Apache: Inside the Cockpit of the World's Most Deadly Fighting Machine [Hardcover]

Ed Macy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 6, 2009

Apache is the incredible true story of Ed Macy, a decorated Apache helicopter pilot, that takes you inside the cockpit of the world’s deadliest, most technically advanced helicopter in the world—the Apache helicopter. In the cockpit of an Apache, hands, feet, and even eyes need to operate independently. As strong as a tank and, equipped with two Rolls Royce RTM-322 engines, the helicopter is remarkably fast and nearly impossible to shoot down. And thanks to a powerful array of weapons and cameras, the Apache helicopter can spot prey from miles away—and kill the enemy with a flick of the finger.
In 2007, Ed’s Apache squadron was dispatched to Afghanistan’s notorious Helmand Province, with the mission to fight alongside and protect the men on the ground by any means necessary. And when a marine goes missing in action, Ed and his team know they are the army’s only hope of bringing him back alive. With a soldier strapped to each side of two gunships, they must land in the heart of Jugroom Fort, a Taliban stronghold, and come face-to face with hordes of their unrelenting enemy. What follows is a breathtaking rescue, unlike any the world has ever seen.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Macy, retired after 23 years in the British army, does for the Apache helicopter's gunships what Dan Mills did for the infantry in Sniper One: he puts readers in the cockpit of an aircraft that requires great skill and attention to keep in the air. Macy takes readers to Afghanistan's Helmand Province: remote and mountainous, a center of the world opium traffic and chosen battleground of the Taliban. His squadron's eight Apaches faced both modern missiles and 19th-century rifles while supporting ground troops too few for a mission never clearly defined by the government. The book's climax comes when a British marine is listed as missing in action. In an unauthorized mission that reads like pulp fiction but whose details have been independently verified, Macy and another pilot fly into a Taliban fort to bring him out—dead. When the four crewmen are awarded the Military Cross, Prince Philip asks, Are you all mad? But since the days of Alexander the Great, Afghanistan has taught invaders two cruel lessons: never leave a man behind, and never count the cost. 16 pages of photos; maps. (May)
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Review

“Puts you right in the cockpit with your finger on the trigger. A truly awesome read; and a climax that Hollywood couldn’t invent.” —Andy McNab, author of Immediate Action

“Macy is the real deal. Nobody could write that powerfully about combat, or emotionally about the men fighting with him, unless he has been at the gunship’s controls. A fantastic, totally exhilarating roller-coaster read.” —Sergeant Major Dan Mills, author of Sniper One

“A truly amazing portrayal of the technical, the emotional, and the courageous. Macy puts the reader in the cockpit of our most lethal attack platform.” —Dick Couch, author of The Sheriff of Ramadi and Chosen Soldier

“Apache is a fantastic read that puts you right in the middle of the combat zone.” —Jack Coughlin, author of Shooter: The Autobiography of the Top-Ranked Marine Sniper

“Apache is at its heart a ground-busting infantry tale told from an entirely new perspective. By the time these gutsy Uglies land in an occupied Taliban fort to join the ground fight, there is no doubt that attack helicopter pilots are flying grunts. What happens next is extraordinary.” —Owen West, author of Sharkman Six

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press (May 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802118941
• ISBN-13: 978-0802118943
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #829,351 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As close as it gets to flying the Apache AH Mk1, May 17, 2009

By 

Andre Heeger (Germany) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Apache: Inside the Cockpit of the World's Most Deadly Fighting Machine (Hardcover)

I could tell you what a terrific writer Ed Macy is and what a courageous soldier, marvelous pilot, and, and, and. All of that is true.
But what it basically comes down to in this book is being inside. Inside the monstrous machine none of us would ever set a foot in - even less get to fly the 46 million GBP thing.
You want to feel the thrill of first takeoff, Camp Bastion, Helmand Province? Burn your fingers on the stick and controls preheated by the Afghan sun, wipe the sweat off your face as you inhale the smell of metal and resin as the four thundering rotor blades race it across the desert, the twin Rolls Royce engines working at full speed.
All of that and more you find in here.
The book concentrates on a breathtaking rescue mission to retrieve a Marine MIA, where the Apaches must land right in the middle of a Taliban stronghold and come face to face with hordes of their unrelenting enemy.
But it has much more. The human side, the thrill, the comradeship, the pain, the fear, the technical - you name it, it's there. Because Ed Macy was one of the very few who mastered the craft of operating (not just flying) this machine.
And although after reading it you still won't be able to make your eyeballs work independently of each other like these guys can, at least you will have a sense of the courageous masterminds at work here.
Includes 5 maps, 2 detailed drawings of the Apache and numerous color photographs.
My highest respects go out to Ed Macy and his comrades.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What "Firebirds" (the movie) Should have been!, May 28, 2009

By 

N. J. Fung "Gossinger" (San Antonio, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Apache: Inside the Cockpit of the World's Most Deadly Fighting Machine (Hardcover)

If anyone out there is a "egg beater" fanatic - or a Tank Killer enthusiast, then this is the book for you! This book is more than just an insight into the Apache Long Bow. It is a look at a very different "animal" that the Brits put together, and have put to very good use I might add! (Infidels should be proud!) The Apache is an American creation. But Ed Macy, who is more than just a pioneer in the field of flying/"owning" this machine, puts a very detailed spin on flying the British version of the Apache in Afghanistan while on the front lines. He chronicles what the Brits did in way of changing the Apache into a hard-charging, tank-killing attack chopper of their own. Plus, his is a first hand account of what type of "punishment" it takes to actually fly their version - because of the changes and "modifications" that their tech division made to the existing platform. (The US Army really should look into these improvements for their own inventory!)

From the moment I started this book, it was impossible to put down. When it ended, I was left with that sinking feeling that hits you when something so good has to come to an end. The writing of the story, in my opinion is top notch HANDS DOWN - all of it very eloquent and yet to the point with no frills or haughty attempts at false bravado (that people assume come with pilots). Any military personnel, chopper fanatic, or even just a curious layman can pick this book up and run with the story! And hot damn, what a story it is! When people review books like this, especially if they like them, tend to give away too much to the reader - so much so that the review ends up becoming a spoiler. I don't want to do that here. All I can say is
that if you pick this book up, you won't be sorry or disappointed!

The premise of this book is an outline of what Ed Macy and his squadron did for the British Marines in and around the "Green Zone" of Afghanistan. There are illustrations, maps, and detailed pictures of everything that is discussed in the book - including a cut-away intro to the British version of the Apache.

EVERYTHING - and I mean EVERYTHING in this book is well documented. Some of the material is still considered sensitive information (so some names/places have been withheld). But other than that this book is everything that Nicolas Cage's late 80s lemon "Firebirds" should have been! Macy and his squadron may show some adolescence in their "in-house" pranks on each other - but there is no "Maverick/Goose" cheese-ball attitudes from "Top Gun" here. I cannot emphasize enough that there is absolutely nothing "Top Gun" (the movie) about the actions of the men and women in his story.

After reading this book once, because of the sheer enjoyment that I got from reading it the first time, I re-read it to see if I missed anything. And the answer to that was, I missed nothing - I soaked in every possible nugget of declassified information on this very unique aircraft and the special nature of the aviators that fly her!
In closing - All I can say is Thank God there are people like Ed Macy and the folks in his squadron (who have retired or are still fighting strong) out there on the front lines with a machine like this one! This was some of the best writing I have read in a while!!!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Man and Machine as One in Battle, June 28, 2009

By 

Michael Olson "MLOlson" (California, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Apache: Inside the Cockpit of the World's Most Deadly Fighting Machine (Hardcover)

I was captivated by this true story of a British Apache helicopter pilot's career and experiences flying missions in Afghanistan in 2006. What impressed me with Ed Macy as a person was his focus on achieving his desire to fly in the military and especially the new Westland AH Mk1 Apache helicopter. A good summary of the challenge is given by this excerpt from the front cover overleaf -

". . . the deadliest, most technologically advanced helicopter on the planet. As strong as a tank . . . the helicopter is remarkably fast and nearly impossible to shoot down. . . . [With] weapons and cameras, the Apache pilot can spot prey from miles away . . . And it is the toughest aircraft in the world to fly - only the top 2 percent of pilots make it . . . hands, feet, and even eyes need to operate independently."

If it wasn't clear that this was a true story of one man's experiences, one could easily read it as a fictional novel filled with a character with beyond human capabilities. The action is palpable and the sacrifices Mr. Macy made to be a superior pilot in the face of danger are sobering and inspirational to reflect upon.

I have to admit having a passion for the virtual worlds of video games, human augmentation, and flight simulators so it is of particular interest to me how an Apache pilot becomes one with the machine. This is essential in order to manage the complexity of the controls, split-vision monocle, and the visual sensors that include low-light and infrared imagers. The daylight camera, for example, can magnify 127 times. There are over two hundred switches many multifunctional. The monocle over the right eye forced left-right eye independence as an efficient way to cram more information into the brain. "A dozen different instrument readings from around the cockpit were projected into it." This alone is a significant learning obstacle to overcome.

Note Mr. Macy's description starting with the example of driving your car -

"After you've driven it for a while, you don't have to think; you just end up at home without having thought of driving one. It was the same with the Apache, but on a grander scale. Halfway through the first tour . . . I didn't need to think how to fly and shoot because my fingers, arms and legs were working in perfect harmony with my mind. I was no longer strapped to the Apache, the Apache was strapped to me."

And ". . . the unimaginable demanding need to multi-task . . . only a very small percentage of human brains could do everything required simultaneously to operate the aircraft."

The powerful imaging capability makes enemy engagement much more personal than is typical for the military aviator. Mr. Macy often could see the enemy as if up close and personal such as a sniper could. And this capability offered a similar surgical precision in limiting collateral damage.

Partially reliving Mr. Macy's experience helps you appreciate the challenges of conflict with powerful weapons and the discipline necessary to manage multitudes of information while making instant life and death decisions. In this world with a growing cadre of unmanned, remotely-controlled, airborne vehicles (UAVs}, the video-game mind-set intrudes the perspective of the remote pilot I suspect. The personal life-death risk is much removed to be replaced by the career-risk proxy. Sure, the adrenaline may pump as in the video game, but deep down you know that you will still be breathing tomorrow. It is certainly not so for Mr. Macy with the Apache strapped to his back.

I will add this title to my collection of true military experiences that include
"Into the Mouth of the Cat - The Story of Lance Sijan Hero of Vietnam" by Malcolm McConnell and "Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10" by Marcus Luttrell.