Blackbird Helicopter

The **Blackbird Helicopter** is a vehicle in Ravenfield.

## Characteristics

The Blackbird Helicopter is a slow but durable transport helicopter. It carries a total of 8 infantry units - The pilot, the copilot, two gunners and four passengers.

The side gunners can operate its mounted gatling guns, which have a blistering rate of fire and deal 40 damage per round to infantry and Medium armor vehicles. Each bullet from these gatlings will immediately topple an infantry unit, penetrate cockpits, and generally shred anything they come into contact with. Sustained fire will cause them to overheat, disabling them for several seconds.

The 4 rear passengers have access to their loadout weapons while riding, although the use of anything other than a Scalpel is impractical when so high in the air. The rear passengers and gunners are all vulnerable to direct fire, but not explosives. The Copilot has no role other than being a passenger, and cannot use anything.

Typical AI behaviour has it fly directly over a flag before dropping up to 5 passengers, the side gunners fire at anything within range as it circles the objective. If the paratroopers succeed in capturing the flag, the chopper will land to retrieve them at the flag's areal landing zone, and shuttle them to the next target. If the troopers fail to capture, or if there were no passengers to begin with, the chopper will circle indefinitely, or until shot down.

## Advantages

With the highest seating capacity of any vehicle, the Blackbird Helicopter is most useful for capturing points by moving infantry units swiftly around the field, bypassing all ground resistance. It regularly trivializes ground defences while on the attack, since even a freshly-disabled Blackbird is still capable of ejecting an additional 3 crew members on top of those that already dropped over a flag –– ironically aiding them in their capture effort.

In terms of defense, its turret gunners can fire on approaching enemies or suppress nearby ground targets. It is immune to small arms fire, with the canopy blocking damage even from large-caliber weapons indefinitely. It also has a high amount of health for a helicopter, allowing units to be picked up and dropped off even in dangerous situations.

While on the move, its gunners also have a tendency to engage any air target within sight. Should a preying buzzard approach the chopper's broadside, they risk having their own cannons put to shame by the Blackbird gunner's withering salvo.

## Weaknesses

The Blackbird Helicopter is not particularly effective on the offensive. The mounted gatling guns have limited rotation and elevation, giving them massive blindspots directly in front of, behind, and above the vehicle. While they can easily decimate nearby targets, they will often be insufficient against distant SLAM-R or Scalpel users. If the AI pilot is not co-operative, it can also be exceedingly difficult to line up a proper shot at any range while on the helicopter. Additionally, the minigun may overheat at a crucial moment which, combined with its heat-up time, may prevent them from defeating important targets.

While sufficiently bulky and armed with countermeasures, most anti air weapons still pose a threat to it. At lower altitudes, specifically when about to pick up allied soldiers, it is vulnerable to most weapons and vehicles.

The vehicle also fails to protect its gunners and passengers against incoming fire, resulting in occasional freak deaths from auto-cannons fired by enemy aircraft.

## Gallery

Old model.Appearance on EA22's update log.HUDDashboardSide view of the cockpitAnother side view of the cockpitCargo bay viewThe rear seatsClose-up view of a side gunTurret viewAiming down the sights on the turretA Raven gunner firing the side gunThe Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk.
## Trivia

* The Blackbird Helicopter is modeled after the Sikorsky UH-60.
	+ Its in-game name is a reference to "Black Hawk", a popular alias for the UH-60.

* The vehicle's gatlings are based on the M134 Minigun and most specifically the GAU-17/A variant utilized by the USAF.

* Being able to carry 8 infantry units, it has the highest capacity out of every vehicle in-game.
* It has the most health amongst all aerial vehicles.
* An invincible version of this vehicle makes scripted appearances in the Specops gamemode.

### Changes in Updates

#### EA10

* Controllable variant added to the game.

#### EA22

* Landing suspensions added.
* Model updated.
* Now transports a copilot, bringing its capacity from 7 to 8.

#### EA23

* Now appears in Spec Ops both as a potential target and as a potential exfiltration method.
* Rear passengers can now use their weapons.