Atlantis Models 1/72 AH-56A Cheyenne Kit

Level 3 Kit 1:72 Scale Plastic kit

When the US Army issued the requirement for an Advanced Aerial Fire Support System, Lockheed won the contract with an advanced design - the AH-56A Cheyenne. The Cheyenne was a rigid rotor aircraft that employed fixed wings to augment lift in forward flight and a pusher propeller that further augmented forward thrust. The combination was to give the aircraft a 212 knot dash capability with an impressive array of range and firepower.

A fatal crash of one of the prototypes, delays in the development schedule, and the general political climate of the day led to the cancellation of the production contract, followed shortly thereafter with the cancellation of the overall program. The Army regrouped and issued requirements for a more conventional attack helicopter, and that competition led to the current AH-64 Apache.

The Cheyenne was indeed an advanced design. Its main rotor could still function like any other helicopter, but it didn't require the aircraft pitch changes to accelerate and decelerate, thanks to the pusher propeller. The pusher had full pitch control so it could adjusted for different levels of forward thrust, reverse thrust (for rapid deceleration) and in beta for normal deceleration, all without moving the nose off target. The aircraft was armed with a 20mm cannon in a ventral turret, additional firepower in the nose turret, an array of rockets, missiles, and external fuel tanks under its wings. Unlike many attack helicopters, the Cheyenne also featured retractable landing gear to further reduce drag.