[Bryon]

In my head canon, GI Joe is a fictional version of Delta Force, but with some dedicated conventional support. Delta Force has its own "E-Squadron" of helicopter support, named the Aviation Technology Office (ATO). Who are the Joes' E-Squadron? What helicopters do they use?

US Army Helicopters
AH-64A Dragonhawk XH (2009 version) - Wild Bill
AH-64 Desert Apache (Sonic Fighters) - Updraft
UH-60A Black/Desert Hawk (Maisto 2001) - 1997 12" Army Helicopter Pilot
MH-47 Tomahawk - Lift-Ticket
MH-47 Tiger Hawk (Tiger Force) - Windmill
MH-60K Night Hawk (dark green Maisto 2002) - Lt. Stone (Sigma 6)
MH-60K Night Hawk (green camo Maisto 2002) - Major Altitude
MH-60K Night Hawk (tan Maisto 2002) - Blades
MH-60K Night Hawk (blue camo Maisto 2002) - 1997 12" Army Helicopter Pilot

Marine Helicopters on USS Flagg
XH-1Z Dragonfly XH-1 (1983) Zephyr (New Marine. cool western marine, admires Wild Bill)
AH-1Z Tiger Fly (1988) Stripes (New Marine. Takes Tiger Force decor seriously!)
AH-1Z Locust XH-1 (2000) Hollow Point, or a new Marine

Search & Rescue
MH-60T Jayhawk (Coast Guard, Maisto 2001) - Lifesaver (new)
HH-60W Jolly Green II (Air Force) - Chopper (Action Force) and Glenda (Commandos Heroicos)

I know that Flint and Recondo and Hollow Point and others have Helicopter Pilot on versions of their file cards, but I prefer to use those guys as ground force operators. Are there any other dedicated helicopter pilots I should include? Even foreign/Action Force pilots?

I attached one of the card backs from Maisto's 2001 line of GI Joe aircraft. They also had a line of GI Joe ground vehicles that included 3 different color versions of the MH-60K Night Hawk. If I can find a good version of that card back, I will post it here, too.

[CapBritain]

Action Force had two specialist helo pilots, Blades and Chopper. Blades came with the Hawk, the SAS Force redeco of the FANG, and was a black and grey redeco of Tripwire. Chopper was a 5PA figure redecoed from the Mission Pilot and Helicopter Pilot figures from the 1982 Action Man Action Force line.

You've also got Volga and Daina. I treat Volga as a separate character.

Brazil also had Albatross, Pegasus and Bolidus who were hang-glider pilots.

[Bryon]

Thank you! I already had Blades, but I added Chopper.

[books]

You see the Tomahawk as a Chinook variant?

[Bryon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by books

You see the Tomahawk as a Chinook variant?

I see the Tomahawk as the Joe vehicle that fills the role usually taken by the Chinook in the US Army.

There are a couple other real-life helicopters that are a better match for the Tomawawk, but I don't think they are currently used by the U.S. military.

[books]

Yeah, same class as the Chinook, and same branch.

And there’s also the mechanical similarity of the extra engine and rotor at the back. If you ask me, the Tomahawk looks a bit like somebody chopped the tail off a CH-53 family aircraft and then bolted on a Chinook-style tail, maybe from a Sea Knight.

There a still tons of older CH-53s in USMC service, and the USMC is currently about 10% of the way through buying about 200 of the new K model “King Stallions” to replace them, so I’d say you’d be safe in using either the Chinook or the Sea Stallion/King Stallion family if you wanted. AFSOC special ops these days also uses V-22s if you wanted to go that direction too.

However, I like the Tomahawk as the Tomahawk, so I’m glad you’re using it!