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“Although the AH-1W chapter is closing, the AH-1Z Viper stands ready with even greater capability to support our Marines for years to come.”
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United States Marines Retire Bell AH-1W After 34 Years of Service
The United States Marine Corps, USMC, has officially retired the Bell AH-1W “Super Cobra” from its ranks after more than 30 years of dependable service. The iconic dual-blade aircraft served as the dedicated attack helicopter for the Marines through multiple campaigns including Operation Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring Freedom.
“The AH-1W Super Cobra has served admirably and leaves a remarkable legacy of on-time, on-target attack helicopter support for our Marines,” said Col. David Walsh, the program manager for Light/Attack Helicopter Programs (PMA-276).
Originally designated as the AH-1T+, the Super Cobra first flew on Nov. 16, 1983, at Bell’s Flight Research Center in Arlington, Texas. Bell delivered the first AH-1Ws to the Marines on March 27, 1986, and delivered the final aircraft in 1999 for a domestic fleet of 179 attack helicopters. Through August 2020 the USMC flew the Super Cobra for 933,614 hours.
“We are tremendously proud of the capabilities the AH-1W has brought to the United States Marines for the past 34 years,” said Michael Deslatte, H-1 Bell program manager. “The Super Cobra’s tremendous legacy is a testament to the excellence and dedication the men and women at Bell put into these platforms for generations, and we look forward to continuing that legacy for years to come.”
AH-1Ws remanufactured into AH-1Z Vipers will continue to serve in the United States Marines. The four-bladed Viper replaces the Super Cobra as the successor to the modern attack helicopter platform, and provides fully integrated air-to-air and anti-armor capabilities designed to successfully accomplish the broadest array of contemporary missions.
COM audio in a unique position within a stereo headset, the pilot and crew can pay attention to the radio that is important at any instant in time. The Wright Patterson Air Force Laboratory invested years in perfecting this technology, and PS Engineering is now making it available to special mission aircraft.
Other novel capabilities are fully integrated Bluetooth® interconnectivity, fully customized recording of audio alerts easily accomplished in the field, IntelliVox® automatic VOX or PTT-ICS, and up to 14 intercom stations.
PS Engineering’s PAC45A Provides Complete Audio Control in Black Hawks Modernized Avionics Suite
XP Services recently announced FAA Supplemental Type Certification (STC) approval that includes PS Engineering’s state-of-the-art PAC45A, an all-digital audio controller system that includes MultiTalker®. The PAC45A is now part of XP Services STC for the UH-60A and EH-60A Black Hawk.
As part of a complete avionics suite upgrade, the PAC45A is an FAA TOSA DAL C, DSP based, digital audio controller that provides up to 8 coms, 8 switched audios, MultiTalker®, and up to 4 control heads.
True Dimensional Sound, known as MultiTalker®, is exclusively licensed to PS Engineering by the USAF. By placing various
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“PS Engineering has always been laser focused on audio control systems. We are excited to see our PAC series being part of this new STC” said Mark Scheuer, Founder and CEO at PS Engineering. “Because the PAC45A is completely digital, the amount of wiring required when compared to outdated analog audio control systems is significantly reduced. In fact, only a single RS-422 cable (plus power and ground) is required to go to each of the independent control heads that can be located throughout the Black Hawk.”
“The integration of the advanced digital PAC45A system into the Black Hawk aircraft adds a great capability, and at a very affordable price,” said Ken Pfleger, Avionics Integration Program Manager at XP Services. “PS Engineering’s support during the integration phase was nothing less than superb, allowing for rapid integration of their system and proving its worth during flight testing.”
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