AH-1 Cobra

[pTrevTrevs]

Given how difficult it was to come up with a shape I like, and given how many new features I tried with this craft, including the strut canopy and BD Armory TOW missiles/FLIR set, this craft took a lot less time to finish than I expected. 

The Cobra's design was derived from the UH-1 Iroquois (Huey), and used the same engine, transmission, and tail section as the Huey. While the UH-1 made air cavalry practical, it was poorly armed and was vulnerable to ground fire from Vietcong or NVA forces, especially when it landed to unload its troops or supplies. While many UH-1s were converted to gunships, and Air Force/Nay jets could provide close air support, a new helicopter was needed that could escort the Hueys and sanitize LZs to make it safe to land. The Cobra filled this role perfectly, and was used extensively during the Vietnam War. After the war the Cobra became the main attack helicopter for the United States, and served in this role from 1967 until being replaced by the AH-64 Apache in 1999. Twin engine variants of the Cobra still serve with the USMC and other NATO countries. the US Forest Service also flies unarmed Cobras for fighting forest fires.

Aaaand most of you probably won't read all that history, so here's a picture to keep you here

Although the AH-1G featured a smooth, curved canopy, later model Cobras were fitted with a flat paneled canopy which reduced sun glare and reflection inside the cockpit. This Cobra replica is based on the AH-1F, although I am not entirely sure whether F models served in Vietnam, so if anyone could provide me with reliable information about it, that would be great.

It's a pretty easy aircraft to fly so long as you understand the basics of rotary-wing aircraft and vertical flight. As you can see I landed it on the VAB helipad with ease. I recommend coming in on a flat approach at a slightly higher altitude than your landing point and slowly decrease your speed as you near the pad, killing all horizontal velocity right before you cross over the center of the pad (by that point you should be hovering just above the pad). Then lower the throttle enough to let the helicopter descend, but be careful not to gain any lateral motion.

The helicopter is equipped with TOW missiles, guided by an FLIR set in the nose, unguided Hydra rockets, and a 30mm cannon. The TOWs are perfect for taking out targets at long range, while the Hydras and 30mm can mop up after them.

Unfortunately all the systems on the chopper require a lot of control panels and menus to operate effectively. This is the setup I use, with the FLIR and main rotor menus on the right between the Weapon Manager and the staging diagram. the FLIR tracking camera is on the bottom right and Flight Engineer (if you have it) is in the top right.

To use the TOW missiles, enable the FLIR, aim the nose of the helicopter at your desired target, then fine tune it with the camera. You can lock the camera and zoom in to make it easier to move. Once the camera is over your target, lock the camera if you haven't already done so, and you should see range information and coordinates on the camera. Select the TOW missile in the Weapon Manager, arm the trigger, and hold it down until the missile fires. It should automatically guide itself to the target and detonate. Hydras and 30mm are pretty straightforward, so I shouldn't have to explain them.

I definitely recommend pinning the rotor's menu somewhere so you can keep track of the thrust level. Unlike real helicopters, the KAX rotor takes a while to rev up and down, so it can be a challenge to fly using only the throttle as judgement.

Although I personally like Utility helicopters more than Attack helicopters (what can I say? My father flies the UH-60M), I must confess that I really enjoy flying this. It's fast, responsive, versatile, and best of all, deadly. Vietcong/Taliban beware, Cobra venom kills!

DOWNLOAD

REQUIRED MODS

KAX

BD Armory

Edited July 24, 2016 by pTrevTrevs
Fixed typos, reworded some parts and listed required mods

[Combatsmithen]

Wow! Amazing! I might just ste--- uh borrow this

BTW how many parts?

Edited July 7, 2016 by Combatsmithen

[pTrevTrevs]

24 minutes ago, Combatsmithen said:

Wow! Amazing! I might just ste--- uh borrow this

BTW how many parts?

I forget, but I think it was around 70.

Sure, go ahead and borrow it! I may consider making an observation chopper to make a hunter/killer team, but I'm not sure whether I should build an OH-6 Cayuse or OH-58 Kiowa.

[Combatsmithen]

59 minutes ago, pTrevTrevs said:

I forget, but I think it was around 70.

Sure, go ahead and borrow it! I may consider making an observation chopper to make a hunter/killer team, but I'm not sure whether I should build an OH-6 Cayuse or OH-58 Kiowa.

 

Kiowa. Cayuse is too mainstream.

 

 

[pTrevTrevs]

1 minute ago, Combatsmithen said:

Kiowa. Cayuse is too mainstream.

 

 

I would have said the Kiowa is too mainstream, it's the one everybody knows.

The Cayuse is a superior aircraft in almost every regard, the only thing keeping me from deciding on it is the difficulty involved in building the elliptical cabin.

[Combatsmithen]

1 hour ago, pTrevTrevs said:

I would have said the Kiowa is too mainstream, it's the one everybody knows.

The Cayuse is a superior aircraft in almost every regard, the only thing keeping me from deciding on it is the difficulty involved in building the elliptical cabin.

 

The Cayuse is the little bird correct? That is like the most mainstream heli out there. I might be wrong tho. lol

[pTrevTrevs]

3 minutes ago, Combatsmithen said:

The Cayuse is the little bird correct? That is like the most mainstream heli out there. I might be wrong tho. lol

Yeah, but I was always taught to call it the Loach.

I'm pretty sure the Cayuse was around earlier than the Kiowa though, and was much better suited for its intended role, so if I can find a way to get the cockpit right I'll do that. 

The Kiowa is probably more iconic as a recon helicopter, but the fact that it's being phased out of service while the Loach is still used (even if it's for carrying task forces instead of recon) pretty much leaves nothing more to be said.

[PointySideUp]

Sweet Cobra!  Really nice job on this one!

[Redshift OTF]

Ah yeah! I'm looking forward to trying this one out. I was thinking of making the Little Bird but then I saw all the curvy bits. Finding a place to hide the fuel would be tricky too.

[Majorjim!]

What an awesome combination of stock and mod! The shape you have made is really great and captures the spirit of the aircraft well, nice work mate!

[Redshift OTF]

I just tested it and it is a great helicopter to fly and looks good! I see what you mean about the descent rate being a bit sensitive but it's pretty much in line with most helicopter designs I have tried in KSP considering it doesn't have many wing surfaces to cause drag. For personal preference I added a strut on the back of the tail for a bit more rigidity, (I should have done that with my Huey ), added a bigger SAS module for more control, (it fits sideways into the hull without being seen), and clipped another rotor blade on to the main one for more power. They weren't essential though.

I do like these designs that use the mk0 fuel tanks. They seem more Kerbal sized to me and they fit nicely on Carriers.

[Combatsmithen]

4 hours ago, Redshift OTF said:

I just tested it and it is a great helicopter to fly and looks good! I see what you mean about the descent rate being a bit sensitive but it's pretty much in line with most helicopter designs I have tried in KSP considering it doesn't have many wing surfaces to cause drag. For personal preference I added a strut on the back of the tail for a bit more rigidity, (I should have done that with my Huey ), added a bigger SAS module for more control, (it fits sideways into the hull without being seen), and clipped another rotor blade on to the main one for more power. They weren't essential though.

I do like these designs that use the mk0 fuel tanks. They seem more Kerbal sized to me and they fit nicely on Carriers.

 

 

 

Hey @Redshift OTF I took your Huey to!  Im gona do a craft review for both the Huey and Cobra tomorrow if I can

I love the Huey and Cobra. It just sucks that with replicas its hard to hide fuel. Your stock Huey was about 5-8km shy of making it to the Island runway from the KSC. So I added an extra Mk0 fuel tank inside of the crew compartment itself, it actually doesn't look that bad, and it gives it an extra 50 units of fuel, which should give it enough to make it to the island runway. Sadly the Huey maxes out at like 40 m/s, so pretty much 80 MPH, the real Huey could cruise at 125. I guess so is the nature of trying to replicate real vehicles inside a smaller scale game with not exact real life physics

@pTrevTrevsI haven't tested the Cobra's max speed or endurance range yet though, I've mostly been derping around with it blowing stuff up. 

Edited July 7, 2016 by Combatsmithen

[pTrevTrevs]

43 minutes ago, Combatsmithen said:

@pTrevTrevsI haven't tested the Cobra's max speed or endurance range yet though, I've mostly been derping around with it blowing stuff up. 

I've gotten it above 50 m/s in level flight before, but I wasn't trying to find the max speed, just trying to figure out to to launch TOW missiles and kill stuff.

Edited July 7, 2016 by pTrevTrevs

[Combatsmithen]

1 hour ago, pTrevTrevs said:

I've gotten it above 50 m/s in level flight before, but I wasn't trying to find the max speed, just trying to figure out to to launch TOW missiles and kill stuff.

lol

[pTrevTrevs]

3 hours ago, Combatsmithen said:

Im gona do a craft review for both the Huey and Cobra tomorrow if I can

So what, like a YouTube video? It would be pretty cool to see my Cobra advertised there.

Oops, it appears that I forgot to list the required mods on the OP, let me amend that.

[Combatsmithen]

1 hour ago, pTrevTrevs said:

So what, like a YouTube video? It would be pretty cool to see my Cobra advertised there.

Oops, it appears that I forgot to list the required mods on the OP, let me amend that.

 

 

Yes youtube

Shameless advertisement: Subscribe to channel plz 

Edited July 8, 2016 by Combatsmithen

[pTrevTrevs]

1 hour ago, Combatsmithen said:

Yes youtube

Shameless advertisement: Subscribe to channel plz 

Send me a link, and if I can remember the password to my gmail account I made to use with this forum account, I'll subscribe.

[Combatsmithen]

9 hours ago, pTrevTrevs said:

Send me a link, and if I can remember the password to my gmail account I made to use with this forum account, I'll subscribe.

click on the link in my sig

[Guest]

Aw dude, cool! I'm a big fan of iconic aircraft. This definitely falls into that category. Looks great.

[Combatsmithen]

@Redshift OTF @pTrevTrevs I did a little test with both the Huey and the Cobra. The Huey made with this much fuel left, and I had to use the momentum it had to coast in to shore. And the huey I used is the modified one that has an extra 50 units of fuel via a fuel tank in the crew comparment

And the Cobra made it with this much. The Cobra starts with less fuel, but it is more aerodynamic and only uses 1 Huey rotor compared to the Huey that Redshift made which uses 2 but clipped inside of each other. So the cobra consumes less fuel than the Huey

Edited July 8, 2016 by Combatsmithen

[Combatsmithen]

Im not going to make a video today, still a little bit sick.

[pTrevTrevs]

Render of the Cobra made by @esinohio

[Combatsmithen]

Neat! Uploading video tonight, will post here tomorrow

Edited July 10, 2016 by Combatsmithen

[Combatsmithen]

@Redshift OTF @pTrevTrevs And I present to you! Craft review! 

 

[TedwinKnockman66]

Nice Job m8! Now we need a dew Vehicle from Battlefield Vietnam to make Kerbalfield Kierbnam

Edited July 10, 2016 by TedwinKnockman66