Vygg,

The Army is requesting that the ARH have civil certification and is
funding the FAA costs to obtain it. They are requesting FAA
certification to improve the resale value of aircraft when they divest
them.

You are partially correct in your statement that the specification for
the ARH has become "midget Apache". In a bizzare deviation from
conventional military specifications, the ARH specification
requirements are not all manditory. Requirements are broken down into
catagories ranging from must have to not required but would be nice to
have. Very different.

Still, having both qualified military hardware and FAA certified
civilian aircraft, I will take military hardware any day. Life is
easier when the certifying agency and the customer are one and the
same.

Take care,

CTR