I went into this book with almost no knowledge of the AH-56 Cheyenne, figuring it to be just another failed experimental project. I left it wondering why in the world this aircraft was not already in the inventory.

The Cheyenne was the result of an Army requirement for a fast attack helicopter that could carry a wide variety of munitions. That Lockheed, a company that has not been a helo builder, received the contract to build the aircraft was somewhat surprising. However it was because of Lockheed's work in 'hingeless rotor' design that got them the contract.

What emerged was the fastest and most stable helo yet developed. Why Lockheed's rotor design was not used by later helicopters is also a bit of a puzzler as it seems to this reader to be the best one around. Not only because of its stability, but also because it uses far fewer parts than other designs. In addition to the stability of the craft, it was also blindingly fast for a helo. This was as much because the stub wings were able to unload the blades at higher speeds. It was able to reach 215 knots in forward speed and 245 knots in a dive. It also had an advanced integrated fire control system and was one of the first aircraft to use a CRT as a major cockpit indicator system.

With so much going for it, why did it not enter full production? Well, it is as much a problem of its times and the over-optimism of Lockheed as much as anything. The AH-56 was developed during the time of Sec Def Robert McNamara who thought that aircraft development was much like building cars. He insisted on specific milestones being met at a specific time in order to continue development. There was no room for error and with so many new systems and ideas being put into one craft, it was inevitable that there would be problems. Though Lockheed was able to cure all of the glitches that came up, the last ones were not fixed until after the deadlines so the contract was cancelled. It was also decided that a fast helo wasn't what the Army wanted (hence the much slower AH-64 Apache now being used).

The book itself is in standard WarBird Tech format with a background of helos, development and testing of the AH-64 and then more in-depth details of the aircraft's systems. This is accompanied by a wealth of photographs, including four pages of color. It also includes development of the XH-51 compound helicopter and disposition of the ten pre-production AH-64s.

I found it to be really fascinating reading. It is obvious that the authors felt that Lockheed had not been given the time to produce a quality product and that it was politics as much as anything else that doomed the aircraft.

It is a book that I can truly recommend. Not only helicopter enthusiasts will like it, but so will those interested in the development of a new weapons system and those who like prototypes.

Highly recommended

Review book courtesy of , where you can order your copy of this and many other superb aviation and modeling books.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly by a site that has well over 150,000 visitors a month, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.