UD4L Cheyenne
| First appearance | Aliens |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | United States Colonial Marines |
| References | Aliens: Colonial Marines Technical Manual |
| General characteristics | |
| Class | Dropship |
| Armaments | See below |
| Propulsion | 2 Republic Dynamics TF-900 turbines each rated at 310 kN dry thrust and 2 TF-220/A-14 combined cycle engines |
| Mass | 18 t; 34 t (maximum loaded) |
| Length | 25.18 m |
| Height | 6.05 m |
The UD4L Cheyenne is a fictional dropship and tactical transport used by the United States Colonial Marines in the film Aliens.[1] It has become an influential fictional vehicle, inspiring similar craft in later films and video games, such as the Republic Attack Gunship in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and the DC-77 Pelican from the Halo video game series.
Description
Designed to transport personnel through any atmosphere and land on a planet's surface, the UD4L is similar in function to a military helicopter. It also appears to act as a gunship by having a nose-mounted Gatling gun and deploying weapons pods which open for aerial attacks - something used as a feature on most of James Cameron's futuristic spacecraft. The principal airframe is described in the Aliens: Colonial Marines Technical Manual, as being constructed of a superplastic-formed diffusion-bonded metal matrix composite.[2] With what is similar to a CH-47 Chinook's rear-ramp, but forward facing, there is a ramp that encloses a 103.6² internal cargo hold, which harbors the M577 Armored Personnel Carrier, a land-based transport, used with similar tactics to the real-world military's Armored Personnel Carriers.
Concept and design
Concept artists were asked to include subliminal acknowledgments to the Vietnam war, due to the influence that the conflict had on the film's story. The appearance of the AH-56 Cheyenne was an influence upon the design of the UD4L; as a result, its name was assigned to the fictional craft. Other Vietnam war / cold war era influences upon the design were the AH-1 Cobra (particularly the cockpit), the Gatling gun (inspired by the GAU-8 Avenger used on the A-10 Thunderbolt II) and the F-4 Phantom II (body, tail and engine vents). [3]
Syd Mead and Ron Cobb both designed numerous versions of the UD4L, but James Cameron ultimately built his own miniature out of AH-64 Apache helicopter model parts. Cobb then detailed the ship on paper, from which both a 1/12th scale miniature and a full-size (front-half only) model were made. The full-size model was built on one of Pinewood Studios largest sound stages, to be used with scenes involving the actors and the M577 Armored Personnel Carrier, and to be congruent with a miniature set built to act as the Sulaco's hangar bay. Similar looking aircraft are shown in Cameron's 1984 film, The Terminator, and its sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
Armament
- One 25 mm Gatling gun with 900 rounds
- Thirty-two 150 mm unguided rockets
- Twelve 70 mm unguided rockets
- Eight 120 mm guided rockets
- Seven AGM-220 air-to-ground missiles
- Three TSAM threat suppression missiles
- Three AIM-90 short range air-to-air missiles
