Attack Helicopter Design

[Rizo]

Hello everybody, I made this attack helicopter for fun, to practice a little bit of vehicles design (to take a nap from environments :)), i didn't take any particular reference for it, i just was playing with shapes in my sketchbook and them it came out.
Comments and critics are welcome :D
Cesar

[Scorned1]

Hot damn, this is a really great concept. Well rendered. No other critiques from me on this one.

[Red Rabbit]

I really like it. Looks pretty cool. I like how most all of the helicopter design is flush and goes together. I'm glad you avoided taking random helicopter parts and throwing them together just because. Good to see a new design too. Too many people take a current design and throw on huge weapons or again, random parts. You've got so much detail in this too, its awesome!!

I'm trying to keep track of the exhaust and intakes and I'm not 100% sure about all of their purposes. I see one above and slightly forward of the missile launchers, at least it looks like it is. Then the one just below the rotor hub on the side of that shield/panel. And I'm guessing that maybe there is an intake between that "shield" and the fuselage. Then there is an exhaust behind the rotor mast, at least it looks like it is. And then those two intakes above and slightly behind the missile launchers. Just seems like a lot of random intakes and exhaust. If anything, just make sure the exhaust ports are behind where you place the intakes. And the turret under the nose, are those four guns of some type, because there are powder burns but it doesn't say "guns" when you first glance at it.

Anyways, I won't blabber on too much. I really like it, its just I like studying up on military technology and using it for reference and so I look at this and think of what could be taken off/added on, but thats just me and this is your artwork. So, nice job and you seem to have no problem drawing mechanical designs. Keep it up.

[Kiolia]

If you want to get especially technical, the rotor blades need to be able to alter their pitch in order for the helicopter to maneuver (which is why most helicopters' blades' roots are mounted on large thrust bearings), and those look rather fixed-pitch to me. Besides that, I really like the concept, and it's well-rendered to boot.

[Sepulverture]

I have to agree with Red Rabit. The exhaust and intake systems aren't really showing up. I can imagine those depressions in the hull behind the rotor assembly as being exhast ports, but there are still no intake, unless you assume they are tucked under the rotor assmbly just behind the cockpit on the top of the hull. Also, just around the middle of the hull below the rotors it looks like the metal is folding,which kind of makes it look like it's made of cloth.

[kods1979]

Nice.I like.

[lincolnhughes]

how can it land? maybe the landing wheels come out of a secret panel underneath, but for now it just seems to be floating. Cool design though

[Red Rabbit]

Lincoln- the wheels are shown in the side profile diagram. It doesn't show the landing gear struts, but it does show where the wheels would be in landing configuration.

I was at first worried about the center of gravity being too far back behind the main rotor, but considering how the fuselage gets thinner towards the end of the tail and the bulk of the forward fuselage i wouldn't worry too much about it.

Looking at the missile launchers, I personally would make the forward weapons pod missile tubes bigger in diameter, and then the rear pod tubes thinner in diameter for FFAR (Folding Fin Aerial Rockets). I figure you could have about 40 FFAR in the back pod and 20 anti-tank missiles in the forward pod. So considering all 4 weapons pods, it would be 40 AT missiles and 80 FFAR which is pretty good for close air support and anti-armor missions. And I'm thinking that if those four holes in the turret under the nose are guns, they're pretty short and compact. Just means they wouldn't be very accurate at long ranges.

[Red Rabbit]

Oh, random side note, would be interesting to add IR and Radar countermeasures.
One that sends out many beams of IR light to completely confuse a missile like this one mounted on Marine one and US AH-64 Apaches:
http://cryptome.sabotage.org/hmx1-ircm-01.jpg
Then you could look into flare and chaff launchers, usually mounted on the tail facing slight down and out to the front and rear to sound out a burst of flares or chaff:
http://www.us-aircraft.com/images/MH-60/flare%20dispenser.jpg

of course the flare and chaff launchers don't have to be attached to the outside of the helicopter like in the picture (uh-60). They can be installed internally and the barrel ends flush with the fuselage.

Damn, I almost forgot, helicopters, for safety reasons, usually have cable cutters installed just in front of the main rotor hub and also below the nose to cut any electrical/phone cables they may accidently run into, that way they don't snag and crash the helicopter.

they look like this:
http://www.apexvfd.org/photos/carolinaaircare_28feb2004/images/DSCN4519.gif

Anyways, this is just optional stuff. If you aren't going for uber detail/reality thats fine. Anyways I like the design, just thought I would add in my 2 cents....or 25. Anyways, if you post a redesign or improved design, post it, would love to see it.