Tour de Airfix: Boeing AH-64 Apache

For Christmas, I received the gift of Tim Peake's autobiography 'Limitless'. As the subjects of my scale models are inspired by events and observations, it should be no surprise that this inspiring book has steered me to kick off a mini project focussing on 3 of vehicles which feature in the 3 phases of Tim's flying career. The Army Air Corps helicopter pilot, test pilot and astronaut.

Tim Peake's Apache

In 1998, following his 4 year tour with the Army Air Corps flying the Gazelle helicopter, Tim was accepted on the Qualified Helicopter Instructors course at RAF Shawsbury in Shropshire. Here he converted to the Squirrel, the Eurocopter AS350 - not readily available in the 1:72 scale kit format - which had replaced the Gazelle as the military's basic training helicopter.

After a year teaching students the art of military flying, Tim was selected for a 3 year exchange posting to Fort Hoot, Texas, the home of the 1st US Cavalry Division, flying the fearsome Apache attack helicopter. While flying with the US Army, in 2001, Tim came close to being called in to action under Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, but at the last minute his squadron was stood down.

Highly sophisticated and technically demanding, the Apache appealed hugely to Tim’s thirst for new challenges. On his return to the UK, Tim was ideally placed to be part of a small team responsible for training the first British aircrews on how to fly and fight in this unique machine; transitioning the selected Army Air Corps pilots from a traditionally passive support role to an aggressor offensive role.

Promoted to Major and with well over 2000 hours of flying experience, Tim was accepted onto the Empire Test Pilot’s School at Boscombe Down. He enrolled in evening classes to study mathematics and attained a Bachelor of Science degree in flight dynamics whilst also studying for his test pilot qualification. As a test pilot he undertook several high-risk trials on the Apache helicopter, taking the aircraft beyond limits previously flown and introducing over twenty urgently required modifications to support operations in Afghanistan. His role as a test pilot also saw him deploy to Afghanistan in support of Special Forces operations!

After nearly 18 years of military service, Tim left the Army in 2009 to work as a senior test pilot for AgustaWestland (now Leonardo Helicopters). At the same time, having been surprised to see an online recruiting advertisement from the European Space Agency (ESA), he underwent a rigorous year-long astronaut selection with over 8000 other hopeful candidates. Previously, UK citizens had been unable to apply to become ESA astronauts and so Tim leapt at this once in a lifetime opportunity.

The History of the Apache

The Boeing AH-64 Apache is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night vision systems. It is armed with a 30 mm M230 chain gun carried between the main landing gear, under the aircraft's forward fuselage, and four hardpoints mounted on stub-wing pylons for carrying armament and stores, typically a mixture of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and Hydra 70 rocket pods.

The Apache was developed by Hughes Helicopters for the United States Army's Advanced Attack Helicopter program to replace the AH-1 Cobra and put onto full production in 1982. The AH-64 Apache was selected for British Army use, in favour of the French Eurocopter Tiger, in July 1995, and a contract for 67 helicopters was signed in 1996. Assembled by Westland at Yeovil, Somerset from Boeing-supplied kits, the AgustaWestland Apache AH-1 was fitted with a more powerful Rolls Royce engine and folding rota blades for ship launched operations. It entered service in January 2001 with Tim being one of the small team responsible for training the first British aircrews.

The AH-1 played close air support roles with the British forces in both Afghanistan and Libya, where operations launched from the flight deck of HMS Ocean proved the value of the British modifications.

The Italeri 1:72 Apache Model

For my Tim Peake scale model, I chose Italeri's AH-64A Apache, the original version in service when Tim was flying with the 1st US Cavalry Division, and prior to the delivery of its replacement, the Apache Longbow, later to be used by the British Army and may be a kit for a future project!