Cairns Army Airfield

Home To The

TH-67

and AFTD
U.S. Army Aviation Flight Test Directorate 

 

The Army's TH-67 New Training Helicopter (NTH) is a Bell Model 206B JetRanger III built by Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. Its function is to replace existing Hueys being used for training Initial Entry Rotary Wing students. The TH-67 Creek is a state-of-the-art helicopter used for initial entry rotary wing training. It replaced the aging UH-1H, which had been the Army's interim trainer since the 1988 retirement of the TH-55 Osage. In the tactical portion of pilot training, the OH-58 Kiowa is still the helicopter used. But for initial entry rotary wing flight instruction, the TH-67 is the aircraft of choice for a new generation of Army aviators.		AFTD has an assortment of legacy and modernized aircraft – both helicopter and fixed wing. The primary mission of the U.S. Army Aviation Flight Test Directorate (AFTD) is to optimize aviation war fighting capabilities to ensure full spectrum dominance of the battlefield for the soldier. To accomplish this mission, AFTD plans, conducts, analyzes, and reports on the developmental and airworthiness qualification of aircraft, aviation systems, and associated equipment throughout the life cycle. Airworthiness qualification testing focuses on assessing the handling qualities of the aerial vehicle and its performance (e.g., flight, hover, autorotation, etc) and flight in icing conditions.