An Email
One of my best friends sent this to me tonight and I thought it was good enough to post. I am going to assume it is real and not some superimposed, photo-enhanced email that has been passed on and on. If I am correct in my aircraft…this is a Chinook…different from a Blackhawk which Tim flies but cool nonetheless. The email reads…
This photo was taken by a soldier in Afghanistan of a helicopter rescue mission. The pilot is a Pennsylvania National Guard guy who flies EMS choppers in civilian life. Now how many people on the planet you reckon could set the a** end of a chopper down on the rooftop of a shack on a steep mountain cliff and hold it there while soldiers load wounded men in the rear? If this does not impress you .. nothing will.
Gives me the chills and a serious case of the vertigo … I can’t even imagine having the nerve … much less the talent and ability … God Bless our military.
Hi Tiffany,
I checked snopes.com and yes, that is a true picture and you are right it is a Chinook helicopter. The only difference is the helicopter was touching down to “receive Afghan Persons Under Control (APUC) captured by the U.S. 10th Mountain Division”. Either way - amazing!
Maggie - December 11th, 2007 at 3:10 pmYes, it’s true. I received this photo as well, and it was a National Guard Pilot from PA.
As a pilot, I’m telling you - those guys earned their pay that day.
Steady, smooth control touch, gentle inputs, unwaivering patience, and cool attitude is what wins the day on this stuff.
A lot of things going on here. He probably hovered up to it and in front of the hut, and then hovered backwards towards it with the tailgate down - relying only on his crewchief to “talk him in” flying backwards into something he cannot physically see. Once he got the tailgate on, he would have needed to reduce power slightly to “plant” the tailgate to allow the people to load. Reduce the power too much and you crush the building and everyone on it (he probably weighs over 13 tons/26,000 pounds sitting there). If you don’t reduce the power enough, you could accidentally become airborne while people are loading and they could fall out. Either way is bad - the key is smooth control touch. He may have also been dealing with mountainous winds (windward and leeward winds, which can create updrafts and downdrafts). Oh yeah, don’t forget - hovering in that position leaves the pilots, crew, aircraft, and soldiers loading - extremely vulnerable to being shot by the enemy.
In every flight we take, there are moments when we are landing into a confined area - where we lose our visual cues and rely on the crewchief in the back and our instruments in front to know our horizontal and vertical attitude, as well as glancing at how much power is required to “hold” that postion. I say glance, because any look greater than a second and you’ve ran into something in front, to the sides, or in back of you. That’s why they say “head-on-a-swivel.”
Constant situational awareness (sometimes referred to as “SA”), will bring you and your soldiers home.
tim - December 11th, 2007 at 6:46 pmLoved how you describe things so clearly. Did you forget to mention eyes in the back of your head. I am certain you have them or perhaps they are what the crewchief is seeing. I’m amazed!
xoxox
Jean - December 12th, 2007 at 1:08 amJean