Hot new helicopter/rotorcraft news

[Meyerkord]

Everyone knows the camera man never dies, but damn that video made me nervous

 

[Griz882]

Everyone knows the camera man never dies, but damn that video made me nervous

High skids, you could practically swing dance under that thing.

 

[Hotdogs]

I would argue the Harbin Z-20 helo is as good or better than anything LM/Sikorsky can put out in 2026.

Despite tariffs, executive orders, "forge America", etc I think America will never, never be a leader in raw manufacturing scale/quality ever again. Thank god we have tech infrastructure, elite universities, the best healthcare capabilities on the planet, the ability to feed the world, and a healthy service/consumer based economy underneath it all.

We have data on Chinese manufacturing reliability already. Here’s some unclassified information that scratches the surface.

Your assessment on advanced US manufacturing is wrong. You just need to do some basic analysis.

 

[Flash]

PLAN Z-8D maritime helo reportedly just went IOC.

View attachment 46443

From what I can find on the internets that is a Z-8L, and that thing looks a lot more like an AW1X9 with some AW101 and S-92 maybe thrown in for good measure.

 

[RobLyman]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2113572523166359705

Based on years of experience using the Black Hawk, in the Z20's design, even the concealed maintenance ladder replicates the Black Hawk's design.

Watching the video made me immediately want to do the "stow-the-steps" prank on him while he was at the top. I wonder if they will also do the prank that involves a noob "pumping up" the tailwheel by pushing the spring load steps in and out. I am guilty of doing the first and have seen videos of the second.

FWIW, US Army doesn't require cranials or helmets for preflight either

 

[hscs]

Watching the video made me immediately want to do the "stow-the-steps" prank on him while he was at the top. I wonder if they will also do the prank that involves a noob "pumping up" the tailwheel by pushing the spring load steps in and out. I am guilty of doing the first and have seen videos of the second.

FWIW, US Army doesn't require cranials or helmets for preflight either

Or the relief tube sound powered phone trick…..

 

[Griz882]

Or the relief tube sound powered phone trick…..

Never done it, never seen it done…but imagining it is funny enough.