The Briefing Room

General Category => Military/Defense News => Topic started by: rangerrebew on July 07, 2014, 10:42:39 am

Title: MQ 8C, unmanned helicopter makes first flight
Post by: rangerrebew on July 07, 2014, 10:42:39 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WW1s9Nqyd8
Title: Re: MQ 8C, unmanned helicopter makes first flight
Post by: EC on July 08, 2014, 04:32:17 am
Neat, but my question would be - what is it useful for?

No hardpoints for weapons. Response time is going to be terrible. It's slow as hell. Needs a completely level site for take off and landing - skids are no where near as versatile as a tricarriage. It has no where near the endurance of a drone - I love choppers, been flying them for decades, but they really are fuel hogs. Even the 24, which gets some lift from it's stub wings, burns through fuel faster than a ship's crew on shore leave goes through a brothel.

It's a toy, nothing more.

Title: Re: MQ 8C, unmanned helicopter makes first flight
Post by: Oceander on July 08, 2014, 05:39:04 pm
it sounds like proof of concept, not production.
Title: Re: MQ 8C, unmanned helicopter makes first flight
Post by: EC on July 08, 2014, 07:13:13 pm
Possibly, but the concept is pretty stupid. "Can we scale up a 20 buck toy from Walmart to full size?"

Can't think of a single place where this would actually be useful.
Title: Re: MQ 8C, unmanned helicopter makes first flight
Post by: Oceander on July 09, 2014, 02:53:05 am
Quote from: EC on July 08, 2014, 07:13:13 pm
Possibly, but the concept is pretty stupid. "Can we scale up a 20 buck toy from Walmart to full size?"

Can't think of a single place where this would actually be useful.

Maybe amazon wants to use them for its drone package delivery service?
Title: Re: MQ 8C, unmanned helicopter makes first flight
Post by: EC on July 09, 2014, 03:14:50 am
Now that made me giggle.
Title: Re: MQ 8C, unmanned helicopter makes first flight
Post by: rangerrebew on July 10, 2014, 11:29:51 am
Maybe give them to the illegal kids with the other toys they're getting?  Don't forget, Admiral Rickover had to work for years to get  the military to accept the concept of the nuclear submarine and who would have thought the aircraft carrier would replace the battleship?