European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 22, 1967, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday october 22, 1967 the stars and stripes Page 7 i 250 . Chopper developed for army v j i m irm Mizii i i i i a _ Washington is first flights of the winged and Rotor bladed ah56a Chey Enne a High performance combat helicopter that is designed to replace current army helicopter gunships have been reported bythe army., initial flights took place recently at the vain Guys Lockheed California Plant where the rigid Rotor compound helicopter is underdevelopment. Although it. Col. Emil e. Kluever co Pilot and project manager said the first flights were great and the helicopter handled Fine just As expected it will be some time before the 250-mile per hour gun ship will head for the Battlefield. Tests must continue for Federal aviation administration certification some time next year Fol Lowed by army service evaluation in 1969. Col. Edwin l. Powell or director of army aviation said the helicopter s 3-1 payload to empty weight ratio gives it a Clear advantage Over anything else in army aviation today. Heavily armed but highly Maneu Merable the ah56a will have a top Speed almost twice that of armed helicopters now Inuse in Vietnam. It is designed to escort troop carrying helicopters and provide direct fire support in the combat Landing zones. The winged helicopter will carry a two Man Crew a Pilot and a co Pilot gunner. Its Range on a ferry Mission without pay Load will enable the aircraft to Cross the . Non Stop and then Fly Over the Pacific from California with refuelling stops Only at Hawaii and the islands to the West. Air plane and gunner the newest army aircraft theah56a Cheyenne left comes in for a Landing on its initial flight. The plane is equipped with fixed Wing Rotor Blades and Pushe propeller. Above Julian l. Brown the designer shows a lockup of the swivelling gunner station for the Cheyenne. These tests we remade to determine physical specifications for tailoring the station to those of the operator. So v service ail weather system set for Mac Star lifters Scott fab 111. Special a new All weather Landing sys tem for the Jet c141 Star lifter the military Airlift come s huge transport has been certified bythe Federal aviation adm Nistra  system developed by the air Force systems come Faa and Lockheed Georgia co., will increase the capability of Mac san Jet cargo troop carriers to land during bad weather.c141s carry High priority Mili tary cargo from the . To Southeast Asia and Are converted to flying ambulance wards forthe return trip to the . With sick and wounded  Faa ticket on the c141 is the first to authorize military aircraft to make pinpoint land Ings automatically. The All weather Landing system awls can bring in the 145-foot Long,316,000-Pound Star lifter for a Landing within 12 feet of either Side of the runway Center line and within 300 feet of either Sid of a determined touchdown Point. The Faa certificate approve the equipment installed in c141s for use on approaches in Cate gory 2 weather conditions 1,200 foot visibility and 100-foot mini mum decision Altitude Here Mac pilots resume manual control of the aircraft. However this fully automatic system is approved by the Faa to take the plane All the Way to touchdown using the Pilot As an observer from the 100-Footlevel, ready to take control if necessary. Instructor pilots from Mac Headquarters at Scott and from tinker fab okla., Are completing training in the All weather Landing system at Lockheed Georgia co. Star lifters equipped with the new system will soon be delivered to Mac. All c141s i Mac operation Are slated to be retrofitted with the production Sawls. A Star lifter completed almost1,000 fully automatic landings during 15 months of flight test ing. The automatic Landing system controls the plane along a radio beam to the runway. The plane stays on course As its controls Are automatically  the plane passes the end of the runway it automatically Levels off and its throttle closes to make the Landing. Alf strength an sea now put at 1o1, Washington is the defense department reports the . Now has some 101,000 air men in Southeast asia57,000 in South Vietnam 26,000 in thai land and 18,000 at Clark a  airmen according to Gen. Gabriel p. Disosway com Mander of the tactical air come a Veteran fighter Pilot and one time Safe commander in chief Are the most professionally skilled and dedicated men the . Has Ever sent int combat. Never before have our peo ple and their weapon systems been More effective in Ever phase of tactical operations the tag commander says in the latest air University review professional journal of the air Force. The Vietnam air War he adds is a four phase operation in a Small area with All aspects go ing on at the same time coun Ter insurgency conventional War fare in the North and in the South and pacification. In All of these phases tactical air opera Santa letter program entering 13th year Scott fab 111. Special once again for the 13th consecutive Christmas military an civilian members of All the serv ices can make sure their Chil Dren get a real letter from Santa Claus postmarked Santa Cla Shouse North  following Success of the past12 years Santa letter programs in which More thah 84,000 letter shave been remained to service kids in Many lands members of Usan air weather service s det 1, 55th weather reconnaissance so at Eielson air Force base Alaska have again volunteered to help make this Christmas a memorable one forbids around the world. These far North aws weather men will use their free time to Forward Santa Claus letters to children everywhere. Here is the Way it works. You write a letter to your child sign ing it Santa Claus. Address the letter to your youngster and affix the proper return air mail postage from Alaska. Place the letter or letters Ina larger envelope and address it to Santa s mail bag care ordet 1, 55th weather reconnaissance so Apo Seattle 98737. Add proper air mail postage and drop it in a Mailbox. A few Miles from Eielson a Bis a Post office officially called Santa Claus House North pole Alaska. When the Volunteer aws mailman gel your letter the will Romail the Santa letter from this Post office. A few Days later your child will receive his or her letter from Santa Claus Complete wit authentic postmark. A deadline of dec. 15 has Bee set for mailing letters to Santa s mail bag to permit receipt of the remained letters by Christ Mas Day. Tons play an important part he says. Disosway also reports his com Mand is concentrating on the test and evaluation of new idea Sand equipment to make the Job of the 101.000 in Southeast Asi even More effective than it is  do this five specialized centers Are being maintained by tag for fighter operations reconnaissance Airlift tactical air warfare and special air warfare. Dozens of tests Are being con ducted constantly of everything from a new Rifle. To a major new weapon system like the fill tactical fighter he writes. Air Crews Are being trained Touse the controversial swing Wing fill multipurpose fighter at Nel Lis fab nev., and there Are re ports the air plane will be use Din Southeast Asia in the near future although the air Force will neither confirm nor deny  the fill he said the a7, a37, o2 and ov10 Are being tested and evaluated before com ing into the tag inventory. Each one will be an improvement in a specific area of tactical air operations in Speed Range or strike  subsonic a7 is designed for close air support to Carryon extensive Load of air ordnance without degrading its loiter Tim Over the Battle area while the a37 is being tested As a special air warfare strike reconnaissance weapon system. The Ovi will have a strike reconnaissance and counterinsurgency capability and the o2 is designed for spotting enemy targets by Forward air controllers. It will eventually replace the of