Airwolf

Airwolf
275px
Airwolf, a modified Bell 222
Type	Disguised military helicopter
Manufacturer	"The Firm"
Designed by	Charles Moffett
Maiden flight	1983
Number built	1
Unit cost	~ one billion U.S.$
Developed from	Bell 222

File:Bell 222a.jpg

A Bell 222

Airwolf is the title character from a 1980s American television series. The aircraft itself was a Bell 222 twin-engined light helicopter built by Bell Helicopter Textron.

Bell 222

The Bell 222 has two Lycoming turboshaft engines, a streamlined shape, and is available with either retractable undercarriage or fixed skids. It is usually flown single-pilot (optional dual controls are available), and can be configured for corporate/executive, EMS or utility transport missions. The aircraft can be configured for accommodations of up to 10, including pilot.

The flying Airwolf helicopter was actually a Bell 222 (sometimes unofficially called a Bell 222A, serial number 47085), making it the fifth-to-last built before the 222B was released), registration number N3176S.

After the show was cancelled the modifications were removed from the actual helicopter. It was repainted and eventually sold to the German helicopter charter company, Hubschrauber-Sonder-Dienst (aka HSD Luftrettung and Blue Helicopter Alliance), and given the registration number D-HHSD. While operating as an air ambulance the helicopter crashed in a thunderstorm on June 9, 1991, killing its three passengers.

A new, full-size replica of the Airwolf helicopter was created for display in the Helicopter Headquarters museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee that opened in August 2006, using a non-flying Bell 222, and moulds made from the originals used in the show.

The Airwolf helicopter

Template:Refimprove Airwolf was painted Phantom Gray Metallic (DuPont Imron 5031X) on top, and a custom pearl-gray (almost white) on the bottom, in a killer whale-like pattern. The craft was also fitted with various prop modifications, such as "turbo jet" engines and intakes, an in-air refueling nozzle and blister cowling on the nose, retractable chain guns at the wingtips, and a retractable rocket launcher, known as the "ADF Pod" (ADF standing for All Directional Firing, as the pod could rotate 180 degrees to fire at targets at the sides and rear of the copter) on its belly.

The look of the modifications was designed by Andrew Probert, and they were first applied to the non-flying mock-up (built from the body of the very first Bell 222, serial number 47001). From this mock-up molds were made so that parts could be made to FAA specifications before they were added to the flying helicopter.

After the first season, the producers were advised that "chain guns" is a registered trademark of McDonnell Douglas, and they were not referred to as such again. Other modifications were implied with Foley and sets; the interior sets were of a fantastical high-tech nature, and there were implied "stealth" noise-reducing capabilities with creative use of sound effects. Airwolf is sometimes referred to in-show as "The Lady" by Santini and Hawke.

The concept behind Airwolf was a super fast and armed helicopter that could "blend in" by appearing to be civilian and non-military in origin- A "wolf in sheep's clothing." Airwolf's insignia patch (also designed by Probert) as worn by the flight-crew was a snarling wolf's head with gossamer wings that appears to be wearing a sheepskin complete with the head of lamb over the wolf's forehead.

In the show, Airwolf was an armored, stealthy aircraft. It could perform impossible maneuvers and stunts, including traveling at mach speeds (the theoretical maximum speed of a helicopter is significantly below Mach 0.5, or half the speed of sound), flying upside down, and flying into the stratosphere. Some of these impossible capabilities are explained in the show by such features as auxiliary turbojet engines like those of a jet fighter (visible at the roots of the landing gear sponsons), rotor blades that can be disengaged for supersonic flight and a lifting body fuselage (a seemingly plausible claim given the shape of the Bell 222).

Sound effects were also associated with many of the aircraft's abilities. When Airwolf bolted across the sky in "turbo boost" mode, one would hear it "howl like a wolf" as it made a glass-shattering sound effect. When sitting idle, the aircraft made a mechanical trilling sound, and while hovering the rotor blades made a ghostly wind drone.

The weapons were state-of-the-art, with machine guns that could rip apart tanks and bunkers. The belly missile pod could fire a variety of rockets, including Air-to-Surface Mavericks, Hellfire and heat-seeking Sidewinders. When fired, these rockets usually glowed like a laser bolt or "photon torpedo" in Star Trek. Airwolf was also equipped with an advanced computer system which could identify and track aircraft and ground vehicles. It could display 3D wireframe models and schematics of its targets. The communications system could eavesdrop on radio and telephone conversations, tap into and foul up computer systems, jam enemy transmission frequencies and disrupt ground-based electrical systems. The stealth systems were capable of rendering Airwolf invisible to radar, as well as producing multiple radar returns ("Moffet's Ghost"). The weapons system could be tied in with the communications system to lock the missiles onto any monitored electronic system. Though never used in the show, Airwolf was also capable of carrying "nuclear-tipped Shrike missiles". NOTE: A nuclear "Bullpup" missile was used in episode 1 by its in-story inventor, Doctor Charles Henry Moffet, against a USA Destroyer.

In one episode ("Airwolf II"), Airwolf had an evil twin, the Airwolf II, also known as Redwolf. The Redwolf was built by The Firm to replace Airwolf, but was stolen and flown by an egotistical test-pilot rival of Stringfellow Hawke’s called Harlan Jenkins. Redwolf differed from Airwolf in that its underbelly was painted red (where Airwolf' was painted pearl-grey). It was also equipped with a powerful laser weapon. By the end of the episode, Redwolf was destroyed by Airwolf. Season 4 also featured a similar copter to the Redwolf, known as the Scorpion. This copter was also destroyed by Airwolf (though the footage of the dogfighting was recycled from the "Airwolf II" episode).

Specifications

Airwolf vs. Bell 222

	Bell 222	"Airwolf"
Crew	2 (pilot & copilot)	2-3 (pilot(s) & weapons technician)
Passengers	5–6	1-2 (non-crew may use the copilot seat and/or a seat behind the technician's seat)
Length	49.54 ft (15.1 m)
Height	11.68 ft (3.56 m)
Weight	4,555 lb (2,066 kg)	unspecified
Speed	149 mph (240 km/h)	345 mph (555 km/h) conventional Mach 1.5 with turbo thrusters Mach 2 max speed
Range	373 mi (600 km)	950-1450 mi (1529-2334 km)
Ceiling	12,800 ft (3,901 m)	11,000 ft (3,353 m) unpressurized 89,000 ft (30,482 m) pressurized
Power (x2)	618 hp (461 kW)	unspecified

Airwolf’s “Design Specs” (See talk page for sources)
Speed	300 knots/555 km/h (conventional) Mach 1.5 (turbo thrusters) Mach 2 (max speed)
Range	950 miles (armed crew of 3) 1,450 miles long range (crew of 2) Midair refuel capable
Flight Ceiling	11,000 feet unpressurized 89,000 feet pressurized
Wing Guns	30 mm Cannon (×2) .50 BMG Chain gun (×4)   Firing up to 40 rounds per sec.
ADF Pod	FIRST SEASON AGM-12 Bullpup missiles (×2) AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles (×12) AIM-95 Agile missiles (×4) AGM-45 Shrike missiles (×?) SECOND – FOURTH SEASONS M712 Copperhead shells (×?) FIM-43 Redeye missiles (×?) AGM-65 Maverick missiles (×?) AGM-114 Hellfire missiles (×?) FOURTH SEASON Red Laser
Defense	Sunburst anti-missile Flares (×10) Bullet-proof armoured fuselage Learning flight/combat computer Radar/Radio Jammer

Missiles

• The ADF pod's missile tubes were only large enough to carry the Redeye missiles (FIM-92 Stinger is the modern equivalent). For example, Airwolf is about 13 meters long (42 ft), and a typical Maverick, Shrike or Sidewinder missile is about 3 meters long (10 ft), about 1/4th the length of Airwolf. Actual 40 mm cannon would be about the same size, which is why aircraft, especially helicopters, do not carry them, except for small, short range 40 mm grenade launchers.

• In pre-development sketches Airwolf was depicted as having the capability to carry larger missiles in internal compartments on either side of the ADF pod, to include AIM-4/26(nuclear) Falcon Missiles. These capabilities were never displayed in the series, but could explain the scripting of larger missile capability. However footage in the pilot clearly shows a "large missile" (i.e. greater length than the practical limit of the ADF pod) being fired from the ADF pod (the Bullpup missile fired at the US Destroyer). A possible but also highly unlikely explanation would be that Airwolf uses tailor made versions of these missiles.

• With a fuselage height of about 2 meters (6 ft),it is dubious that Airwolf could carry the larger fin missiles such as the AGM-45 Shrike, AGM-12 Bullpup, and the proposed AIM-26 Falcon, which had wingspans of about 0.6 to 0.9 meters (2 to 3 ft). Storing these internally, let alone 12 large AIM or AGM missiles, instead of the smaller Redeyes, would mean no crew areas, and would exceed the practical limit of the fuselage, let alone the ADF pod. Ammunition feed from the fuselage, through the turbojet engines, then through the landing gear, to the guns in wing stubs, no matter what size caliber, was equally dubious.

• In Andrew Probert's original concept sketches, the AIM-26 Falcon (about 6 feet long with a 2 feet wingspan), which were proposed to be mounted in hatches on either side of the ADF pod, were rejected by the studio. Waist guns, just aft of the camera section, were also rejected, due to practical reasons.

External links

• Airwolf.org — a long-running, large, and detailed site with crew interviews.
• Airwolf Themes — creator of soundtrack, builder of the full-size Airwolf museum replica, and replica helmets.
• Airwolf: The Website — site run by the official historian of the "Airwolf" series.
• Information on the new Airwolf mock-up built for Helicopter Headquarters Museum, Pigoen Forge, TN

Related content

See also

• Bell 222
• Airwolf (TV series)
• Blue Thunder (film)
• Blue Thunder (TV series)

Bell Aircraft/Bell Helicopters

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