Talk:Denel AH-2 Rooivalk

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Contents 1 Move 2 Name 3 Developed From 4 Changes 5 Comparable aircraft: Comanche

[edit] Move

I have taken the initiative and moved this page from Denel Aviation AH-2 Rooivalk, as the company website states that Denel Aviation is a company within Denel Aerospace Systems. In addition, the Denel Aerospace site states that it manufactures the AH-2 Rooivalk. - BillCJ 16:19, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Name

Rooivalk literally means "red falcon" however a better translation would be "kestrel". The name is appropriate as the kestrel is a hovering bird. See http://www.matroosberg.com/birdlist.htm Booshank 18:12, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

I have a citeable printed source that calls it the "Red Kestrel". Would that be an acceptable change? - BillCJ 18:47, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

According to "Robert's Birds of Southern Africa" there are 3 species of birds known as "Rooivalk" or variations thereof in Afrikaans: 1. Falco rupicoloides - Greater Kestrel/Groot Rooivalk 2. Falco naumanni - Lesser Kestrel/Klein Rooivalkie 3. Falco tinnunculus - Rock Kestrel/Rooivalkie. It would be interesting to know which one of these small raptors "they" had in mind when naming the helicopter. There is no South African bird commonly name "Red Kestrel" in English. Roger 11:41, 4 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Developed From

In the article it claims that the Rooivalk was developed from the Alouette but the Infobox claims that it was developed from the Puma...

These are demonstrably different aircraft and this section should be fixed... Eugene Roux 13:06, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for catching that. The first paragraphs under "Background" came from the XH-1 Alpha article, where "It" referred to the Alpha. There need to be more on the development of the AH-2 from the Puma as the XH-2, but I haven't found a good source to use yet. - BillCJ 18:31, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Changes

• Changed to a reference style for all news updates
• Added end of Rooivalk section

A sad end to a wonderful design!
Koxinga CDF 16:32, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Comparable aircraft: Comanche

BillCJ, the revert cycle isn't getting us anywhere, so it's probably best to iron the issue out here before filling up any more edit boxes.

Fact is, the RAH-66 Comanche never entered service, it remained a prototype. As such, it is more comparable to helicopters like the Cheyenne, rather than helicopters like the Rooivalk which have entered service (and you're right about the number of 12). However, the main difference is in the roles of the two aircraft: The Comanche was to have been a quick and light armed scout helicopter, with enough weaponry to defend itself and undertake the odd surgical strike but none of the offensive firepower of the Apache. The Rooivalk, on the contrary, is a heavy attack helicopter far closer to the Apache in its capability and intended mission.

If we are to include the Comanche in the Comparable aircraft list, well then we might as well just include each and every attack helicopter on earth in there, including all the Russian helos. Yet this is unworkable, so I'd suggest moving to stricter criteria for deciding on what to include in that list. Personally, I would prefer to limit it to heavy attack helicopters, such as the Apache and Mi-28. — Impi 17:40, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

I think I've discovered part of the problem. I was going by the specs in this article, which has errors. The MTOW is listed at 8,750 kg (13,225 lb), and the pounds is what I was going by. I double-checked a print source, and it lists 8,750 kg (19,290 lb). I'm correcting it in the specs now, and removing the RAH-66. Sorry for the confusion. - BillCJ 18:28, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

No problem at all. I'm glad we were able to sort this out amiably. And thanks for the correction, I hadn't noticed that error before. — Impi 19:30, 12 June 2007 (UTC)