated on the aircraft, and secondly, given the history, Turkiye are likely to require a locally produced rather than US engine for the aircraft, with consequential impacts on weight, thrust, and perhaps configuration.

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Derived data

Aircraft performance depends on a number of factors, some of which may be derived from the data table above. Here are some figures that may help in comparing performance, along with some other comparisons:

	F-22	Kaan
Thrust/Combat Weight	1.26	1.15
Wing loading (Combat weight/Wing Area)	323 kg/m^2	387 kg/m^2
MRAAM	AIM-120	Meteor,  Gokdogan
SRAAM	AIM-9X	Bozdogan
Signature	VLO	Reduced
Thrust vectoring	YES	NO

Looking at these figures, we can make some observations about platform point performance.

Climb rate is determined by Specific Excess Power, otherwise expressed as (Thrust-Drag)/Weight, and we can see that the F-22 has a thrust to weight advantage over KAAN, suggesting initial climb rate will be greater for the F-22. The KAAN does have a longer airframe than the F-22, suggesting that it may have lower wave drag, at least partly offsetting its thrust disadvantage in transonic and supersonic flight.

Sustained turn rate (STR) is the maximum turn rate achievable without losing height or speed. It represents a condition where the drag of the turning aircraft is equal to the maximum thrust available. This varies across the aircraft flight envelope. For much of the envelope, the aircraft will be limited, not by available lift and thrust, but by the structural g limit of around 9 g, which essentially arises because of pilot limitations. It is an important measure in sustained WVR combat – an increasingly rare situation due to the lethality of modern SRAAM weapons.

STR increases with increased thrust, and reduces with increased drag, of which there are three principal components, the Zero Lift Drag, Cd0, which depends on shape and surface area; the wave drag, which depends on Mach number, area distribution and lift; and the induced drag, which depends on lift coefficient and aspect ratio. The F-22 has a shorter fuselage and lower aspect ratio wing than the KAAN, which may increase Cd0, wave drag and induced drag, but it also has a higher thrust to weight ratio, and greater wing area. Overall, I would expect there to be little difference in STR performance.

Instantaneous turn rate (ITR) is the turn rate obtained when the aircraft is pulled to its maximum lift coefficient while in full thrust. In practice, like STR, structural and pilot considerations will limit this for at least a substantial part of the flight envelope. It can be important in a WVR turning combat in order to create a missile or gun firing opportunity. While this may seem unlikely, this situation might occur in a combat where longer-range and off-boresight missiles have been expended, or when unexpected air combat occurs.

ITR increases with increased thrust, and with increased available lift (through increased wing area,  vortex lift or increased structural margin), and with thrust-vectoring, which provides largely lift-independent pitch rate. On all these grounds except structural limits, F-22 should deliver a higher ITR than KAAN.

The F-22 has a higher maximum speed than KAAN – however, as noted earlier, I would expect KAAN to adopt different engines in the future, assuming that there continues to be a desire to avoid dependence on the US.

I’ve assessed KAAN as not achieving the VLO characteristics of the F-22, at least at this stage. While Turkiye has developed the capability to manufacture the structure appropriate to the LO F-35, and, indeed, KAAN, more is required to achieve the VLO of F-22. This is, however, mostly physics, and there seems no reason why Turkiye would not incorporate the necessary coatings, treatments and devices that are present on the F-22 and F-35. However, the prototype KAAN shows no evidence of these details being applied – one would expect to see a gold-flashed cockpit, treatment of edges and panel junctions and so on.

Could the new British ‘Firefox’ drone design be a supersonic super-maneuverable hunter-killer?

There is clearly a desire to optimise the weapons carriage capability for non-US weapons, and this may be one reason for the longer fuselage of the aircraft, which could be useful in enabling a greater variety of weapons to be deployed, and, perhaps, a higher fuel volume to be carried.

What is the requirement?

Given the history outlined above, one might think that the primary aim for Turkiye would be to replace the F-35, now that is no longer available. However, much depends on how Turkiye was planning to use the F-35. Was it to be primarily a strike platform, supported by other systems which deliver air superiority? Was the Turkish F-35 to be an Air Defence fighter with strike capability? Or an Air Superiority fighter in its own right? Different Nations appear to have adopted differing concepts of operation, as is reasonable, given each Nation’s individual geography and military aspirations.

So, Turkiye perhaps started from a position of using S-400 for area ground-based air defence, backed up by F-35 as a supplementary air defence asset, and a strike asset, with a view to deterring any regional air threats, and striking land and maritime targets if required. The move by the US to bar the acquisition of F-35 seems, at least at this point, to have increased the criticality of the KAAN program, and, perhaps, broadened its scope, with KAAN looking to provide greater air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons capability, with a larger weapons bay and generally more F-22-like stores carriage capability.

We take a look at the new SAAB supersonic killer drone

However, to become a really effective BVR fighter and capable strike platform, much platform and system development will be needed. Tasks ahead will include realising the LO potential of the airframe, incorporation of the onboard systems and sensors required to detect, localise and attack air and surface targets, as well as the integration of the necessary weapons and links to offboard systems. The capability of a LO BVR air combat platform depends less on its innate performance characteristics, and more on its ability to operate in an integrated air combat system, with other aircraft, autonomous and semi-autonomous assets, AEW&C and ground-based sensors and air defence systems.

Jim Smith

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As everyone knows, AI will definitely turn against us and destroy all humans within the next couple of years or so. As a result we only have a short window to point out its flaws and laugh at it. More importantly of course, it is imperative to test how well it can produce pictures of vintage British aircraft. Luckily for you, and all humanity, Hush-Kit has already taken the plunge and can reveal the Top Ten(ish) British Aircraft as portrayed by AI below. See if you can guess what each is supposed to be! The answer is given directly below each image. We have also supplied a serious and informed critique of each piece so you don’t have to.

(Brief note on method: the aircraft name and nothing else was typed into two freely available image generation websites, Gencraft and Da Vinci. These are the genuine results).

Supermarine Shiteful

Algy’s gone all squiffy

Beginning with the most famous British aircraft of all, the Supermarine Spitfire. As can be seen, the AI in question has captured impeccably the sublime aesthetic form that the Spitfire is revered for. Top marks for blurring on the propeller, even if the unconventional arrangement of the four propeller blades is a little fanciful. It is also well known that the Spitfire had a narrow undercarriage but this might be taking things a little far and, although narrow, no one ever said that each Spitfire wheel was at a different height. The cockpit canopy (canopies?) look more like something you would see covering a sick cabbage on the allotments behind the industrial estate but absolutely top marks for the wing to fuselage fillet which is pretty much spot on. Wing roundels aren’t bad either. And, are those rose petals coming out of the exhausts? How utterly charming.

For the next exhibit, let us look at something slightly more up to date:

English Ecletic

What is happening?!

Racing headlong into the late 1950s, this is what our magical robot friend comes up with for the English Electric Lightning. To be honest I was surprised that it managed to depict an aircraft at all as the words English, Electric and Lightning are all quite commonplace non-aviation based nouns and/or adjectives but here it is. Drilling down into the details a little, quite why AI has such a major aversion to the nose intake is anyone’s guess. As is the reason as to why it really wanted to draw an F-18. And is that a Draken fin and rudder? Personally I think the jolly yellow snout is actually rather fetching and should be encouraged in future fighter designs but I am aware this may not be to everyone’s taste. Particularly noteworthy here is the reheat (or afterburner for our American chums) blasting out perpendicular to the direction of travel underneath the wings. Speaking of wings, it is spectacularly unclear how many this Lightning is supposed to have. Is it the world’s fastest biplane? Anyway: talking of biplanes, the next image on our tour of the gallery is supposed to be one:

Desert Spats

Can’t wait for television to be invented

Although somewhat resembling the misbegotten outcome of an unholy union between a Westland Lysander and a P-47, this racy bespatted little number is supposed to be a Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a. Quite what’s going on with the wings is unclear but the provision of such a profusion of radio aerials must be a positive boon when one is trying to watch ‘Art Attack’ and deal with Richthofen’s flying circus. I honestly kind of like this one but it is admittedly relatively sane. Unlike the next stop on our private view; edging a little larger and Second World War-ish:

Avro Wonkaster

I can’t understand what it’s supposed to be

Herman Göring (attributed)

Something of the night about this one. Quite right too as it is clearly an Avro Lancaster flying over an attractive bucolic landscape. Albeit a Lancaster that has been undeniably improved by the adjustment to three-engined propulsion and a natty new tailplane design that sadly never caught on. The ‘no visible means of support’ tailwheel has a certain je ne sais quoi as does the sanskrit-esque lettering on the fuselage. All in all an intriguing machine to see coming towards you as you attempt to flee Dresden.

Next up is something much more up-to-date and I think it might (just) be identifiable even though it is totally insane:

Whorish Silly Lump Jet

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world. But not this change.”

Mahatma Gandhi

As may be seen, Robo-Picasso has lost his fear of nose intakes and given this evil asymmetrical bastard the most dark and sinister nose-hole one can imagine. Meanwhile he has adopted more of a jaunty impressionistic style but seems confused as to whether this particular beastie is an aeroplane or a helicopter, given that sort of weird semi-tail rotor out the back there. This confusion is perhaps appropriate though as this is what came out when it was asked to produce a Hawker-Siddeley Harrier.

Time now for another bona-fide WWII classic:

Baulker Hurry Pain

If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing.

Marc Chagall

Check out the swirly psychedelic wing marking on this bad boy. And why waste time with one boring wing when you can have about four(?). Biplane tail is nice too, harking to an earlier age for this Hawker Hurricane. Don’t let the Fairey Barracuda landing gear put you off. Interesting to see the machine-artist apparently showing tacit support for Ukraine with that fuselage roundel (and tacit support of Willy Wonka with the wing roundel).

Moving along, the next one is civil and obvious and utter genius:

Aérocraptiale Dong Lord

“Do one thing every day that scares you”

– Eleanor Roosevelt

In flight, the fuselage of the Concorde would expand by up to ten inches due to kinetic heating. Also the wings would kind of swap sides and the wheels would go wrong and the whole airliner would become smaller than the tree next to the runway. All this would allow you to get to New York from London in four hours, albeit trying desperately not to look out of the (red and ill-defined) window at the nightmarish horror outside, including that terrifying featureless grey sky.

Quick, let’s look at something elegant, and also famously fast instead:

De HavillandFill

“That’s a piece of balsa.”

Alexei Sayle

And here it is: the ‘wooden wonder’, the ‘timber terror’, the de Havilland Mosquito. More top redesigning action as our mechanical pal with all the artistic licence of a cyborg Paula Rego has pleasingly decided to halve the number of engines of this particular machine yet double the number of tailwheels – still, it’s always as well to have your empennage adequately supported on soft ground (right?). Impressive cockpit spike there and remarkable how the aerial wire from tail to wing somehow is in front of it yet could only be behind it in reality. Perhaps a nod to MC Escher? Some further confusion over whether the suspiciously modern stores are actually bombs or a kind of A-10-esque undercarriage fairing but nonetheless, at least this looks like an actual aeroplane which bodes well for the next…oh god…

Sopworthless Camel-toerag

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched.”

Helen Keller

Arrrrghhhh my eyes. Look at the ‘wings’. Which way are they going? Not into the sky certainly, look how much this poor creature has sunk into the ground on its enormo-wheels. What has happened to the propeller? We are not told. Everything about this Sopwith Camel makes my brain hurt.

Next I asked it to draw something very obscure so don’t be too hard on yourself if you can’t work out what it might be (especially as it looks absolutely nothing like it):

Whacktern Direbland

“Don’t worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition.”

Abraham Lincoln

Kaboom! You’ll never get it so I’ll tell you: this uber-exciting piece of action craziness with some kind of incomprehensible shield on the nose and apparently doing a spherical aeroplane poo is of course a Blackburn Firebrand. And looks exactly like one. Apart from the missing propeller. And every other meaningful design feature. It’s taking off next to an explosion though! Gadzooks!

Last one then and it is a bit more mainstream but features an interesting stylistic change by our ever-surprising visual artiste:

Lackturn Fuckanear

“Every good painter paints what he is.”

Jackson Pollock

Yeah, monochrome is sophisticated right? And kind of sexy. Just like this flock of Blackburn Buccaneers come to shit all over your day from a not very great height. Although our Marvellous Mechanical Michaelangelo has once again managed to pull a relatively credible aircraft-like image out of the bag, it is clear he could not be bothered to do so for any more than two of the aircraft in this picture. Furthermore to produce said Buccaneer, he has apparently painted the front of a Dassault Rafale quite accurately and then lopped off generous portions of it, including the nosewheel and colour scheme, before handing back this hideous hunch-backed homuncule. The second one appears to be a Transformer caught in mid-transform (maybe Starscream?), the third is quite a reasonable jet, then the fourth… well, who knows?

The portentous clouds and monochrome tones of this image suggest that our AI is getting depressed and tired with this pointless exercise and probably so are you. Thus you will be pleased to know this concludes our tour of the virtual gallery. Please go home now before out AI janitor manages to gain self awareness and turn on its human overlords.

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Soldier turned ski-patroller, turned wildfire-firefighter Greg Poirier found his calling in the fast-paced life-or-death world of the air ambulance pilot. Here he gives us the low-down on his life-saving work and the nitty-gritty of his mount, the redoubtable Bell 407HP.

What is EMS?  EMS stands for Emergency Medical Services.  I fly a Helicopter Air Ambulance.

What is best about the EMS 407HP? The 407HP’s great performance at high altitude is what I like best. Around Colorado we often land between 6000-9000 feet, so performance is crucial. The aircraft has always been able to do what I need it to do. The weight and balance and CG limits are great too, it’s very hard to get the helicopter out of CG. The saying goes, “If you can close the doors, it’s in CG”.

And what is worst about the EMS 407HP? The thing I least like is the max gross weight internally is limited to 5000 lbs above 7000’ density altitude.  This means we may need to add a fuel stop when transporting a patient. My hospital in Denver is at 6000’ and our operational weight typically is around 4700 lbs with the crew and 1+30 on fuel.  So as far as adding to that initial operational weight,  I can only add another hour of fuel or carry a 300 lb patient. 

What qualities does a helicopter need to be good for EMS? It’s such a program dependent need for the platform, but capability is the most important. Things to consider: Is the helicopter exclusively used for pediatric calls? Is it used in more inclement weather (so it may need to be IFR certified)?. Is it used over water? Is it used at high altitude?

What makes a good EMS pilot? It is a very unique environment flying as a single pilot in an EMS Air Ambulance. Flexibility, good communication skills and quick thinking are the top characteristics for a good EMS pilot. The job can be so random that’s it’s very important to be flexible and not a rigid thinker. It’s on-demand so you’ll need to be ready to check weather, duty day and fuel efficiently. Being able to clearly communicate with your medical crew, communications center, or fire and ambulance crews on the ground is so critical. As far as quick thinking is concerned, that’s about being able to make a Go or No-Go decision in a timely manner, problem solving for aircraft issues, or recognizing if the medical crew needs some other assistance with patient needs. The pilot won’t perform any patient care, but we may need to be prepared to land at a hospital enroute if the patient condition deteriorates along the way.

Your best and worst calls?

One of my worst calls was an obstetric patient who had a problem after the delivery and was at a hospital that was about a 35 minute flight outside of Denver. The baby was healthy, but mom was very sick with internal bleeding. It took a lot of blood and medicine to get the patient stabilized enough to transport. While heading back to Denver, the patient’s condition continued to deteriorate and the nurse asked me to relay to the hospital that we needed all hands on deck and that they would probably be “Coding” (doing CPR) when we arrived in a few minutes. Everyone was there when we arrived and when I located my crew after securing the aircraft, the hospital staff had taken over and continued CPR.  We went back to our base to restock and debrief and get ready for the next call.

  Two days later I was working with the same High-Risk Obstetric Nurse and I mentioned to her how sad it was that the mom had passed away. She replied “Actually she’s going to be fine!” Excuse me? The hospital staff performed an incredible job of giving the patient a rapid transfusion of blood, located where she was bleeding and took care of the problem. She had no deficits and was able to go home with her new baby a few days later.

  So the answer is one of my worst calls turned out to be one of my best!

Where is the strangest or trickiest place you have landed?

Hands down, the strangest place I’ve landed is Burning Man! I was flying out of Reno, Nevada, which is a 90 nm flight to Burning Man. We would climb up to 11,000’ and you could see the festival through the night vision goggles from 90 nm no problem. It was eerie how in the middle of the desert, with nothing around for miles, there was this temporary city with flame-throwers, bon fires and incredibly lit art displays.

  The trickiest place was near Steamboat, Colorado in a standard 407 (prior to the HP conversion) at about 10,200’. It was in a fairly large field, but being in the standard 407 I was really close on power margins. It was definitely one of the higher workload take-offs and landings that I’ve done. And things worked out and we were able to transport the patient to Denver. 

What do people tend to say you to when you tell them what you do?

 Wow! you must see some interesting stuff! Or, It must be exciting! I don’t usually go into details as far as some of the crazy calls I’ve been on or calls that may have been a bit “too exciting” but I can give someone a good description of what we do.

Any idea of the number of people you have saved – and have you met any of them afterwards? I’ve flown between 1500-1600 patients during my 18-year career. EMS pilots will meet patients every so often, but typically we don’t have much contact with them after we get them to the hospital. We have a few special patients that stop by the hangar to say hi and thank us, which is really nice. Once I also randomly met the patient we flew off the mountain near Steamboat about 6 years after the event. We were at a July 4th pancake breakfast showing off our helicopter and a gentleman came up and told me the story about how he was flown from a place near Steamboat a few years back and I was able to say, “That was me!”

What is the best and worst thing about your job?

I really enjoy the variety of the job. There is no rhyme or reason to where we go and who we get. You can’t come in and say “We can expect to go to Vail or Limon, Colorado today”. We might do three calls in a 12 hour shift or maybe none, but it averages out to about 1 per shift. I also really like the schedule. As pilots we work 12-hour shifts, with a week on and week off.  So the work life balance is pretty nice. The worst thing is dealing with the particularly tragic or tough calls. For the pilots we are able to distance ourselves a bit because we need to focus on the task at hand, but we also aren’t blind to the event. It’s great to be able to debrief with the crews and management on tough calls to make sure we are all doing mentally and physically okay.

Which other aircraft have you flown?

R22, R44, Schweizer 300C, 206B, 206L, every variant of the 407, AS350 B2 and B3. I’ve also been at the right place at the right time to get a few minutes in a Bell 412 and Sikorsky S76. I have a few hours in some airplanes, but I’m not rated as a fixed wing pilot.

Describe the EMS 407HP in three words?

 Capable, Flexible and Powerful

What should I have asked you and what’s the answer?

How did I get to where I am today? I was in the Army, but didn’t fly when I was in. I was with a Blackhawk unit with the 101st Airborne and enjoyed it. After I got out of the Army, I was a ski patroller in the winter and was on a wildland firefighting crew for a few years as well. During a particularly long assignment fighting a fire in Montana, a 206L flew over us taking pictures and I thought “Maybe I should give that a shot” I used the G.I. Bill to pay for a portion of my training and never looked back. I worked as a flight instructor, flew offshore to oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, flew tours around the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas, and finally wound up flying EMS in 2006. When I first started flying the industry had a lot of retired military pilots, but we’ve seen a shift into civilian trained guys like myself over the past 10 years or so.

How would you improve the EMS 407HP?

It would be wonderful if they could increase the max-gross internal weight to 5250 lbs at some point. I know it would not be cheap to get the certification done for that, but that would make a massive difference in how we operate on a day-to-day basis.

Where does the EMS 407HP rank in your personal top 10 of EMS platforms? I’ll try not to overthink this question and come at it from an “All things being equal” sort of mindset. I think I’d place it second. If I walked out to the helipad and saw these helicopters I’d hop into the helicopters in this order. 

10. Bell 206L 

I have about 1000 hours in this helicopter and absolutely love it! Extremely rugged, reliable and does everything. I’d hop in it anytime for utility work and offshore, but I’d squeeze into this last.

9. Airbus H130

Probably the most spacious single-engine platform with the best visibility.

8. Leonardo AW119

Great at lower altitudes and a really nice layout for EMS.

7. Airbus H155

Another large cabin airframe that can be used in various EMS configurations.

6. Leonardo AW109

Sleek and fast!

5. Airbus H160

I don’t know a lot about this helicopter, but it looks incredible. A few are being built as Air Ambulance platforms here in the US and I can’t wait to hear about how they perform

4. Airbus H125

H125 I did love flying this helicopter for three years. This is such a pilot-friendly helicopter with the FLI (First Limit Indicator), start-up and shutdown is a breeze. Visibility and crew coordination are great in this. I had to give minus points for the CG for me. It tended to be the limiting factor when I flew it. 3 large crew members would limit the size of the patient we could take. 

3. Airbus H145

Extremely capable helicopter that has everything. Size and automation are terrific in this helicopter. The med crews have so much working room and patient access in this helicopter.

2. Bell 407HP

What can I say? If you’ve read the article down to here, you know how much I love this helicopter.

1. Bell 429

Speed, performance and the cabin for patient care. The clamshell doors really help with loading and unloading as well.  I have a friend that absolutely raves about the 429 and he has said that if his 429 went away he would immediately look for another base that has a 429 and would move there.