Army Aviation Digest - Mar 1974

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UNITE

DIRECTO R OF ARMY AV IATION, ACSFOR

DEPARTMENT O F THE ARM Y

BG J a m e s H. Me rry m a n

COMMANDANT U. S. ARMY AVIATION

SCHOOLMG W illi am J . Maddox Jr.

ASST COMDT U. S. ARMY AV IATION

SCHOOL

BG ames M. Leslie

EDITOR U. S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST

Richard K. Tierney

ABOUT THE COVER

Owl Team members share their

night na p-of-the-ea rth (N 0 E)flight experiences. See pages 2and 3

MARCH 1974 VOLUME20 NUM

NOE At Night .. .

6Getting Started, CW2 Ralph S. Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

TheArm y TestPilot LTC Roger W. Waddell

AWindy Reminder, I lT Jon P. Kahler, USAF . .

10I Learned From That Flight, CPT louis E. Fausak . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Aeromedic-Night Train, MAJ Rush R. Wcker •

Getting That University Degree Donald J Nolan . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Views Fom Readers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Instrument Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Light Of My Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

USAASO Sez . . The mission of the U S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST Is to provide information of an oper

tional or functional nature concerning safety and aircraft accident prevention, traininmaintenance, operations, research and development, aviation medicine and other rlated data.

The DIGEST is an official Department of the Army periodical published monthly undthe supervision of the Commandant, U.S. Army Aviation School. Views expressed hereare not necessarily those of the Department of the Army or the U.S. Army AviatioSchool. Photos are U.S. Army unless otherwise specified. Material may be reprinted prvided credit is given to the DIGEST and to the author, unless otherwise indicated.

Articles, photos, and items of interest on Army aviation are invited. Direct communiction is authorized to: Editor, U S. Army Aviation Digest, Fort Rucker, AL 36360.

This publication has been approved by Headquarters Department of the Army,September 1973.

Active Army units receive distribution under the pinpoint distribution system as oulined in AR 310-1. Complete DA Form 12-5 and send directly to CO AG Publications Ceter, 2800 Eastern Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21220. For any change in distribution requirments, initiate a revised DA Form 12-5.

National Guard and Army Reserve units under pinpoint distribution also should submDA Form 12-5. Other National Guard units should submit requests through their stat

adjutants general.Those not eligible for official distribution or who desire personal copies of the DIGES

can order the magazine from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government PrintinOffice Washington, D C 20402. Annual subscription rates are 13.40 domestic and 16.7overseas. Single copies are 1.20.





Orval talks with members of

th 155th Aviation Company < t ~ ~Owl Team about flying U S V S

NOE AT NIGHTORVAL RIGHT CHIEF ADVISOR ON MATTERS

OF AVIATION U. S ARMY AGENCY FOR AVIA-

TION SAFETY: Recently, a group of 12 Arm y aviators from the 155th Aviation Company attached to

the U S Army Combat Developments Experimenta

tion Command (CDEC) adopted my nocturnal habits

for a night aviation training experiment and nick

named themselves the Owl Team. It was reported

that the HOwl Team had flown 1,800 accident-free

hours at nap-of-the-earth (NOE) and low-level alti

tudes at night at Hunter Liggett Military Reservation,

CA. This was especially interesting because of the

terrain at Hunter Liggett. There the trees reach outand grab anything flying 150 to 200 feet off the deck,

often leaving an actual clearance of only 50 feet or

less between the vegetation and helicopter. The ter

rain also varies from gently rolling valleys to rugged,

mountainous terrain. Because of the Owl Team's

unique work, I made a special trip to Hunter Liggett

to interview the remaining team personnel who had

participated in the experiment to learn how they

safely accomplished their night NOE flying. Personnel

interviewed were Major Richard L. Cox, Major

Frederick A. Isgrig, and CW2s Robert L. Wolff,

Donald L. Choura, Joe L. Jackson, John B. Cole

and Craig W. Stiff. Because of other duties, Colonel

Billy L. Odneal, the team chief, was not available

to participate in this interview. Comments of theparticipants are personal opinions and do not neces

sarily reflect official CDEC conclusions or Depart

ment of the Army doctrine.ORVAL: I understand that the Owl Team aviatorsvolunteered for the Attack Helicopter Clear NightDefense Experiment and that they had the optionof withdrawing from the training at any time. Werethere any specific requirements or qualifications theyhad to meet?CHOURA: There were no specific requirements .Aviator flight experience ranged from 400 to 500 to

several thousand flight hours. With the exception ofone aviator who had flown with the Night Hawksoverseas, none of us had any specific night training.However, our eyes were examined thoroughly forany serious defects in night vision.ISGRIG: To amplify Mr. Choura's statement, a testwas given for night myopia [nearsightedness] and anattempt was made to get special lenses prescribed tocorrect any special refractive problems [visual dis-tortion] that occurred during scotopic [dim light]

Continued on page 31

U.S RMY VI TION

DIGES



MARCH 1974

G TTING

STARTED

CW2 Ralph S ark

This night antiarmor program vias exploratory innature and although the Owl Team used standard Army aviators, it is not implied that . thiscapability exists within o p e r ~ i o n l units. Usersof these findings are CAUTIONED that in order

to attain these capabilities deliberate, step-bystep procedures must be instituted to ensure thesafe progression to the desired baseline. Unitsmust be willing to dedicate p.ersonnel and equipment to assure this safe progression.

The author was awarded the 1973 James H.McClellan Aviation Safety Award for his development and initiation of the Owl Team's compre

~ e n s i v e tra.ning program into the . realm of thenight nap-of-the-earth to expand Army aviation scapabilities into areas which were previously considered only marginally safe but into which weMUST .operate in the mid-intensity tactical en

vironment.

[Editor s note: it is imperative that prior to nightflight the .crew ensures that canopies on AH ,laircraft and windshields on utility anti observation aircraft be checked for cleanliness.]

IN JUNE 1972 the 155ih Aviation Company

(Attack Helicopter) conducted exploratory train

ing for the Combat Developments Experimentation

Command (CDEC), specifically Experiment 43.7

entitled The Attack Helicopter in the Clear Night

Defense. The purpose was to determine capabilities

of the present attack helicopter team (AHT) concept

in a night antiarmor role. The unit had recently com

pleted a series of experiments which clearly demon

strated the importance of the AHT in the daylight

mid-intensity warfare environment.

Although nap-of-the-earth (NOE) techniques had

been well established for daylight operations,

3



it was difficult to visualize theirnight application on the terrain atHunter Liggett Military Reservation, CA. Located in the SantaLucia mountain range, the terrainvaries from flat to rolling to ruggedly mountainous and is heavilyvegetated with trees as tall as 175feet. The concept, however, wasintriguing. The training plan em-

phasized safety and control and theunit would be in effect developingits own training program thatwould progress only as the necessary skills were gained.

Army-wide research proved thatexcept for some work done by Project MASSTER Modern ArmySelected Systems Test Evaluationand Review) at Ft. Hood, TX, little

was known about night nap-of-theearth flying A visit to the 1sSquadron, 9th Cavalry providedvaluable background informationfrom which the training programwas developed.

Twelve aviators, commissionedand warrant officers, were selectedfrom within the unit. Their nighproficiency was representative of



Figure 3: typical f l ight route. Startpoints, air control points, releasepoints and the actual in tendedf l ight path are depicted on the mapbefore the night mi 5sion begins

TO units

These aviators, dubbed the Owl, were truly volunteers and

stigma attached.

The training program began with

we methodi

er altitudes. Concurrently, about

NO flying, mission

A training matrix was developeda means to record the date pro

.

We arbitrarily defined low lightas being less than 2.5 times

e attempted to avoid undertaking

at theexisting light

When we were able to demon-

strate an acceptable degree of proficiency in a given altitude band, acheckride was administered with ado not ex eed altitude restrictionby cadre control personnel employing both visual observation and theM-33 surveillance radar to precisely measure navigational accuracy Three months after initiating theprogram we were routinely operating with the unaided eye at ourbaseline altitudes. [Editor'S note:CDEC's report states that about 80

hours of flight training are requiredto attain this degree of proficiency.]

Figure 1 depicts the responsesreceived when the team was asked:What is the minimum safe operating altitude for single and multipleaircraft operations over flat terrain?The length of the line representsthe range of altitudes the teammembers stated were the minimumsafe operating levels. The dot onthe line presents the median re-

Continued on page 2

5



T HERE ARE MANY decisions or events that play im-

portant parts in deciding the coursea person s military career will follow. But, how many of these decisions are made and how many ofthese events are actually influenced

, or caused by the individual whose

career is developing? All too oftenit seems we are like leaves being ·blown by the winds of chance withlittle or no control over our own

destinies. People are continuallysearching for ways to move theircareers in the direCtion they wantto go.

Not long ago I sat at my deskthjiIking about my career in theArmy. More specifically, I 190kedback over my career iri Atmy avia

tion arid wondered if I Would doanything different if I h.ad a chanceto start over. Perhaps I would justiike to be able to reenter my careerat some particular point right heretoday. After some thought I decided the only major decision that

I had made to influence my aviation career was to apply for theU. S. Nav31 Test Pilot School

(USNTPS) over 5 years ago. Whydid I choose that course of action?Would do it again? What motivates a person to get into the ArmyA viation Engineering and FlightTesting Program or, as i will call it,the test pilot program?

was motivated by the sanie

factors that motivate most peoplewho want to be test pilots. Primarily, thought that it would beinteresting and challenging to havea part in the development andacquisition of new aircraft. alsofelt that being a test pilot wouldprovide a background that woUld

be useful in the research arid development field and I was interestedin entering that .career specialty. Iwanted to move my career in the

direction of the more · technicalaspects of aviation. Also, I knew Icould learn a lot just by attendingthe test pilot school for I knew theschool haa a challenging curriculum in both flying and academics.That the school is not a breeze issubstantiated by the fact that sincethe first two Army aviators enteredUSNTPS in J 960 approximately

29 percent failed to complete it.

After pondering over these mo

tivating factors for a few momentsdecided that they were all stil

valid reasons for entering the tespilot program and that my decisionto do so was a good one. juswished that instead of being a guy

who had been rated for more than14 years and had started test piloschool 5 years ago that was ayoung captairi or CW2 rated juslong enough to have 1,500 hours oflight time with at least 500 hoursin both rotary wing and fixed wingaircraft. Then, i had extensiveexperience in the UH 1, AH 1CH-47 or CH-54 and had a goodbackground in engineering and

mathematics, I would be applying

for entrance to the test pilot schooat a much better time in my career

Opportunity is knocking righnow for an aviator with the qualifications I just mentioned to play

an important part in the testing othe utility tactical transpo aircrafsystem UTIAS), the advancedattack helicopter AAH), and theheavy lift helicopter HLH). Test



hecourse at USNTPS ;s 1 year ong with tw c asses per y-ear and .

the next c ass starts in July. Additiona information may be obtained

from the Specia ty Management Branch of the Office of the Deputy

for Professional Development and Plans in the Officer. PersonnelDirectorate and from your career branch. The mailing address and

telephone numbers for the Specialty Management Branch are:

Commander, Military Personnel Center

ATTN DAPC·OPD-PD-SM

200 Stovall Street

Alexandria, Virginia 22332

AUTOVON 221·02501025110252

Commercial 202·325·XXXX

You may also contact the Army liaison officer at USNTPS at Pa·

tuxent River, MD or the Director of flight rest at USAASTA. Or, if youhappen to be traveling in the i i n i ~ of Edwards AfB stop by USAASTA

and see for yourself what type work is going on h r ~



Army aviation test pilots on a

given week might find them-

selves flying a seaplane or as

seen on the bottom of page ...

ing of these aircraft will begin inthe summer of 1975 and will continue for more than 3 years. BUT

WAIT Before you throw thismagazine aside and start filling outyour application for the test pilot

school there is a little more youshould know. I have more to sayabout the business of flight testing,the organization which is responsible for the engineering flight testof Army aircraft and some of thepersonal challenges in the test pilot

program.First, let us take a brief look at

the organization which performs

the engineering flight tests of Armyaircraft. The U.S. Army AviationSystems Test Activity (USAASTA)is located at Edwards Air ForceBase, CA, and is a subordinateactivity of the U.S. Army Aviation

Systems Command AVSCOM).

The activity was organized at Ed-

wards AFB as the Aviation TestOffice under the U.S. Army Transportation Materiel Command inMarch 1960. At that time the or

ganization consisted of 4 officersand 28 civilians; currently, theactivity is authorized 26 officers, 1warrant officer, 33 enlisted menand 104 civilians. The mission ofUSAASTA is to:

8

Plan and conduct airworthiness qualification flight testsof air vehicles developed

and/or procured as integratedsystems; airworthiness evaluations of those vehicles proposed or considered for Armyapplication or incorporatingadvanced concepts having potential military application.

Produce quantitative test dataon aircraft performance, stability and control, maintainability and reliability.

Conduct an Army Test PilotOrientation Course.

Extensive test facilities andequipment and many test supportfunctions are required to fulfill thatmission. The Air Force Flight TestCenter AFFTC) provides manytest facilities and considerable ad

ministrative and logistical supportfor USAAST A. In addition to Ed-

wards AFB, testing is conducted atseveral remote sites. These includetwo airports- Shafter-Kern andMeadows ( elevations under 500

feet MSL) near Bakersfield, CA ,

and the airport at Bishop, CA

(elevation 4,112 feet), as well asother test sites near Bishop withelevations up to 11 ,400 feet. Testing also is accomplished at Yuma

Proving Ground, AZ, and Alamosa, CO , and at contractor facilities.

Tests at remote sites may be supported by local agencies or byUSAASTA and AFFTC , depending on location. Much of the special equipment required for flighttesting is that which is used to record and process dat a Modernization of USAASTA equipment hasincluded the development of an advanced instrumentation and dataanalysis system AIDAS) whichincludes an airborne data package,a central computer complex andthree self-contained mobile vanswith computer systems similar tothe central but with less storage

capability and less extensive peripheral equipment. This equipmentwill permit either onboard magnetic tape recording or real time

telemetry transmission of data. TheAlDAS ground station equipmentprovides automatic data handlingand processing capabilities to include preparation of data plotssuitable for final reports. This is but

one example of the changes in instrumentation and equipment thathave taken place over the years tobetter equip USAASTA to ac

complish its mission.

Although USAASTA does mostof the engineering flight testing ofArmy aircraft and is the best placefor a new test pilot to be assigned,it should be pointed out that testpilots are also authorized in otherorganizations: the U.S. Army Air

Mobility Research and Development Laboratory at the Ames , Eustis and Langley Directorates, aswell as in some of the AMC project managers' offices. There also is

one Army test pilot on the staff of

th e U.S. Naval Test Pilot School.

Now, how about this business offlight testing? Well, it has certainlychanged from what it was in Octo

ber 1903 when test pilot CharlesM Manly hoped to demonstratethe world's first sustained airplaneflight in a craft which had beeninvented by Dr. Samuel PierpontLangley. According to the accountin Sherwood Harris' The First

To Fly viation s Pioneer Days,

Dr. Langley's airplane was to belaunched in the Potomac Riverfrom what "resembled a warehousefloating on a barge." In preparationfor the flight, Test Pilot Manly even

U. S ARMY AVIATION DIGEST



strapped a compass to his leg so he

could find his way back to the boatif his flight was so long that he gotlost. Unfortunately, the attempt tofly was unsuccessful. The Washing-ton Post s description of the flightwas: There was a roaring, grind

ing noise and the Langley airshiptumbled over the edge of the houseboat and disappeared into the river16 feet below. I t simply slid intothe water like a handful of mortar.Today, military test pilots may encounter some strange things but

usually nothing like this. Army testpilots fly a new aircraft early inits development, perhaps 6 to 8months after the first flight, but notbefore it has been adequatelydemonstrated by the contractor.

Tests which are performed are generally made within a flight envelopewhich has already been explored.

Flight testing also is quite unlikethat which took place in the U.S.Air Fo·rce early in the jet age or

that involving the X-IS when thenames of many of the test pilotsand their exploits were well known.Today, there is little glamour in thetasks of the test pilot. However, onesimilarity between flight testing

then and now is that there is a lot ofhard work involved.

Much of the testing requirestakeoff shortly after sunrise to havesmooth, stable air aloft or windsless than 3 knots on the surface.There is very little wringing outof the aircraft. Instead, most testsrequire long periods of holdingsteady, stabilized flight conditions.And because of the nature of flighttesting, most test pilots do not do

a lot of flying. Much more time is

spent in planning and data analysisthan in flying. Finally, the productof the entire test team's efforts isthe written technical test reportwhich is the result of hours of writ-

the next week the Army s test

pilots could well be flying a UH-1

Huey with a spraying device

MARCH 1974

ing, review and revision. With allthis drudgery what are the rewardsof being a test pilot?

There is considerable variationin what people consider to be rewards so it is hard to generalize,but I will name some things which

most people consider to be rewarding. First, a test pilot can see tangible results of his efforts and knowthat he is making a contribution tothe Army's materiel acquisitionprocess. As a minimum he produces a written report that bearshis name and is going to be readby people who must make decisions based, in part, on the testpilot's findings. Also, he has theopportunity to expand his technicalknowledge of aircraft and related

systems. A test pilot's time is prettywell occupied when he is involvedin a project but by taking the timeto find out what other people aredoing there is an opportunity togain a wealth of knowledge fromthe experience of others as well asfrom his own projects. Finally, atest pilot can expect the challengeof performing a variety of tasks andworking with a wide range ofequipment.

It does not take too muchknowledge of the Army's aviationresources to know that only a smallportion of the engineering flighttest workload over the past severalyears has been testing of new aircraft. That is one reason why somany new aircraft are just over thehorizon. Most of the flight testingof recent years has been directed

toward evaluating modifications of

existing aircraft, determining thecapability of these aircraft to perform new missions with the installation of new equipment and

determining the affect of new subsystems and equipment on the

handling qualities and performanceof existing aircraft. Often thesetests are made to determine the airworthiness of the test item and toestablish a flight envelope in whichsome other test agency can performuser tests. Occasionally, the testpilot will monitor contractor testsinstead of actually performing thetests.

Recent engineering flight testsconducted by USAAST A havecovered a wide range of flight andcalendar time and complexity. At

one extreme is an OV 1 C test supporting a National Aeronautics andSpace Administration accident in-

vestigation. It consisted of oneflight of 1.4 hours. At the otherextreme is the testing of the AH

t TOW Cobra. These tests consisted of the Army preliminaryevaluation APE) and the airworthiness and flight characteristics(A FC) evaluation which together

required a total of 64 flights with55.7 productive flight hours. The

APE took about 1 month in September and October 1972 and theA FC evaluation took 2 monthsbetween April and June 1973. Although I mention the TOW Cobratests there have been others whichhave taken considerably more

Continued on page 5



AL TERNATE

INTMEO STOP

INTMEO STOP

v

A BOVE IS A FORECASTthat was entered in section IV

of a DD Form 175-1: The forecastsurface winds could be strong

to exceed the maximumr o ~ ~ w l i n d component of most fixed

Army aircraft depending onrunway direction.

Gray Army Airfield, Ft. Lewis,

WA, has runways 5-23 and 14-32.For the purpose of illustration, let 's.assume that runway 5-23 is closedfor repairs and the pilot filing toGray AAF is required to use runway 32. The angular differencebetween the 320-degree runwaybeading and the 2.80-de,gree windforecast is 40 degrees. This converts to approximately 13 knots ofcrosswind using the maximumforecast wind of 20 knots. f theairplane is a T -42, this is within

OCNt

the 15-knot maximum crosswindallowed. Right? . . . Wrong

In this particular case there isa 24-degree easterly magnetic

variaii for the destination. Sinceforee inds are true and run-way 'ngs are magnetic, the

ngular difference be''ay heading and wind

j :t. The forecast trueust first be converted into

·c . Remember from flighte saying when changing

from magnetic: east is least(subtract) and west is best add)?

The forecast true wind of 280 degrees becomes 258 degrees magnetic and the angular differenceformerly computed to be 40 degrees would, in fact, be 62 degrees . .Using a 62-degree angular

.difference and a maximum forecast

INS Z TO

INS Z TO

wind of 20 knots, the conversionfor crosswind component now results in about 17 knots, which exceeds the 15-knot limit for the T-

42.As you can see from this illustra

tion, knowing that a wind forecaston the DD Form 175-1 is reportedas true and being aware of the

magnetic deviations in the areaswhere you fly, there can sometimesbe a significant difference in whatmay be expected when you land-':and how you land.

Magnetic variations occur almost everywhere to ,some degree sobe certain to check ~ h e Flight .Information Publication ,(pJ;I r highand low altitude and the 'opera :tional navigation,charts (ONC) to

. determine the ,vanation x i s t s', whehever ,you *fly lniliar

ILT JonP.Kahler,USAF



areas. The probability that there isa significant variation at any givenplace is quite high.

The following rules should clearup most doubts concerning true ormagnetic with respect to any windsyo u may be given:

• Winds given by M E T ~ O(pilot to military weather voicecall) will be magnetic when reporting local surface condition, buttrue winds will be given when relaying surface observations fromother installations and winds aloft;however, magnetic winds will begiven and so identified only whenthere is a reportable difference between the magnetic and true head

ings.• Local surface winds dis semi- '

nated with the ,local observationover close'd ~ i r u j t t ~ l ~ v i s i o n orelectrowriter "llrtd local surfacewinds c o m ~ W 1 i c a t ~ d by tower orapproach control,are magnetic .

• All ,winds entered onJhe ' DDorm 175-1 are true; TWis includes

flight level winds and surface windsfor destin at on, alternate and intermediate stops.

• Winds" whether forecast oro b s e ~ v e d are always true on all information disseminated over teletype.' Some stations having significant magnetic 'variation also willgive the magnetic wind direction inthe remarks section of their teletypesequence report.

• Any time you get forecast orobserved winds for a station otherthan the one at which you are, Y0' l

will get true winds regardless ofwho provides the information.

To put it s i ~ p l y magnetic windsare given only for observed surfacewinds at the local station. f youare ever in doubt as to whether thewinds Y9U have been 'provideq aretrue or magnetic, by all meansask t c o u l d ~ e n the differencebetweep. e x c e e d ~ g or not exceeding your aircraft's maximum c r o s s ~wind component. '

on DD Form 175-1 wind forecast. arereported as nle and magnetic deviatio nsc.nsometi ..es create a significant differ

~ n c i n ~ h a t y umay expecton o u c h d ~ ~ n

f you do most or all of yourflying in an area where there islittle or no magnetic variation from

true north, there is no need to be,particularly or immediately concerned about true versus magnetic;however, you should be aware ofthe importance of this anomaly ~ l lthe same. After all, who can say forcertain that he won't s o m ~ y bes<;heduleq for an e x t e n ~ e d crosscountry flight into an area wherethere is 'a variation? f y ~ u are

scheduled for such a flight youwouldn't want to begin your approach only tq ,find that yoli?ve

figured your crosswind componentusing a t r u ~ wind direction andthen ' determine that you ' cannot

land because your maximum crosswind is exceeded On ' the otherhand; if yoli foqtinely fly in an areawhere there is a significant varhlti9n, you should already be ' distinctly of ' tpe problem ofmagnetic ,versus ,true. 4 t t I



~ h : v h ~The OnlyWay To row

Learned rom That light

aptain Louis E Fausak

It is often said that the day a pilot doesn t learnsomething new is the day he should quit flying

Captain Fausak discusses some of the lessons

he learned from a night flight in the mountains

T HE RETURN FLIGHT from. Ft. Huachuca, AZ, to Ft Car

son, CO, promised to be a pleasantuneventful experience similar tothe trip down. The Ft. Carson Flying Club's Bonanza functioned perfectly on the way down to Arizonaand the weatherman had just promised a CAVU (ceiling and visibility unlimited) flight back to

Colorado. .The Flying Club's maintenancesupervisor was my copilot for thetrip and was quite adept at plottingcourses and getting VOR fixes eventhough he was not a pilot. For experience we filed an IFR flight planat Ft. Huachuca to the muni atColorado Springs: Peterson Field.We planned to leave about 1 hourafter nightfall with a 3 ~ h o u rflight to the Springs. Normal procedure was to file for Colorado

Springs, and then cancel IFR whenButts Army Airfield at Ft. Carsonwas in sight. .

We filed for 11,000 feet and began the long flight home. When wereached altitude we leveled off andlet the Bonanza accelerate to its 75percent cruise speed-about 180miles per hour. Our transponderwas talking to everyone loud and

12

clear because Albuquerque Centeranswered our initial call-up withthe controller's security-blankettransmission, Radar contact.

We drove up V -202 to Truth orConsequences, NM, and thenstarted north along V -19. Thecheckpoints were hitting right onour estimates, and I decided thatthe slight tailwind which had been

forecast had materialized.As the Bonanza banked to theright over the AlbuquerqueVORTAC (VOR and TACANnavigational facilities--collocated)to track out on V -190 toward LasVegas, NM (not Nevada), a feeling of something isn't rightstarted making itself known somewhere way down in the graymatter. A quick scan of the engineinstruments failed to reveal anyproblems, and I returned to the

attitude portion of the panel.My copilot asked, Wasn't that

Albuquerque we just went over?Roger that, I replied. We

have about 40 miles to go and weshould be able to see the rotatingbeacon at Las Vegas.

I didn't even see the lights ofAlbuquerque, my staunch copilotanswered.

hat was the problem. I hadgotten up on top of a layer andhad not realized it. The lack ofground lights in that part of thecountry had not bothered me untilI found out that we had just passedover a major city without any visualrecognition.

I asked Center to leave the frequency for a few minutes ( the

second communications radio wasin the shop) and dialed in 122.1while turning up the volume onthe VOR.

Albuquerque Radio, this isBeechcraft 7095N, listening 113.-2.

Beech 7095N, AlbuquerqueRadio, go ahead.

Beech 7095N is on an IFR

flight plan from Libby Army Airfield to Colorado Springs; estimating Colorado Springs at 0600 zulu.

Requesting current and forecastColorado Springs weather.

Roger, Beech 7095N. ColoradoSprings is reporting 7,000 scatteredvariable broken, 100 miles visibility. Its forecast indicates that itwill stay about the same until wellafter your arrival.

Colorado Springs is about 6,000feet mean sea level and I remember

U. S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST



thinking that the reported 7,000-

foot layer would be at about 13,000feet mean sea level.

I settled back slightly, knowingthat I would not be making an instrument approach into the Springs,and that we would be able to land

at Ft. Carson. A major consideration--our cars were parked at theFlying Club on Butts Field.

We crossed the Las VegasVORTAC and received the following cail from Albuquerque Center:"Beech N7095N, 'climb and maintain one-three thousand. Contactthe Denver Center, one-two-sixpoint-one, at zero-five-two-zerozulu."

"This is Beech 7095N. Out ofone-two thousand. Denver Center,

one-twenty-six-one at two-zeropast. Goodnight, sir."

We continued up V-Sl, crossedthe Cimarron VORTAC and at 20miputes after 10 called DenverCenter.

"Denver Center, Bonanza N7-095N, one-three thousand."

No answer.No problem, either. We would

be in range of the remote site in afew more minutes and would be

able to talk with Denver.The weather was getting a little

worse at our altitude and our Bonanza was ducking in and out ofthe lower level of a cloud layerwhich had formed above us. Probably, I thought, the same layerColorado Springs was reportingwhen we t ~ l k e d with AlbuquerqueFlight Service Station (FSS).

We tried a few ~ o r e calls andas we crossed Gordon intersection,still without contact, I realized we

had a minor problem.I would have felt a lot more

comfortable if we could get belowthe clouds. The outside air temperature ~ u g e was right on the 0

Fort Rucker Flying Club

eechcralt Sundowner

MARCH 1974

degree C. mark, and we both knewthat there was water in thoseclouds. (Like, how does one seeice at night, looking through someclouds at a white-winged airplanewith a flashlight?)

W( were too far away from

Albuquerque to attempt a contactwith them by this time, so I did notfollow the procedure of trying togain contact with the last station.A look at the chart told us that wewere almost directly over Trinidadand I decided to contact TrinidadFSS and tell them our problem

and have the FSS ask Denver Center for a lower altitude for us.

"Trinidad Radio, Beechcraft7095N, 123.6, over."

Nothing.

"Trinidad Radio, Beechcraft7095N, 122.6, over."

Nothing."Trinidad Radio, Beechcraft

7095N, 122.2, over."Nothing. We dialed in 122.1

and turned up the sound on theADF.

"Trinidad Radio, Beechcraft7095N, listening Trinidad nondirectional beacon, 329 kilohertz,over."

Well, since all else had failedwe tried 121.5.

"Any station, Beechcraft 7095Non guard. Listening 121.5, PuebloVOR, and 329 kilohertz, over."

Still nothingO. K., we are neither transmit

ting nor receiving. The next step is

to turn up the volume on the navigation radios, put the lost commocode-7600-in the transponderand wait for someone to talk to us .

We were getting more "in" than

"out" of the clouds, so based onnormal procedures the next timewe were "out" we descended tomaintain VFR.

Even though both our navigationradios (the VOR and an ADF

were emitting a steady stream of

dots and dashes and now and thensome weather information, we didnot hear a friendly voice from anyof the stations acknowledging thatwe had a problem. After SO nautical miles with 7600 in the transponder, and within range of twonavaids, we made the slight courseadjustment as we crossed the Pueblo VORTAC for the final 40 milesto Colorado Springs.

About halfway to the Springs Ituned the Colorado Springs VOR

with the hope that we could getsome indication of the active run",:

way there. No luckWe were down to 9,500 feet at

this point, and I could see the approach and visual approach slopeindicator lights for runway 35 atPeterson Field.

I tuned the localizer frequencyfor runway 35, and identified thelocator outer marker on the ADF.My plan was to intercept the local

izer and then land on runway 35regardless of the wind. I knew that35 was over 11,000 feet long, andeven a direct tailwind woulcl not be

a major problem.I told my copilot, who was just

as interested in the situation as Iwas by this time, to watch the localizer needle and when it centeredto put 77'00 in the transponder. ' Ihad a gnawing thought that if wewere landing in the wrong directiona 707 or some equally unfriendly



bird might be coming up to meet us.The localizer needle started off

full-scale deflection and we committed to the approach. Out of t h ~corner of my eye I saw my copilot'shand move toward the transponder.At that moment the loudest trans

mission I have ever heard over anaircraft radio bounced around thecockpit, Beech 709SN, if you arereceiving Colorado Springs Approach Control ident.

We both jumped at the identbutton on the transponder and wereoverjoyed to hear, Roger yourident, Beech 9 5N You are clearedto land, r u n w ~ y 35. Winds 340degrees at 6, altimeter 3007.

The remainder of the flight andthe landing w ~ n t without incident.

However, on the drive home from

the airport some q u e s t i o ~ s keptrunning through my mind:

• Why did I waste time tryingto contact Trinidad FSS when wewere obviously (to anyone who wasnot in the cockpit at that time)

lost commo ? '• Why did I maintaip my altitude in an in and out conditionwhen icing could have been a problem-and when the regs say, ineffect, if you're VFR, st y VFR ?

• Why was there no attempt tore-contact Albuquerque Center? Asit turned out later (though I cannotexplain why) the radio was ableto transmit on the frequency wewere using for Albuquerque Center.

• And, finally, w ~ a t was I doingin the mountains, night IFR, in asingle-engine airplane with only oneradio? For instance, what 'kind of

trouble would I have been in ifboth the communications and navigatiCln sections of the radio went

apoof while we were going throughthose mountains just east of Albuquerque?

I learned from that flight. Mymountain flying is now ' strictlyday-VFR and those optional

courses of action take most of thetime ~ p e n t in preflight planningrather than just a small portion ofthe time.

I learned from that . . . and Ihope that you will use my experience to help stay out of trouble.

The DIGEST welcomes this contribution from Captain Fau-sak and would like to hear from other members of ArmyFlying Clubs. Below is a list of many Army Flying Clubs

Ft Rucker Aying ClubCairns AAF ( Q ~ r k ) , AL. . .Ft. Greely Aying C , u ~

~ ~ I e n ~ ~ , AI( .

Ft Huachuca Aero ClubTucson; AZ ' . . .

Ft Ord Flying Club~ a l i n a sFt Carson Aying ClubButts AAF . . .

O I O ~ ~ S p g ~

Fl teayenworthArmy Bjing 'Clubfl. t , ~ v ~ n , c n 1 h K S

, Ft. R i I ~ Y 'Flying'ClubMarshall·AAF .junction C 1 t y ~ KS .

Ft Knox Aero ClubFt. ~ o ~ , KY .,

Ft Poik Army Flying ClubF t ~ o l ~ , LA , ,

100/13Q115/145

8 0 / ~ 7 ,

(205) 255-6228Ay 5 ~ 8 ; . 6 2 2 8 . .

ft. Meade Flying Club, Ft. M e a ~ e , ~

(907) 872·1138 Ft. Leonard WoodAy 7 · 8 7 2 ~ l l ~ 8 Aero Club

, . Way'nesville

80 (301) ~ 7 7 - 3 6 6 3

80 87

1 0 / 1 3 0 (314) 368-6968

80 87 (602) 5 ~ 8 · 5 9 9 31 00/130 1 1 5 1 1 4 ~ AV 8 7 9 - 5 ~ 9 , ; J . ft. Monmouth Flying Club 80/87 (201) 938-5886M o n m o ~ t h County' Airport, NJ 1 00/130 '115/145 , ' .

80/871 1 5 1 1 4 ~11 ~ / 1 ~ 5

80

80 87

(408) 242-5451.AV 9 7 3 - 5 4 ~ 1 '

(502) 624-3189AV 6 4 ~ 3 1 &'9 "

( 3 ~ 8) 5 7 8 · ~ 6 5 9

West Point Flying Club

N e w b ~ r g h , NY ' .

Red Leg Flying ClubFt. Sill; OK .

HCAD Aero ClubHarrisburg t a t ~ AirportCCJrlis,ei PA . . ". .

Camp A. P:HiII e r o Club, CCJmp' A.P,. Hill VA ,

Flo Lee Aero ClubHopewell, VA '

~ t . Lewis Army Aero ClubTacoma, WA '

8 0 / 8 7 .

(914) 562-1324

(405) 5 1 - ~ 7 6 5V '639-4601 '

U. S. War Cl)llege (717)245-3305. ~ p n s '

1151145 (l03) '934-:3600Landing use for Ext 203 (after '

~ m e r g e n ~ y ~ n l Y ho ..rs Ext 201 )

Service from FBO

80/.87 (206)968-27

1 1 ' ~ / 1 4 5

It.enleen Proving Ground.Flying Club , '

A ~ r d ~ n " MD .

14



MAN INVARIABLY fears the unknown •••hesitates in the face of uncertain.y. But,man , is adaptable ••• often flexible to then,&4ltCls of a given situation, particularly i fheJstrained to maximize his capabilitiesand 'minimize his , imitations. The use ofvision and e s t a ~ l i s h m e n t of visual scanning technique,, is ; amenable to training

••• also to continued research. 'Prior knowledge of visu. ' , scanningtechniques and their successful .pplica

~ n is likely buried in the archives andmemories o f p ~ s t armed conflict. Such isthe i m p l i ~ - . ~ i f n of older, operationalmedical l i t e , ~ t u r e . The t ime to unearthsuch seemingly unsophisJ'cated razzle isnow. No sense re .inventi' thewheel, butequally important no sen ,Iindlyaceep,ing them as valid either. ·Each oldconcept should be subjected to c a , , ~ f i j ll aborat " and field scnatiny and inv , .'ti-gation . ' ., '

One of ' the mor . ti l l le honored techniques of t r a i n i n g p ~ f , - , i n s to .dark adaptation and night se.ing". techniqueth Theemergence of NOE :'demands th hesebe r,examined and readapted. :r . S.ArlllY Aviation Center has provid spe-

cific visual training .il l the "N ght; VlslonOrientat ion" using a two-dh , ' ' onaltraining device for several year ... , 's '.of

J ~ , A v i a t i o n Center's students hagenowr e ~ e h t . d this .foundation to build ·upon Inthe ··'operatlf)""'yi,;, environment. That theaccompanying Icle is wrlJten by anaviator perhap , .; tests·th-.' . '0s program

has had a f v o r b l e l m p ~ memberof the aviation team must , pply hisnight vision training. Time tf) evelop dark;

t;,J,. adaptation -.nd utilization c)f proceclur,. :'. for protectif)" of dark adaptation must bel

consider. ' '''· .. maximal use of our full :capability,: . 0 ,be realized . for increaSed.'mission performance ~ , , ~ ,ffJclency. , ,;'

Even in ·the face of , '" stlcated elec-tronics and assisted . '... 'ry ,perc, ,nthese techniques are important. TIl,mate .cockpit system is man. Wh'ele,et, · ' nd photicsys,tems fall he st be p ~ d as the final backup system.

Night TrainMajor Rush R. Wicker

Doctrine DivisionDeputy for Developments

United States Army Aviation CenterFort Rucker, AI

IN 1492 CHRISTOPHER Columbus set sail fromSpain. His en route planning included only a direc

tion because he was uncertain how long his trip would

take. Many of his friends considered him insane forit was a common belief that the end of the world wasjust beyond the horizon.

Hesitancy on the part of early explorers to ventureoff into the unknown existed due to a lack of experience knowledge and equipment to accomplishthe voyage. Fortunately as the early explorers became more familiar with navigation techniques theirfear of the unknown was overcome. As a result theygained more confidence which led to more extensive

MARCH 1974

travel. This analogy describes the present thinkingof many of our Army aviators relating to nightnap-of-the-earth (NOE) flight.

The uncertainty which existed in the minds ofearly sea captains exists today in the minds of manyArmy aviators. In the past only limited night operations have been conducted; however changes intechnology and tactics require the ground commander to conduct extensive combat operations atnight. To support the maneuver forces the aviatormust possess the capability to effectively pilot hishelicopter at low altitudes during hours of darkness.

In July 1972 a group of 12 Army aviators par-

15



ticipated in tests relating to night NOE. You mightsay these aviators were the Christopher Columbus'of night NOE. These tests were conducted by theCombat Developments Experimentation Commandat Hunter Liggett Military Reservation, Jolon, CAAlthough these aviators possessed a great deal ofexperience, they had to develop their own tech

niques and procedures. Extensive training was conducted at altitudes above 500 feet which allowed theindividual to develop confidence in himself beforeconducting missions at NOE altitudes.

As the training progressed these aviators began torealize that man does possess the capability to per

form missions at low altitudes even during the darkest

night. Although man's vision at night cannot com

pare with that of an owl, they began to develop tech

niques which would overcome their night vision

limitations (see Aeromedic, June 1970 DIGEST).

No longer was the term groping in the dark appli

cable to these aviators, for they had attained a degree

of proficiency which qualified them to navigate over

unfamiliar terrain during conditions at low illumina-

tion at altitudes from 50 to 125 feet above terrain

obstacles.How is it that these few aviators have achieved

success in conducting low level operations whileothers hesitate to participate in such a frightening experience? Basically, they have learned that they arenot s helpless in the dark s they thought. They haveattained flight proficiency in their new night environment by applying certain techniques and procedureswhich weren't applicable during the day.

Most aviators possess 20/20 vision and never experience any difficulty in seeing terrain features during the day. Have you ever considered what flying50 feet above the trees on a dark night would be like?How much could an aviator with 20/20 vision see?This question would have to be answered by the in-

.dividual aviator, for the technique that he employsdetermines how much he will see. An aviator who is

not familiar with the limitations of night vision willprobably see very little.

In order to perceive the terrain features whichmust be identified with the naked eye, the Armyaviator must learn to use his night vision capability.





Getting That University egreeWITHOUT

Formal Studies

onald J. Nolan

Adapted from a speech made by Donald J

Nolan Director of Regents ExternalDegree Program the State Educational

GOING TO COLLEGE isn tthe only way to get a college

education. This statement is oftenheard and most people agree thatit is true. But, in a society wherediplomas are so important manyqualified people, including those inthe military, can t get ahead because they do not have college degrees. In response to this situationthe University of the State of NewYork is awarding degrees to anyonewho qualifies, without regard toage, place of residence or methodof preparation. This route to a degree emphasizes that what a personknows is more important than howhe learned it. This is known as the

Regents External Degree Program.As of 1 October 1973, 727

individuals-including 416 activeduty military personnel-had

earned associate in arts degrees(A. A.). They range in age from 19to 63 and are from all walks of

life-servicemen, homemakers,

teachers, peace officers, nurses,managers, technicians, secretaries

and sales clerks.

Of the military graduates, about

25 percent received degrees withoutformal college attendance. Instead,

they earned their degrees through

the College Level Examination Pro

gram CLEP), United States

Armed Forces Institute USAFI),

Department Albany New York

and Commission on Accreditationof Service Experience ( CASE)guide evaluations. Thus, the Regents External Degree Programmight be described as a new direction for education in the armedforces because it provides a focalpoint for all types of learning experiences. In addition to serviceschools, proficiency examinationsand correspondence courses, othermilitary graduates also acquiredsome regular college work to earntheir degrees. So far 30 percent ofall the credit earned toward theA A. degree has resulted from nontraditional study, thanks in largepart to the CLEP general exami

nations and the USAFI testingprogram.

The Regents External DegreeProgram was originated in 1960when the College Proficiency Examinations ( CPEs ) were established. At that time, tests wereprepared to enable qualified individuals to earn college credit or othereducational advantages, whether or

not they attended college classes.Most popular have been the ex

aminations in the nursing sciences,foreign languages, teacher education, the liberal arts and sciences,and accounting. Grading norms or

standards for the nonresidents aredetermined by administering thetests first to a sample of regular

college classes. Study guides andreading lists are available free ofcharge to assist candidates as theystudy on their own. The RegentsExternal Degree idea builds uponthe principles and experiences ofthe College Proficiency Examination Program, especially in its useof faculty, its reliance upon examinations that are first administeredto college students to make surethey are appropriate and its maintenance of high standards.

Professors, administrators, business and civic leaders, togetherwith higher education and testingspecialists of the New York StateEducation Department, currently

are working on these other externaldegrees: an associate in arts; anassociate in applied science innursing; a bachelor of science inbusiness administration; and a general baccalaureate degree. Whileeach degree program is different,there are some common elements.For example, there are no admissions or residence requirements;there is no age limit; the methodof preparation is not prescribed;

general education requirements canbe satisfied by passing courses ataccredited colleges; and classroomattendance is not required.

The Regents offer no instructional program. But, detailed examination descriptioqs and rather



extensive bibliographies and suggested study guides are availableto assist degree candidates whoelect to study on their own.

The associate in arts external

degree requires 60 credits, 48 inthe arts and sciences and 12 in freeelectives, which may be chosenfrom all fields of collegiate study,including vocational and technicalsubjects. National tests like CLEP

or advanced placement examinations also may be used to earncredit toward the associate degree.Study through USAFI and militaryservice schools is evaluated in accordance with the recommenda-

tions of the Commission on Accreditation of Service Experiencesof the American Council on Edu

cation-the CASE guide. The nextedition of the guide is to includeevaluations of many additionaltechnical courses.

Eventually students also mayearn credit toward the associate inarts degree through special oral,written or performance examinations, i existing proficiency testsare not appropriate. In these instances faculty panels will be convened to evaluate the degree candidate. This special approach will beused to assess artistic, literary andmusical accomplishments, as welIs knowledge or skills gained on

the job. No credit will be given for"life experience" whether in government, industry, military or civilian jobs. But every reasonableattempt will be made to give creditfor college-level knowledge how

ever it has been acquired. To earnsuch credit the candidate must be

able to demonstrate his knowledgeof skills through a relevant examination form provided by this special approach.

The baccalaureate degree in business has both a general educationand a business component. Three

levels of examinations covering thefields of accounting, finance, management and marketing are to beready by 1974. Candidates for thebusiness degree will be required to

demonstrate basic competence ineach of these areas of study andspecialize in one. As the tests aredeveloped they are being evaluatedafter administration to graduatingseniors from New York and NewJersey schools of business.

The Regents B.A. degree is nowin the formulative stage. Plans areto:

• include "majors" in most traditional fields s well s in the field

of general or liberal studies;• make use of all available tests(CLEP, CPEs, UndergraduateProgram Field Tests, GraduateRecord Examinations, AmericanCollege Testing Program, USAFI,CASE guide evaluations, and Modern Language Associations' Advanced Language Tests);

• allow college credits earnedat a variety of institutions and appropriately distributed to satisfydegree requirements; and

• use the "special assessment"technique for all parts of the program and especially to provide forcapstone tests in a major field.

Of the programs under development only the associate in artsprogram has graduated studentsamong whom 416 are on activemilitary duty. They earned theircredit by passing proficiency examinations, especially CLEP tests,and by SUbmitting transcripts from

accredited colleges and universities,from USAF and through CASEguide evaluations.

Many of these have alreadyresumed their education s thirdyear students at colleges and universities. Others have decided topursue the Regents External Degree in business for which they

will prepare by taking some courseson campus, and some through homestudy. Many will use their veteran'seducational benefits to finance theseunique programs of study because

the Regents External Degree isapproved for that purpose.

There are several modest feesto cover partially at least, the administrative costs of the program.In addition to a $50.00 enrollmentcharge, students are required to payan annual records fee of $25.00and a diploma fee of $10.00. The

average cost of each test is $25.00,but many students will take examinations offered by other agencies

or study at colleges where theymust pay regular tuition fees. If,however, a student completes theassociate in arts program by proficiency examinations over a 4-yearperiod he will pay a total of approximately $400. This figure doesnot include the cost of any instructional materials, books, help fromtutors or formal college study.

How does the program work formilitary personnel? After examining the program literature, in par

ticular the published degree requirements, and discussing thesewith his local education centercounselor or educational advisor,the serviceman enrolls in the degree program of his choice. He coordinates with the advisor and arranges to have his official collegetranscripts, CLEP scores, USAFI

reports and records of militaryschools successfully completedDD Form 295) forwarded to

New York for evaluation. Allofficial records must come directlyfrom the issuing agency, educationcenter or college. A status reportis then sent to the candidate by theuniversity registrar. The majorityof the military personnel initiallyenrolIed had already met the requirements for the associate in arts



degree without additional study.At present, 3,600 people includ-

ing civilians are enrolled in theassociate of arts, business andnursing degrees.

Advising the student is a difficultissue to resolve in the external

degree system. Military educationspecialists play an important rolein counseling students; others arereached through conferences andwork shops as was done in March1973 when two members of theuniversity staff visited more than adozen military installations in Germany and England to explain theRegents program. Similar sessionsare planned for posts in the United

States. A new comprehensive catalog which should greatly facilitatewritten communications and assistcounselors in evaluating studentswill be available shortly.

In order to earn either the business or nursing degrees, a candidate

must pass a number of examinations which were formally avail

able only at New York testing

centers. In May 1973, education

center officers administered tests

to service personnel at bases in

California, the District of Colum

bia, Massachusetts, North Caro

lina, Ohio and also in England and

Liberia. Consideration is being giv-

en to make examinations availableworldwide through the USAFI system on a regular basis.

A major objective of the NewYork Regents External Degree Program is to make higher educationmore accessible in the United

States. The extent to which thisobjective is achieved in future years

will be a measure of the program's

success.

The Regents look to the day

when this program will no longer

be needed because teaching institu

tions everywhere will recognize and

grant credit for learning, wherever

it takes place.

GETTING ST RTEDontinued from page

sponse of the team aviators.Figure 2 represents the re

sponses received when the teamwas asked about operations over

mountainous terrain. Based on thisinformation we determined that awell trained ART consisting of ascout and two attack helicopterscould routinely operate over avariety of terrain -at altitudes varying from 10 to 200 feet AGL, dependent on the ambient light level.During the course of these tests weused AH-1G, OH-58 and someUH 1M aircraft.

Initially, the only modification tothe aircraft was the installation ofa radar altimeter. As we becamemore sensitive to the night environment, we further modified the aircraft through

• Installation of tactile [touchsensitive] knobs on essential inflight switches.

• Ballast added to simulate arm-

20

ament to improve center of gravity.

• Modified internal and external

aircraft lighting.A typical training day for the

Owl Team began with a daylightpreflight inspection of the aircraft.These preflights were abnormallythorough, almost to the point ofperforming an aircraft technical inspection. We knew that the majorportion of the flight would be conducted at minimum altitude at reduced air speed, placing the aircraft in the deadman's zone of theheight-velocity curve over terrainunsuitable for emergency landings.Much of the flight would be conducted in narrow canyons belowthe surrounding treetop levels.

Upon completion of preflightand runup checks, we reported forthe mission briefing. A five paragraph field order prepared andissued by a member of the teamwas used. The navigation route

would have been reconned earlierin the day by controller personnel

to identify location of wire hazards.Following the briefing the crewswould study and plot the route tobe flown. Normally this planningrequired 1 hour.

Nightly assignments design-atedthe crews for each aircraft. Wefound that the conduct of nightlow altitude flying requires a definite division of duties between thepilot and copilot/gunner with agreat deal of intercockpit coordination. For example, the pilot

• Ensures that the aircraft is

mission ready to include a cleancanopy.

• Handles all radio communication.

• Is responsible for terrainavoidance.

• Must maintain air speed andaltitude as directed by the copilot/gunner who does the navigating.




• Informs the copilot/gunner ofvisual cues as required.

The copilot/gunner-• Receives briefing and plans

plots and verifies the route to beflown.

• Briefs pilot on the route.• Advises pilot of approaching

terrain, terrain clearance altitudes,wire locations and available forcedlanding areas.

• Is responsible for positionkeeping at all times.

• Must, above all, not hesitate toreport to the pilot if he becomesdisoriented.

Figure 3 illustrates a typicalflight route. Start points, air controlpoints, release points and the actualintended flight path are shown. To

ensure adequate crash rescue support, we had ground rescue unitsprepositioned at specified locationsalong the flight route. Additionalcrash rescue was provided by stationing a rapid reaction, speciallyequipped UH-1H with a trainedcrew at the heliport.

The route was flown by onescout and two attack helicoptersusing a staggered trail formationwith about 10 seconds betweenaircraft. The two AH-lG Huey

Cobras were not simply followingthe leader; each aircraft was prepared to take the lead and complete the mission at any point inthe flight. A fourth aircraft mannedby control personnel maintained aposition well above the flight routeto provide additional safety andadministrative radio relay.

Sudden and unexpected changesin elevation during NOE flight hadto be anticipated. With the naviga

tion expertise developed by theOwls, they were capable of pre

dicting this situation even thoughforward visibility was sometimeslimited to about 75 meters.Through comprehensive map studythe crews knew exactly what theywere approaching. The air controlpoints were precisely reported asthe aircraft passed over them. The

MARCH 1974

copilot/gunner was able to reporthis position within 100 meters atany time between air controlpoints.

In the tactical scenario playedduring this training we divided thebattle area into brigade, battalionand company areas. During conductof the flight we were required toestablish communication with eachechelon of command as we progressed into each commander'sarea. Continuous clearance wasobtained from friendly air defenseartillery. This requirement for continuous and simultaneous communication greatly increased thecrews' workloads.

We made landings at a simulatedforward area rearm and refuel

point in the brigade area. Theselandings were made without the useof landing lights to a blacked outlanding zone. Due to the restrictiveline of sight communication capability, the scout was generally required to remain airborne to maintain contact with ground elements.Should the scout be directed forward to the forward edge of thebattle area (FEBA) for a reconnaissance mission, at least one ofthe attack helicopters had to beairborne to avoid losing contactwith the scout. At these low altitudes it was not uncommon to losecommunication at very short distances.

Additional landings in nondesignated holding areas were sometimes required by the attack helicopters for fuel conservation orwhile awaiting missions from theairborne scout. When the missionswere received, the attack helicopters

proceeded to predetermined firingpositions. There they entered andremained masked until given simulated target location information.We employed various types of illumination to light the threat side ofthe FEBA. Flash simulators wereused along the route and forwardof the FEBA to add realism to the

training.

The dazzle effect on the unaidedeye was detrimental to night vision,but thanks to training did not seriously degrade the crews' capabilities to complete their missions. Wefound that a night acquisition system is required to detect, recognizeand engage targets at standoffranges.

After each mission the OwlTeam would meet with controllersand debrief the flight in detail. Thesessions were recorded and provided the majority of input for implementation into the training program. These sessions were informaland designed for maximum participation. Constructive criticisms forthe flight to include individual performance, aircraft deficiencies and

training program shortcomingswere solicited.

After having completed thistraining program, we feel that wehave shown that there is a significant capability for the existingman/machine system. Through an

intensive, directed training program and minor modifications toexisting aircraft, we developed thecapability to safely conduct nightlow altitude tactical operations.

Again, it should be pointed outthat this was an exploratory program and, although standardArmy aviators participated, thisdoes not imply that this capabilityexists within operational aviationunits. Those who would use thesefindings are cautioned and shouldrealize that to attain these capabilities they must use deliberate, stepby-step procedures and be willingto dedicate personnel and equipment to assure the safe progression

to the established baselines.During the training program and

ensuing side experiments, we flewa total of 1,800 night low altitudeaccident-free flying hours. We attribute this record and our successto the outstanding field support wewere given and the timely and

realistic guidance and leadership

provided.

2



NI HT·

BIBLIOGR PHY

The bibliography which follows contains information about those storiespreviously published in the DIGEST

related to night flight operatiDns. The

issue of November 1967 was devotedentirely to night operations. These articles are not discussed here. However, th eDIGEST has a considerable number of

surplus copies of the November 1967issue on hand and will be glad to makethem available upon request.

For the convenience of readers interested in a specific story listed in thisbibliography, the DIGEST will forwardthe issue if available Dr a copy of thearticle. Please indicate the article bythe number used belDw Dr by its fulltitle and publicatiDn date and address

YDur

letterDr

cardto

EditDrU. S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST

P. O. Drawer PFt. Rucker, AL 36360

1. April 1955 (page 9)Battlefield Illuminati on, Captain John

B Kusewitt, Jr

Use Df L-20s and L-19s fDr illumina

tion in KDrean War when most needed.Advantages Df aircraft and aircraftflares Dver other forms of illuminatiDn.

2. May 1955 (page 21)Army Aviation in the Dark, Captain

Weyman S. Carver

Nine vDlunteer pilDts and Dbserversfly 243 cDmbat missions at night,(KDrea) January to April 1953, andprove the value Df light Army aircraftin bridging the gap between the Infantryman in the foxhDle and the highperfDrmance aircraft of the Air Force.

22

3. May 1955 (page 25)H-13 Flight by Night, Owen Q. Nie

hausPilot techniques to emplDY for night

helicDpter flight. Local area Dperationtips. SensatiDns that will be experiencedby the nDvice.

4. July 1955 (page 13)Night Photography, Captain John

KusewittAdvantages Df night phDto missions

by Army aircraft timeliness fDr IDwerechelon cDmmanders; I W altitude flightaVDids radar detectiDn yet prDvides detailed infDrmation fDr immediate estimate of situatiDn.

5. September 1956 (page 5)Night Vision, Lieutenan t Colonel

RoWe M. HarrisonDark adaptation slowly acquired,

quickly IDst in presence Df light; blindspot need to look indirectly at Dbject;effects of hypoxia, fatigue, age, smDkingand drugs Dn night vision.

6. May 1958 (page 20)Flight Surgeon

Explains process of sight; pointersfDr night flying; rules for night DperatiDnby University Df Southern California.

7. April 1959 (page 24)Night Flying Hints for the Sioux,

Captain Wilford A. Baugh, Jr

Fixation vertigO at night, hDveringgeneral and in Sioux, approaches, autDrotatiDns and forced landings.

8. January 1960 (page 1)

Night Vision, CWO Clarence W. Tux-

bury

Explains eye nerve ends, hDW to keepeyes dark adapted, prDper eye move-

ments, need to have clean windshield,good physical condition and oxygenabove 5,000 feet.

9. January 1966 (page 26)Searchlight for Helicopters, Colonel

Ben F. Hardaway, USAF

Light sDurce lightning bug developed using seven C-123 landing lightssuitable for UH IB without additionalauxiliary power unit. PrDves value for

nighttime reconnaissance, area searchand as a new dimension to cDunterinsurgency at night.

10. April 1966 (page 2)Assault Helicopter Com pany and Night

Tactical Operations, Captain Robert

L. OliverLow level flight mandatory to escaperadar detection, night formatiDn lights,types Df fDrmation, protectiDn and feasibility of night tactical helicopter oper

atiDns.

11. January 1967 (page 35)Playboys and the Lightning Bug,

Major William W. FrakerHDW this searchlight was emplDyed

by the unit successfully against rivertraffic resupplying the Viet CDng andhDW it denied freedDm of night DperatiDns to the enemy.

12. May 1968 (page 26)

Night Airmobile Assaults, Major Vernon C Grigg, Jr

PrDblems and solutiDns fDr nightformation, navigation, weather requirements, training, planning the mission,variDUS means Df illumination for advantage, night airmDbile assault canreduce the mobility differential of theenemy and ensure our Dwn element of

surprise.

U. S. RMY VI TION DIGEST



NIGHT

BIBLIOGR PHY

13. August 1968 (page 20)

Night Tactical Approaches and Forma-tion Flying, CW2 Barry R. Billman

How available lighting of the landingzone should be established, communication with the ground to ensure identityof landing area, use of aircraft lights.Formation requirements and techniqueswhile taking off, en route and landingin tactical environment.

14. September 1968 (page 8)Fatigue and Night Flying, Major IraL Hartwell

The aviator's mental alertness is critically reduced after flying the Old Man

to numerous sites. The pilot has had

only 3 hours sleep in 2 days, has flownmore than 12 hours half of it at nightand it is 0245; an inoperative homer in

Old Sioux and some distractions bringabout disorientation.

15. September 1968 (page 28)Let's Highlight Night Flight, Captain

Frank Gall

Thorough preflight, normal and emergency procedures, pilot-copilot teamwork and proficiency. All are even more

important in darkness and determinethe success of night flights.

16. October 1968 (page 18)

Mohawk Infrared Mission, Major

Donald I. Bernstien

Sequence of events for infrared mission, blackout takeoff to mission debriefings. Crews ly night both IFR and

VFR covering all suspected targets inthe corps area. Description of OV-1mission aircraft and equipment for IR

aerial surveillance.

MARCH 1974

17. October 1968 (page 27)

Night Thievery, Major Howard J

Stiles

Night combat assault mission. In

sertion of pathfinders, troop deliveryand extraction of pathfinders withouta hitch in the operation. The fruits of

precision teamwork in combat.

18. January 1969 (page 48)

Visibility Zero

Reconnaissance mission-airborne at

2400 and again at 0130 after refueling,weather deteriorates. The two UH-1Cs

and a UH-1D decide to return and land.They enter severe turbulence; the nightis extremely dark and visibility zero.One aircraft is destroyed.

19. February 1969 (page 14)Firefly Tactics and the Cardinal Rules,

Captain Glenn A. Smith 11

Mission profiles for armed helicoptersearch and attack operations. Determined can t stereotype-must changewith enemy's tactics. Rules that evolvedto 1966. Preference for armed light shipto continue attack when others haveexpended ammunition.

20. March 1969 (page 15)Dual Controls for Night Flying, CW2

Roy A. Johnsen

Requirement for dual light controlsfor landing particularly in student training since IP frequently has to reach

across the pedestal (in UH-1) to turn

on or reposition lights. Exposes him to

situation that may exceed capabilityto recover.

21. April 1969 (page 40)

Night Thunderstorm Vertigo

Both the AC and pilot of a UH-1D

experience vertigo. The entire crew of

four and five aviator passengers survive

the helicopter crash and give their

account of the final minutes of flight inblinding lightning.

22. May 1969 (page 6)

Reconnaissance Patrol, Captain R. J

Ronchetti

The mission begins according to plan:insert a six-man reconnaissance patrol

at last light but the patrol within minutes requests immediate evacuation.Darkness, weather, increasing enemy

automatic weapons fire and two gunships with only 20 minutes fuel leftwhen the last man is extracted add tothe stressful situation.

23. May 1969 (page 16)Night Hunter Operations, Captain

Richard C. Keehn

In November 1968 this conceptwas first used against the enemy in the

Mekong Delta. Task force includes amobile radar set, an air cavalry element,roving waterborne patrols, infantry

ambush sites and supporting artillery.Tactical flight operations are cited withreasons for specific procedures employed.

24. June 1969 (page 2)

Combat Night Air Assault, ColonelKenneth D. Mertel

First night combat air assault into

enemy held landing zone under fire by

A Company of 1st Bn, Abn 8th Cav.The article describes the Battle of Ia

Drang on 3-4 November 1965 and

Operation Lincoln (the second such assault) on 30 March 1966. Emphasizesimportance of the little things in nightoperation-the need for detailed planning.

23



NIGHT

BIBLIOGR PHY

25. November 1969 (page 23)

Nighthawk, Captain Garrett C. Marc-

inkowski and CW2 Steven J. Zorger

Phenomenal success of the UH-IH

with xenon .searchlight and a night

observation device. Aircraft in this con

figuration with a minigun (1500 rounds

per minute) and three gunners with

M-60 machineguns prowl the skies individually in specific areas on search

and destroy missions. Light has both

infrared and white light modes.

26. November 1969 (page 30)The Tiger's Roar, Captain William

E. Walgren

Assault helicopters alerted at 0330

hours to repulse the enemy about tooverrun an outpost in Chau Doc sector.Flight of three UH-IBs and an AC-47flareship repel the attack. XM-3 rocket

ship has devastating effect. The 40 min

ute operation accounts for over 100

enemy dead.

27. December 1969 (page 7)

Exercise In Visual Purple, CaptainClark D. Hein

0-1 Bird Dogs airborne at last light

on mortar watch missions to detect firstsigns of enemy attack, conduct artilleryfire missions at night and support

special combat operations which are

widely varied. 0-1 often only linkbetween ground element and its headquarters.

28. January 1970 (page 2)Triple Nickel Winks at the World,

Captain Anton J. Skarich

Emergency resupply mission at night

into mountainous jungle terrain, unauthorized application of masking tape

covering Triple Nickel s landing lightand new copilot s first flight with the

unit combine to surprise and needlesslyendanger the crew.

29. February 1970 (page 25)

Night LRRP Extraction, Captain Rob-

ert C. Lentz

Tactics for inserting a long range

24

reconnaissance patrol (LRRP) team.

The team is engaged by a well organizedenemy unit within minutes and requestsextraction. During the pickup both

escorting Cobras' guns jam and the

pickup UH 1 takes a nose hit. On reaching 1,000 feet the engine fails.

30. April 1970 (page 10)Night Vertigo, Captain Terry P.

Gardner

Combat assault aviation unit andinfantry division units develop into awell coordinated team with such highregard and mutual respect for each

other that they give that little extra to

help the other guy. Elect to cover for

infantry though low on fuel. Weather

closes in and pilots experience vertigo.

31. November 1970 (page 1)Tactics, Major Jim H. Clary

1968, Vietnam, the Viet Cong (VC)launch a multi battalion attack begin

ning at 2200 hours. How Army aviatorssuccessfully developed and employed

a scheme of fire and maneuver whenartillery was unavailable and air strikeswere not always possible. At 0500 the

VC withdrew due to the grazing firesof the gunships.

32. May 1972 (page 10)Mission: Personal or Professional,

Captain Rudi Hamvai Jr.

Four Navy river patrol boats are

ambushed. Proud of a strong sense of

mission accomplishment and a burning

desire to help their embattled comrades,a light fire team and their secondaryteam (five UH-ICs) are scrambled at

0200 hours and remain on station toolong. Weather engulfs even the low ship

at 200 feet.

33. September 1972 (page 2)Mission: Nightmar e, Captain Steven

D. VermilliollTheir primary mission was to rescue

the injured and the crew felt theycouldn't turn this one down without

making an attempt. Called at night,the crew attempts a landing atop Giah

Key Mountain to rescue two mortarmen

who suffered amputations when a round

exploded in the tube.


The Black Minute, Captain ClaudeT. Stanley

n assault helicopter company prepares for a practice night airmobile

assault mission. All aircraft that meetfull night flight requirements are

cranked and standing by at 2015. Theroutine practice expected turns out to

be the real thing as the C C aircraft

relays that an outpost near the LZ

has been attacked by the Viet Congo

35. May 1973 (page 2)Helicopter Low Level Night Opera-

tions, Lieutenant Colonel GeorgeW.

Moses

Night flying capability may be dra

matically enhanced by recent successesin research and development. Night

vision goggles are one of the approaches

tested to permit night nap-of-the-earthflights. Aircraft modifications desirableand data on 700 hours of successfulflight testing are revealed.

36. June 1973 (page 6)The 'Eyes' Have It, Captain Edward

I. CarrollJust after dusk the scramble hom

sounds and the UH 1 is airborne inless than a minute. At the pickup zonethe gunships finish prepping the area

and the recovery Huey descends. On

short final, the tail rotor is hit and acrash landing follows. Value of the

helmet visor.


The Cav's STAR, CW2 Charles M.Tidey

The STAR (Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) Platoon

is representative of new looks and tactics in Army aviation. Tests during hours

of darkness at nap-of-the-earth to avoidradar detection.




The rmy Test Pilot

ontinued from page

calendar time because of delaysdue to maintenance, instrumentation and higher priority projectsand there have been tests whichhave required many more peopleto perform and support the test.

No discussion of recentUSAAST A test programs would becomplete without m ~ n f u m i n g theattack helicopter requirementsevaluation which took place in thespring of 1972 at contractor facilities and at high altitude test sites.This evaluation required flight tests

of the Bell Model 309 KingCobra,the Lockheed AH-56A Cheyenneand the S-67 Sikorsky Blackhawk,and took nearly all the resources ofUSAASTA to accomplish. OtherUSAASTA programs have included tests of new tail rotors forthe AH-1G and OH-6A, heavyweight autorotation tests of theAH-1G, vibration and temperaturesurveys of all the firstline Armyhelicopters and evaluation of flight

director systems in the OH6A

andOH-58A. n addition, an evaluation of the Canadair CL-215 amphibious airplane was made forthe U.S. Forest Service in 1972 toassess its suitability for the airtanker mission. There also havebeen inflight icing tests which arestill in progress. The basic purposeof these tests is to determine thecapability of Army helicopters tooperate in icing conditions. Theairworthiness qualification of the

CH-47C installed icing spray system which was developed for thosetests was also accomplished byUSAASTA.

From these few examples onecan see that a test pilot can expectto be involved in a wide variety oftasks. This should give a good insight into what an engineering testpilot does. What are some of the

M RCH 1974

personal challenges that face atest pilot?

First, he must be able to achievethe proper mix between inquisitiveness and discipline in his work. He

needs to have the desire to get atthe reason an aircraft or piece ofequipment behaves the way that hehas observed, but this inquisitiveness must be tempered with discipline. His inquisitiveness or othermotivations must not lead him todeviate from his planned tests unless he and other members of the

test team are sure that it is logicaland safe to make that deviation.The equipment that is being testedmay be a prototype item; it willprobably be expensive and the testprogram cannot be placed injeopardy because of delays due todamaged or destroyed equipmentcaused by test pilot actions whichwere not adequately planned. But,the test pilot also must be adaptable to changing situations. In spiteof what may appear to be a conflict with the discussion justfinished, he must be prepared todeviate from his primary tests whenconditions such s weather or instrumentation failures dictate. The

difference is that this deviation is

preplanned. Flying time and calendar time are both critical so maximum benefit must be gained fromthe time available.

N ext, he must o n t i n u ~ y develop greater technical competence

to do the job. That is done bybuilding, with experience and further study, upon the foundationthat is laid in the test pilot school.The test pilot is challenged by agrea,t deal of responsibility in hisdaily work. Besides the responsibility for obtaining valid test data,he has ultimate responsibility forflight safety in a test program.

When there is any doubt, the testpilot always makes the final decision s to whether a portion of aparticular test can be conductedsafely. Beyond the requirements ofhis own job the test pilot will frequently be the project officer and assuch will be responsible for thework of the entire test team. In

either case much of the work hedoes is not under close scrutiny ofhis supervisor. Therefore, thesupervisor must have confidence inthe test pilot's ability and willingness to get the job done correctlyand on time.

Finally, there is constant challenging of the test pilot's integrity.Important decisions are based onthe results of his tests, therefore,

what the test pilot reports must becorrect. He cannot attempt to passoff bad data for good just to avoiddoing certain tests over admittingthat he erred in some way. Becausethe test pilot is nearly always evaluating something a contractor is

trying to sell to the Government,he must approach each test withimpartiality. His dealings with contractors must be business-like andimpartial so there can be no question s to his conduct and no ac

tions which could be interpreted asa conflict of interest.

Of course, there are other personal challenges that a test pilotmust face but I believe the ones Ihave mentioned convey the impression I want to make.

Being a test pilot today is an opportunity for you to take a stepwhich will certainly influence yourcareer in Army aviation. Prerequisites for and additional details

concerning the Army Aviation En-gineering and Flight Testing Pro-

gram will be published, perhaps inan Army regulation, sometime in

the spring. In the past that information has been in a D circular. Although there is no current circular,the latest one was D Circular 351-28, dated 16 August 1971. t may

still be used as a guide for applying.

25



JEWS

RO

E DERS

Sir:

During the period of June 1972 to

May 1973, I served as project and safetyofficer of the 155th Aviation Company

(Attack Helicopter) Owl Team. Our

sole purpose for existence in the beginning was to develop a training programthat would prepare aviators to participate in CDEC Experiment 43.7 entitled The Attack Helicopter in theClear Night Defense. Not really knowing how to begin we researched Armywide for background info and found

not only an almost total lack of databut also a general feeling of disdain fornight operations. Putting our own fearsat least partially aside, we began . What

resulted is documented in the CDEC

Final Report for Phase 1, 43.7 and encapsulated in the inclosed article [seearticle beginning on page 3].

What we established was an unaidedeye baseline defining operating altitudesfor standard Army aircraft, with onlyminor modifications flown by welltrained standard Army aviators.

We recently trained three aviatorsfrom Ft. Rucker, AL, who will be thecornerstones for specialized night training to be conducted at the U. S. Army

Aviation Center at Ft. Rucker.

During the training program we madenumerous discoveries that are beingwritten about by other members of theOwl Team and will be submitted

shortly for your edification. . . .

CW2 Ralph S. Park

Safety Officer155th Avn Co (AH)Ft. r d ~ CA 93941

Sir:

Could you please inform me why theArmy thinks when you have 1500 hoursflight time and are commissioned that

you are not to fly? To me this is an injustice to professional aviators who are

commissioned. I, for one, have over2500 hours which I got in less than 5years because I wanted to fly.

I now sit behind a desk doing abranch job in a Field Artillery unit, of

which I have had a total of 4 monthstraining and no experience. On the

other hand, I have 5 years experience inaviation and my MOS could just as wellbe used in an aviation battalion.

Why is the warant officer the only one

that the Army feels is the only professional pilot? I'll put my knowledge and

skill up with the best of the warrantsand probably come out ahead.

I would like to get back into someform of aviation. I was enlisted andwanted to fly so I went to flight school.Now, after 5 years the Army has chosenfor me by branch a ground job. O.K.,but why not in aviation where I have agreat deal of experience instead of a

Field Artillery unit?I draw flight pay, but to heck with

the money. I want to do what I haveworked 5 years to become, a professional aviator. I would fly even if theydid not pay flight pay.

I know for a fact that there are plentyof pilots, not aviators, who do not want

to fly but most of these have less than

1500 hours and are flying mainly justfor the flight pay. Surely these peoplecannot be considered professional

pilots when they have no desire. to

fly or perform their duties properly. Isuggest a one for one exchange withthese type individuals and they can havemy flight pay if that is the reason theyare flying .

I just advised a young EM the otherday to go to OCS and then flight school.He came back to me and said that flightschool was closed. He will get commissioned and probably not flight school.I have tried to get fixed wing training,but to no avail. I have a CFI in both

fixed wing and rotor craft, instrument,multiengine and commercial license inboth types of aircraft.

t now appears that the only ones theArmy wants to fly are the warrants.O.K., who will take charge of companybattalion and brigade when the U. S.Army is in need of the Army aviationagain, like in the Republic of Vietnam.t will not be the warrants, but young

officers who are commissioned like myself, after the Army sees the need forus in aviation.

The Army makes the rules and Imust live with them to stay in the Army.But may I ask, why can't I sit behind a

desk in an aviation company around

what I know and like best, and not

around an 8-inch howitzer?I think highly of the warrant aviator

and feel that the flight pay should beequal, but I feel that aviation to thecommissioned and warrant pilot shouldbe the same also.

A grounded aviator,CPT Vaughan M. Smithwick1st Battalion, 36th FA

APO New York 09178

26 U. S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST



• The DIGEST forwarded CPT Smith.wick's letter to the Director of ArmyAviation. His personal reply to theCaptain follows:

Dear Vaughan:

Your letter of 15 October 1973 to theeditor, U.S. ARMY AVIATION

DIGEST has been referred to my officefor reply. I have elected to personallyrespond because I understand and appreciate your point of view and consider your questions to be valid and important.

Vaughan, some 15 plus years ago asa lieutenant, I had the same desire toget in the air that you do. Fortunately,

a wise colonel provided me with somevery sound advice. He said Lieutenant,the Army has no place for a commissioned officer who only wants to flyThe only fulltime aviator in the Army

is the warrant officer. We do not have aseparate branch and do not propose to

form one. f you are to succeed as acommissioned officer in the Army youmust be qualified in your branch aswell as in aviation. You see, it is thiscombined qualification that makesArmy aviation so worthwhile.

Fortunately for me I listened to that

colonel and the wisdom of his wordssoon became apparent. It soon becameobvious that only by being qualified inmy branch could I really be fully qualified to lead any Army aviation unit.

The old colonel's philosophy stateswell the current Army position. In your

case this means that you are a SignalCorps officer first and your qualificationas an aviator is just an additional skillthat you possess. The Signal Corps

Branch provided ·you with your present

assignment to assist in achieving basic

branch qualification. While it is true

that you could be performing as the

Signal officer in an Aviation Battalion,

your current assignment as the Signal

officer in a Field Artillery Battalion

will make you a better qualified officer.

I urge you to dig in and make the most

of your assignment, learn all you can

about the ground soldier and your or

ganization's tactics. Charge in there

with a can do attitude like you have

always been trained to do as an aviator

and make all of the officers in your unit

admire how well you can accomplish

your current responsibilities. After do

ing so, watch how they look at your

wings with admiration.

The remainder of my letter addresses

your specific questions. As you will see,

some of the things we are doing are not

MARCH 1974

necessarily by choice but instead resultfrom monetary considerations and theenergy shortage.

In order to reduce expenditures forproficiency flying we are required bypublic law to establish a system that

limits the number of proficiency aviators. As a result of this congressionalaction, and the Army's analysis of

aviator requirements, we established1500 military flying hours as the cut-offpoint for active participation by our

aviators assigned in non operational fly-ing positions.

The Army does not consider thewarrant officer as the only professionalaviator. We want all of our aviators,commissioned and warrant, to be professionals. The reason why warrant

officers fly fulltime and commissionedaviators do not is a simple matter of

requirements. For example, the commissioned aviator must be branch qualified and must fill numerous staff assign

ments. We do not need a large numberof colonels, lieutenant colonels andmajors to fill cockpit slots; however, wedo need qualified aviators of these ranksto fill numerous other assignments.

Although I hope not, you are probably correct in your assertion that someof our commissioned aviators who haveless than 1500 hours want to fly onlyfor the pay. You offer to give themyour pay if you could assume theirflying responsibilities; however, I thinkyou will understand that this would not

be feasible in light of what I have said

earlier about your Army responsibili

ties.Your young enlisted friend was misin

formed by whoever told him flight

school was closed. We have cut back

in our training, but have not closed the

school-not by a long shot. I can, how

ever, understand your problem in try

ing to get fixed wing training because

we have reduced this to a minimum.

Look around for Army fixed wing air

craft and you will see why.

In wrapping this up, let me again say

that I can understand how you feel.

Being with aviation and doing your

thing as an aviator is fun. You will no

doubt have the opportunity to again

serve with an aviation unit. However,

there is just one thing that I request

that you keep in the back of your mind.

As you progress into field grade rank

most of your assignments will dictate

that you be qualified in far more than

pure flying skills. Don't blow the op

portunity to prepare for that day and

at the same time destroy the chances

for success as a commissioned officeraviator.

You have my best wishes for your

success.

Sir:

James H. Merryman

Brigadier General, GSDirector of Army Aviation

Recently, while flying an AH-IG the

environmental control unit (ECU) malfunctioned to the full on cold position.We tried, unsuccessfully, to tum off the

ECU through switches, circuit breakers,reostat and even cutting off all electricalpower in the aircraft, but to no avail.After approximately 15 minutes of flightthe cyclic began to stiffen in an everclosing circle. We made an immediatelanding from our altitude of about 500

feet and by the time we got to the

ground the cyc1ic was literally FROZEN

SOLID. Had we been at a higher altitude who knows what would have

happened.This is the second time I've come

across this problem. In Vietnam we had

an aircraft with the same problem whenthe ECU was kept on in the cold position for too long a period. Also, whiledoing some cold weather work on theCobra in 1970-71, the cyclic would beimmovable during a cold start until the

ECU had been operated in the warm

position for a few minutes. At the timeit was attributed to the hydraulics, but

since these last two instances I feel it

may be part of the same problem mentioned above.

What causes the problem? It seemsto be in the area of the bellcrank on

the bottom of the pilot's cyclic.

I was wondering if any informationhas been distributed on this or any

action taken. I would suggest the following if redesign is not feasible:

1. Ground any Cobra in freezingweather that has a malfunctioning ECU.

2. f ECU comes on and stays on inthe cold mode, land immediately or getdown to a low enough altitude wherean immediate landing may be accomplished.

CW2 E. Richard Ashton

Troop E (Air), 1st Cavalry172d Arctic Light Infantry BdeAPO Seattle 98731

• The DIGEST received an official re·

sponse to your letter . • . the answercomes in two parts: First, from the U. S.Army Aviation Systems Command

(AVSCOM); and, second, from A VS·COM's coordination with Bell Heli·

copter Company. Copies of both appear

below:

27



•.• We contacted Bell HelicopterCompany regarding the ECU malfunc·tion. Their response is attached [seebelow].

We are entering the content of Serv.ice Engineering Memo AH·12·73-1 (seeNo.6, mel 1) in the Em Digest.

Since the above modification shall appear in the E m Digest, the two sug·

gestions in the letter received by theAVIATION DIGEST have been disapproved.

Thank you for the inquiry about theECU. We appreciate the interest of

CW2 Ashton in solving a problem he

found with the AH·1G. f we can be of

further assistance, please contact Jim

Kirkwood, AUTOVON 698·6516.Donald Macy

Chief, Attack HelicopterBranch

AVSCOM

The letter [above] stated the ECU on

an AH·1G helicopter had malfunctionedto the full on cold position. After 15minutes of flight the cyclic controls had

stiffened to a point that they were im·

movable after touchdown.

The contractor's Engineering Depart·

ment has reviewed the referenced letterand suspect the following condition may

have transpired:

f the ECU flow control valve shouldmalfunction, or i f the ECU cuts off andthe vent blower comes on along with theclosing of the outlet valves, an increaseof pressure in the duct system wouldoccur. This condition would cause a

swelling of the P N 209·070·433 ductassembly exerting pressure against thecyclic control rod assembly.

AH·1G helicopters SIN 70-15936 andsubsequent have valve assembly P N

209·072·401·5 installed. This assemblyhas washers and spacers attached to

eliminate. expansion of the duct in theevent of overpressurization. ReferenceTM 55·1520.221·35P, page 113, figure228, items 52, 54.

AH·1G helicopters prior to SIN 70·

15936 have duct assembly P N 2 9·

070·433·1 installed, which does not havethe spacers and washers installed. Refer

ence TM 55.1520.221.35P, page 1108,figure 237, item 45.

Service Engineering Memo AH·12·

73·1 has been prepared and will be re·

leased to permit field modification to

the 209·070·433·1 duct assembly.The contractor feels that the final

decisions regarding the conditions, asstated in items #1 and #2 of Mr. B.Richard Ashton's letter, should be madeby the using activity.

BELL HELICOPTER COMPANY

8

Sir:

Your Views From Readers column[November 1973] concerning the historyof the UTI [Utility Tactical TransportHelicopter CompanYJ and 334th Aviation Company still appears to containsubstantial errors of fact. Specifically,no mention is made of the 68th Aviation Company and 197th both of which

I believe were successors to UTI beforethe unit was redesignated the 334th.

I did not serve with the unit; however,I was a gunship pilot in the 114thAviation Company in 1965 and I knowat that time the unit was the 197thand their pocket patch had an acknowledgment of the 68th being a predecessor. In point of historical accuracy youare doing the former Raiders, Playboysand Dragons who served with the unitwhile under the above designations adisservice. I believe that the statementin your comments on page 1 November1973 issue, are grossly in error when

you state personnel expertise and hardware went over to the 334th. To the68th or 197th perhaps, but I believethese units passed on the above assetsto the 334th.

Normally your magazine is considered a highly reliable source for manyof us in Army aviation. For this reasonI point out what I feel is an error of

great magnitude.

Major Phillip V. BranstuderTrp B 1st Sqdn (Air), 17th Cav

82d Airborne DivisionFt. Bragg, NC 28307

• Past research and a limited inquiryspawned by receipt of your letter doesnot indicate that the DIGEST is inerror. However, inquiries such as yoursare what it takes to ''nail down our

Army aviation history accurately. Thus,I am taking another comprehensive lookinto the matter. The attached letter willgive you an idea of the approach [seeletter below to the Office of the Chief of

Military History].

Previous research indicates that any

exchanges, formal or informal, wouldbe between the UTT and the 334th. Iam looking into this again, too.

I do not feel that the DIGEST has

done a disservice to the 68th or 197th.On the contrary, the VFR is referringto an article that had stated (as you do)that the 68th and 197th were successors

to the UTT before it was redesignated

the 334th [ Armed Helicopters Around

The World, September 1971J. Our ref·

erences for this are probably the same

as yours. However, this lineage is not

accurate according to information re·

ceived previously from DA. I am pursuing this point again in light of your

comments.

Based on DA's information, and unofficial interviews, the DIGEST cannot

be grossly in error by saying, •• theexpertise and some of the personnel and

hardware did go over to the 334th.But, let's see what our latest efforts

turn up.Thank you for citing the DIGEST as

a highly reliable source of information•• I strongly feel that one main reasonit is can be traced to people such as

yourself who take the time to call mat·

ters to our attention when they feelthere is an error.

Editor

Below are excerpts of the DIGEST's

query to the Office of the Chief of

Military History in response to Major

Branstuder's letter:

The Adjutant General's Office confirms that the 68th Aviation Company,the 197th Aviation Company and the334th Aviation Company were TOE

units. TAGO also states that these companies could not have a common lineagewith the UTI because the UTI was aTDA outfit. However, TAGO did statethat this was possible only if the Chiefof Military History approved it. Thisbrings me to the questions I need your

help answering:

• Did the Chief of Military Historymake an exception to allow the UTI to

have a common lineage with any (or all)

of the mentioned companies (68th,197th and the 334th)?

• Do the 68th, the 197th and the334th have a consecutive, common lineage in this given sequence?

• What are the dates of deactivationor inactivation of the UTI; the 68thAviation Company; the 197th AviationCompany; and the 334th Aviation

Company?

Below is the reply from the Office of the

Chief of Military History:

Under the provisions of paragraph

10-4d, AR 870-5, lineage and honorsare determined only for TOE units

which are flag, color or guidon bearing

organizations. Since the Utility TacticaJ

Transport Helicopter Company was a

TDA organization no lineage and hon

ors will be determined for it. The Chief

of Military History has not made any

exception to this policy with respect to

the UTI and has not authorized a com

mon lineage for UTI with any other




TOE organizations which have everexisted on the rolls of the U. S. Army.

The 68th, 197th and 334th AviationCompanies are separate and unrelatedorganizations with different histories.The 68th's lineage is as follows: constituted 7 March 1960 in the RegularArmy; activated 14 April 1960 at Ft.

Ord, CA, and inactivated there 6 De

cember 1962; activated 15 August 1964in the Pacific and inactivated there 1March 1965; activated 5 July 1965 at

Ft. Benning, GA, and inactivated there20 March 1972. The 68th remains inactive. The 197th's lineage is as follows:constituted 16 February 1965 in the

Regular Army; activated 1 March 1965in Vietnam; and inactivated 24 June

1972 at Ft. Benning. The 197th also remains inactive. The 334th was constituted 10 November 1966 and concurrently activated in Vietnam. t hasremained active and is presently stationed in Germany.

The limited personnel resources ofthis office preclude a search of microfilm records of the several thousandTDA organizations formed over the

years in order to cite the inactivationdate of the UTI. This inactivation datecould be more readily determined byThe Adjutant General's Office if the

unit identification code (UIC) number

for the UTI could be provided.

Some of your readers appear to beconfused by the fact that some personnel originally assigned to UTI werereassigned to the 68th after that unit

was activated 15 August 1964 in the

Pacific, that some personnel assigned tothe 68th were reassigned to the 197thwhen that unit was activated 1 March

1965 in Vietnam; and that still other

personnel assigned to the 197th were reassigned to the 334th when the 197thwas transferred 1 September 1966, lesspersonnel and equipment, to Ft. Benning and when the 334th was activated10 November 1966 in Vietnam. However, a transfer of personnel does not

itself carry the history of one unit to

another. A Unit History Report submitted to this office by the 197th Aviation Company in 1966 erroneously

claims that the 197th was previouslydesignated as the 68th Aviation Com-

pany. Such a redesignation never took

place. The 68th, the 197th and the334th have no lineal relationship whatsoever, and since TDA units such asthe UTI do not accrue history, none of

these three TOE companies is historically related to the UTI or to anyother organization which has everexisted on the rolls of the U. S Army.

In his letter to the editor publishedin your November (1973) issue, James

MARCH 1974

D. Sprinkle quotes from a history of the334th Aviation Company publishedby the sompany on 25 March 1971.We have in our files annual historicalsupplements submitted to this office bythe company for calendar years 1966,1967, 1969 and 1970. All except that

for 1969 refer to UTI with similarwording, and they are all equally er

roneouswhen they refer to the UTIbeing redesignated as the 68th, to the68th being redesignated as the 197th,and the 197th being redesignated as the334th.

We also have in our files a photograph clipped from the 16 June 1965issue of the Army Times announcingthe winning unit patch design for the

197th, the same insignia to which Major

Branstuder refers in his letter. The design shows Pegasus, the flying horse,

with a UTI brand and the number

68. We have been advised by The

Institute of Heraldry that they have no

record of a pocket patch having everbeen authorized for the 197th, or forthe 68th or 334th either. Therefore, thewearing of such an insignia by personnel of the 197th does not establish anylineal relationship of that unit with

either the UTI or the 68th AviationCompany. f your readers desire more

information about the design or wearof cloth shoulder-sleeve insignia, metallic distinctive insignia or pocketpatches, they should write to the Director, The Institute of Heraldry, U. S.Army, 5010 Duke Street, Cameron Station, Alexandria, VA 22314.

Walter L. McMahon

Colonel, Infantry

Chief, Historical Services Division

INSTRUMENT ORNER

Q. I understand there has been a change in theregulation about operating under a cruiseclearance. If there is a change would youplease explain it and its effect on a flightcleared with a cruise clearance.

A. The Federal Aviati dministration Advisory Circular,Nurpbe ~ ~ d a t e d 27 December 1973, states: A ise'clearance is anair traffic control clearance issued by air trafficcontrollers to pilots in order to reduce communication, workload,conserve fuel and afford

the pilot with flexibility in his operation. Be-cause questions have arisen as to controllerapplication and pilot action/responsibilitywhile operating on such clearances, the pro

~ e d u ~ ~ has been rewritten. The amended procedur,authorizes the pilot to climb and de

s c e n d a block of airspace but prohibits ac:limb ,back to the original altitude once the

R n o t ~ t r t s descent and reports leaving analtitude in the block. .

The following information will be included inthe Airman's Information Manual and the air

traffic control handbooks: Cruise - A wordused in an ATC clearance to authorize a pilotto conduct flight at any altitude from the MEA/MOCA up to and including the altitude specifiedin the clearance. The pi Qffm'ay level off at anyintermediary altitude w,thin this block of airspace. Climb/descent within the block is to bemade at the discretion of the pilot. Once thepilot starts descent,and 'reports ,leaving an altitude in the block, he 'may not return to thataltitude without additional ATe clearance.

29



ontinuedfrom page 7

night vision the aviator must be aware of thephenomena and avoid viewing an object off-centerlonger than 2 or 3 seconds per scan. By shifting theeyes from one off-center point to another, the object of regard will continue to be acquired in the

peripheral field of vision.

The technique used by the aviator to view theterrain along the flight path becomes an importantconsideration if he is to perceive obstacles andidentify terrain features which will ensure safety offlight, accurate navigation and target acquisition. To

scan effectively the aviator must scan' from right toleft, top to bottom of the field of view in 10-degreeoverlapping movements (figure 4). While eye movements will be directed along the central visual axis,it is the peripheral field of vision that will permitdetection of an object coming into the field of view.The scanning technique can be compared to a series

of aerial photographs. The total of all the pictureswould compose a composite of the terrain beingviewed. Once the aviator has developed this scanningtechnique, he must incorporate one additional factor.This again involves the rate at which the aviator willscan.

Due to the inability of the cones to perceive imageswhile in motion, the aviator must develop a stopturn-stop-turn type motion. The time required in thestop portion of the scanning procedure is determinedby the degree of detail that is required but should beno longer than 2 to seconds. t is important thatas

the aviator scans his head and eyes are rotatedparallel to each other. Viewing the object out of thecorner of the eye further reduces visual acuity. It

should be remembered that head movements must be

limited during turning maneuvers to avoid vestibularillusions such as Coriolis; see Aeromedic, May1972 DIGEST.)

Reference has been made to the fact that visualacuity is significantly reduced at night. This is illustrated by tests which show that an aviator whopossesses 20/20 day vision can only see 20/200 at

night. In order to compensate for this limitation, theaviator must develop other means of identifying fea

tures at night.A technique which has proven to be effective is to

identify objects by their silhouettes. A church building which normally is structured with high roofs and asteeple forms a silhouette that is easily recognizableduring low light conditions. Farm buildings, bridgesand irregular structures are other examples that anaviator may be required to identify by their silhouettes to assure positive correlation between map andterrain features.

30

The factors which have been discussed relate primarily to the physical limitations of night vision.There are other limitations to night vision which areself-imposed by the aviator. An awareness of theseself-imposed restrictions are essential to ensure thateach is avoided before participating in night flight.Smoking has the same effect on the body as hypoxia.t

causes a loss of visual acuity, brightness, discrimination and dark adaptation. Smoking three cigarettesmay cause a carbon monoxide saturation as high as8 percent, with an effect of visual light sensitivityequal to that of an altitude in excess of 8,000 feet.

As previously stated, the visual acuity of an aviatorwith 20/20 vision is reduced to 20/200 at night. The

effects of smoking will further reduce this factor tothe point that flight becomes a safety hazard.

Alcohol tends to create laziness. As a result theaviator fails to apply all night vision techniques andprocedures. He begins to stare at objects, scanningtechniques become disorganized and visual sensitivity

is further reduced. The degree to which night visionis affected is determined by the amount of alcoholconsumed. Even one drink can cause a measurablereduction in night vision ability.

Fatigue is another factor which affects night vision.As the degree of aviator fatigue increases, the aviator'snight vision capability decreases. This is caused bythe aviator's inability to apply proper scanningtechniques. His physical limitations are very similarto the conditions associated with alcohol. The stressfactors which are caused by night NOE flight createsmore fatigue on the aviator than any other type of

flight. To overcome this limitation the aviator mustbe physically fit Active participation in a dailyphysical training program is necessary to developphysical endurance which will minimize aviator fa

tigue.The food that an aviator eats is an essential

element in achieving total night vision capability.Vitamin A which is found in green leafy foods such

as lettuce, celery and carrots strengthens the eyes.Normally, the American diet provides an adequatesupply of vitamin A. An excess of vitamin A servesno additional purpose and can cause toxicity. An

additional consideration relating to food is to ensure

that a meal has been eaten prior to conducting a nightflight. Hunger pains that occur under stress tend to

divide the aviator's attention and detract from hisability to apply the techniques of night vision.

The development of NOE night training closelyparallels space exploration n that the aviator has toadapt to his environment. Once his fear of theunknown is overcome and he believes that he is nothelpless in the dark, the Army aviator is ready to

further his training in night NOE training.




viewing conditions. All aviators hadto be in good physical conditionand had to be qualified and currentin the type aircraft they were flying.

ORVAL Had the team membersbeen previously trained in daylightnap-of-the-earth operations?

STIFF The majority of team members had been previously involvedin daylight NOE operations, buttheir experience levels varied greatly. A few team members had approximately 2 years of day NOE

flight time, while the least experienced pilot had only a few hours.Three team members had neverflown NOE prior to the start of thenight experiment.

ORVAL Did any of the memberswithdraw from the training during

the test?

CHOURA No, our attrition wasdue to reassignments.

ORVAL I understand that personalliving habits had to be changedand restrictions imposed. Wouldyou tell us what was required?

ISGRIG To determine the bestperformance obtainable, it was decided early in the program to usea sample of aviators drawn from

Night NOE isn't the typeflying that any aviator cando for just a few hours a weekand maintain proficiency

MARCH 1974

NOE T NIGHT ontinued from page 2

a typical aviator population andalso to use unmodified standardA aircraft. To do this, the aviatorsphysical conditions had to be max

imized for night vision and darkadaptation. The aviators were put

on a reverse day and night schedule.Sleep and nutrition have an important impact on night vision capability, so the changes in the sleeping and eating schedules maximizedthe aviators performance. Specialefforts were made to ensure thatthe aviators had a reasonable opportunity to sleep during the morning and afternoon hours and thattheir living conditions were com

fortable. Efforts were also made tohave a full dinner-type meal aboutmidnight. The night training begana few hours after the aviators arosefor the day, shortly before nightfall.Training began with the dark adaptation period and continued through

two scheduled night periods. Therewas an attempt to institute physicaltraining, such s volleyball, at theend of the night flights. Aviatorswere also encouraged to restrict

the use of alcoholic beverages andtobacco products and to avoid exposure to bright sunlight. Theywere encouraged to use dark sunglasses during the daytime and touse red lighting or red gogglesduring the preliminary eveninghours at times before and duringflights.

COLE I was one of the team members with a family and the habitswhich had to be altered at home

were tremendous. In fact, it was acomplete l80-degree reversal. Iwould arrive home on Friday andit was virtually impossible to sleepduring the daytime when the familywas stirring about. Then when Iwanted to stay up, the rest of thefamily wanted to sleep.

CHOURA t was much easier onthe bachelors because they were

practically already on a reversedschedule.

ISGRIG There were also severalproblems due to the nonavailability

of various facilities such as theswimming pool and the theatre,which were closed during the earlymorning hours. Taking care of personal affairs was another problem.Aviators would have to arise duringtheir sleeping hours to handle theirbusiness affairs.

COLE The aviators were almostsocially isolated on this reversedschedule. The only things that wereopen or available were the PX

baseball diamond and tennis courts.

ORVAL Could you tell us whattype of physical fitness programwas employed?

COX We got the lights turned onat the athletic field so we couldplay touch football. People knowledgeable in physical training saythat volleyball, touch football andthis type exercise not only tends tobuild stamina, but also enables a

person to fight off fatigue. Physicalexercise also builds the cohesiveness and esprit de corps which areimportant in any type of trainingprogram.

COLE Many of us played tennisduring the day. Some of us droveto King City [California] daily and

played golf, which was not onlygood physically, but also mentally.Some of us needed to relax as webecame rather keyed up during

missions.

ISGRIG Physical fitness itself isimportant s far as ensuring thatthe aviators were in good physiological condition. This has to do tosome extent with the capacity foroxygen uptake which is related tothe regeneration of the visual purple [a photosensitive red or purplepigment in the retinal rods] for

31



NOE AT NIGHT

dark adaptation. The physical

activity is, of course, important forthe release of tension. We were

successful in getting an organized

athletic program here; however, ef

forts had to be made to encourage

an individual to participate.COX: The athletic program wasnot a part of the nightly routine,because we only played volleyball

or basketball about two nights aweek after the flights.

We made regular recordings of

breathing, respiration and heart

rates and blood pressure before and

after flights. For a period of time

we made chemical analysis of urine

samples, etc., for stress hormones.With the exception of one indi

vidual, there were no long-termchanges that indicated any pro

gressive development of stress.Specific time-to-time changes might

have reflected specific stresses on

certain missions.

COLE: I think the Owl Team mem

bers were selected as a group of

people in the company that defi

nitely had no known personality

conflicts.

ORVAL: So then you couldn't saythere were any results that showed

an effect on the aviator's progressfrom one phase of training to the

other.

ISGRIG: We had debriefings inwhich we asked for comments con

cerning the degree of stress that an

individual felt. From these inputs,

I don t think there were any lon

gitudinal results in the sense that

they changed from phase to phase.But there was a very strong stress

ORVAL: Major Isgrig, would you

tell us what type and how oftenexaminations of personnel wereconducted?

ORVAL: Were the aviators givenprepsychological tests prior to the

experiment?

ISGRIG: There were no physical

examinations other than those thatwere part of the annual physicals.

During the first phase of training,we had a program of physiological

measurements that we took partly

as a data collection effort, but this

did not constitute a set of physicals.

ISGRIG: No effort was made toscreen the aviators in this manner

and we did not have personality

tests with which we did testing. Aspart of the program, we did .have

2-hour blocks of instruction on

visual and physiological factors af

feeting night vision, such as flashblindness. But there was no spe

cialized training or testing.

pattern with the changes in light

levels. There was a higher level of

apprehension and discomfort when

there was no moon. t was at low

altitudes on dark nights that the

aviators indicated they were con

siderably more nervous than they

Colonel Billy L. Odneal is a 1950 graduate of Montana State College and has also attended the ArmyCommand and General Staff College and the University

of Southern California. Colonel Odneal began his mili-tary career in the Navy from January 1944 to April 1946

and remained in the Naval Reserve until December 1948.In June 1950, he entered the Army as a second lieu

tenant and served as platoon leader with the 65th In-

fantry Regiment in Korea until he was wounded late in

1950. He was evacuated to the States where he later

served as platoon leader and gunnery officer with the30th Infantry Regiment. In May 1952, he received lightaviation pilot training at San Marcos, TX and since this

time has been intimately associated with Army aviation.He is a dual-rated fixed and rotary wing instrument examiner. His assignments include such aviation-orientedpositions as aviation instructor; project officer at the U. S.

Army Aviation Test Board; CO of Company A 15thAviation Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division in Korea; Deputy

Director of the Tri-Service V/STOL Test Force at Edwards

AFB CA; CO, 159th Aviation Battalion, 101 st AirborneDivision, RVN; Deputy CO of Army Lockheed Plant Ac-

tivity, Van Nuys, CA; CO/Director of Hq and InstallationSupport Activitv (AVSCOM); plus numerous other posi

tions. Since 1972, he has been charged with two majorexperiments as Chief of Project Team IV Deputy Chiefof Staff for Experimentation, USACDEC Ft. Ord, CA.

the Attack Helicopter Daylight Offense, in whkh tactics

32

and equipment evaluations are being performed to allow

for a force-on-force exercise to be conducted at a later

date, and the Attack Helicopter Clear Night Defense, in

which a baseline and training program for night nap-ofthe-earth (NOE) flight were determined, as discussed in

this interview.

Maior Richard L. Cox, a 1960 graduate of West

Point, attended the Officers' Fixed Wing Aviation Course

in 1963. He served two tours in RVN commanding the69th Aviation Co. (Corps) in 1967-1968 and the 74thReconnaissance Airplane Co. in 1968-1969. MAJ Cox

attended Command General Staff College in 1969,

obtained a masters degree in business administration

from the University of Tennessee in 1972, and attended

the Rotary Wing Qualification Course in 1973. Duringthe experiment conduorted by the Owl Team, he was

assioned as ooerations officer of Project Team IVUSACDEC Ft. Ord, CA.

Maior Frederick A. Isgrig received his PhD in Ex-

perimental Psychology from the University of Arkansas

in 1964 and then entered the Army. He has held assignments as research psychologist and human factors

specialist at the U. S. Army Natick Laboratories and the

USACDEC Ft. Ord, CA. During the experiments conducted by the Owl Team, he monitored the aviatorsto determine what effects night NOE had on them bothphysically and psychologically.




were with a full moon at higher altitudes.

ORVAL During daytime NOE

training at Ft. Rucker, each aviatoris allowed to progress at his ownrate, because one aviator mightprogress from one phase of train

ing faster than another. Was thistrue during your program?

ISGRIG: Our experiment was conducted in much the same way, but

our progress was based on a group

consensus.

COX: We were more or less gearedto the progress of the most cautiousaviator, rather than to that of eachindividual. f a team member hadany reservations about his capa

bilities to perform a slightly moredemanding task, we did not perform the mission until all aviatorsagreed they were ready to proceed.I m not sure this would be feasiblein a training situation, because anindividual who fails to progress as

rapidly as others may have to beeliminated from the program. Asour experiment was unique, we relied on the group consensus to ensure that we built in every safetyfeature possible to eliminate theadded risk of the unknown.

ISGRIG: We had few preconceptions and standards to use, but wedid have a series of stages in mindas far as altitude was concerned.All the Owl Team members wereregarded as professional contributors and they were in the bestposition to judge their own skillsand levels of competence at a particular time. The most importantinstrument in determining this wasthe debriefing session which wasalmost a New England town meet

ing type of discussion. All members

enthusiastically participated and

very freely volunteered a lot of

their valuable opinions. There wasvery little hesitancy on their part

in expressing dissatisfaction or dis-

comfort, and this was encouraged.This was exploratory. These people were paving the way, at leaston the basis of our own knowledge.And if someone didn t like something he was encouraged to bringthis out and the group discussed it.

ORVAL In a strenuous trainingenvironment such as -his, I m surethere must have been some adversephysical and psychological effects.

CHOURA: One psychological effect unique to night NOE was thebowl-type effect in which the valleyseemed to wrap around us. We experienced this while flying low altitude in a large valley with a relatively high light level. Vertigo wasnever reported during the debrief

ings. Spatial disorientation, as faras finding yourself on a map, was aproblem in some cases. But thisworked itself out with experience.

WOLFF I don t think there wereany instances of true vertigo such

CW2 Robert L. Wolff joined the U. S. Air Force in

September 1959, serving for 8 years. In November 1967,he joined the U. S. Army and graduated from flight

school in December 1968. From March 1969 to March1970, he served with the 334th Aviation Co. (AttackHelicopter) in RVN. CW2 Wolff was then assigned tothe 3rd Aviation Co., Yuma Proving Ground, Al, and

then to the 155th Aviation Co. Detachment, Hunter Lig-

gett, CA. He participated as pilot during five of the

USACDEC experiments.

In May 1967, he graduated from flight school and served

two years in RVN. During his first tour he served with

the 195th Assault Helicopter Co. and the 240th Assault

Helicopter Co. During his second tour he was assignedJo the 25th Aviation Co. Corps, the 11 th Aviation Battalion, and Hq Co., 12th Aviation Group. He has been

assigned to the 155th Aviation Co., Ft. Ord, CA, sinceMarch 1972 as a rotary wing aviator.

CW2 John B. CO le graduated from the Rotary Wing

Aviation Course in April 1970. He was then assigned tothe 155th Aviation Co., Ft. Ord, CA, as a rotary wing

aviator where he has participated in Attack HelicopterDaylight Defense, Attack Helicopter Clear Night De

fense, and Attack Helicopter Daylight Offense experiments. Prior to entering the Army, CW2 Cole attended

Spokane Community College, Spokane, W A, for two

years.

CW2 Donald L. Choura entered the Army in November 1959 and received his basic training with the 2ndArmored Division, Ft. Hood, lX. Prior to graduation fromflight school in 1970, CW2 Choura was assigned as alight weapons infantryman and parachute rigger withthe 82nd Airborne Division, Ft. Bragg, NC; as a para-

chute rigger with the 109th Aerial Delivery Co., Ft. Lee,VA, and 383rd Aerial Delivery Detachment in RVN; and

as recruiter for three years in Los Angeles, CA. From

1970 to 1972, he served as an attack helicopter pilot

with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in RVN. He was

then assigned as an attack helicopter pilot with the 155th

Aviation Co. (Attack Helicopter), Ft. Ord, CA.

CW2 Joe L. Jackson entered the U. S. Army in Oc

tober 1956 and attended Basic Airborne School in 1958.

MARCH 1974

CW2 Craig W. Stiff entered the Army in April 1969and completed his basic training at Ft. Polk, LA. Heserved one tour in RVN with Battery B 2/20 ARA, lst

Cavalry Division, from which he was then assigned to

the 155th Aviation Co., Ft. Ord, CA, in July 1971, as

assistant operations officer and as an OH-58 SIP. He has

participated in the Attack Helicopter Daylight Defense,

Attack Helicopter Daylight Offense, and the Attack

Helicopter Clear Night Defense experiments.



NOE AT NI HT

as we're concerned with in daylightfiying-going into clouds, aircraftbecoming attitude unknown, orthings of this nature. As the training progressed, we did run intosome problems in maintaining firing positions and hovering out of

ground effect. To maintain a stationary point at night without outside visual references is almost impossible. We became disoriented tothe point that we didn't knowwhether the aircraft was movinglaterally or vertically through spaceuntil these movements were greatlyincreased. Small movements, descent rates, outside rates, lateralmovements and drift were virtuallyunnoticeable.

COLE During the initial portionof the experiment everyone experienced fixation during approacheson low-light-level nights. We hada tendency to search for the groundand not see it until we were almoston top of it. Early in the programwe also had a tendency to stare atone navigation light looking for theground and sometimes did notrealize how fast we were approaching the ground. t was very difficult

to determine the rate of descent orclosure. One of the hardest thingswas to convince ourselves that on alow-light-Ievel night it was easierto see close to the ground than athigher altitudes.

COX All aviators reported that itwas difficult to descend from ahigher to a lower altitude at night.t was far superior to remain low

level throughout the mission profile than to try to descend from al

titude into a dark Valley

CHOURA We made a specific effort to avoid actions which inducevertigo or spatial disorientation,such as rapid movements of thehead from side to side. Throughoutthe entire program we forced ourselves to move our eyes back andforth during approaches to keep

34

from gravitating to a light sourceor to a navigation light.

COX This reminds me of one instance of disorientation where wehad somebody joining up on thelight in a bam door. They wereexpecting to see a very dim naviga

tion light or station-keeping light onthe aircraft that was supposed tobe ahead of them. They saw a lightsource and were fiying directlytoward it, and it turned out to be abam that had a light inside. Fortunately, they recognized it was abam early enough to terminate thejoin-up procedure.

WOLFF I don't think these effectscan be attributed only to a trainingenvironment. All aviators should

be aware that these effects mUltiplywhen fiying close to the groundduring any type of night fiying.

COX We found that 1 hour ofnight NOE may be equivalent to5 or 6 hours of normal daytimepoint A to point B high altitudetype work. We felt that 3 hours ofnight NOE were probably thelimit that should be required of anyaviator.

ORVAL What safety measureswere emphasized during the pretraining phase?

WOLFF Basically, we tried to basethe entire program on safety. Weknew we were doing something thatwas completely unprecedented andin a completely unexplored area. Alot of people have flown low level atnight, but to actually try and navigate NOE at night, especially inmountainous terrain such as we

have out here and on a large scale,was completely unprecedented. Weknew that the slightest incidentwould cancel the entire programand the environment in which wewere flying would probably alsocancel the pilot. We were cautiousenough and actually scared enoughthat safety was the byword the

watchword of the entire experi-

ment. We established SOPs tocover in-flight emergencies such asaircraft mechanical malfunctions,avionics malfunctions, inadvertentIFR and things of this nature. Wedidn't have to be told that there wasno being the hero type if we had anaircraft malfunction. We didn't tryto fly the aircraft home; we made aprecautionary landing. Our debriefings at the end of each flight,our openmindedness and the openmindedness of our supervisors inletting us do things our own wayadded tremendously to the program. We sat around and hashed itout about what would happen ifthis happened or what we woulddo if that happened and drew ourown conclusions. Nobody was

afraid to say, Well, I don't reallycare for your idea so much. I thinkit would be better this way. Theaviator always had the option tocancel the mission if safety wascompromised. The safety measureswere just too numerous to reallymention. Safety was actually thekey to the whole program.

CHOURA Any aircraft malfunction experienced during any partof the experiment was considered

a major malfunction. A malfunction that you would normally fly

with during the day, such as an inoperative fuel boost pump, wastreated as a major malfunction.The aviator would make a precautionary landing and would not continue with the mission until theproblem was resolved. As a matterof fact, the team members considered it rather idiotic to fly an

aircraft back with any kind of a

systems malfunction.ISGRIG Mr. Wolff stated that

many aviators have flown low level

in many other areas at night. Per

sonnel from other military installa

tions who observed our flying con

sidered the altitudes at which the

Owl Team was fiying were, in some

instances, actually rather high, and

U S ARMY AVIATION DIGEST



Original 12 Owl Team members are (left to right, front row): CW2 Randy Dyer, PT Robert Barthelmess, CW2 Ralph Park, CW2 Russell

Carmody; (left to right, back row): CW2 John Cole, CW2 Joe Jackson, CW2 Douglas Workings, PT Edward Foster Jr. CW2 Craig Stiff,

PT Alfred Lopez, CW2 Donald Choura and CW2 Robert Wolff .

that perhaps the team was not actually flying NOE. After they becamefamiliar with the terrain at HunterLiggett, however, they realizedwhy the aviators were flying higherat times. The reservation has 200-foot isolated trees and very steepsided razorback hills which couldbe right over the next rise. Afterali, this wasn t a pool table theywere flying on. Extensive navigation and pilotage are required to

thread through this rugged terrainat night. .

WOLFF Prior to the experiment,we decided that a radar altimeterwas a must. Any time the altimetermalfunctioned during training, we

imme4iately aborted the mission.

We used the radar altimeter to give

us a trend indication of what the

MARCH 1974

terrain was doing underneath us,rather than using it for a hard andfast altitude. For instance, we mightfly over hardwood trees and thenover pine trees or vice versa whichmayor may not give an indication

of rising or falling terrain eventhough the treetops were at thesame elevation. However, the radaraltimeter would otherwise give afairly reliable indication if theterrain was falling or rising under

neath us. We relied on the radaraltimeter quite heavily for safetypurposes. In fact, we just didn t flywithout it.

ORVAL Is it correct to say tpatduring the higher light-level conditions the aviators flew lower?

cox Yes, that s generally correct.

COLE As far as the light levels,

altitude was not as much a factoras airspeed. The higher the lightlevel, the faster I could fly and themore comfortable I felt. But whenit was very dark, I actually hoveredat times.

ISGRIG To maintain ground contact, the aviators sometimes flew

lower during the lower light levelsthan during the higher light levels:

WOLFF We reached a tradeoff

point where we could physically

make out what was around us. This

is why it is difficult to descend to a

lower altitude and to that black

hole on the ground. We didn t have

this positive ground contact and,

during the low light levels, we

sometimes actually found ourselves

at lower altitudes hugging a lateral

35



NOE AT NI HT

bearing more closely. This was particularly true during hovering. Theonly way we could hold a positiveposition under extremely low lightlevels was to snuggle up against atree and maintain a visual fix on thetree. We would move 50 to 70 feetaway from a tree during higherlight levels and could still use it fora reference point.

ORVAL Could you differentiatebetween your NOB and low-levelflying at night?

COX I don't think we can differentiate between the two as we perfOlmed them, except that we tendto define night NOB flight in relationship to the light level and to the

enemy threat. We saw no reason tose e how low we could fly on anextremely darlc night or any othernight for that matter. You cansafely operate lower under thehigher light levels than under t te

lower light levels, but we think thatNOB should be tied in with thethreat. That is, if you can avoidenemy detection by flying at 250feet then there doesn't seem to beany requirement to fly at 5 or 10

feet.

W O ~ F F Regard1ess of the altitudeswe flew, the NOE flight techniqueswe employed were in accordancewith TC 1-15 which stipulates thatNOE is flown as close to the terrainas obstacles will permit. But whenvisibility is reduced, you must allowfor a higher margin of safety, suchas flying higher. The actual flightroutes were still devious routes and

we used masking terrain as much

as possible. We did not fly straightlines; we flew contour and NOE

and followed the ups and downs of

the terrain. Our actual techniques

of flight did not vary greatly from

those employeq. for a highly moon

lit night where we have almost day

light type night conditions to those

used for a fully dark night. The

36

Actual NOE flight at night in rugged mountainous terrain like that at Hunter Liggett wascompletely unprecedented

only thing that did change was ouraltitude.

ISGRIG You could be flying at200 feet through the canyons atHunter Liggett and still have someof the terrain above you.

CHOURA There were times wheneven at 200 feet you could watchthe top of the trees go by and yet

200 feet through a particular corridor was considered a safe operating altitude. e were technicallybelow the surrounding terrain, butthere were still hazards.

WOLFF Some people thought thatall we had to do was to fly astraight line up the middle of thevalley and things of this nature.But many times we actually hadless lateral clearance on the aircraft than we had vertical clearance

with the ground because of the typeof terrain. So we had to follow avery strictly defined path.

ORVAL Were there any flighttechniques or safety measures employed during night NOE trainingthat differed from those of daylightNOE?

COLE The most important thing

was the extensive daylight preflightperformed before each ight's mission. In fact, the Owl Team hadquite a reputation for groundingaircraft.

CHOURA A constant line of communication was developed betweenthe pilot and navigator and theirterminology was refined. In otherwords, you couldn't just say there's

a tree on the left, because the treecould be 40 meters away or couldbe close enough that you could clipit. Just knowing that tbere is aS,OOO-foot mountain in front of youis absolutely worthless. e had toknow what was in front of us by40 or 50 feet. This was accomplished by a constant interplay between pilot and navigator.

WOLFF Another safety measurementioned previously was the SOP

we developed. An administrativeC C [command and control] ir-

craft was airborne at all times tokeep all aircraft in sight. We didnot fly the same routes every night,so one aviator was selected fromthe team to preplan a route, usingonly map reconnaissance. Prior todarkness, he would fly and recotithe route for wires and other ob-




stades. He then flew the C C aircraft that night and if any aviatorgot lost or disoriented the C C

would have the crewmemberscheck their maps, return to theirlast checkpoint and start ~ g a i nC C aircraft are employed during

daytime NOE, but to a very limiteddegree compared with that duringnight operations.

COX The C&C aviator also accomplished the radio relay in theevent there was an accident andwe needed to call for crash rescue.

CHOURA There were times when500 meters separation put us out ofradio communication between thetwo aircraft, such as when we were

hiding on different sides of ahill. We didn't have radios thatwere capable of transmitting forextended distances-I m talkingabout anywhere from 500 to ,000meters-because of the terrain atHunter Liggett. The C C aviatorprovided coordination between theaircraft when this occurred.

WOLFF One thing we had to overcome was the syndrome of whathad been common to all Army

aviators-that the aircraft commander was God. This was especially true when flying in the backseat of the Cobra [AH 1]. But inNOE, the pilot and navigator mustwork together. Without a navigator the pilot isn't going anywhere,except into a mountain'side. And,of course, the navigator is not goinganywhere without the pilot, otherthan the flightline.

COX We definitely feel that both

crewmembers should be ratedaviators.

CHOURA Not just rated aviators,but night qualified rated aviators.

ORVAL What would be requiredof operational units as far as theircapabilities to conduct night NOE

training?

WOLFF The prime factor is com-

MARCH 1974

mand emphasis on safety which ourentire program was based on. Someunits talk and preach safety but donot go to great lengths to enforceit. We were very fortunate in thatCDEC personnel as well as ourunit personnel strongly emphasized

safety. Whenever we needed anything in the realm of safety therewere never any questions asked. Idare say that there are very fewunits anywhere in the world thatcan bounce a crash rescue helicopter out to areas where their aircraft are flying within a period of5 minutes. And I m speaking ofhaving the injured parties on boardand en route back to the heliportwithin 10 minutes. We did havethis capability and it had a tre

mendous psychological effect onus. There were many problemswith the inverted schedule whichcould not be rectified because asmall team of personnel just doesn'tchange the outlook of an entirepost as far as operating procedures,operating hours, etc. However,CDEC personnel bent over backwards to provide us with physicalexercise and eating facilities.

ISGRIG Night NOE isn't the typeflying that any aviator can do forjust a few hours a week and maintain proficiency. The Owl Teammembers were completely immersed into night NOE but, whenthere was a break in the program,they lost a great deal of their proficiency which took some time torecover. To undertake night NOE,aviators must commit themselvesfor a steady period of time. A unitwould probably have to set aside

aviators for this type of flying andthey would have to be placed on an

inverted living schedule.

CHOURA We had a 2-week break

for the Christq:las holidays and,

when we returned, it was almost 4

weeks before we were as proficient

as we were prior to the break. Ithink it was also the consensus of

the team members that to train anaviator for nightNOE and to maintain any type of proficiency thetraining must be conducted on aseparate unit-type basis. Near theend of the program, Mr. Stiff, Mr.Wolff and I were working a split

schedule--checkrides, minimums,instrument training and so forth.After about two weeks of flyingfrom 1Y to hours during the dayand then going right into the nightschedule, we were dragging. I feltthat I was bordering on the area ofbecoming unsafe.

COLE One of the ideal solutionsfor converting a unit into a nightNOE outfit would be to put alloperations on a night schedule.

This sounds impossible, but theunit would have to be isolated in aremote site similar to that ofHunter Liggett.

STIFF I do not feel that all operational units should be required tobe night NOE qualified. NightNOE operations require continuous training and practice. For aunit to be proficient, personnelmust always work at night. f theArmy wants night NOB pilots or

units, it should designate what unitsshould be night units. The primary purpose of these units shouldbe to stay proficient. I feel that theArmy will lose more aircraft andpilots through fatigue and loss ofconcentration than to enemy fire,if it assumes that pil()ts and unitscan perform daylight missions inconjunction with combat nightNOE missions. Most units simplywill not be able to maintain the

level of proficiency to enable itspilots to safely perform night NOB.

ORVAL Can you really foreseethis, though?

COLE Yes, I do. t seems feasible

to me to remote the 155th some

where on the Hunter Liggett res

ervation and operate completely

on a night schedule. f a unit had to

37



NOE AT NI HT

become trained in two or three

months, think it's possible.

WOLFF Allowances could be

made. Even if you didn't go into it

on a unit basis, if one platoon wasdesignated as a night platoon, you

would have to maintain your proficiency. You can't fly one or twonights a week and be on a daylightschedule the rest of the time. Manythings could be done on a unit basissuch as having recreational facilities, craft shops, 'special servicesand things of this nature available.Or just something where the guysaren't going crazy looking forthings to do. A night NOE programis feasible if you have cooperationfrom all post personnel. The keyto the whole thing is to get all personnel thinking along the samelines, and not that this is somewierd type of outfit doing somestrange stuff at night. Every timethe working group saw us we wereeither in civilian clothes or weresleeping. When they were havinga good time, nobody realized whatwe were doing. The psychologicalinput we got from that was unbelievable. You guys never work

and things of this 'nature when, infact, we were putting ill between10 and 12 hours a day.

ORVAL I think strict commandsupervision is a must if we shoqldhave platoons that are just nightNOE qualified, don't you?

CHOURA I think the biggest problem wIll be command support.Commanders must be made awareof the specific problems during

night operati'ons that you don'tfind, particularly say, with aground unit operating at night.Aviation at night has its own particular set of problems and commanders must know that these arevery real problems. Probably the

biggest drawback in getting an operational unit trained at night is toconvince the command structure

38

that there is a definite problem that

has to be coped with before thetraining can be effective.

ORVAL Should all aviators receive night nap-of-the-earth training?

COX Icertainly don't think thatthey should. agree there should

be units identified that have a requirement to possess a nig9.t capability and night NOE trainingshould be limited to these units.For one reason, aircraft may be

configured differently for nightthan for daytime operations. Presently, we do not have a night target

acquisition system. We can o v ~from point A to point B NOE but,

when we reach our destination, our

capacity to acquire, detect oridentify our target and destroy itat night is very limited. Night NOE

training, like the instrument training program, involves a considerable expenditure of resources. t

would be quite expensive to provide everyone with this capabilityjust as it's quite expensive to haveeverybody instrument qualified.While it is desirable that every

aviator be capable of performing

night NOB operations, don'tthink Uncle Sam can afford it. I'm

not convinced that every aviator

needs to have an instrument ticketfrom a combat readiness standpoint. As far as know, there's norequirement to fly instruments in ahelicopter in the immediate battlearea in a mid-intensity situation.You're vulnerable to being shotdown by anti-aircraft because ofthe altitudes required to fly instruments, to 'receive radio signals and

to maintain clearance from obstructions. do not think all avia

tors are capable of responding to

this type training and think that

an all-out night program would be

extremely wasteful. So, thinkprime consideration should be

given to aviation units Which have

a requirement for this type flying.

CHOURA Physiological restrictions of some aviators will precludethem from flying low level at nightand some do not have the capability to see at night. As far as thepsychological effect, I'll be the firstto admit that night NOE is sometimes scary. never got as nervousoverseas as did sometimes whenflying NOE at night. There is definitely a physiological and psychological restriction that's going topop up if you try to train everyonein night NOE.

STIFF The night NOE environment is much more dangerous thanthe daytime environment. Manytimes the only way this danger canbe mastered is through a verynebulous thing called feel oraircraft sense. This instinct for

what the aircraft is doing comesafter a certain exposure time to theaircraft. Exposure time varies withindividuals but each individual encounters a certain easiness or intimacy with the aircraft that onlycomes with exposure through flighttime. don 't feel new aviators havehad enough exposure or possessenough aircraft feel to realize apotentially dangerous situation ap

proaching through a particular aircraft shudder or shake. FlyingNOE at night is a two-man operation. Both individuals must be comfortable and place the utmost trustin each other's ability to handle

his portion of the task. We also discovered that everyone is not suitedfor night operations. Many peoplewith totally acceptable day visionsuffer problems at night that lead topotentially hazardous situations.Depth perception at night is per

haps one of the biggest problemsencountered, especially during ap

proaches. We noticed also thatsome people cannot emotionallyadjust to night NOE.

ORVAL How were the low, midand high light levels computed?

COX We used three more or less




arbitrary light levels which hadbeen used in previous experiments.Low light level was 2.5 times 10 tothe minus 4 footcandles whichreally doesn't mean much to theaverage individual. This type measurement has more meaning to the

scientific-oriented personnel than tothe more pragmatic infantry officeror infantry aviator. The mid lightwas from 2.5 times 10 to the minus4 footcandles to 3.0 times 10 to theminus 3 footcandles, and high wasanything above this. For our purposes, I think that probably twodivisions would be more meaningful, that is, it was either twilight ordark. The break point is probablyany time you have any fraction ofthe moon high enough above thehorizon to improve night vision.

ISGRIG: The low light level corresponds similarly to no moon, midlight to a partial moon rising, andhigh light level to a quarter moonat zenith or a full moon after it

has risen over the horizon.

COLE In a practical sense, it wasdark, darker and oh, my God

CHOURA f a requirement is ever

levied on operational units to become qualified, the moon phaseswill have to be considered. Thiscould extend the training over alonger period of time.

ORVAL Were any training missions delayed to wait for betterambient light conditions?

COX Missions were never postponed because of light levels. Amission might be postponed or cancelled due to very low freezingtemperatures, precipitation, fog,haze or other obstructions to visibility. When we began originally toinvestigate the clear night defense,we thought that with an overcastthe light would be so low that wecouldn't operate. But as the training progressed, we found that wenever really encountered a sky condition which prohibited us from

M RCH 1974

operating under extremely low lightlevels. The lowest light level recorded was .6 times 10 to the minus4 which is quite dark. We did adjust tasks to permit some trainingactivity during the low light levels.

ISGRIG: Altitudes were progressively lowered. That is, the firstdescent was made under high lightso that the first flights at a newlower altitude under high lightwould progressively be picked upduring mid and low light periodsbefore moving the ship further.

ORVAL f you had problems whenlanding at simulated rearming orrefueling areas without artificiallighting, how did you overcomethem?

WOLFF We did have problems atfirst. We always had problems; theheck with at first. Any time wewere shooting an approach andcouldn't see what we were shootingto, we had problems. The key tothis was constant practice andfamiliarization with procedures andlearning new procedures. We foundthat the navigators could GCA[ground controlled approach] us

into these types of areas very well.There were a few areas where a

"I feel that the Army willlose more aircraft and pilotsthrough fatigue and loss ofconcentration than to enemyfire if it assumes that pilotsand units can performdaylight missions in conjunction with combat nightNOE missions"

small amount of artificial lightinghad to be induced. f we were goinginto an abandoned airfield orfamiliar terrain, we could completethe landing without artificial lighting But to go into a completelyunimproved area required sometype of lighting due to the manyvariables of the terrain. n area

could look perfectly smooth rightdown to 3 inches off the groundand then you would find yourselfsitting on top of a rock or someother obstacle.

COX t is not unrealistic to havesome very dim, well-shielded lightsource in a refueling area or anytype of landing area, because, untilwe solve the problem of aircraftnoise, the enemy can detect us froma certain minimum distance anyway. f you have a light that can beseen from only 50 or 100 metersaway, yet the aircraft can be heardfrom 500 meters away, you reallyhaven't sacrificed security of safety.

CHOURA We have an old drone

airstrip which is a large circle ofwhite-colored concrete. I t is probably one ,of the easiest things inthe world to land to, light or nolight. We tried using this sameconcept by painting our PSP[pierced steel planking] panelswhite, but we didn't get the sameeffect. There are just some areasthat are more conducive to nightlanding without lights of any type.

WOLFF I think that the circular

shape of this area afforded the mostaccepted landing site, because wewere best able to judge airspeeds,altitudes and things of this naturethroughout our approaches. Wetried a lot of different setups usingartificial lights as well as just lightpainted objects, reflective objectsand things like this, but noneworked as well as a circular landingarray.

ORVAL Tell us how you adaptedyourself to a nighttime environment.

COLE We wore sunglasses anytimewe were around lights or out in thesunlight. When possible, lights werealways red everywhere we wentand we tried to avoid lights priorto the mission. Before each mission, we flew as low as possible and

39



NOE AT NI HT

orbited until we were acclimated tothe darkness. When the team members felt they could see as well aspossible, we started the mission.

CHOURA The window shades inour billets were always down toprevent the sunlight from streaming in. Actually, bright sunlightbecame physically painful after aperiod of time. A very short exposure, such as 3 to 4 hours, tounshaded light or direct sunlightaffected our night vision as muchas a week until the visual purplechemical in our eyes could regenerate itself. Some people adaptmore quickly to the lower lightlevels than others, and are more

physically capable of operatingunder reduced light levels. Tryingto maintain an inverted or as closeto an inverted schedule as possibleon the weekends was much easierfor the bachelors. We saw manylate movies and became reacquainted with W. C. Fields, ShirleyTemple and so forth.

ORVAL Were the aircraft modified in any way for night operations?

WOLFF Yes. As previously mentioned, we added the radar altimeter which we would not fly without. We also made many changesas far as external lighting, so thatwhen we flew mUltiple aircraft missions we were better able to seethe other aircraft and yet the enemywas less able to see our aircraft.t was supposed to be a passive

type of lighting system. The OH

58s were configured with the elec

troluminescent panels which gaveoff a very soft glowing light fromthe upper surfaces of the aircraftand made the aircraft distinguishable from above. t also gave anexcellent reference as to our exactposition in space. We modified theAH lOs with the soft white landinglight which was nothing more thana taillight with a slightly opaque

40

lightbulb mounted on the bottom ofthe turret. In lieu of the electroluminescent panels, we mountedtaillights inside the skid tubes looking aft only and placed cones overthe taillights so they could be seento the aft only. We separated the

wiring of the navigation lights sothat the red and green lights couldbe turned completely off on theAH lO. We installed rheostats andwe had one rheostat which dimmedonly the white lights on the skidtube and taillights. We found onthe bright and dim settings thatstation keeping was completely unfeasible. There were times whenbright was too bright and dim wastoo dim, so we had to fully controlthe lights. Internal aircraft lighting

created a constant problem, such asglare off the canopy on both typesof aircraft and instruments not being illuminated to the same degree.The gray-painted aircraft interiorpresented a reflection problem, sowe painted some of the aircraftwith a flat, black paint which reduced glare at least 60 to 75 percent.

tlefield illumination did not posethe problem that had been expected, because the eye is veryadaptable. When we became awarethat illumination was to occur atrandom times, there was no problem.

ISGRIG During the early trainingphases, streetlights and .automobileheadlights were tremendously upsetting to some of the aviators.

CHOURA Certain techniques weredeveloped to cope with the problems of artificial lighting. For example, a flare burns for about 21hor 3 minutes before it starts toflicker, dim and go out. When wereceived the first indication thatthe flare was going out, we eitherslowed our airspeed or came to ahover. Again, the time it takes toregain vision is dependent on theindividual. Our eyes were automatically drawn to any type of lightand this was something we constantly had to fight against.

COLE A hazardous situation I encountered was during a simulatedbattlefield operation. I was masked

ORVAL What effect did artificial behind a mountain and was hover-battlefield lighting have on night ing under a flare on a low-lightvision and what measures were level night. I knew the flare was

taken to correct this? going to burn out but I didn t move

away from it. It s a real hairy feelCOLE There were actually two ing to be down there in that hoversources of artificial lighting used hole and have the flare go out andartillery simulators and flares. The it s pitch black.simulators presented no real prob-

lem unless they were directly in ORVAL What measures were emfront of us or we were looking ployed for mission readiness anddirectly at them. In this situation, what crew duties were expected ofwe would have momentary night you?blindness. When we were under a

. h h b WOLFF All team members exceptflare It was sevent eaven, e-one were qualified in the OH-58

cause we could see tremendously. and AH lO aircraft, and were inBut when the flares burned out, we

, terchanged between both types ofwere in trouble, because it was ··aircraft and crew positions. Howhard to see even on a light night.

I don t think that battlefield lights ever, at the end of the programmost of us agreed that night NOB

will present much of a problem, is such taxing work that you can-unless you have to fly through not be fully confident and fully with

many flares. the program when you are con

COX We found that artificial bat- cerned about flying two different

U S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST



types of aircraft as well as the mission. As far as interchangeabilityof crew positions, the navigator hasto know what the pilot is thinking.You can t be just a navigator andforget about the pilot. So you haveto be pilot and navigator both. As

faras

interchangeability betweenaircraft, all of us agreed that youmust be proficient in only one typeof aircraft. When switching fromone aircraft to another, some proficiency is sacrificed.

CHOURA First, night NOE oreven night low-level flying is basically a seat-of-the-pants proposition. You have to be able to feelthe aircraft and know what it is

doing. The worst thing in the world

is to get into a situation, such assettling with power, when youaren t familiar with what the aircraft will feel like and how it willreact during a certain situation.The only instruments we had timeto look at at night were power, airspeed and the radar altimeter. Having to hunt for an instrument whenoperating close to the terraincreates a definite hazard. Secondly,

an extensive amount of map reading and map interpretation is required by the pilot and navigatorprior to the mission. For instance,you may spend an hour going overthe map prior to a 45-minute flightbecause of the lighting configura

tion of the aircraft. Also, the mapswe presently have are not suitablefor night operations, so we ·had tomemorize or refresh our memorywith just a glance. The pilot andnavigator had to be aware of theother s problems as well as his ownfor his particular crew station.

ORVAL What psychological effectdid the crash rescue backup haveon the aviators?

CHOURA Any time an aircraftwas airborne, the crash rescue crewwas on standby near a radio. At thefirst sign that something was wrongwith an aircraft, the alarm wassounded. m-mediately, the crashrescue aircraft was off the grounden route to the site. You didn thave time for radios to warm upand you didn t have time to callthe tower. t was a blind takeoff.

AH-l G flying at NOE altitude through canyon. Treacherous terrain made safety the watchwordfor the entire night NOE experiment

M RCH 1974

By the time the radios warmed up,the crash rescue was usually off theground and moving. Coordinationcame in a blind transmission fromour operations section which wouldkeep transmitting the location overand over again until he finally re

ceived a reply. Knowing you wereno more than 5 minutes away fromhelp on the route or the reservationwas a tremendous psychologicalboost and allayed our fears. f anaircraft went down in an area inwhich the rescue aircraft could notland, rappelling facilities andtrained crash rescue specialists andmedics were available.

COX From 1 z to 2 minutes is

probably an accurate average figure

for the rescue aircraft to becomeairborne. t would normally take20 to 25 seconds to get to the aircraft, and about 45 seconds to getuntied and power up for takeoff.We tried to get at least one exercise per week with the crash rescueteam. I don t think many weekswent by that we didn t exercise therescue team.

WOLFF Members of the Owl

Team rotated in manning the crash

rescue aircraft. We felt that it wasunsafe to use personnel who werenot familiar with the terrain wewere flying over. The aircraft wasmanned by two aviators, accompanied by one medic and crashrescue specialists who were trainedstrictly in aviation crash rescuework, such as getting the crew outof the aircraft, turning off the engines and fighting limited fires.

CHOURA There was always a

doctor on call at the installation.f an individual was critically -

jured, the doctor could be waitingon the pad and there was no needto even change aircraft. f an -dividual was not critically injured,he could be taken off the crashrescue aircraft and transferred tomedevac or to the hospital facility.

COLE Any time the crash rescue

41



NOE AT NIGHT

aircraft was down, the mission wasscrubbed.

ORVAL Were all aircraft capableof similarly performing night operations?

COLE No, there was a definite difference between all three aircraft.The best aircraft for night NOE

was the LOR with the doors off. In

the LOR you re looking outside theaircraft all the time. The Cobrawas capable for low-level nightflying, but it wasn t good. You reright next to the canopy where youcan see down and out. And theRuey was really incapable, basically, because the crew is too farremoved from the windows to seedirectly below them.

CHOURA I flew the UR-1M

model in the Rave Course at theNight Vision Laboratory in Maryland. The aircraft can be flownunder high light conditions with awell-trained crew. But, again, it snot good by any stretch of theimagination. You have to see andyou have to be able to feel wherethe tips of the blades are, as blade

strikes are the greatest hazard during low-level flight. Rowever, in aside-by-side seating position, visibility is restricted to one side. Whenyou turn you have to look out theside closest to you in the UH-1and OR-58 and you invariably runinto an air vent, seam or a handle.In other aircraft, window frameworks are a problem because theycreate a blockage at one of yourkey points. Even when flying

straight ahead, you are more con

cerned with what is slightly off to

one side rather than what is im

mediately in front of you. At night

your peripheral vision is extremely

important and any time there is a

blockage or partial blockage of

peripheral vision, you re again op

erating at reduced capability. At

some point in any crew station in

42

all three helicopters, we had anobstruction to vision.

ORVAL What problems were encountered during multiple aircraftoperations that differed from singleaircraft operations and how werethey coped with?

JACKSON Our initial problemwas the selection of a formationthat would allow ease of join-up,breakup, emergency aircraft breakup procedures and/or control. Asemistaggered trail formation witha 10- to 15-second separation between aircraft was the most applicable. Aircraft exterior lighting wasanother problem in that the presentaircraft lighting configuration isinadequate for night NOE. For

example, the OR-58 has a twoposition switch for exterior lights

bright and dim. Bright is too brightand dim is too dim for NOE flight.The same holds true with the AR-

1G with the exception that it hasa steady bright and flashing capability. These light settings are unusable for a 10- to 15-second NOE

separation between aircraft. Theundesirable hypnotic effect of therotating beacon was another prob

lem. We tried taping the rotationbeacon, but the beacon bulbs keptburning out because of the heating.We did successfully disconnect thelower rotation light on the OR-58.We feel that a variable intensityswitch for the exterior light on bothaircraft would solve the problem.We modified an OR-58 with fourelectroluminescent panels for station-keeping with favorable results.

CHOURA Once a formation was

formed, our basic problem was todetermine what the other aircraftwere doing. This problem wassolved by modifying the aircraftwith four electroluminescent panelswhich provided a dish effect whenseen from a following aircraft. Thisdish effect indicated whether theaircraft to your front was in pitchor roll attitude, or sliding to the

right or left. Our formation separations were based on a time spacingrather than a physical distancespacing. We allowed 5 to 10 seconds spacing which usually turnedout to be five rotor discs. To maintain this relationship to an aircraftin front of you without being ableto see small movements of eitherdeceleration or acceleration madeit extremely difficult.

ISGRIG You never actually flewformation, did you?

WOLFF Yes, we did. We actuallytried to fly formation on four or

five occasions. We attempted tofly the good old school category Atype formation, B formations, echelon left and echelon right, but theywere completely unsuitable. For

instance, when flying up a canyon,we suddenly found that we had tomake a 180. Based on our experience and information from otherauthorities, there is absolutely noneed for a nice tight formation,especially at night, because if oneaircraft gets nailed with a missilein a mid-intensity environment,this might set up a chain reaction.Also, if the pilot of the lead aircraft

stacks his aircraft up against a treeor a blind canyon wall, the rest ofthe flight would pile up behindhim. This is one reason why weturned to multiple aircraft operations rather than formation flying.Formation flying as we think of itin daytime at altitude, is completelyunfeasible during night NOE.

ORVAL What airspeeds were considered to be the best for safe flightat the different altitudes flown?

CHOURA Generally speaking

about 30 to 40 knots was our maximum airspeed unless it was an extremely light night. When we wereworking on a phase of the experiment or trying to accomplish amission, I do not believe 40 knotsairspeed was ever exceeded. It sagain a tradeoff; the slower the air




speed, the closer we could get to

the terrain.

WOLFF We always tend to comment on our airspeeds as 20 to 30or 30 to 4 knots and our altitudeas 250 feet AGL [above groundlevel]. But 250 feet AGL is actually about 50 feet above obstacleclearance at Hunter Liggett because of the terrain. On matiynights, we were flying at 50 to 100feet AGL and batting along at 70,80 and even 90 knots. The aviatorsbecame so ingrained in the program that a bright moonlit nightpresented no challenge to them. So,we have a tendency to base ouraverage altitude and airspeed on

those flown on the darkest nights.

ORVAL Would you say the loweryou got the slower you went?

WOLFF Yes, but our airspeedsand altitudes varied according tothe amount of light.

ORVAL Tell us what you thoughtof the PVS-5 goggles.

WOLFF In today's modem advanced technology, the PVS-5goggles would be outstanding ifcompressed to the size of a pair ofspectacles, and we are holding outfor contact lenses. The idea and theconcept behind the PVS-5 gogglesare great; however, they are uncomfortable and have a very limited field of view. The goggles arenot the answer to night flying intheir present state [see HelicopterLow Level Night Operations andHow Night Becomes Day, May

1973 DIGEST].

COX The Owl Team learned tofly without the goggles, so they haddifficulty in convincing themselvesthe goggles were of any value.

CHOURA Why restrict ourselveswith the limitations the goggles imposed for a very minimal advantage? Under low-light levels theydid not work well and under bigh-

MARCH 1974

light levels we didn't need them.The problem existed as to whatwould happen if the goggles failed,as they are subject to failure just asanything else. The ability to reada map with the goggles on is nonexistent. f you are navigating a

long route, you either have to memorize the map which is physicallyimpossible or you have to keepputting the goggles on or takingthem off

ORVAL To what do you attributeyour record of 1,800 accident-freeflying hours?

WOLFF One thing was the pilots'attitudes toward the entire program. We did not do anything

which we thought was unsafe, because we were already jeopardizingourselves by flying night low levelover strange terrain and doingstrange things. The cooperationfrom the immediate supervisorypersonnel on Team IV was tremendous. We were never pushedor rushed to accomplish tasks andwe didn't have a set goal to meetby a certain time. Our higher headquarters and command personnelbacked us all the way. When we

set up a hue and cry for certainitems which we felt were definitelynecessary, we received completecooperation.

CHOURA We always had the

option to say no to any requestswe deemed were beyond our or theaircraft's capability.

WOLFF Command had to be attuned to what we were doing.

COXSolutions to problems wereusually proposed by the aviators

themselves.

COLE The Owl Team memberswere not trying to see how low theycould fly During the first 3 or 4months, they tried to see how lowthey could get with the naked eye.Quite frankly, I think all this wasmade possible by command em-

phasis. think the key to our successful program can be attributedto supervisory personnel such asCOL Odneal and MAJ Cox wholet the team conduct the trainingas they saw fit

COX t was really COL Odnealwho was the prime supervisorymember behind our success. He

gave us the guidance which permitted the freedom we possessed.Certainly, the overall credit shouldgo to the Owl Team.

WOLFF The Owl Team came to

a common agreement that, for somereason, when a new program comesinto being, it seems that everyonein Army aviation wants to get into

the act. But, we, the Owl Team,feel that an aviator should have aminimum number of flight hoursbefore being trained in night NOE.An aviator has to be dedicated andprofessional as well as experienced.An aviator recently graduated fromflight school cannot be put througha course such as this and expectedto be fully proficient, because basictime in the aircraft is one of theprime factors. Night NOE is afulltime job and the U. S Army

A viation School cannot just touchon this subject and tum out a nightNOB trained aviator.

CHOURA Our recommendationfor flight experience prior to nightNOE training is a thousand hours.minimum aircraft time. t can pos-sibly be done at a 500-hour level,but we feel this is the minimumrequirement. Air sense cannot besubstituted and an individual hasto acquire this before he can learnto do something as strenuous asnight NOE.

ORVAL Gentlemen, I thank youfor your time. USAAAVS congratulates you on your display of professionalism, enthusiasm and positive attitude toward safety whichmade your night NOB experimenta success.

43



aiorJohn K CrosleyDirector Physiological Optics DivisionU.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory

The light distribution 0

A ircra/t AnticollisionBeacon System, High In-

tensity Light (A A BSHIL)is almost three timesgreater than standard

anticollison lights

WAS NEW at the post. My commander had

designated me as the safety officer, and I assumedthis responsibility with pride. I've been around longenough to realize that safety is a continuing processand we all need to be reminded of that fact. Today,I wanted to become better acquainted with the countryside and work off some deficiencies in my record.

As I walked around the small observation helicopterand went through the routine preflight, I noticed thescud. The weather-watchers had told me there wasnothing unusual, other than thislight haze that floatedby on occasion. There really wasn't enough haze foran instrument flight rule IFR) designation, but it

was obvious that horizontal visibility was nothingoutstanding. I thought to myself, Atmospheric smogand haze are certainly a real problem these .Qays.

As Paul, my copilot, approached I couldn't helpbut be pleased. We had been together in 'Nam for acouple of months, and I had learned to respect his

capabiiity and judgment during that time. Seeing me,he yelled, John, as safety officer, don't you justkick-the-tire-and-light-the-fire? Paul loved to kidme, and I good-naturedly retorted with a select comment of my own. We worked well together.

As he came closer he pointed to the anticollisionlight and asked me about it. I had assumed it was thesame as always, but upon closer inspection, saw thatit was something different. It actually appeared to betwo lights in one--a clear one and a red one. Another

44

one of these lights was located in the belly betweenthe skids. Since neither of us had seen anything quitelike this and were both curious, I asked Paul toactivate the beacon to see what happened. He holleredthat the beacon switch had two positions--day andnight. I asked him to hit day. Since I was standing

As I watched the instruments I suddenlyfelt a hard tug at both the cyclic andcollective and heard Paul shout HI haveit "

very close to the upper lamp when it activated, thething really surprised me. t was bright and white, andhad a sharp rapid flash. He then hit night, and thered came on. t was considerably dimmer, but theflash rate and sharpness seemed about the same. t

was certainly different from anything either of us hadseen before, but now it was getting late and we hadthings to do.

I've completed the preflight, Paul , I yelled. Henodded and began putting on his helmet. I climbedin beside ru and put on my helmet. After the usualcheckout procedures, I started the engine and clearedthe instrument panel.

Everything looked good, so after receiving clearance from the tower we began to hover on out. Once




AIRCRAFT ANTICOLLISION BEACON SYSTEM, HIGH INTENSITY LIGHT

(AABSHI L)

ZONE.OF

_NOAABSH I L

COVERAGEAABSHIL DAY

NIGHT COVERAGE

t t t t t ROTATING BEACON: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : NIGH T OVERA GE

COMPARATIVE VERTICAL LIGHT DISTRIBUTION

REMAINING EFFECTIVE CANDELAS APPROXIMATE)

ROTATINGVERTICAL BEACON EFF I , AABSHIL

ANGLE PERCENTAGE CANDELAS': ': EFF CANDELAS .

DAY & NIGHT DAY NIGHT

900 0 0 0 0

+800 0-10 0-10 r0-350 0-20

±45° 10-25 10-25 ft: 350-875 20-50~ ~ ; : :

±20° 25-50 25-50 t 875- 1750 50-100

50-100±10° 50-100 1750-3500 100-200

±5-oo 100 100 3500 200

MARCH 1974

AABSHIL typical one

half mile peripheral

con spi cu i ty non- sunny

day or si m ilor contra s t

rotating beacon provides

no daylight conspicuity)

NOTE: (+) is consid

ered to be outward

from base of light

installed on aircraft.



LIGHT OF Y LIFairborne, I automatically began scanning my airspace.

Pure force of habit, but a good one-personal ex-

perience had taught me that. My thoughts went back

to that first close call while still in basic flight training

at Ft. Wolters, TX. It was after I had soloed and was

trying to build my air time. I was shooting a few

landings at a stagefield along with, I thought, sixother guys. After making a touchdown, I checked to

see where the others were and began my climb out.

e had barely averted

a midair

Suddenly, a guy descended from above. We missed

by only inches as he went down just ahead of me. Myhands were shaking so badly I could hardly hold the

controls long enough to make another pattern and

land. As it turned out, the other guy had never seen

my ship at all When we sat in the break room later

and discussed what had happened, there were the

usual statements: It was a freak thing," "Never

happen again," Gotta keep those eyes open," etc.

But I had learned a lesson, and since that time I

keep my head on a swivel. It's paid off many times.

Our schedule today called for some hood time,

so after giving the controls to Paul, I reached down

and got out the blinkers. Quite frankly, I hated to

wear the thing, but local policy required it.

After taking the controls back, I began to fly our

prescribed route. Things were uneventful for a period

of time, and I was thinking about calling my wife,Jane, when we got back. Following a small spat that

morning, I had said a few things I now regretted. No

sweat, a phone call would patch things up againPerhaps we could take the sailboat out to the lake

this weekend. No, that's what the words were about.

I wanted a new boat and she wanted some newfurniture.

Even with the hood on, it's possible to see out

of the aircraft, and I couldn't help noticing that ourforward visibility was poor. I mentioned this to Paul,and he said he could barely see the ground. '

As I watched the mstruments, I suddenly felt a

46

hard tug at both the cyclic and collective. Simultan-

eously, I heard Paul shout, I have it " I released

the controls and looked up while pulling the hood

off. We had started a sharp right descent, and now

we were again stabilizing. I could see nothing unusual.

Then Paul explained what had happened.

While making an outside scan, he had picked up

a white light in his left periphery. Turning left to

identify it, he definitely saw the sharply flashing light,and only the faint outline of another helicopter on

a direct collison course with us at about 270 degrees

He had taken the controls as he did because theresimply was not time to db anything else. He said itappeared as though the other guy had seen us about

the same time, since he had moved smartly to the left.

We had barely averted a midair

We had completed our flight, so we proceeded to

return to the airfield. Neither of us said much during

the trip back. After shutdown, I realized how tense

I was. It doesn't take mariy instances like that to

make an old man out of you.

The first thirig Paul did was to again apologize for

the way he took the controls. I told him I was glad

e would have never seen the other air-craft had it been equipped with only thestandard rotating beacon

he had Then he looked at the new anticollision

beacon and stated that if the other aircraft had had

only the standard rotating beacon he would never

have seen it.

Since that time, I have been a real believer that

the "see and be seen" concept is still very valid. Insubsequent safety classes, I have stressed the valueof the new lighting system.

Since only a few of our aircraft are equipped withthe new system, I decided to conduct a little research

of my own. have asked our pilots to report to mehow many times they could see the standard rotating

anticollision beacon before they saw the aircraft andsilhouette during various daylight hours. The study

has been going on for several months now, and they




(nor I) have n v r seen the light first If you don'tsee the light first, it is of no value and during daylighthours it might just as well be turned off

n the other hand, the new strobe light has beenseen several times during the day before the aircraftwas sighted (especially on one occasion which Iremember quite well), even though we only have afew systems installed so far. I m mighty glad theresearch people are still interested in my kind ofsafety.

The above story generally depicts a true situationthat occurred at Ft. Rucker, AL, while research wasbeing conducted on an improved anticollision beacon.The test item was mounted on a TH-13T and,although the pilot who saw the light did not knowabout the program nor the light, the flash attractedhis attention and possibly saved his life. He statedthat he never did see an aircraft, and was convincedthey would have collided had that light not been seen.

Research on an improved anticollision beaconwas begun in 1967 by the U. S. Army AeromedicalResearch Laboratory (USAARL), Ft. Rucker, AL.An in-flight study was conducted at Ft. Wolters, TX,in 1969. In 1970, a materiel need MN) documentwas written by the then Combat Development Command (Aviation) in conjunction with USAARL, andAABSHIL (aircraft anticollision beacon system, highintensity light) was born. Personnel from the U. S.

Army Aviation Systems Command, St. Louis, MO,have been instrumental in formulating and implementing the MN. The U. S. Army Agency for AviationSafety, Pt. Rucker, AL, has been interested in thisprogram for several years, and has been a majorfactor in the success attained to date.

Presently, plans call for procurement of the newlighting system (AABSHIL) in 1974, with fleet retrofit starting the same year. Hopefully, this significant safety advancement will have been installed onall Army aircraft by 1976.

Briefly, the new system will include two individualbeacons, each beacon having separate day and nightmodes. The source of light is a xenon gas-filled discharge tube (so-called strobe). The day mode willbe white light with a minimum initial output level

MARCH 1974

of 3500 effective candelas, while the night mode willbe red with an output of 150 (minimum) to 200(maximum) effective candelas. The light sources foreither day or night modes are phased to flash alternately with a combined flash rate of 90 to 110 cyclesper minute. The system weight and power drain aredesigned to be compatible with the smaller armyaircraft capabilities. The remainder of the system iscomprised of aircraft wiring, a power supply and amode selector switch.

The new anticollision beacon system is an improve

ment over the present rotating beacon in the following ways:

• The day mode provides a significant amount ofconspicuous information during daylight hours whenapproximately 90 percent of midair collisions occur.Essentially no daylight information is available fromthe old system. (The old system also generally consistsof only one light source, either top r bottommounted.)

• The flash characteristic is sharp (approximatelyone millisecond duration) and very conspicuous.

• The beam spread or vertical light distribution

is almost tripled over the old system. Thus, a bankingaircraft or one viewed from above or below thehorizontal plane is more readily seen.

• The system is solid-state, thus eliminating moving parts and improving the reliability in high vibration environments such as found on aircraft.

• The intensity levels have been increased to 3500effective candelas (white) for day and 150 to 200candelas (red) for night. The present rotating beacon

is required to have only a minimum of 100 effective

candelas output.

• The system is noncooperative. Other aircraft can

see the light without having a system of their own.

• In combat, the daytime light can be used when

over friendly terrain, and extinguished in enemy

territory.

• Efforts are presently being made to obtain tri

service agreement to standardize this system on all

rotary and subsonic fixed wing aircraft where possible.

Routine maintenance and replacement parts would

thereby be available at any military airfield.

47



**

; S S O S e z* ::: :: :: :: ::I : ::I::I:: :t:: :: :: : :: :: : :: :::t: : :: : ::::r;I::: ::: : :: ::: :: :::: :: I::r.: :: :. t. :: :: : ::I : :: ::I:: :: :: :: : :::: :: *******

***

48

SITTING AROUND WITH the boys at the Flying Round House the other day, one of the

local squares just couldn't make the ends meet on circling approaches. He flitted around all

the quadrants bu t couldn't seem to put all the pieces in a box. Gone are the days when boxing

field meant aligning with a runway during low visibility and flying a I-minute 90 degree box

pattern of left turns to place yourself in a position to land. The box you'd get now might be the

box you wish to avoid for many years.

t takes only a few moments to straighten out both squares. First, a 1-minute leg box pattern

would most likely take you out of the TERPs circling area for which obstruction protection isprovided. Stay in the circling area provided and avoid boxes with antique handles.

Second, a circling approach is a maneuver often conducted in weather conditions below VFR

minimums in visual contact conditions. t is an extension of the IFR operation and traffic

patterns should be left turns unless otherwise directed or restricted. Tower will normally provide

the directions at controlled airfields and the controller really means, make a left tum to final

when he speaks left traffic or left base to runway so and so. Comply with this. f in doubt get

with the controller and follow instructions to the letter. Also, comply with restrictions which may

be found on the approach chart or in the remarks section of the IFR Supplement when doing

your thing at an uncontrolled airfield. At uncontrolled locations, do your planning thing and

also check the wind T for valuable clues which may not be published.

Third dimension is how high? Well, why low? Fly published traffic pattern altitudes when

possible. Never fly below minimum descent altitude (MDA) until turning to final for landing

on the assigned or proper runway-unless you are interested in a stopping over at Never,

Never Land. Go full circle only i necessary and legal. The circling MDA and weather minima

to use in planning and operations are those in the procedure associated with the published

final approach to a runway or airport.

Pilot judgment is the most critical element in the successful accomplishment of a circling

operation. Consult notes that may tell you of obstructions that exist in certain quadrants or

directions and that lighting may not exist on some runways. See and be seen rules exist.USAASO SEZ every clue and judgment used helps avoid buying the farm.




St Jnd Jrdiz Jtion ConferenceThe Department of the rmy FI ight Standardization Policy Board

Conference hosted by the Headquarters First U. S Army was to be

held on the 18th and 19th of thi s month in Washington DC.

The agenda for the conference is shown below and was formulated

on the basis of recommended items submitted by policy board mem-

bers. Proponents of each item were to provide a brief presentation

to develop the full scope and ramifications of the topic.

TOPIC

Keynote Address

Moderator's Overview

Department of the Army Standardi.

zation Comments

Army Aircrctft Operator's Manuals

and Checkl ists

Discussion

Instructor Pi lot/Standardization

Instructor Pilot Written Examination

Discussion

Standardizati on Eva luation of Instru·

ment Flight Examiners

Discussion

Flight Standardization Training Packets

Discussion

Multitrack Instructor Pilot Course

Concept

Discussion

In structor Pilot/Standard ization

Instructor Pi lot Training

Discussion

Next Month:

TOPIC

Open Discussion

Crew Chief Standardization

Discussion

Frequency of Standardization Board

Meetings

Discussion

Latitude of U. S. Army Aviation

School Standardi zation Instructor Pi lots

Discussion

Accidents Occurring DuringStandardization Rides

Di scussion

Paragraph 4.23(1 ) b)

Discussion

Paragraph 1·12 and 1.18, AR 95.63

Discussion

Why Train For Accidents?

Discussion

Open Di scussion

Closing Remarks

The IGEST Will Take A Comprehensive Look

At The Army s Flight Standardization Program.



20 mm Fuze Test ired At RuckerDuring late January this year, an AH·lJ Sea

Cobra was flown on the Ft. Rucker, AL, ranges to

evaluate M 56 20 mm fuze sensitivity using the

XM 97 turret and XM 197 gun. An improved sight

was insta lied on the ai rcraft wh i ch had been

provided by the Bell Helicopter Company, as were

the pi lot and techn ica I personnel for thi s test.

Brigadier General James M Leslie, Assistant

Commandant of the U S Army Aviation Center

top photo), climbs aboard prior to his flight down

range as gunner on the initial day of testing.

Mr Ward Carstenson, Bell Project Director right),

checks the aircraft prior to the flight. The photo

below captures one of the runs during which

General Leslie fired the system.

Numerous evaluations were mode at ranges

from 1,000 to 2,500 meters and altitudes of 0, 50,

100 and 200 feet. At this writing comprehensive

results were not available from Bell. However,

those participating in the test were enthusiastic.The DIGEST plans a feature on the M·56 20 mm

fuze in a future issue.

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