Alvin H. Davenport, better known by his callsign, "Chopper", is one of the main characters in Ace Combat 5. He flew with the Wardog squadrant and served as a pilot in the Circum-Pacific War.
History
Not much is known about Alvin Davenport’s early history. Almost immediately after joining the Osean Air Defense Force, however, he began a reputation that would follow him to the end. He was a fan of rock & roll music and quick-witted; constantly bad-mouthing superiors over the radio, and he was notorious for unnecessary chatter. After the catastrophe over the Ceres Ocean involving the deaths of nearly a dozen trainee pilots, Davenport was assigned the third position in Wardog Squadron, headed by Captain Jack Bartlett of equally damaged reputation. Chopper’s (Davenport’s callsign) first contribution to the Circum-Pacific War was sending a surrender request to a damaged enemy reconnaissance aircraft hit by friendly SAMs. In the following weeks, Chopper continued to serve under two different captains: Bartlett, and his former wingmate known by him only as “Kid”. Aside from Bartlett, he also called Blaze by his nickname "Kid" most of the time. When Blaze first became Captain of the Wardog Squadron, he doesn't seem to respect Blaze's position much but soon have faith in Blaze abilities. During the war, Chopper seldom referred to the budding ace known by only one other name, Blaze, by any other moniker than the one given to him by Captain Bartlett. He constantly argued with his squadron’s AWACS, Thunderhead, over his “useless” chatter.
Chopper made it known to his allies that he did not support this war. After escorting Osean president Harling to safety, Chopper had some degree of faith for the president’s ability to restore peace, but when Operation Footprint took place he lost all trust in his country’s leader. He constantly spoke out against the war during several operations, criticizing military and political leaders. His tendency to speak out was noticed by capital personnel during and after his interrogation after he and his squadron allegedly attacked a Yuktobanian engineering college.
After sinking the Yuktobanian submarine carrier Hrimfaxi, 1st Lieutenant Davenport seemed to like the nickname that his squadron gained as the “Demons of Razgriz”. He was even quoted later by referring to himself as “Razgriz 3” during the operation in the Jilachi Desert.
Wardog Squadron gained so much attention that they were eventually asked to do a fly-by over a stadium in Osea’s November City. During that operation, a cry for peace was heard by the citizens in the stadium, and Chopper eagerly joined in.
Little did they know though, over the horizon Yuktobanian fighters began an undeclared terrorist attack on the stadium, Wardog Squadron was quickly asked to intercept and engaged them. During the engagement Wardog Squadron managed to destroy and neutralize all the fighters and many of them were shot down by Davenport himself. Unfortunately, at the close of the engagement, Davenport was hit by an enemy missile. He refused to bail out in fear that his plane would hit innocent civilians trying to escape the besieged stadium. Once the fighters in the area had cleared, he attempted to eject from his plane, but his systems failed and he ended up crashing into the stadium and dying on impact after one last sentence to Thunderhead: "Heh Heh, I'm going to miss that voice.". He was posthumously promoted two ranks. In the aftermath of the battle, Thunderhead somberly stated that Davenport was "a model fighter pilot to the end" as a formation of Osean F-16C's flew a missing man formation in his honor. After his death, his dog, Kirk, was then cared for by Peter N. Beagle.
Trivia
- On Mission 27, ACES, players can hear Chopper in the scene where the Yuktobanian, Osean & Razgriz aircraft fly together in a single squadron. During the part where the Osean anthem is sung by all pilots in unison, listen closely: one of those pilots has a very similar (if not, the same voice) as Chopper.
- Al so in Mission 27 there´s a voice very similar to Chopper´s.The voice appears moments before the tunnel´s opening and it says:"Man it´s a big Tunnel.".
Sources
Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War