Hands Up! . . . Don't Shoot | World's Premier Attack 'Copter in fhe Hands of Children



If you live close by or walk on Main Street or get on or get off the Valley Metro Light Rail Station at Main/Center Street you've probably noticed a public bronze sculpture in front of City Hall Plaza - it looks like a boy and a girl having fun playing catch with a toy . . . it's called "Forever New Frontiers", donated to the City of Mesa by Boeing in 2003,  and looks innocent enough taking its place in the installation of bronze sculpture on downtown streets that was initiated by Wayne C. Pomeroy, whose namesake property The Pomeroy Building is the grand old man of Main Street architecture.

The dedication plaque is reproduced at the end of this post.

Here's to the right you can see what the kids are playing with: it is an Apache H64 Helicopter, described in three articles in the last four days as what you read in the headline to this post and “. . . The Apache helicopter is an amazing machine. Not only is it stealthy, but it’s deadly, . . "
That description is in a report by Audrey Weil writing for Cronkite News/Arizona PBS
http://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2015/11/30/boeing-making-the-premier-attack-helicopters-in-mesa/
Your MesaZona blogger first did a post on this site back on June 16 calling these "little birds" [aerospace lingo] in a feature about Governor Doug Ducey promoting Arizona business at The Paris Air Show.
Again on November 4, 2015 - about a month ago - Boeing's rolling out a first production for South Korea in a $1.6 Billion dollar contract, noting at the same time "nothing about this reported in local media".
On November 13, 2015 Boeing's Apache 64E Helicopter at the Dubai Air Show.

Since those postings here there have been media reports of two incidents where the Apache 64E has crashed in training sessions.
Today, 03 December, KTAR reproduces the same story written by Audrey Weil on 30 Nov
http://ktar.com/story/794477/boeings-phoenix-area-plant-delivers-premier-attack-helicopter-to-us-allies/
You can read the report and see a video there.

This is what the helicopter looks like in action.
Image courtesy of U.S. Army RDECOM
Here's a link to a 13:20 You Tube video approved for public release that was uploaded December 18, 2014
https://youtu.be/1mzwqI5kFQc

Readers please note: This post is for information purposes only.