Helicopter

A Helicopter ("Helo" for short, or "Rotary Wing"), is an Aircraft that uses a set of rotating blades to generate both lift and thrust through the air. Helicopters are distinct from Planes, which use a set of large fixed-position wings to generate lift.

Helicopters have the advantage of being able to take off and land vertically, as well as to hover in place. They are far more nimble than Planes, capable of turning almost on a dime (or literally in place, when hovering). This allows helicopters to land almost anywhere where there is sufficient room for the physical body of the aircraft, including even on slopes or buildings. On the other hand, they have a much lower maximum speed than Planes, as well as a few other disadvantages.

Helicopters serve two primary purposes in combat: Transport of troops and equipment, and Close Air Support. Different models of Helicopters are typically designed for one role or the other, though a few models can fulfill both roles to a certain extent. In the transport role, the largest Helicopters can carry more than two Squads each, or even carry vehicles into the battlefield. In the CAS role, they serve as a power weapons platform primarily against enemy ground vehicles. Both types of helicopters can also serve as a scouting platform in the sky to spot enemy threats in advance.

Helicopters are far more commonly seen in ShackTac missions than Planes. Around half the missions, if not more, feature at least one Helicopter - typically on the players' side. Helicopters are much more common in Cooperative missions, as they can confer a significant advantage to one side that cannot not easily be balanced. Nevertheless, they serve a very prominent role in certain Adversarial missions such as Dark Business and Caesar Merlin.

Specifications and Design
A Helicopter is any Aircraft (air-mobile vehicle) that uses rotating blades to maintain their lift. This is in contrast to Planes (also known as "Fixed-Wing" Aircraft) whose fixed flat wings generate lift. Both Helicopters and some types of Planes use rotating blades to generate thrust (movement) through the air, so that is not necessarily a defining characteristic.

The vast majority of Helicopters have two sets of rotating blades installed; A large "Main Rotor" at the top, and a second, smaller "Anti-Torque" rotor at the rear. The Anti-Torque rotor's job is primarily to counter-act the rotation force (torque) generated by the spinning of the Main Rotor, preventing the helicopter's body from spinning in the opposite direction. Its power can then be increased or decreased to allow the helicopter to yaw.

Some helicopters instead use two sets of Main Rotors of the same size, both installed on top of the aircraft but rotation in opposite directions. This achieves the same purpose as a Main/AT setup, but allows far more power and lift thanks to having two large sets of rotors. The American Chinook has these placed at the front and rear ends of the roof, whereas the Russian KA-52 has both rotors installed on top of one another.

The size of a helicopter's main rotor blade, as well as the length of the helicopter's body and tail, dictate the size of the potential Landing Zones required for that helicopter. This is far more crucial for Transport Helicopters than Attack Helicopters, as they often need to touch down in confined spaces. In ArmA, any contact between the helicopter's rotors and the scenery will result in the immediate destruction of the helicopter and probably most of its occupants.

The main body of the Helicopter is typically a roughly cylindrical shape, with the pilots sitting at the very front. All helicopters used in ShackTac have room for at least a pilot and co-pilot, though they can be flown with just a single pilot. The co-pilot's job depends on the helicopter's role (see below), but always includes assisting with navigation and observation. In case the pilot is incapacitated, the co-pilot can take over and fly the aircraft without switching seats.

Some helicopters land on a pair of skids, while others have a set of landing gears. However, the difference between these two systems is extremely situational, and has little functional difference for an outside observer.

Note that the Osprey straddles the line between a Helicopter and a Plane; It can switch between these two modes of flight at will. Nevertheless, it is typically used and considered as a Helicopter, and is described in more detail below.

Roles
Most Helicopters are generally designed for one of two different roles: Transport or Attack. Although a few models can fulfill both roles to some extent, even those models are typically significantly better at only one of the two roles. Additionally, all Helicopters can perform a scouting role, though again some are better at this role than others.

Transport
Roughly half of the Helicopter models used in ShackTac are Transport Helicopters, and they are by far the most commonly seen in ShackTac videos. Transport Helicopters are designed primarily to ferry troops and/or cargo into and out of the battlefield, or even between different battlefield positions.

Transport Helicopters are rarely armed, and if they do carry armament it is typically defensive. Instead, they have a very large cargo/passenger capacity for their size. The smallest Transport Helicopters can carry at least a Fireteam of Infantry, while the largest can carry upwards of two Squads. The largest Transport Helicopters can even lift and carry large Supply Crates or even small ground vehicles, which are slung underneath the aircraft using a winch and cable.

Transport Helicopters are (typically) not very nimble, with the largest models being too large to perform any delicate maneuvers whatsoever. On the other hand, the smallest models, especially when flown by a competent pilot, can squeeze themselves into very tight spaces to perform a pick up or drop off.

When not busy ferrying personnel and materiel, Transport Helicopters typically Orbit the battlefield to observe enemy movement. Even when armed, they will only rarely be called on to provide fire support for the ground troops.

Attack
The other half of Helicopter models used in ShackTac are Attack Helicopters. These are flying weapon platforms whose role is to observe, detect, and attack enemy units - whether in direct support of ground forces or ahead of them.

Attack Helicopters may carry a variety of different weapons, suitable for attacking different targets. The smallest Attack Helicopters are typically armed with a powerful Gatling Gun for attacking enemy Light Vehicles or even Infantry. Medium-sized weapons include Rocket Pods and/or Autocannons with explosive-tipped projectiles for destroying medium-armored targets and whole concentrations of infantry. The heaviest Attack Helicopter models carry guided Air-to-Ground Missiles, which are powerful enough to destroy enemy Armor. Some Attack Helicopter models can even carry Ait-to-Air Missiles to defend against enemy airborne threats. A Helicopter's weapon load-out is selected in advance, to match the type of threats it is expected to encounter. The Helicopter may be allowed to Return to Base to switch weapons if necessary.

Attack Helicopters are usually fairly maneuverable, capable of dodging enemy fire effectively when moving at speed, or quickly disappearing behind terrain or obstacles. This allows them to make surprise attacks against enemy threats that could easily shoot down the helicopter.

The size and power of the Attack Helicopter typically dictates how far from friendly troops it will operate. The heavier the helicopter, the more capable it is of interdicting enemy vehicles on its own, far ahead of the main ground force, whereas smaller Attack Helicopters typically Orbit the ground forces and provide Close Air Support based on information and requests relayed to them by the FAC.

Scouting
Whenever a Helicopter is not busy performing its role or transitioning into/out of the battlefield, it can provide an additional set of eyes in the sky. The ability of Helicopters to hover in place or orbit slowly close to the ground allows them to spot threats very effectively, particularly enemy vehicles. They can thus scout ahead of the ground forces, and are often specifically tasked with doing this whenever they have nothing more important to do.

Many Helicopter models, particularly Attack Helicopters, are fitted with powerful Optics which enhance their ability to observe the ground. Often this comes in the form of a camera mounted underneath the helicopter's nose, capable of at least a powerful zoom if not Thermal Vision or Night Vision. A mounted camera both increases the chance of both spotting and identifying threats. The camera is operated by the Co-Pilot, who will relay anything important he spots to the Pilot and the FAC.

There are very few Scout Helicopter models used in ShackTac that are purely designed for the scouting role, particularly the unarmed Mission-Enhanced Littlebird. However, again, any Helicopter can technically fulfill this role whenever it isn't doing anything else.

Models
Upwards of a dozen different helicopter models have been seen in ShackTac over the years. More than half of these are seen on a rather regular basis, while the others are significantly rarer. Additionally, due to the ability to refit some Helicopters with different armaments and mission-packages, a single model can be used very differently in different missions.

BLUFOR tends to field more Helicopters than OPFOR, especially when they are player-controlled, and has more models available to use. OPFOR helicopters appear far more often as AI-controlled opponents than player-controlled. Though the most commonly-seen models are Transport Helicopters, there are as many Transport models as there are Attack models in ShackTac.

Transport Helicopters
BLUFOR:
 * MH-6 ("Littlebird" Transport/Scout variant)
 * Blackhawk (and other armed variants for light CAS)
 * Chinook

OPFOR:
 * Mi-8 Hip
 * Mi-26 (rare)

Vietnam-era BLUFOR and other military forces:
 * Huey

Attack Helicopters
BLUFOR:
 * AH-6 ("Littlebird" armed variant)
 * AH-64 Apache (and D variant "Longbow")
 * Komanche (rare)
 * Wildcat (rare)
 * AH-1 Cobra (rare)
 * UH-1Y Venom ("Huey" modernized armed variant)

OPFOR:
 * Mi-8 Rocket Hip (with Transport capabilities)
 * Mi-24 Hind (with limited Transport capabilities)
 * Ka-52 Alligator (or Ka-50 Black Shark)

Vietnam-era BLUFOR and other military forces:
 * Huey (rocket variants)

Scout Helicopters
BLUFOR:
 * MH-6M Littlebird (Common nose-mounted camera variant)

Organization
As with all aircraft, Helicopters are generally expected to operate on their own, to handle different parts of the Area of Operations as required. As such, each pilot has plenty of leeway in determining what to do at any given time. Nevertheless, Helicopters do answer to the FAC or to Command, who have a much better understanding of what needs to be done, and are responsible for coordinating the helicopters' actions with those of the ground troops.

Furthermore, Transport Helicopters in particular sometimes operate in groups called Flights, where up to four helicopters fly in formation and generally act in unison. In this group, the helicopter designated as number 1 is effectively in command, directing other helicopters in the group and maintaining communications with the ground units. Even then, each helicopter may end up operating separately from the others if the need arises, and is perfectly capable of doing so without loss of effectiveness.

Within the helicopter itself, if a co-pilot is present they are subordinated to the pilot. Passengers also need to pay close attention to any instructions from the pilot or co-pilot, as it could mean their life or death if (for example) given the order to leave the helicopter immediately or to attack targets on the ground.

As organization is slightly different for different helicopter roles, it is discussed in greater details in the articles on Transport Helicopters, Attack Helicopters, and Scout Helicopters.