Army Aviation Digest - Dec 1971

8/12/2019 Army Aviation Digest - Dec 1971

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USAARlSCI SUPPORT CENTER

P.O. BOX 62 577FORT RUCKER AL 36362 577

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_____ _N_ T_E D___T a_T ~s/ r : 1 ; iy ~T~ O N DIRECTOR OF ARMY AVIATION ACSFORDEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY

BG Wil l iam J . Maddox Jr .

COMMANDANT U . S . ARMY AVIATION SCHOOLMG Allen M . Burdett Jr .

ASST COMDT U . S . ARMY AVIATION SCHOOLCOL Hubert S . Campbell Jr .

DIGEST STAFFRichard K. Tierney EditorCPT Tom GreeneCW2 Mike lopezCW2 Mike SheleyWilliam H. SmithLinda McGowanBetty S . WallaceJudith A . ClassenDianne Horn e

GRAPHIC ARTS SUPPORTHarry A . PickelDorothy L CrowleyAngela A . Akin

DIRECTOR U . S . ARMY BOARD FOR AVIATIONACCIDENT RESEARCH

COL Eugene B . Conrad

USABAAR PUBLICATIONS AND GRAPHICS DIVPierce L Wiggin ChiefWil l iam E . CarterJack DeloneyTed KontosCharles MobiusPatsy R . ThompsonArnold R. lambertEugenia M . BertaOwen B. England Jr .

Mary W . Windham

ABOUT THE COVER

Happy holidays depend onyour abil i ty to take safetyseriously. Of course you canlaugh it off, but you won tb e l u g h i n g l s t

DECEMBER 1971 VOLUME 17 NUMBER

Mission PossibleTwelve Cardinal RulesCaught In The FishhookCharlie And Danny s Write-InTac Tickets And Cream PuffsAeromedic-For Fear Of The Flight SurgeonEmphasis On QualityViews From ReadersInstrument CornerThe Armed Helicopter Story-Par t VIMaintenance Matters 26

A Repair Part Or A FuneralATC Training Goes ComputerizedSurviving The Survivable 3Listening Improves Vision 3Super-Vision 4Scrapped Mission 4What Is Flicker Vertigo?Super Foolproof Panic ButtonTime To o 6USAASO Sez

Gunship Prototype Presented To Museum Inside BacTen Little Helicopters Back Cov

The mission of the U . S . ARMY AVIATION DIGEST is to prov ide informotion of an operational or functional nature con cerning safety and aircraft occident prevention , training , maintenance , operat ions , research and deve lopment , av iationmedicine and other related data .

The DIGEST is an offi ci al Depa rt ment of th.,.Army pe r iod ical published monthly under the .uperv i. ion of the Commandant U . S . Army Av ia ti on School. Views expressed here i n are not necessarily tho.e of Department of the Army or the U . S . ArmyAviation School. Photos a re U . S . Army unless otherw i.e .pecified . Mater ial may be reprinted prov ided cred it i. given to theDIGEST and to the author unless atherwi.e indicated .

Artides photos and items of i nterest on A r my av iation are i nvited . Direct communication s authorized to : Editor , U . S .Army Aviation Dige.t Fort Rucker Ala . 36360 .

U.e of fund. for printing th is publication has been approved by Headquarters Department of the Army 1 October 19 70 .

Act ive Army unit. receive distribut ion under the pinpoint di.tribution .y.tem a out lined i n AR 31 0 1. Complete DA Form12 4 and . end directly to CO AG Publication. Center 2800 Ea.tern Boulevard Baltimor . Md . 21220 . For any change indistr ibution requ irements , i nitia t e a revised DA Form 12 4 .

National Guard and Army Reserve units under p inp o int d i.t r ibu t ion 01.0 .hould submit DA Form 12-4 . Other NationalGuard units .hould .ubm i t reque .h through their state adju tant . genera l .

For tho.e not eligible for official distribution or who de . i re personal cop ies of the DIGEST pa id .ubscriptions, -4 . 5 0dome.tic and 5 .50 oversea. are ava i lab le from the Superintendent of Document. U. S . Government Printing Office Wa.h ington, D. C . 20402 .


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.

~ V A T o j i rD GEST1 DO YOU F L THAT INCENTIVE 4. DO YOU F L THAT THE ANNUAL

TO WRITE FOR THE DIGEST IS AND MONTHLY CASH AWARDSHELPED BY THE ANNUAL AND SHOULD BE CONTINUED? _ _ _

MONTHLY CASH AWARDS? - - - - - - -

2. HAS THE MONTHLY AND ANNUAL

CASH AWARDS EVER PROMPTED YOU

OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW TO WRITE 5 DO YOU F L THAT THE DIGEST IS:

FOR THE AVIATION DIGEST? _ _ _ _ YES NO

TOO TECHNICAL

NOT TECHNICAL ENOUGH

3 I PREFER STORIES ON: JUST RIGHT

6 WHAT SUGGESTIONS OR IMPROVE

MORE FEWER MENTS WOULD YOU SUBMIT FOR

ACCIDENTS/ PREVENTION THE ANNUAL AND MONTHL Y CASH

ARMAMENT INCENTIVE AWARDS PROGRAM?

ATC

FIXED WING

HUMOR

MAINTENANCE 7 MY RANK IS: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

MEDICAL 8 MY RElATION TO ARMY AVIATION

OPERATIONSIS: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

R D

ROTARY WING

TACTICS9 FURTHER COMMENTS:

TECHNICAL

TRMNING

WAR STORIES

WEATHER

OTHER

DECEMBER 1971 1


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DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY

HEADQUARTERSUNITED STATES ARMY AVIATION SCHOOL

For t Rucker Alabama 36360

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

U. S Army Aviation Digest

Department of NRI

USAAVNS

Fort Rucker Alabama 3636

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DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY

FOLD

le t a p l e


5/68

Mission aptain Thomas P Petullo

ossibl~ \ ~ ~ ~

/

G OOD MORNING, captain.Las t week an ec onomicdispute in a small republic precipitated a strike by indigenous

personnel . This uprising hascaused a shortage of instructorsin the Army s flight training program. Your miss ion , capta in ,should you de ide to accept it isto aid in filling this shortage byattending the methods of instruct ion course and becoming abasic instrument helicopter flightins t ruc tor at the U. S . ArmyA viation School which is locatedat Ft. Rucker Ala. As usual, ifyou decide not to accept this

a s s i g n m e n t , you wi l l e n t e rground resonance and self-destruct in 5 seconds.

Good luck captain.B A S I C I N S T R U M E N T S

EMERGENCY PANEL Ishuddered as I remembered mytraining and classmates duringthe basic instrument phase. Wewere all felons of flight whos h o u l d h a v e b e e n g r o u n d e dpurely from an ecological standpoin t . But before long, I re

p o r t e d to H a n c h e y A r m yHeliport at Ft. Rucker for mybasic instrument MOl course.

Three weeks later I arrived atFt. Rucker s Shell Army Heliport to confront once again, myancient nemesis. I m sure all IPsremember their first t eachingcycle as a difficult period of adjustment. After I had finished a

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few c lasses my conf idence increased and I began , sophomorica l ly , to app roach the ar t ofins t ruc t ion by cataloging themost frequent errors I encountered and attributing these to amythical Four Horsemen of theApocalypse: Inspector Clouseau ,Zero , The Ar t fu l Dodger andKamikaze .

The first horseman is Inspec

tor Clouseau. Timid , nervous ,swea ty palms and car ry ing alarge pillow , he approaches theaircraft. While you are checkingthe dash 2 he gets a fuel jar todra in the ai rcraf t . Nex t youhear . THUD . CRUNCH. . . CRASH , a , tripping ov e rt h e sk id , he p u t s h i s e lbowth rough the chin bubble anddrops the fuel jar on the asphalt.

Af te r you ge t s t rapped in tothe replacement aircraft Inspec

tor Clouseau at tempts to tunethe radios with his nav switchdown. Knowingly , you keepyour nav switch down waitingfor him to turn the volume allthe way up as he has done everyday for the last week. With thevolume so high tha t you c a nhear the radio even with you navswitch down you wait for him to

4

sa y , Si r , I ca n ' t get the ADF .With the Devil-made -me-do

it innocence you reply , Oh ,you f o r g o t to p u t y o u r navswitch up.

He reaches over and flips hisnav switch up . After he uncrosses his e ye s he tu rns thevolume down. Next , you watchas he at tempts to pe r f o r m hisILS check. Hesitantly , he gropes

his way to the UHF radio ands tar t s twist ing the dial . Youwait , patiently , for the inevita-

ble , Sir , there are no one s ont h i s r a d i o , o n l y tw o s andthree ' s . ,

You sigh and hand carry himto the IL S . You received a premoni t ion of Clouseau ' s flightperformance when , with trepida

tion , you opened his flight records and there stenciled acrosshis Link card was the warning :s tudent ge ts ve rti go w hi l e ink i ss till in s trap s

The second horseman , Zero ,operates according to the inexorable law of inertia , which states ,

When one of the factors of aproduct is 0 , the product itself is0. You have to wave your handin front of Zero s face to ensurehis circuit breaker is s till in. You

watch him fly straight and levelas , zombie-l ike , he vacant lystares at the instrument panel.

The perversity of human nature is exquisitely demonstratedby Zero. You give the aircraft tohi m , tell him to maintain 2 ,000feet , 60 knots and a 270-degreeheading . Zero will hold 2 , 000feet , 60 knots and 260 degreesfo r . 5 minutes. Finally , you acquie s ce and place the headingind ica tor s chevron over 260

degrees , and what heading doyou think he holds ? Right , 270degrees.


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Because of anticipation , youhave to neak up on Zero withall maneuver s . H e ' ll hav e beenflying perfectl y s traight and levelfor 10 minute and you tell himto start X maneuver when theclock ' s second had is on 12 . By

t he t ime t h e s e c o n d h a n dreaches 12 you ar e trying to recover from an unusual attitude.Frustrated , y ou have an irre istible t empta t ion to unplug hishelmet cord and garro te himwith it . Once on par t ia l pane lyou vertigo your way throughthe sky , fo l lowing the y el lowbrick road as s trains of We'reoff to see the Wizard . . . reeloff in the background.

The third hor eman , The Art

ful Dodger , spends 90 percent ofhis t ime and energy rationalizingwhy he has difficulty flying , untilsome IP unwittingly gives himthe panacea for all his problems:

You have a built-in right handturn.

Aha Dodger pounces on thislittle morsel with glee. He is thevic t im o f a qui rk of nature .When he was born , the cloudspar ted and a voice , boomingwith authority , decreed , Thoushalt have built-in ht handturn And now , Dodger greetsyou on the first training da y withthe ominous pronouncement , Iwant to make one thing perfectl yc lear - I h a v e a buil t - in r ighthand turn .

A second ploy of Dodger ' s isthermals . t can be the calmestof days and Dodger will be in a n800 -foot ra te of d es cent at 20knot and 10 inche s of m a ni f o ldpre s ur e exc l a iming , WowThe se th e rmal s a r e re a ll y so m ething , a re n ' t th e y ? " Th ey s urear e .

The fourth a nd final ho r s emanis K a m i k a z e . Do es th e n a m egive yo u a n y id eas? Right , y ouknow h e ' s out to get y ou . H e 's

o nervou s a nd overcontrol theaircr a ft to s uch a n ex te nt that at

D E C E M B E R 1971

any moment you expect him tomake a " F o a m the runway , myFM ' s inop call. Any unusualattitude you give him ends up ina screaming gunrun , the bladesflexing, wop . . . wop . . . wop

. as you f ran t ica l ly t ry torecover the aircraft. His ITOs

are poetr y in motion as , with thecollective buried in his armpit ,the aircraft springs 15 feet intothe air and then sluggishly startssettling back onto the pane l - t herpm sucked down to 2800.

Kamikaze ' s p i e c e de res i s tance , ho we ve r , is the forcedlanding. He thinks that trim issomething you get in a barbershop. When you retard the throttle the aircraft yaws 90 degreesto the left which does wondersfor your flow of adrenalin . Having o p e n a rea s on th ree s idesyou watch as he turns 180 degrees and homes to the woods.Naturally , on recovery the engine star t s coughing in unisonwith your he a rt.

I went a long c lass i fy ing students for a short while, deluding myself with this mental

legerdemain, until one day I readin one of the Weekly Summary'swell dones: Flying on a visualreconnaissance in the RVN a t alow altitude , hi helicopter washit by small arms fire . A roundsha t te red the tail ro tor servo ,severing an engine oil line. Thetail ro tor fai led in a fixed l e f tposition and loss of hydraulicfluid and oil occurred. The pilotflew to his base and landed withno further damage ." Recalibrating my eyeball , I looked againat the aviator 's name. Zero t

couldn ' t be Not my Zero , whoflew with his eyes bloused , andthought thermals were somethingyou wore in cold weather .

Two weeks l a te r I rece ivedmy second shock . . . a doubleon e . Both Clouseau and Kamik a z e r e c e i v e d b r o k e n w i n gawards. Clouseau for making asuccessful autorotation on a 35degree slope , and Kamikaze formaking a successful autorotationwhen his engine failed in formation flight over a heavily wooded

Continued on page 25

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Twelve ardinal Rules

W ITH AN U NEVENTFULmorning and no need torearm, the AH-1G HueyCobrassat awaiting their afternoon mission.

At 1200 hours the Cobra teamdeparted their base helipad foran afternoon reconnaissance. A20-minute flight brought the fireteam into the assigned area ofoperations. The team leader ini-tiated a circling pattern to perform a high r econna i s sance .Upon completing this high reconh e d e c i d e d t h t e v e r y t h i n glooked quiet. The team leaderstarted a descent; his wingmans tayed a t 1,500 f ee t to cove rhim.

Reaching his desired contouraltitude, the lead ship started asystematic reconnaissance of theslopes of the specified hill. H enoted that the hill was coveredwith dense vegetation , making it

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difficult to see the ground. Continuing his survey and slowing

his air speed , he suddenly spotted n umerou s en emy bunkersand fighting pos i t ions . In oneparticular area near the base ofthe hill he found several largebunkers and five very cleverlycamouflaged buildings with aluminum roofing.

The fire team leader decidedthat he had found an appropriatet a rge t for the a f t e rnoon airstrike , so he climbed to altitudeand contacted long range reconnaissance patrol LRRP) control.The team leader was told thatthe planned air strike had beencanceled and that he should usehis own fire team to neutralizethe target.

Since the enemy had skillfullycamouf laged the a rea , it wasdifficult to loca te the t a rge tsfrom altitude. Thus , the team s

l eader dec ided tha t he couldobtain the best result s by makinghis initial firing runs from a lowaltitude where target identification would be easier .

Call ing his wingman he exp l a i n e d t h e t y p e o f t t c kpattern planned and the directionof attack to be used. Then againl eav ing hi s wingman to coverhim the team leader descendedto 500 feet above ground level.His plan wa to make two quickrocket runs in an a t t emp t tomark the ta rge t as c lose ly aspossible. After marking the target he planned to break off whilehis wingman rolled in to coverhim , and then he d climb out toenter a normal racetrack pattern.

Lead man euv e red into posit ion and rol led in for his firstrun. He lost sight of the target inthe dense jungle foliage and hadto break the run. On his second


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t ry lead had bet ter luck andscored hits on two bunkers andone hootch . Thu s far he hadreceived no enemy fire nor hadhe seen signs of any enemytroops.

The fire team leader decidedthat to sufficiently mark the target one more run would be necessary before climbing out forthe high altitude attacks. Turninginbound, he started his third firing pass. Flying parallel to thehill he fired at the base of thetarget area. Halfway through therun the gunner was exci tedlysaying tha t the rocke t s werelooking good- r igh t on target.

As the ai rcraf t commande r

(AC) punched off his fourth pairof rockets the enemy opened firefrom numerous bunkers locatedcloser to the top of the hill.Their rounds hit the canopy tothe right front of the AC and thecanopy exploded sending minuteparticles of splintered plexiglassinto the face of the AC. The pilot made a quick call, "Lead istaking fire I 'm hit " The covering wingship instantly rolled inpouring rockets and devastating

minigun fire onto the enemy position, while the pilot-gunner ofthe lead ship took control fromhis wo u nded AC and flew itclear of the hostile fire. Aftersuppressing the enemy positionsthe wingman took up his normalposition behind the lead aircraftand escorted him to safety.

Just another war story? Yes.In th i s par t icu lar inc ident thepilots were extremely lucky. Theteam leader suffered temporaryeye damage and his aircraft incurred minor damage. What canwe learn from this incident? Themistakes that were made werenot only obvious but also verycommon and are still being madein the Republic of Vietnam today. The fo l lowing errors aretypical exam{'les:

Flying parallel to a prcmi

DECEMBER 1971

nent terrain feature The rule notonly applies to hills but also totree lines, rice dikes, roads andstreams.

Intermediate altitude attackpatterns. At t imes low leve l ,

nap-of-the-earth flight is a neces s i ty - to avoid large caliber orsophisticated air defense weapons or, as in this example , toacquire a target. The mistake isin choosing an intermediate attack altitude. When air defenseis not a problem there are twoavai lab le opt ions in reducingvulnerability to small arms fire:the rule is to either fly h igh-a tl eas t 1,500 fee t above groundl eve l -o r fly at treetop height so

as to present a fleeting target tothe enemy. To commence anattack from an intermediate altitude such as 500 feet is to invitetrouble.

Flying the same attack pattern three times in a row. Thismistake enabled the enemy toplan exactly when and where hewould take the ai rcraf t underfire.

All three of these broken rulesare part of the twelve cardinal

rules of gunship tactics. The following rules will keep you reasonably safe while still enablingyou to accomplish your mission:

I - Iden t i fy the friendlies.I I A void overflying the tar

get.I I I -Avo id the deadman's

zone.IV-Avo id the ISO-degree po

sition.V- W h e n possible use a high

recon.VI-Always assume the area is

hot.V I I A void flying parallel to

terrain features.V I I I A void flying and firing

over the heads of friendlies.

I X - E x p e n d only on worthwhile targets.

X - K n o w the situation.X I - B r i e f everyone.

X I I - Ta k e your time.

Kno win g these ru les is onething; using them is another. Asis the case with all rules, theyare worthless if not followed.Remember the rules and obeythem.


10/68

C UGHT IN TH

T WAS ONE of those days;monsoon rains, cold winds

and fog thick as pea soup. Theplace: LZ English, the Republicof Vietnam, home of the 173rdAirborne Brigade. LZ English islocated about 30 minutes north

of Phu Cat Air Force Base asthe UH-l Huey flies English isnot the standard run-of-the-milllanding zone. In fact, it is comparable in size to one of thesmaller camps in Vietnam, unlike other normally small landingzones.

English made quite a nice target for Charlie because it wassituated only a couple of milesaway from some pretty ruggedmountains to the east. Enemy

act iv i ty in the area had been

FISHHOOK

CW2 James E Staigle

picking up because English hadbeen getting hit fairly often. TheThird Brigade, Fourth InfantryDivision had been sent to LZEnglish to clean up the area andbrought along its LRP. For thosewho don t know, LRP is short

for long range p a t r o l - a group ofmen specially trained for scouting missions.

Two new LZs had been put inthe valley on the other side ofthe mountains to the east due toincreased enemy activity. Blackjack 21 and his wingman hadbeen called on to do most of thelift work for the LRP, carrying itfrom place to place while it wasbased at LZ English. Blackjack2 ferried the LRP team to and

from the dropoff point called the

Fishhook. The upper portion ofthe An Loa Valley curves southagain making the area look like afishhook, thus its name.

The pa t ro l had been in thearea about 2 days and hadn tseen much act iv i ty. At about

0900 hours a call had been relayed from one of the LZs in theAn Lao Valley that the patrolhad something. Everyone waslistening to the radio monitoringthe frequency for more information. About 30 minutes later acall had come in from LZ Tape,near the mouth of the Fishhook,saying tha t the pat ro l had engaged a North Vietnamese Army(NV A) patrol in a fire fight

The LRP team requested as

sistance as it had nearly depletedits ammunition supply and hadspot ted another NV A patrolcoming down the trail. With theweather so bad most of the aircraft had been grounded at various locations and were unableto take off again. The only heli-copter available was the OH-6Abelonging to the artillery battalion of the Third Brigade. TheLRP leader who had monitoredthe call requested the artillery

commander to use his aircraftand its pilot to get some ammunition to his men. The artillerycommander agreed if the pilotwould fly the mission with theweather so bad.

The team leader found the pi-lot talking to his crew chiefabout the main tenance on theaircraft and filled him in on the

U. S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST


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details of the situation. The pilotglanced at the bad weather andreplied, "Well sir, all we can dois t ry."

The LRP team leader roundedup the much-ne e d e d a m m u n ition, an extra observer and two

CAR-15 rifles as the aircraft hasno armament of its own.As they loaded the OH-6 and

proceeded to take off, the pilotnoticed the fog was lifting a lit-tle. Having received a specialclearance from the control towerto depart, the aircraft lifted offf rom L Z Engl i sh . The pilotcould see that most of the flightto the An Lao Valley would beat a low level, and he realizedthe river would be the only route

they would be able to follow tothe va l ley. He t h en rad ioedahead to two fire bases checkingthe weather conditions ahead ofthem.

The first fire base at the southern end of the valley reportedthe fog was slowly beginning tolift, but it looked worse to thenorth. The second fire base tothe no r th gloomi ly conf i rmedthis report. In the meantime thepilot was flying as low and as

fast as possible to avoid groundto-air fire.

As the aircraft flew over thefirst fire base the crew noticedthe ceiling had improved but wasmuch lower to the north. Whenthe OH-6 passed the second firebase the ceiling star ted to drop.The p i lo t told the L R P t e a mleader that if the ceiling droppedany lower they would have toturn back. A couple of secondslater they received a radio call

that the patrol was down to itsl as t ful l c l ip o f ammuni t ion .They were also told that most ofthe second NV A patrol had runb ack into the hills, but they believed that they had t rapped aprisoner or two in the tall grass.

The pilot called ahead to thesecond fire base requesting thatit radio the patrol that they were

DECEMBER 1971

trying to get through with moreammunit ion and assis tance andto be watching and listening forthe helicopter.

The ceiling looked higher onthe eastern side of the fire base,so the pilot elected to leave the

river route and fly to the east ofit hoping to join the river againfarther to the north. All three ofthe men onboard kept watch foranything unexpected to happenas t h ey w e r e now rap id ly app roach i ng the Fi shhook area .The p i lo t rad ioed ba ck to thesecond fire base that the weatherwas improving, and that if theywould have the recovery aircraf tand gunships follow them up ther iver t h ey shou ldn ' t have too

much trouble.As the p i lo t p ro ce eded in tothe Fishhook area he radioed thepatrol asking if it could hear orsee him yet. The patrol repliedthat it could hear him but couldnot see him.

"Wai t one " the pilot replied,as he came around a corner ofthe valley, and asked again if theship was visible.

Y e s , c a m e t h e r e p l y,"you' l l be over us in a couple of

seconds.The pi lo t ' s two obse rve r s

s canne d the a rea and sho r t l y .stated, "There they are "

Half the LRP team was on ar idgeline while the o the r hal fcrossed the river about 150 feetbelow them. They were preparing to search through the deadN V A so ld iers and the i r rucksacks for intelligence information. The pilot dropped a freshsupply of ammun i t i o n to bo th

halves of the team and advisedt h a t he would p r ov id e co ve rwhile the L R P t e a m s ea r che dthe area. Since both halves ofthe team had radios communication would be no problem if anything developed.

As the second half of the teamproceeded across the river andup the trail the pilot radioed that

there was something fishy aboutthe last body up the trail. Hishead a ppea red to be in somekind of a sack and his right handwas inside his shirt. As the helicopter circled about 30 feet overit the patrol cautiously moved upon the body with its head covered. Suddenly there was a burstof fire so the pilot called downto see what had happened. Thepatrol called back that the N V Awith his head covered had beenwatching through his sack as thepatrol approached him and hadpulled a grenade on them whenthey had go t t en wi th in a fewfeet and thanks

The patrol on the trail picked

up what it needed and were returning to cross the river whenthe p i lo t r e ce ive d a ca l l f romBlackjack 21. H e said he had agunship esco r t if needed andwould be there in about 15 minu t e s . T h e p i l o t o f t h e L O Hca l led back t h a t eve ry th ingseemed und e r con t ro l a t thistime.

As the L O H pilot flew ove rthe grass a t a high hove r anNV A soldier popped into view

and ra ised his hands ove r hishead . The obse rve r s cove redhim while the men on the trailmoved in on him slowly. Theycame up behind the N V A soldierand s ea r c he d him, b u t foundnothing. The pilot set his aircraftd o w n while t h ey t ied him andput him in the b ack s e a t withone of the observers . The patrolm o v e d b a c k t o t he r i v e r asBlackjack 2 flew overhead.

Th e L R P on the r iver and

ridge popped smoke grenades tobe picked up. After the pickupthe L O H , Blackjack 2 and thegunship esco r t jo ined up andheaded back to LZ English whileone N V A soldier wondered howhe got into such a mess. I guesshe 'd never heard that song aboutArmy aviation being there.

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1.

enorlie onrlOonnY s Write-In

D ear Danny: I have noticed in several places inTM 55-1510-209-10/1 dated 19 June , references are made to the autoignition sy s tem in theU-21. I am unable to find a description of thissystem , how it works or what it does anywhere inthe book. Would you send me a brief write-up onthis system or advise where the information canbe found.

CW3 R. E . S.

Danny's answer: The information you are requesting was inadvertantly omitted from the dash 10 atprinting. The following will be included in change 1a t a l a te r d a t e . I n the meant ime , very brief ly,here 's how i t works:

The autoignition system will be found on theU-21G (U-21A, configuration 2). f used it will automatically reignite the combustion of either enginein the event of accidental flameout. The system isnot essential to normal operation and is used during takeoff, landing and flight during icing conditions only. The autoignition system is triggered

from a readiness state to an action state when engine torque drops below 410 ft. Ibs. Appropriatelights depicting states of readiness, and switches areprovided.

ear Danny: When new U -21 pilots report to ourunit they are given a checkride by a unit IP before assuming their duties as copilots. Sometimeduring this ride they are given simulated engineout practice by the IP by turning off the fuel firewall shutoff valve. One of our most recent arriv

als complained about this practice saying , Wewere warned at the school not to do this becauseit was hard on the engine . Please check with theU-21 people at the school and if this is not goodpractice , please publish in the Charlie and DannyWrite-In so that others may benefit.

CPT J. T . T.

Danny's answer: On the surface, CPT J . T. T. , thepractice of using the fire wall valve to shut down an

10

engine seemed like a real good gimmick to pull on anew pilot. But after checking with the experts Ifound out two things:

By shutting off the fuel fire wall valve youdon ' t s imula te an engine-out condition, man,you have had a real one.

This practice has been discontinued at theschool and is not recommended by the Beech people. The lack of cooling fuel to the gear driven,

high pressure fuel pump causes it to cavitate andon two occasions has caused internal breakdownwith the resulting t rash going on into the fuelcontrol. Needless to say this is costly. As the resultof your letter changes are being made to all U-21dash lOs with the notation to use this valve only inan actual emergency.

Dear Danny: While looking through the CH-54Bdash 10 , TM 55-1520-217-10/2 , I find that on page

3-14 ,paragraph

3-46 ,item 6,

itreads: Flight con

trol servo in te r lock-CHECK. (Flight controlservo switch 2nd S TA G E - O F F position.) Checkthat 2nd stage pressure will not drop to zero until1st stage pressure reaches 2000 + 75 PSI .

t seems to me that since 1st stage servo pressure is already present when the rotor brake isre leased the references refer r ing to 1st stageshould read 2nd stage , a nd those referring to 2ndstage should read 1st stage. Am I confused?

CW2 C. H . B.

Danny's answer: No sir, you are on the right road.

In fact, we recently received a DA Form 2028 fromthe 291st Tra ns p o r t a t i on C o m p a n y at Ft . Sil l ,Okla. , on the same subject and are recommendingthe following changes be made:

TM 55-1520-217-10/2, page 3-14, paragraph 3-46(*6)

*6. Flight control servo in te r lock-CHECK.a. Flight control servo switch 1st S TA G E

OFF.1) ls t STAGE servo pressure i nd i ca t o r-



13/68

c ~

l - - . . . . e . . .

,TH TS TOO CLOSE

TO THE RE L THING

ZERO PSI (only after 2nd stage servo pressure indicator reaches 2000 + 75 PSI will the 1st stage indicate zero).

(2) 1s t S TA G E S E RV O PRESS a n d 1s tST AGE SERVO caution l igh t s -check i l lumination.

3) 1st STAGE SERVO switch-centeredON).

4) 1st STAGE SERVO caution l i g h t s - O U T(when 1st stage pressure reaches 2000 + 75 PSI).

b. 2nd STAGE SERVO s w i t c h - O F F.

DECEMBER 1971

1) 2nd STAGE SERVO pressure indicat o r Z E R O PSI.

2) 2nd STAGE SERVO PRESS and 2ndST AGE SERVO caution l igh t s -check i l lumination.

3) 2nd STAGE SERVO swi tch-cen te redON).

(4) 2nd S TA G E S E RV O caut ion I i g h t s -OUT (when 2nd stage pressure reaches 2000 + 75

PSI).

Hope this lets the sunshine through.


14/68

ac Tickets nd

Cream Puffs

IT WAS ABOUT 1 6 0 0 hourson one of those unseasona-bly warm and wet afternoonsas the new instructor pilot (IP)parked in the north forty priorto his f irst night training flight.Leaving his car he noticed thatthe l ight rain had stopped andt h e re we re 0 n Iy t w o fl uffy

clouds to t he nor th , lookingabou t as dangerous as hugecream puffs. During the f l ightcommander's briefing weatherwas mentioned as looking goodand repor ted as 2 ,000 sca t -tered. There was still an hourof daylight le f t as the IP andh i s t w o fl e d g l i n g s I e f t t h ebriefing room.

Afte r a check l i s t pre f l igh tand runup they received clear-ance and t ook off. The l igh train s tar ted to fa l l again en-route to Mat teson Range a tt h e U . S. A r m y Av i a t i o nSchool, Ft. Rucker, Ala. Therewas a s l igh t ly lower cei l ingnear Steepshead, b u t againv i s i b i l i t y was good so n osweat .

Fol lowing a main tenancedelay on the line, the new IP

1 2

Captain Ro n ald G ibes

took off to fire his first table.On the f i rs t pass he not icedhis ground speed pick up dueto a tai lwind. After the secondpass he pul led up and suddenly t he UH - l B began toclimb and shake violently inthe turbulence . Forward pressure on the cyclic failed to

stop the cl imb which was nowat over OO feet per minute and lower ing the col lec t ivedidn' t help. The aircraft wasnow in the clouds with heavyrain washing across the wind-shield and i n to the c o c k p i t .The Huey con t inued to rise,suddenly leveled and t henplummeted downward at over1,000 feet per minute, no con-trol movements co u ld stop itsdescent.

Sudden ly the a i rc ra f t wasf lung clear of the clouds andcontrol was regained. A l ightrain was still falling as he rec-ognized the lights of Lowe AAFahead. After a lB O -degree turnhe found Matteson and quicklylanded, palms sweating fromthe wild ride and puzzling over

what had caused the frighten-ing experience.

What had happened wast h a t one o f those i nnocen tappearing clouds was maturingrapidly into a thunderstorm.The warm t empera tu re hadcreated l i f t i n g ai r which ex-tended the clouds to a higher

a l t i tude where mois tu re wascondensed into large droplets.Tremendous air currents keptt h e d r e a r y r a i n i n s i d e t h ecloud with only the harmlessappear ing l igh t rain fa l l ingoutside .

Lucky? Sure he was but heremembered a few bas ic in-s t r u m e n t procedures whichkept the aircraft in a level att i-tude:

Reduce power. Reduce air speed. Main ta in wings level on

the att i tude indicator.Then with luck you may be

able to ride i t out in one piece.Now tha t we know what can

be done if severe turbulence isencountered let 's see if we canrecognize a potential hazardand void the whole thing.

U S A R MY VI TION DIGEST


15/68

The in ter ior of a t hunderstorm becomes a maze of upd r a f t s and d o w n d r a f t s as

moisture t u rns to ra indropsand h e a t e x c h a n g e s t a k eplace. Updraft speed increaseswith altitude and may reach arate of 3,000 feet or more perminute. Downdrafts originatein the middle levels o f thecloud and their velocity diminishes as t hey approach theground. Still they may reach2,500 feet per minute. Whendowndrafts approach the surface they spread out horizon

ta l ly produc ing s t rong andgusty winds tha t can extend15 to 20 miles.

In addit ion to violent windsand rain thunderstorms mayalso contain supercooled vaporwhich can produce dangerousicing in a matter of minutes,as well as snow and hail. Lightning may also be present al-

DECEM ER 97

though strikes are rare and thedamage caused is usually minor. Sudden burs ts o f l igh t

can cause temporary blindnessand contribute to vertigo however

Thunderstorms can occur inthe morn ing but mos t oftendevelop in the afternoon andevening.

A typical thunderstorm has awid th and height o f abou t 6miles, with a lifespan o f from20 to 90 minutes. Movementoccurs at a rate slightly lessthan the prevailing wind. The

n v i r o n m e n t a l S e r v i c e sAgency states tha t the heaviest concentrat ion of storms isin central Florida, with a rateof 90 to 100 storms per year.In the Ft. Rucker area one canexpect 70 to 80 s torms peryear; this rate points out theneed f o r c a u t i o n t h e yearround.

Regardless o f how well anaviator knows his own regionand its weather peculiarities, a

complete br ief ing before allflights is a basic safety precaution. Reports of fronts and linesqual ls even 50 mi les awayshould be analyzed carefully.St rong winds are no t seenunderneath storm clouds andcan carry a he l i cop te r wellabove its service ceiling. Unless there is a 20-mile spacebetween s torms f l ights between t hunderheads can bevery hazardous.

The innocent-looking cloudmay look like a cream puff, butdon ' t be fooled by appear -ances. Keep your distance I fyou not ice rapidly loweringceilings or high quali ty windsland as soon as poss ib le . I tmay save you from an embarrassing situation and/or sweatypalms.

3


16/68

FOR FE R

OF THE FLIGHT SURGEON

T h e f l i g h t s u r g e o n is n o t t h eg r o u n d i ng o g r e i m a g in ed b y t hea i r cr e w m a n bu t t he g u a r d i a no f f l y in g c a r e e r s a n d s a f e t y

Major Nicholas E Barreca M . D .

Provi e by the Society of U S. r m y Flight Surgeons

T RADITIONALLY , the flightsurgeon is looked upon withsome suspicion by air crewmen.He seems to represent some interminable threat. He first confronts you at your initial flyingphys ica l , then annual ly thereafter. Each time he seeminglybecomes more inqui r ing . . .How do you fee l? . . . Haveyou had any difficulty since yourlast physical? . . . Accidents?. . . Hospitalizations? . . . Anyconvulsions? Unconscious-ness? . Dizziness?Fainting? Motion sickness?. . . Vertigo? . . Allergy?

14

Why all this concern? Unfortunately, through misunderstanding , a very unpopular image ofthe "fr ight scourgeon has beencreated in the past. He has beenconsidered as somewhat of anogre , an obstacle to the pursuitof flying , whose sole purposeand goal in life is to ground aircrewmen. f he didn ' t get you atroutine health or sick-call examinations , he pursued you to thesite of your infrequent but lifethreatening and most embarrassing aircraft accident.

Much of this folklore and in-appropr ia te imagery resu l ted

from a most evident and painfulthreat to on e ' s flight pay. Thisthrea t , while no longer real ,seems appa ren t to many. Isthere any real basis for thisfear? In the early sixties, theremay have been . Groundings

were rapidly followed by suspens ions and there were fewprovisions in the finance regulations to permit continued flightpay. This is no longer the caseToday you and the flight surgeonhave many administrative advantages which permi t you to receive adequate medical care andflying pay while the flight sur-



17/68

geon pursues necessary medicalevaluation and treatment.

L e t ' s look a t some of theseadministrative provisions. First,there is the medical restriction.This is the paper procedure bywhich the flight surgeon recommends that you be temporarily

g r o u n d e d . ( R e member theflight surgeon only recommends,it is your commander who imposes the medical restriction byhis authority.) However, whileon a medical restriction the airc r e wm a n may cont inue to rece ive f lying pay, p rovid ing hemeets the criteria explained below. The medical restriction maybe imposed by the loca l comm a n d e r for a per iod up to 6m o n t h s before suspens ion byhigher headq u a r t e r s becomesnecessary. During this 6-monthper iod the flight surgeon hasmore than adequate time to evaluate and treat most illnesses orinjuries without interfering withflying pay eligibility .

The modern finance regulationis the cornerstone upon whichthis l ess encum b e red medica ls y s t e m is enabled to func t ionsmoothly. First there is the flightt ime accrual provision wherebythe air crewman may apply timef lown in 1 month to the nextsucceeding 5 months (providingi t w a s no t r e q u i r e d f o r t hemonth in question or previousmonths) . Then there is the 3months grace period which permits the air crewman to applyexcess flight t ime back 2 monthsfrom the month in which he isflying. Finally, there is the 90day flight excusal for those involved in bona fide aviation accidents. All these provisions makeit likely that the hard working,conscientious air crewman willreceive flying pay despite medical restriction.

Now that we've dispelled thatthreat to your flying pay, whatabout that lingering distrust ofthe flight surgeon? What are his

DECEMBER 1971

goals anyway? Bas ica l ly, theflight surgeon aims to prevent allillness, injury or incapacity. Hisutopian dream would encompassnever having to inject anotherpenicillin shot, administer onemore sedative or apply one moreplas te r cas t . T h e road to thisgoal is frequent health maintenance examinations, applicationof safety and human factors design principles and adoption ofsound heal th prac t ices . Ult imately the flight surgeon aims tomaximize the longevity of yourf ly ing c a r e e r ; to p r o l o n g i tsafely. In essence, the flight surgeon's sole goal and motto is to

K e e p 'Em Flying. However,foremost in his mind is a somewhat foreboding concept o fSAFETY

Why then does the flight surg e o n s e e k t he g r o u n d i n g o favia tors? Firs t o f al l , by sodoing he will probably be prot ec t ing and pro longing yourflying career ultimately. However, he is also responsible forprotecting the flying career ofothers who could conceivably be

affec ted by your incapac i ty.When medical restriction is imposed the reasons are varied butmost commonly they are:

When the condition illnessor injury) m a y be a h a z a r d toflying safety and public safety).

t might e i ther in te r fe re withp e r f o r m a n c e or i m p a i r efficiency.

When the condi t ion mayimpai r ind iv idua l o r persona lhealth, well-being or safety. tmight become immediately compl ica ted or more s ev e re andthereby lead to serious disabilityor unnecessarily prolonged recovery. T h e s t resses of flyingmight progressively influence thedisease condi t ion adverse lycausing it to advance more rapidly. Finally, it might precludethe kind of t reatment that wouldbe most favored or reduce thel ikelihood that t reatment wouldbe followed satisfactorily by theair crewman.

Thus, when the flight surgeonrecommends a medical restrict ion he has your best interests inmind. Most of ten it will result in

15


18/68

your more timely and sound return to flying duty. Most often itwill help you avoid a conditionor complication that would epermanent ly g rounding Frequently, it will be to determinethe best way to treat and retardthe advance of your conditionwhile still retaining you on flyingduty.

The simple upper respiratoryinfec t ion is covered by minortreatment and a very short medical restriction, thereby preventing the complications of an earor sinus block, middle ear infection or sinusitis or eardrum rupture each of which would beprogressively more disabling orresult in prolonged periods ofmedical restriction, perhaps ev ensuspension. The flight studentwho avoids the flight surgeon fora simple cold is penny-wise butpound fool i sh when his flightresults in an ear block, infectionand eardrum rupture. Often theprolonged period of treatmentfor these complications demandshis elimination from the flighttraining program.

The moderately obese middleaged aviator with early adultonset d iabetes or high-bloodpressure can avoid or fear theflight surgeon, but to his owndisadvantage. Early identificat ion and simple t rea tment ofthese conditions is most oftenc o m p a t i b l e w i t h c o n t i n u e dflying. However, when the aviator permi ts them to advanceundetected he ultimately defeatshimsel f wi th compl ica t ions ort rea tment of an uncontro l ledcondition that precludes contin

ued flying. Often a t tempts toconceal symptoms or signs thatare potentially disqualifying results in failure to identify andt rea t a comple te ly remediablecondition. Thus, the flight sugeon is the guardian of yourflying career. With his adviceand recommendations you canoften pursue your flying career

16

with greater vigor and determination.

Fea r s dispe l led? Well then,how can you help the flight surgeon help you? First, seek hisadvice at the first symptoms orsigns of an illness or disability.Don ' t t ry to second guess thelack of severity or likelihood ofgetting into trouble while flying.Let the D o c do that He ' sused to taking care of the worried-well. In aviation it is oftenthe worried-well that avoid disabling complications of otherwise simple conditions.

Avoid self-treatment of anyillness or disability. Often thisleads to a false sense of security, and if it doesn' t compromiseflying safe ty, it will certainlyentertain complications or postpone specific treatment.

Finally, give your flight surg e o n c o m p l e t e c o o p e r a t i o nduring flying physical examinations. Don't attempt to concealor minimize abnormalities. Thiscan only lead to a false sense ofsecurity, a failure to truly knowyour limitations and finally andmost importantly, an occasion toavoid preventive treatment. Agood example of the latter is theresults of an audiometric exam.Air crewmen generally have anunfounded fear of this hearingexamination and will attempt avariety of maneuvers to establ ish a normal audiogram. Towhat end? Only to the defeat ofour hear ing conservat ion program; l ikely to the cont inuedaccumulation of noise inducedhearing loss from lack of adequate protection. Noise induced

hearing loss generally goes unnot iced by the air crewmen because, early, it does not involvespeech frequencies. This is whenthe flight surgeon can best protect the air crewman, but t isimpossible without an accurateand conscient ious ly del iveredaudiogram. Many items on thephysical exam fall into this cate-

gory . Measures of weight, bloodpressures, vision, etc . -a l l aredes igned for preventa t ive followup.

Even items that are known tobe disqualifying for flying dutys h o u l d be u n f e a r e d by t het ra ined and exper ienced aircrewman. Many of these conditions can be waivered administratively when the flight surgeoncan be assured they will notcompromise flying safety or in-te r fere with mission performance . The flight surgeon willoften seek evidence of demonstrated performance through ref e r a l to t h e a e r o m e d i c a lc o n s u l t a t i o n s e r v i c e a t Ft .Rucker for inflight evaluation orby recommendat ions and performance cert if icat ions f romcommanders. Either way, the aircrewman, the flight surgeon andthe commander are most oftenassured tha t they can knowledgeably and securely permi tcontinued flying duty along withmedical surveillance. Thus, mostoften the air crewman is enabledto fly without the burden of fearand apprehension that accompanies a known but concealed ordenied abnormality.

For the few individuals whoare suspended from flying duty itis most often in their best interests. Not only are they free topursue adequate t rea tment ofthe i r condi t ions but they canalso l ive contentedly with theknowledge tha t they will notendanger the l i fe or safe ty oftheir fel low air crewman andcountrymen.

Thus, the flight surgeon is notthe thumbs down, groundingogre so of t en imagined by aircrewmen, but the guardian offlying careers and flying safety.His t rue purpose is to reduceflying noneffectiveness and ulti-mately maximize the pursuit offlying missions.



19/68

EMPH SIS O QU LITYEvery individual soldier should strive for qual i ty. Thosewho don t m e a s u r e up to t h e e x p e c t e d levels will be ont h e s h o r t e n d o f t h e s t i c k in t h e new v o l u n t e e r Army

Prepared by the ffice o f Personnel perations

H E C A U S E O F a downedai rcraf t is t r a c ed to poo r

m a in t e n a nce of a componen t .Someo n e doesn t know his jobor hasn t done it. Poor trainingor mismanagement? f it is thelatter , you can bet it will happenless in the future .

Nothing short of a highly professional quality force today s goal , tomorrow s reality inthe Army s effort to establish atruly volunteer organization. Forthe 45 , 000 enl i s ted personnelwith in the ranks of the Armyaviation field , this will mean anincreased need for perfection.

Presently, the enlisted Armyaviation force is composed ofover 70 percent volunteers. Inthis field volunteers are essentialin order to have the best qualified people on hand. Why spendthe time to train the draftee andgive him the needed t ra in ingboth in quanti ty and quality andthen lose him to the calendar?Retention of top quality personnel is what is needed first andforemost.

What will this new phase inmil i ta ry th inking mean to theindividual enlisted man in termsof possible reenlistment or justmaintaining his current militaryoccupational specialty (MOS)?

The a ns wer is s imple . Thosepeople who don t measure up toexpected levels, as well as to theattainments of their contemporaries, will be on the short endof the stick. Yes, those men inthe 40 MOSs within the scope ofArmy aviation should be on thealert. With newer managementmethods , substandard perform-

DECEMBER 1971

ance will be less tolerable as theArmy at tempts to fill its rankswith qualified personnel.

Like the i r coun te rpa r t s inmost other fields in other Arm yjob areas , enlisted men in av i ation are discovering some di sc r e p n c i e s in i n i t i l A rm ypolicies. Why , for example , isthe Army seeking higher enlistm e n t ra tes while a t the sametime it is involuntarily r e leasingother personnel?

The answer lies in the need toplace decreased reliance on thedraft as the primary source foryounger soldiers while concurrently at tempting to phase theoverall Army strength down tolower authorized levels.

T hus , one w o r d - qual i t y -sums up w ha t ea ch indi v idualshould be striving for a nd whatthe Army is looking fo r .

W h a t i s the Army doing tomeet th i s c hallenge and launchth i s n e w program ?

The qu a litative managementprogram , a nnounced in change

, AR 600- 200 , is a major feature . In a nutshell , qualitativemanagement mean s tho s e personnel with a hi s to r y o f les sth a n s ta nd a rd p e rform a n ces w illn o lo nger b e r e t a in e d in th eAr m y .

The first phase of this programextended to 30 June 1971 withphase two commencing 1 July1971. I t is e x p e c t e d to have a

17


20/68

far-reaching effect on all soldiersstraight across the board.

Potential aviation reenlisteesshou ld take not ice . Real iz ingcareer tenure is governed by acombination of time-in-grade andtime-in-service while qualitativescreening of the enlisted forcecontinues, and then adding ther ecen t announcemen t s ra i s ingpromotion and reenlistment criteria . . . the message becomesclear: Professionalism and discipline will not be compromisedand the automatic reenlistmentenvironment will be strictly athing of the past.

Anyone planning a career inthe Army aviation field shouldevaluate himself in terms of hisow n specif ic goals and pose afew questions such as, How amI rated among my contemporaries and how can I stay on top?

The answer to the first part ofthe question lies in part with theenlisted evaluation system setforth in chapter 5, AR 600-200,and the enlisted efficiency reportand rating system stated in chapter 8, AR 600-200.

The former provides an object i v e m e a s u r e o f t e c h n i c a lknowledge of an individual in hisMOS, or primary significance toall personnel involved in Armyaviation work. The latter systemis equally important since it is aSUbjective evaluation by the individual's supervisor of job performance and potential.

Both are given appropr ia teweight and together serve todetermine if minimum qualifications have been met. Both also

r ank the indiv idual among hiscon tempora r i e s by grade andMOS. Placing consistently lowc a n d e n y a n i n d i v i d u a l t heopportunity to compete for promotion, reenlistment and othercareer opportunities.

Clearly, in the case of mostArmy aviation personnel, nonqualified individuals are being

18

weede d out of specif ic MOSareas or out of the ranks altogether. The reason is s imple .Showings which are below thelevels of contemporaries couldmean a substandard performancewhen it really counts. This reallycannot be tolerated nor will it inthe aviation field of tomorrow asit gradually becomes 100 percentvoluntary in the Army.

Case in point , if the equipment onboard doesn' t check outand meet proper maintenancestandards, the aircraft won't fly.I t ' s that simple.

This br ings us to the finalpoin t of which commande r s ,personnel managers and enlistedpersonnel throughout the 40aviation MOS areas should becontinuously aware. f an individual is to do well in the aviation field his prior experience,apt i tudes and potent ia l mustmatch up. In order for the individual to be in the best possiblep o s i t i o n to c o m p e t e in t h i shighly competitive environmenthe must be p laced , wi th in theArmy's requirements, in a careerfield and MOS best suited to theabove ment ioned cr i te r ia . Hemust then be allowed to developthis potential to the maximumwhether his specialty be a technical inspector or an ai rcraf thydraulics repairman. Only withthis complete realization of potential can both the Army andthe individual mutually share thebenefits . Now, more than everbefore, commanders and personnel managers must assess thepotential impact on the careers

of their personnel prior to anyreclassification action betweencareer and MOS fields.

This can be carried further.Especially in the field of aviationmalassignment of personnel ormismanagement on their behalfmay ser ious ly jeopardize careers. Those personnel not actively engaged in the application

of their primary skills tend tolose them. For example, a person with a clerical backgroundwould not provide the Army hisbest potential by being placed inan aircraft maintenance shop,which in turn would hurt him bypreventing him from practicingthose clerical skills.

Cases such as the one c i tedabove can also put an enlistedman at a disadvantage with hiscontemporar ies dur ing annualMOS testing which includes allfields of aviation. These individuals may eve n fail to achieveminimum scores needed to verify their PMOS. Some facts tonote: fai lure to ver i fy twicemeans mandatory reclassificationand three failures can result inelimination from the service asspecified in chapter 2, AR 600-200.

Thus , the aspec t of qua l i tycomes in to the pic ture . SinceMOS evalua t ion has such animportant impact on the individual, commanders and personnelmanagers, as well as the enlistedman himself: must ensure thatprior study and timely testing, asannounced by DA,

iscompleted.

This includes the accurate submission of the enlisted efficiencyreport.

Another fact is that with theabsence of current evalua t iondata, a loss in proficiency pay isquite possible unless the individual has been expressly excusedfrom testing by the Departmentof the Army.

Today's Army is moving rapidly toward a highly qualified,

compet i t ive profess ion wherecommanders and personnel supervisors must apply soundmanagement principles. Concurr e n t l y i n d i v i d u a l s o l d i e r sthroughout the avia t ion andother fields must work hard tomaintain their skills and a highlevel of job performance. Everyone comes out on top this way.


far-reaching effect on all soldiersstraight across the board.

Potential aviation reenlisteesshould take not ice . Real iz ingcareer tenure is governed by acombination of time-in-grade andtime-in-service while qualitativescreening of the enlisted forcecontinues, and then adding ther ecen t announcemen t s ra i s ingpromotion and reenlistment criteria . . . the message becomesclear: Professionalism and discipline will not be compromisedand the a utomatic reenlistmentenvironment will be strictly athing of the past.

Anyone planning a career inthe Army aviation field shouldevaluate himself in terms of hisow n specif ic goals and pose afew questions such as, How amI rated among my contemporaries and how can I stay on top?

The answer to the first part ofthe question lies in part with theenlisted evaluation system setforth in chapter 5, AR 600-200 ,and the enlisted efficiency reportand rating system stated in chapter 8, AR 600-200.

The former provides an object i v e m e a s u r e o f t e c h n i c a lknowledge of an individual in hisMOS, or primary significance toall personnel involved in Armyaviation work . The latter systemis equally important since it is asubjective evaluation by the individual's supervisor of job performance and potential.

Both are given appropr ia teweight and together serve todetermine if minimum qualifications have been met. Both also

r ank the indiv idual among hiscon tempora r i e s by grade andMOS. Placing consistently lowc a n d e n y an i n d i v i d u a l t h eopportunity to compete for promotion, reenlistment and othercareer opportunities.

Clearly, in the case of mostArmy aviation personnel , nonqualified individuals are being

18

weede d out of specif ic MOSareas or out of the ranks altogether. The reason is simple.Showings which are below thelevels of contemporaries couldmean a substandard performancewhen it really counts . This reallycannot be tolerated nor will it inthe aviation field of tomorrow asit gradually becomes 100 percentvoluntary in the Army.

Case in poin t , if the equipment onboard doesn t check outand meet proper maintenancestandards, the aircraft won ' t fly.I t ' s that simple .

This br ings us to the finalpoin t of which commande r s ,personnel managers and enlistedpersonnel throughout the 40aviation MOS areas should becontinuously aware . If an individual is to do well in the aviation field his prior experience ,apt i tudes and potent ia l mustmatch up. In order for the individual to be in the best possiblep o s i t i o n to c o m p e t e in t h i shighly competitive environmenthe must be placed , with in theArmy's requirements, in a careerfield and MOS best suited to theabove ment ioned cr i te r ia . H emust then be allowed to developthis potential to the maximumwhether his specialty be a technical inspector or an ai rcraf thydraulics repairman. Only withthis complete realization of potential can both the Army andthe individual mutually share thebenefits. Now , more than everbefore , commanders and personnel managers must assess thepotential impact on the careers

of their personnel prior to anyreclassification action betweencareer and MOS fields .

This can be carried further.Especially in the field of aviationmalassignment of personnel ormismanagement on their behalfmay ser ious ly jeopardize careers. Those personnel not actively engaged in the application

of their primary skills tend tolose them. For example , a person with a clerical backgroundwould not provide the Army hisbest potential by being placed inan aircraft maintenance shop,which in turn would hurt him bypreventing him from practicingthose clerical skills.

Cases suc h as the one c i tedabove can also put an enlistedman at a disadvantage with hiscontemporar ies dur ing annualMOS testing which includes allfields of aviation. These individuals may even fail to achieveminimum scores needed to verify their PMOS. Some facts tonote: fa i lure to ver i fy twicemeans mandatory reclassificationand three failures can result inelimination from the service asspecified in chapter 2, AR 600-200.

Thus , the aspec t of qual i tycome s into the pic ture . SinceMOS evalua t ion has such animportant impact on the individual , commanders and personnelmanagers , as well as the enlistedman himself ; must ensure thatprior study and timely testing , asannounced by DA,

iscompleted.

This includes the accurate submission of the enlisted efficiencyreport.

Another fact is that with theabsence of current evalua t iondata , a loss in proficiency pay isquite possible unless the individual has been expressly excusedfrorn testing by the Departmentof the Army.

Today's Army is moving rapidly toward a highly qualified,

compet i t ive profess ion wherecommanders and personnel supervisors must apply soundmanagement principles . Concurr e n t l y, i n d i v i d u a l s o l d i e r sthroughout the avia t ion andother fields must work hard tomaintain their skills and a highlevel of job performance . Everyone comes out on top this way.



21/68

I

YOUKNOW

T HOSE SILVER wings uponyour ches t won ' t pu t asm u c h bread in y o u r pocket ifyour pro pay crashed, or yourvar iab le reenl i s tment bonus(VRB) made an unant ic ipa tedautorotation on 1 July 1971. TheBird Dog, Beav e r and Siouxwere coming off the assemblyline before you were old enoughto say empennage, but face -

you are not a kid anymore andneither are they.

Uncage your eyebal l s , i t ' stime to think about career progression. The following MOS arein the "hurt ing" category in propay and/or VRB:

67B-Bi rd Dog/Beaver repairman

67C-Ot t e r repairman 67M-Sioux/Raven repair-

man 67P -Cho c t a w repairman 67T - M o j a v e repairman 9 3 D - L i n k operatorWhen those Tac needles split

it 's really getting late; do someth ing immedia te ly Get yourskills updated n o w Know howto maintain the modern equip

ment . Geta

pr imary mil i ta ryoccupational specialty that paysmore green stuff.

f you are in an aviation careerfield and are to be assigned

in a flying s ta tus in Sou theas tAsia you must personally handcarry during shipment, one fulllength face-on photograph in fa -

DECEMBER 1971

tigue clothing and one each frontand side view of head and shoulders in fatigue clothing. All photographs are to be taken withouta helmet in accordance with paragraph 3 11 AR 612 2.

Pr og re s s t h r oug h e l ec t ron i c

communicat ions. I t can helpyou, the enlisted man, in the aircraft field secure the assignmentyou want.

A vast new assignment systemis the newest tool in the handsof pe r sonn e l m anage r s a t Department of the Army. Labeledas the cent ra l ized a s s i gnme n tprocedures (CAP III), it now is

effecting only senior grade aviat ion pe r s onn e l bu t eventual lywill encompass all enlisted menin Army aviation as well as allother fields.

This comprehens ive ass ignment system makes use of thecomputer which compares availab le p e r s o n n e l a s s e t s w i t hknown field r equ i r emen t s andthen "nominates" one throughnine candidates for each assignment. The system (CAP III) alsoprovides for complete manualassignment selection, by-passingthe nomination process for suchcategories of personnel as comm a n d s e r g e a n t s m a j o r andWACs.

After a personnel managerchoose s the bes t m a n for thejob , regard less of whe the r hewas nominated by the system ormanually selected, the assignment instructions are automatica l ly s e n t to t he f ield v i aA UTODIN. The utilization ofelectrical communicat ions equip

mentis

eventually expected toprovide individuals with earliernotification of assignments.

CAP I I I is expec t ed to improve every phase of assignmentmaking; i .e., the validation ofrequisitions, the systematic application of established prioritiesand the desired worldwide distribution of all enlisted personnel.

Yo u wi l l be h e a r i n g m o r eab ou t it f r o m y ou r pe r sonne lshop in the future.

t will be a steeper climb in thefu ture to get t ha t reenl i s t

ment or promotion you may beshooting for. The enlisted MOSevaluation system has been expanded and is now more important than ever.

In fac t , many o f the 45,000A rmy a v i a t i o n pe r sonne l m a yfind themselves being caugh tshort when they become eligiblefor promotion or reenl is tmentunless they have taken one ofthe new spec ia l qua l i f ica t iontests.

The new tests are presented inthe same format as the regularMOS evalua t ion tes ts and doapply to all of the aircraft MOSareas. f you fall into one of thefollowing categories be preparedto take one of the new tests.

a. To be promoted in an MOSother than y ou r PMOS, youmust take the promotion qualification test. To take the test youwill need yo u r command ingofficer's recommendation and a

score of 100 or higher on yourmost recent PMOS test. Procedures for promotion qualificationt es t ing are con ta ined in D A(COPO-EPPME) msg 221314ZJun 71.

b. f you want to reenlist andyou do not have a PMOS evaluation score of 70 or higher in thelast 12 months, you must take areenl is tment qualification test.Procedures for this testing arec o n t a i n e d i n D A C O P OEPPME) msg 141335Z Jul 71.

These two special testing programs are aimed at further imp r o v i n g t he q u a l i t y of t h eenlisted career force. Your future in aviation is up to you butit should be emphas i zed tha tMOS qualification is the respons ib i l i ty of eve ry so ld ier, hiscommanding officer and the personnel office.

19


22/68

0

e

V

R

J E W S

R O ME D E R S

Don't misjudge reputations as Custer did. Hepaid the price for misjudging Indians. You'recourting trouble when you misjudge such repu-tations

asthose of aircraft, weather, the en -

emy and yourself. Be sure to read abou tCuster, Wild Bil l Hickok and yoursel f nextmonth when the DIGEST presents Not By Rep-utation written by Bob Kuenstler, a Depart-ment of the Army civi l ian who was t h e r e

Sir:I would appreciate answers to the fol

lowing questions:What are the requirements for closing

out a flight plan?Is a radio call to the tower stating IC

is on ground and requesting the flightplan be closed sufficient, or is the aviatorrequired to go into operations to personally verify that the tower has closed himout?

Although current procedure is to radiothe tower for flight plan closing andtower has tapes of this conversat ion,who would pay the bill for search andrescue if the tower operator failed to follow through and close the flight plan?

MAJ David W. KeatingU .S. Army Trans Corps BnCorpus Christi, Tex . 78419

Paragraph 3-16, of AR 95-2, dated 8May 1970 provides the following guidance:Closing Flight Plans . . . at locations withestablished military base operations theaviator will person lly close his flight planwith base operations upon landing . . . atlocations with an established FAA communications facility, the aviator will person- lly file an arrival report with the FAAcommunications facility. At all other locations, e ch aviator will person lly file anarrival report with FAA flight service byone of the following means:

20

1 By radio to the nearest FAA or military air navigation facility or control tower, provided the aircraft is within 3 milesof intended point of landing at the timethe flight plan is closed.

2. By telephone, or other expeditiousmeans, to the nearest FAA communications facility or military base operations.

3. By telephone, Government collect, tothe appropriate FAA flight service facilitywhen 1) or 2) above are impracticable.

AR 95-2 specifies each aviator will personally close his flight plan. Under theseprovisions should the plan not be closed itis quite probable that the pilot could beheld pecuniarily liable for the expenses ofsearch and rescue.

Sir:Recently I reviewed an article pro

posed for publication in the AVIATIONDIGEST enti t led, Twelve CardinalRules, by Captain Edward Nielsen. Animportant task of late has been to relatethe lessons learned in Vietnam to doctrine useful in other areas of possiblefuture conflict ; for example, Europe. Tothis end, the employment of attack helicopters is of particular concern.

In Vietnam our Cobra pilots usuallyhad the option of level flight at altitudesabove 1,500 feet, avoiding small armsfire, except when attacking targets. An-

other Vietnam option was very low levelflight. In the European type environmentwith radar directed automatic weapons inforward areas, we expect this lat terchoice to be the only survivable flightregime . Nap-of-the-earth flight is nowbeing emphasized and its feasibility forthe Air Cavalry Troop has been amplydemonstrated in recent Seventh Armytesting in Europe.

Please convey my appreciation to CPTNielsen for doing a splendid job in writing an article for your fine publication.My best wishes for the continued success of the AVIATION DIGEST .

BG William J. Maddox Jr.Director of Army Aviation,OACSFORWashington , D .C . 20310

The article, Twelve Cardinal Rules,appears on page 6 of this month's DIGEST.

Sir:The pilots of the 74th Reconnaissance

Airplane Company have read with enjoyment CPT Dave Goodwin's Whistlin'Willie (April DIGEST) and the subsequent letter by CPT Frank Doherty August DIGEST). We must however takeexception to the somewhat less thanaccurate closing paragraph of CPT Doherty's letter. And for each of us a feeling of both pride and sadness together



23/68

that we were the last ones to trust herimplicitly ; because the curtain has comedown on the Bird Dog. She has playedher last role and the show is over.

The show may be over at Ft. Rucker,but it certainly isn't over for the Reconnaissance Airplane Companies that remain in RV N . Most 0 1 pilots in RVNare still flying over 100 hours per month,still gathering vast amounts of valuableintelligence, and still pinpointing targetsfor gunships and artillery . The 74th hasrecently been nominated for its secondmeritorious unit citat ion based on itsinvaluable participation in the actions inTay Ninh Province and along the Cambodian border, which demonstrates thefact that the contribution made by theRACs in RVN is far out of proportion tothe relative age, price and sophistif:ationof the aircraft they fly. So we share CPTDoherty ' S pride at having flown this finebird, but will reserve our sadness untilthe curtain comes down in R VN.

CPT Roger P. Bowers74th Recon Apln CoAPO 96289

We at the DIGEST agree- the 0 1 BirdDog has done and is doing an outstandingjob--and has made a lasting and memorable mark in the annals of Army aviationand will have a special place in the heartsand minds of Army aviators forevermore

Sir:I am interested in translating into

Spanish your aviation material as applicable to flight safety and rotary wingflight.

The material would be printed into amagazine and would exclude militaryoperational techniques, instead the copied and translated material would be onflight safety or professional pilot procedures. t is intended for civil aviation inSpanish speaking countries.

Luis SilvestreDirector-Flight Training, AGTHato Rey, Puerto Rico 00919

The November 1971 ViewsFrom Readers section of theDIGEST carried a U S. Navy

memorandum warning abouthydraulic failures caused bychafing of tubing and citedfive aborts as the result. t waserroneously reported that thismemorandum was originated atthe U. S. Naval Safety Center;our sincere apologies to theNaval Safety Center for publication of this error.

DECEMBER 1971

The DIGEST has no objection to translating and reprinting DIGEST articles in Spanish. Our only request is that the DIGESTand author be credited as the originalso'urce of the material and that the DIGESTnot be held responsible for the accuracy ofthe literal translation.Sir:

Regarding the art icle EmergencyEscape System for Helicopters writtenby CW4 Paul H. Johnson which appeared in the August 1971 issue of AVIA TION DIGEST, I would like you to passalong to him my congratulations on anarticle which was very informative , well -

written and particularly poignant. Al-though I am not an aviator, I have flownin Army aircraft often enough to appreciate the conditions and realize the factsof which CW4 Johnson writes .

He wrote his ideas clearly enough fora layman such as myself to understandand learn . I hope that the decision-makers in the Army aviation world take hisideas to heart. I'll be looking for morearticles written by CW4 Johnson in is-sues to come.

CPT Paul A. GorkaHqCONACFt. Monroe , Va . 23351

INSTRUMENT ORNERQ. During IFR flight with lost communications, when proceed-ing at last ATe assigned altitude you must traverse a segmenton your route with an MEA higher than your assigned altitude.Do you climb to the higher MEA and proceed at that altitudefor the remainder of the flight, or do you descend back toyour last assigned altitude when the MEA drops to a levellower than last assigned altitude?

W470NO A, G

- : . ~? $ M

A. The solution here is to fly either the last assigned altitudeor the MEA, whichever is higher. So, you d fly your last as-signed altitude until you come to a leg in your route of flightwhere the MEA was higher than your last assigned, then climbto the MEA and maintain MEA for only that portion of yourflight where the MEA is higher, then you would descend to thelast altitude assigned by ATC. A good example is passingCreek intersection on V7W to Cross City VOR. As you passCreek intersection at 5,000 feet you lose communication. Youwould have to climb so as to cross Teresa intersection at7,000 feet. After passing Lobster intersection you would de-scend back to 5,000 feet. Don t forget to turn up the volumeon your navigational aids. I am sure someone will be callingyou. Also put your transponder on Mode 3 Code 7600.

Reference: LIP IFR-SUPPLEMENT page 448, dated 14 Octo-ber 1971.

21


24/68

The rmed Helicopter StoryPart VIconclusion)

XM Sl thru GAU 2B/A

Lieutenant Colonel Charles O. Griminger

XM-51: One each XM-1294 0 m m g r e n d e l u n c h e rmounted in the nose turret ofAH S6A; ammunition capacity

XM-59 right): Two each SO calmg; A, 1,000 rds; weight, 1,118lbs; MER, 1,800 meters; one gunat each cargo door of UH-IDH ; thus far has caused excessivevibrations.

M-60C no photo): One each7.62 mm M-60 NATO mg; 600shots per minute spm) aircraft version of M-60 NATOmg. The M-60D is the flexibleversion of 7.62 mm M -60 mg.

M-61A1 no photo): One eachsix-barrel 20 mm Vulcan mg;spm, 6,000; M-61 has a 60-inch barrel and M-61Al modification has a 40-inch barrel.

M-75 no photo): One each 40mm grenade launcher.

TAT 101 no photo): Two each7.62 mm M-60C mg; A, SOO

rds mounted in chin turret ofUH-IE; developed for U. S.Marine Corp s.

TAT 101E no photo): U. S.Army adaptat ion of TAT 101to UH-I . TAT 102: One each7.62 mm GAU-2B/A gun, chinturret mounted; A, 8,000 rds;

A), 780 rds ; manufac tu re rM.), Emerson Elec t r ic . In

XM-52 conf igura t ion it ismounted in the belly turret of

aircraft developed for acft) ,AH-IG. TAT 103 no photo):Two each MGl 7.62 mm mgchin turret mounted; A, SOOrds ; a c f t , U H - I D E ; designed for Federal Republic ofGermany.

AH S6A. XM-53 is the sameconfiguration as X M S l exceptthe X M S 3 ammunition capacity is 11 S70 rds.

XM-129 no photo): One each40 mm grenade launcher ;spm, 400; weight , 4 3 . S lbs ;maximum effec t ive rangeMER), 1,800 meters; redesign

of M-75; utilized in X-2S, XM -51 and XM-S systems.



25/68

~

XM-130 no photo); One each20 mm automatic gun; redesign of M-61 to provide gasdrive see M-61Al).

XM-133 no photo): One each

DECEMBER 1971

7.62 mm high cyclic rate mg.

XM-134 no photo): One each7.62 mm high cyclic rate mgwith electric drive; spm, 2, -000 , 4 ,000 or 6,000; weight, 60

lbs; MER, 1,500 meters; utilized in XM-18El, XM-27El,XM-53, TAT 102 and XM-28.

XM-138 no photo): Formerdesignation for XM-5 system.

XM-140 left): One each 30 mmautomat ic gun single barre l ;spm, 425; weight, 148 lbs; MER,3,000 meters; utilized in XM-30and XM-52 systems.

TAT 141 no photo): Chin turretsame as XM-28.

XM-141 no photo) : One each7.62 mm rocket launcher 7 tube,reloadable, reuseable.

XM-153 no photo): Four eachM-73 7.62 mm mg; MER, 1,000meters ; developed f rom theEmerson fire suppression ki t ; inuse in early 1962, developmentbegan 1959.

XM-154 no photo): XM-153mounted on CH-21.

XM-155 left): XM-153 mounted. on CH-34.

23

0 \ :.r---------------------------------------------------------------------------------,XM-130 no photo); One each20 mm automatic gun; redesign of M-6l to provide gasdrive see M-6IA1).

XM-133 no photo): One each

DECEMBER 1971

7.62 mm high cyclic rate mg .

XM-134 no photo): One each7 .62 mm high cyclic rate mgwith electric drive ; spm, 2 ,-000, 4 ,000 or 6,000; weight, 60

lb s ; MER, 1,500 meters; utilized in XM-18El, XM-27El,XM-53, TAT 102 and XM-28 .

XM-138 no photo): Formerdesignation for XM-5 system.

XM-140 left): One each 30 mmau toma t i c gun single ba r r e l ;spm, 425 ; weight , 148 lbs; M ER ,3,000 meters; utilized in XM -30and XM-52 systems.

TAT 4 no photo): Chin turretsame as XM-28.

XM-141 no photo) : One each7.62 mm rocket launcher 7 tube ,reloadable , reuseable .

XM-153 no photo): Four eachM-73 7 .62 mm mg; MER, 1,000meters ; de ve l ope d f rom theEmerson fire suppression kit; inuse in early 1962, developmentbegan 1959.

XM-154 no photo): XM-153mounted on CH-21.

XM-155 left): XM-153 mounted. on CH-34.

23


26/68

24

XM-15 6 f a r l e f t ) : XM-153mounted on U H - I A B.

XM-157 left) : 2.75-inch rocketl a unc he r L S F F AR) pod withprovisions for 7 rockets, reloadable, reuseable, not repairable;weight, 200 lbs approximately;MER, 3,000 meters; acft, U HIB C.

XM-158 lower left): 2.75-inchrocket launcher L S F F AR) with7 each a luminum tubes 53 .5inches long, reloadable, reuseable and repairable; weight, 195.5lbs ; MER, 3 ,000 meters ; provided a reuseable rocket pod;used with XM-16, XM-28; tested

in 1965, delivered in 1966; acft ,UH-IB C.

XM-159 left) : 2.75-inch rocketl a unc he r L S F F AR) pod withprovis ions for 19 r ocke t s , reloadable, reuseable, not repairable; weight, 648 lbs; MER, 3,000

meters; provides larger capacity;tested in 1966; acft, UH-IBC , CH-47A, A H - I G and A H -56A.

XM-159C no photo): XM-159with 58-inch tubes.

XM-195 no photo): Short barrel version of M-61Al 20 mmgun; spm, 650-850; used in

XM-35 system; acft, AH-IG.

XM-200 no photo): 19-tubeversion of XM-158 launcher.

GAU-2B/A no photo): 7.62mm high cyclic rate gun withe lec t r ic dr ive ; spm, 6 ,000;same as XM-134.

U. S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST4

X M -1 56 ( f a r le f t ) : XM-1 53mounted on UH - IA B .

XM-157 (left): 2 .75-inch rocketl au n ch e r LSFFAR ) pod withprovision s for 7 rocket s, reloadable , reuseable , not repairable ;weight , 200 Ib s approximatel y;MER , 3 ,000 meters ; a cft , UH -1B C .

XM-158 lower left): 2 .75-inchrocket launcher L S F F AR ) with7 e a ch a luminum tube s 53.5inche s long , reloadable , re u s eable a nd re p a irable ; weight , 195 .5Ib s; M ER , 3 , 000 meters ; provided a re u s eable rocket pod ;used with XM-16, XM-28; tested

in 1965 , delivered in 1966 ; a cft ,UH - IB c

XM-159 (left): 2 .75-inch rocketl aun che r LSFFAR) pod withprovi s io n s for 19 rockets , reload able , re u s e a ble , not rep a irabl e ; weight , 648 Ibs ; MER , 3 ,000

meter s; provide s la rger capacity ;tested in 1966 ; acft , UH-I BC , CH-47A , A H - I G and AH -56 A .

XM-159C no photo): XM-159with 58-inch tube s .

XM-195 no photo): Short barrel v e rs ion of M-6IAI 20 mmgun ; s pm, 650-850 ; used in

XM-35 s y s te m ; acft , AH-IG .

XM-200 no photo): 19-tubeversion of XM-158 la uncher.

GAU-2B/A no photo): 7 . 62mm high c y clic ra te gun withe lec t r ic dr ive ; s pm , 6 , 000 ;same as XM-134.

U. S . ARMY AVIATION DIGEST


27/68

Mission

P o s s i b l e . . . ~ ~~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ . ~ontinued from page

area a t 400 fee t MSL. K a m ikaze 's award read: "Pilot turnedinto the wind, notified the flightleader of his emergency, sel ec ted a suitable l anding areaand landed with no further damage.

IncredulousAstoundingStunned, I sat down and my

mind Walter Mit ty ' ed back towhen I was bas ic ins t rumentstudent. And suddenly I realizedthat there was a little of the fourhorsemen in all of us. I had al -lowed time and distance to enhance my self- image and had

compared my student 's controltouch , reac t ion t ime, e t c . , tomine as an IP.

t is now 10 months and manyclasses later and I approach myjob with a different point ofview. Now I try to instruct mys tudents in the most effectivemanner possible, avoiding the

pitfalls of pigeon-holing them inpreconceived notions of what Iimagine them to be capable ofattaining. I realize that with theseemingly endless cycle of students, the same maneuvers, thesame e r r o r s i t s e e m s as ifyou ' r e a lways flying betweent ed ium and mono tony with adestination of complacency. But,

by enthusiastically approachingour jobs as a challenge and bymainta in ing our flying and instructional proficiency, we canfile for an alternate-motivation.

Today is the s tar t o f a newclass and while waiting for my

student, who is now approaching, I am trying to finish this article.

"Sir, do you want me to drainthe fuel?"

I thought of Clouseau, smiled,then answered, "Yes , go get thejar.

As a parting thought, I think itis important for each of us asArmy instructor pilots to realizethat it 's our mission to train thebest aviators in the world and to

afford them the finest instructionof which we are capable, bearingin mind that each individual personality is like a highly complexcomputer with both strong andw e a k p o i n t s w h i c h m u s t bet aken into cons idera t ion andevaluated before coming to . . .T H U D . . C R U N C HC R A S H . . . .

Mission

P0

ssi e ..----.....

~ ~~ ~ ~ ~

ontinued from p ge 5 compared my student 's control

area a t 4 fee t M S L . Kamikaze 's award read: "Pilot turnedinto the wind, notified the flightl eader of his emergency, sel ec ted a su i tab le l anding areaand landed with no further damage."

IncredulousAstoundingStunned , I sat down and my

mind Walter Mit ty ' ed back towhen I was bas ic ins t rumentstudent. And suddenly I realizedthat there was a little of the fourhorsemen in ll of us. I had al-lowed time and distance to enhance my self- image and had

touch , reac t ion time, etc . , tomine as an IP.

t is now 1 months and manyclasses later and I approach myjob with a different poin t ofview. Now I try to instruct mys tudents in the most effectivemanner possible , avoiding thepitfalls of pigeon-holing them inpreconceived notions of what Jimagine them to be capable ofattaining. I realize that with theseemingly endless cycle of students , the same maneuvers , thes a m e e r r o r s i t s e e m s as ifyou ' r e a lways flying betweent ed ium and m ono tony with adestination of complacency. But,

by enthusiastically approachingour jobs as a challenge and bymaintaining our flying and instructional proficiency, we canfile for an alternate-motivation.

Today is the s tar t of a newclass and while waiting for my

student, who is now approaching, J am trying to finish this article.

"Sir, do you want me to drainthe fuel?"

I thought of Clouseau, smiled ,then answered , "Yes, go get thejar.

As a parting thought, I think itis important for each of us asArmy instructor pilots to realizethat it 's our mission to train thebest aviators in the world and toafford them the finest instructionof which we are capable, bearingin mind that each individual personality is like a highly complexcomputer with both strong andw e a k p o i n t s w h i c h m u s t betaken in to cons idera t ion andevaluated before coming to . . .T H U D CR U N C HCRASH .

l\


28/68

Bird Dog Talk: I f the 0-1 aircraftwill not s tar t and i t is determined that the carburetor is notallowing fuel to be delivered tothe cylinders, the most probablecause is a sticking plunger stackPIN 383667) ( refer to TM 1-

6RI-3-5-34, dated 2 Aug 60, figure 1, item 113). TM 55-1510-202-20 states in the troubleshoot-

ln en ncewhen heaters

are needed

ing chart that i f the engine failsto s tar t due to the carbure tortha t the carbure tor should bereplaced. Experience in the fieldhas proven that in the majorityof cases the st icking plungerstack is the cause of the trouble.I t is recommended that prior toreplacement of the carburetor

the p lunger s tack should bechecked. The following procedures should be followed:

Remove cotter pin in levera s s e m b l y, fue l cu to ff P IN383948, figure 1, item 109).

Remove lever. R e m o v e p l u n g e r ; c l e a n

plunger and spring. Use cloth to-wipe out receptacle in carburetor.

In dusty areas leave bottomof plunger dry.

In high humidity areas apply a light coat of oil.

This correc t ive ac t ion willsave much money as well as aircraft downtime if the plunger isthe cause of the trouble. I t requires approximately 1 hour toaccomplish the above steps asopposed to approximate ly 10hours to replace a carbure tor

including soaking time and testflight.

U 2 1 Heat ing Sys tem: C a r eshould be taken in ground operat ion of the U -21 type aircraftheating system. With a failure ofthe ventilation air blower therewon t be sufficient air for cooling of the heater during operat ion . To check for venti lat ionblower opera t ion turn blowerswitch on, defrosters on and feelfor air flow at defroster outlet.

Keep The To r q u e On: U-21wheel brake assembly mountingbolts should be torqued frequently 150-180 inch pounds).They have a fiber self-lockingnut that loosens due to heat thatis generated at that point.

U 8D Tip: Supercharged enginesproduce more heat than unsupercharged engines; therefore, engine t e m p e r t u r e s m u s t b ewatched closely and every precaution taken to see that temperatures do not become excessivesince the risk of detonation increases with engine temperatures.

Monitor Those Gauges: Duringcold weather high oil pressureimmediately after engine start onthe U-8D is not unusual, but if a



29/68

prolonged high pressure readingprevails shut down the engine

and investigate.

Know Your Switches: At leas tone system air supply switch on1967 and 1968 OV-IC modelsmust be in the open position.

f b o t h s w i t c h e s a r e in t heclosed position you will have

no engine bleed air for wing andtail de-icing, hydraulic reservoirpressurization, windshield washtank pressurization or cockpitheating or cooling. Also, with

the system air supply switch inthe closed position you coulddamage one or both hydraulicpumps.

Do t By The Book On The OV -1: The chock screws on theAERO lA sway braces shouldbe tightened as outlined in theTM. f the chock screws areinadvertently overtorqued thelatches on the AERO 6 A rackcannot be retracted to releasethe drop tank by either electricalor manual means. Referenceparagraph 4-107.4. 6) 7), TM 55-1510-204-2011.

U-8 Maintenance Tips: Do notset the parking brake during extremely cold weather. Moisturein the lines may freeze renderingthe brakes in

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Army Aviation Digest - Dec 1971

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