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Aviation History
1995
1995 - 0034.PDF
SIMULA run tzsr Venom's vital parts GEC and Bell have upgraded the AH-1W SuperCobra and renamed it the Venom for the British Army's attack-helicopter competition. PETER GRAY/ROCHESTER I"flew" the GEC-Marconi Avionics Venom simulator at the company's plant at Rochester, in the UK. This fixed-base device has two cockpits set up with the proposed equipment, including crew helmet- mounted displays (HMDs) with integrated sighting system and night-vision goggles (NVGs), for day or night use. A large screen placed in front of the simulator presents a projected view of the outside world — day or night — which the crew would see as they fly. Before developing the Venom, GEC exam ined the well-proven SuperCobra, and US Marine Corps experience with it, and identi fied what it saw as the helicopter's shortcom ings. These included: Upgrade provides better forward visibility from the rear cockpit A simple, but highly efficient, cockpit • unsuitability for night and bad-weather operations; I cockpit workload; • the lack of a long-range targeting system capable of identifying targets positively before they are shot at with "fire-and-forget" weapons at ranges beyond the reach of anti- helicopter weapons; • a lack of weapons to suit all likely scenarios, from defence against modern tanks, to escort duties in all of the world's environments, rang ing from desert, jungle, swamps and moun tainous Arctic conditions. To overcome these problem areas, the com pany has provided: • a complete day, night and bad-weather capa bility at all operating altitudes, not only to fly die aircraft, but to carry out the assigned tasks; • advanced-technology cockpits; • an enhanced weapons-management system. NEW SIGHTING SYSTEM The nose-mounted sighting system allows die pilot to change the field of view in diree steps, from narrow to wide. It has television for day and forward-looking infra-red (FLIR) for night and bad-weather operations and can track targets automatically. The sight can also be steered via the crewman's helmet. Both cockpits have NVG-compatible lighting, so that everything stays visible when goggles are worn. The pilot's FLIR, with which he/she can see through the night and all weathers, is inde pendent of the gunner's night-targeting sys tem. The pilot can see the outside world with it and fly accordingly. The pilot can also see on his HMD all the flying information he needs — attitude, airspeed, groundspeed, height, heading, steering commands, vertical speed and power, for example. The cockpits are now unrecognisable from those of the SuperCobra, which I flew at Bell's Fort Worth, Texas, plant in December (see Flight Test, P2S). The interior shape has been modified, to accommodate nearly all sizes and shapes of the human body. Forward visibility from the rear cockpit has been improved, by enlarging the gap through which die crewman looks, and by removing the obstructions. As the cockpits are almost the same, either occupant can fly the aircraft or manage the weapon system. The clutter of dozens of instruments and switches has been removed entirely and replaced widi two identical multi- FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 4 - 10 January 1995
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