Developed and deployed in a short time due
to the pressure of the Vietnam War, Bell’s
AH-1 Cobra performed well; but Army
planners believed a better attack helicopter
would be needed in the next war. In 1976,
Hughes Helicopter’s YAH-64A prototype
bested the Cobra in firepower, performance
and range, and won the competition to
replace it. It would be 1982 before
production commenced, but eventually over
1100 would be produced including the
advanced AH-64D Apache Longbow.

Dubbed the Apache, the AH-64 is a four-
blade, twin-engine, tandem-cockpit design
with tailwheel landing gear. The AH-64
features double and triple-rendundant
systems that ensure maximum survivability
in combat, and an awesome array of
weapons that can include Hellfire missiles
and a 30mm M230 Chain Gun that can be
slaved to the pilot’s head movements via a
helmet mounted display (IHADSS).

The Apache first saw combat during the
invasion of Panama in 1989, and
conducted the first attack of Operation
Desert Storm in 1991, flying into Iraq to
destroy enemy radar systems. AH-64s are
credited with destroying over 500 tanks
during that conflict. They continued their
service in Bosnia and Kosovo, in Operation
Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring
Freedom in Afghanistan. The AH-64 is now
also deployed by the United Kingdom,
Israel, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia,
Japan and other air forces worldwide.

Created by the Army for the AH-64A
version of the Apache, this unclassified
pilot’s flight manual runs over 600 pages,
and contains chapters about aircraft
systems and procedures. It is reprinted
here in its entirety.