In the early 1970’s the US Army wanted a replacement for the AH-1 Cobra so companies
submitted proposals. In July 1973 the list was shortened to Hughes and Bell with each building a
prototype in 1975. The Army selected the Hughes helicopter because its landing gear was more
stable and the main rotor was more damage tolerant. In 1981 3 pre-production AH-64As were
given to the Army for testing and named Apache. The Apache went into production in 1982 and
has evolved into one of the deadly machines over the battle field.
The 8th Battalion, 229th Aviation was activated in the Army Reserve on September 17, 1989 at
Fort Knox, Kentucky granted permission by the AVG for the 8th-229th to use their logo and name
so they became the Flying Tigers. The 8th Battalion first received the Apache helicopter in 1992
and in October 2005 began training for the AH-64D Longbow and became the 8th Battalion,
229th Aviation Regiment. In the fall of 2014 8th-229th exchanged their AH-64Ds for the UH-60
Blackhawk and became an assault helicopter battalion.