darkstar130

The new CH-53K replacing the aging fleet of E's and D's so far, from the little actual information available, the K's will be stronger, able to lift more, half the price? and less moving parts. sounds too good to be true. but i want to believe it! From Defense Daily http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/ch53k-the-us-marines-hlr-helicopter-program-updated-01724/#CH-53K Technologies under consideration for the CH-53K include a “glass†[digital] cockpit that has high commonality and interoperability with existing Army and Navy helicopters, high-efficiency rotor blades with anhedral tips that are 11% wider, upgraded engines, a cargo rail locking system; external cargo improvements, survivability enhancements, and enhancements designed to extend service life. The K's cabin is 30x9x6ft? which is wider than the E's cabin, which can allow transportation of Humvees. Reference material I've gathered I'm not sure which of these models is right, but there's aparently two variants, one has slanted side windows, a noticeable hump where the engines meet the tail section, and different engine placements? there's lots of pictures of both of these models, but I'd go with the bottom http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_CH-53K http://www.thepavecave.com/ http://www.history.navy.mil/planes/ch-53d.pdf http://www.uscost.net/AircraftCharacteristics/acch53.htm http://www.sikorsky.com/vgn-ext-templating-SIK/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=709f45d57ef68110VgnVCM1000001382000aRCRD&provcmid=bfa955f4a9d98110VgnVCM1000001382000aRCRD&mofvcmid=72fbebb600e98110VgnVCM1000001382000aRCRD&mofid=62fbebb600e98110VgnVCM1000001382000a____&movcmid=0f586d890c7b8110VgnVCM1000001382000aRCRD&moid=fe586d890c7b8110VgnVCM1000001382000a____ http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/ch-53e/specs.html