Army Aviation Digest - Nov 1973

8/12/2019 Army Aviation Digest - Nov 1973

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UNITED STATES ARMY

VIATION

USAARlSCI SUPPORT ENTERPO OX 620577

FORT RUCKER Al 6 62.05 77

NOVEMBER 19

GESTWhen an ox gores a man or a woman to death the ox shall bestoned and its flesh may not be eaten; the owner of the ox shallbe free from liability. If however the ox has for some time pastbeen a vicious animal and the owner has been duly warned buthas not kept it under control and the ox kills a man or a womanthen the ox shall be stoned nd the owner be put to death as well.EXODUS 2 :28-29

The Ox That Gored orThe Pilot Who Erred?see page


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UNITED

OF ARMY AVIATION, ACSFORTHE ARMY

BG James H. Merryman

U.S. ARMY AVIATIONMG William J. Maddox Jr .

U.S. ARMY AVIATION

COL (P) James M. Leslie

S. ARMY AVIATION DIGESTRichard K. Tierney

ABOUT THE COVERThe ox that gored is depicted inthis photo taken from a trailing helicopter iust seconds before this un-safe act resulted in two fatalitiesand a destroyed aircraft

See pag_ 2

RMY VI TION1GESJNOVEMBER 1973 VOLUME 19 NUMViews From Readers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Ox That Gored, or The Pilot Who Erred? . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MG William J. Maddox Jr.The Main Ingredient, Arnold R. Lambert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The Cav s STAR, CW2 Charles M. Tidey MAST Helps In Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAST At Fort Carson, LT Kevin H. Rorke . . . . . . . . . . MAST Is, William H. Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cobra Escape System, Robert A. Matthews, DAC. . . . . . . . . . . Airmobility In Korea, LT Charles E. McNamara Aeromedic, LTC Alfred B. Watson Jr Aeromaintenance, Darrell J. Godier, DAC The Scourge Of Aviation, SP6 Stephen E. Issak . . . . . I Learned About Flying From Them, CPT Benjamin F. Vandervoort. . . Write To Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Autorotations To An Open Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aviation Safety Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The Tactical Map And You, CW2 Nile L Harter Jr. Pearl s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .USAASO Sez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .flyByWire System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ns

TIle Iolon of the U.I. ARMY AVIAnON DIGIIT I. to .....YI. . . . . . . . . . .atI .n of on optlonal or functional IIOtU,. co.co ... n. . . foty .n . I 'c ... t .ul . p,. .ntlon, tr.ln . . .nco, ope,.tlon., ,. ch ..... ev.lop t, .vlatlon ...... cl... .n oth.rlated dat Tho DIGIIT I oMcl.1 DepartMe of tho Army periodical p .... .hed .onthly unlito .upervl.lon of the Co .nt , U. S. Army Aviation Ichool. Vlaw pro . . . . h..,. IIOt n.c ... lty tho. . of tho Depart t of tho Army 0 ' tho U. S. Army Avl.School. Photo . U. I . Ar.y un I oth.rwl p.clfl . . . Mat.rI .1 bo , .p , ln t ' pvi . . . . crocIlt I v to the DIGIST .n to tho .uthor, unl. . . oth rwI 1 ... cat .Artld photos, . . . . . It of Into, on Anny .vl . t lon 0,. I.vlt . . . DI,.ct co ntlon I thorlz. tol 1 . tor, U. I . Anny Avl.tlon DI , 'or t luck. AL 36360.This publlc.tlon h.s . . . .n .pproved by H dqu. r t . r . D.part t of the A,.ySopt or 1973.Active Army units r.celv. distribution und.r the pinpoint Istrlbutlon . y . t . . . . . . . . In AI 310.1. Co.p l . t . DA 'orm 12-4 . nd s.nd dl,.ctly to CO, AG Publlc.tlolll Ct . r , 2800 I . , . Boulevar , Iolt l .or . , MD 21220. For .ny chan In distribution , .qu.enta , Inltl.t. ,. 1.... DA 'orm 12-4.N.tlollOl Guard . . . . . Army a . . v . units und.r pinpoint dl.trlbutlon . ' so shoulel . ubDA 'orm 12-4. Other Notion.I Gu.rd unit. should s .b . l t , .que. t . throu.h th . l , . t.dlut .nt . l .Tho.. not . . . . ble for oMcl.1 ..1.t,lbutlon or who d . p.,son.1 copl.s of tbo DIGca ord.r tho ln. f ro . the luperlntond.nt of Docu t., U. S. Gov . . . . . . . PrlnotIco, W . . . D. C. 20402. Annu.1 subscription rat . $8.00 do lc .n $10ov


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VF JEWSROME DERS

Sir:As the American Aviation HistoricalSociety's research historian for the BellAH-IG, I would like to enlist your aidin clarifying one point dealing with thehistory of the armed helicopter.Reference the September 1971 issueof AAD, quoting Armed Helicopt.ers

Around the World by LTC C. O. Gnminger, page 2 The United States'first armed helicopter company wasactivated in Okinawa on 25 July 1962.Its original mission was to provide trooptransport. This unit, the Utility TacticalTransport Helicopter Company, was deployed to the Republic of Vietnam inOctober 1962 under the command ofthe late LTC Robert Runkle. t spentconsiderable time in Thailand readyingfor combat, then arrived in Vietnam on9 October and received its baptism offire 7 days after that. The article further states, on page 22, the 334th AvnCo was the successor to the UTI Co.I served with the 334th Avn Co andpossess a unit history published by thecompany on 25 March 1971. Quotingfrom page 2 of this history . . . TheUtility Tactical Transport HelicopterCompany (UTI) was activated on 15July 1961 on Okinawa. In its first yearof existence it experimented with various jury-rigged armament systems to bemounted on UH-IA helicopters. At thecompletion of its initial training periodthe UTI was sent TDY to Thailand inthe summer of 1962 to participate in a

large scale SEATO exercise. The unitpassed its first test with flying colors andwas ordered PCS from Thailand to theRepublic of Vietnam to meet the growing threat of communist insurgencythere. A dvance elements of the UTTarrived at Ton Son Nhut Air Base on25 July 1962 and the company flew its/irst combat mission nine days later.You will note the obvious differencein dates. Which version is correct? Yourassistance is urgently needed and willbe gratefully appreciated.James D. Sprinkle8516 E. 11th St.Tulsa, OK 74112 Thank you for your letter of 2 September 1973, regarding the activationdate of the Utility Tactical TransportHelicopter Company (UTI).After researching the matter , wefound that both the date published inthe DIGEST and the date you obtainedfrom the 334th A viation Company'ssource are incorrect. The DIGESTarticle's reference is the UTI s yearbooklet ROCKET (October 1962-January 1964).

It appears that typographical errorsoccurred in both cases. The 334th's unithistory cites 15 July 1961; the UTI s,25 July 1962. Records researched at theDepartment of the Army reveal that theUTI was activated on 25 July 1961.Also, personnel records of various individuals assigned to the UTI confinnthis date

The UIT, then, arrived in Vietnamon 9 October 1962, as recorded in theDIGEST, and received its baptism offire 7 days after that. These dates arebased on the UTI s ROCKET and onconversations with individuals assignedto the UIT. The DIGEST still is seeking additional official informatjon toconfirm the Vietnam arrival and baptism of fire dates. To do this it is necessary to obtain the UTT s TDA number,and this will take a little more time forreasons too involved to explain here.(However, if anyone has the TDA number the DIGEST would appreciate hearing from you.) When the DIGEST doesreceive additional information it willshare it with you and its readers.One other point has been brought outin the research of the UTI s activation.The DIGEST article's statement that the334th was the successor to the UIT isnot literally true. The 334th was a TOEunit. The UTI was established for testing purposes as a TDA unit. It, therefore, cannot accrue either campaignparticipation or decorations. However,it is true that the expertise, and some ofthe personnel and hardware did go overto the 334th from the UIT.The DIGEST is especially grateful forthe continuing assistance it has been receiving on this matter from Mr. WarnerStark of the Office of the Chief of Military History and Mr. Herbert Smith ofthe Organization and Directory Branchof The Adjutant General's Office.

Continued on page 8..............................: MAST helicopters are saving l ives i

see stories beginning on pages 6 7 10 and 11 :..............................NOVEMBER 1973


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c t ~ ~U S V S Maior eneral William J Maddox JCommallding General of Ft. Rucker and Commandant, USAA VNFormer Director of Army Aviation, OACSFO

In the book of Exodus we read about God's justice and Hisinterest in safety. s He tells the Jews, when an ox gores aman or woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, but theowner of the ox shall be clear. But if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past and its owner has been warnedbut has not kept it in, and then it kills a man or woman, theox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death./I

Excerpt fro m the invocation delivered byChaplain (L TC John P. Barbernitzat the official opening of the

lISAAAVS building, 20 July 1973

The OxThat o r e d ~ or

The PilotWho Erred

VEN THOUGH the letter of the Mosaic law isno longer applied in many instances, the moral

obligation- the righteousness -of the law still pre-vails today. Saint Paul called the Old Testament lawour schoolmaster ; we are to learn its lessons.The commander has a lesson to be learned fromthe law of the ox that gored. The righteousness of thislaw teaches him, simply, that he is morally responsi-ble for what his people do on the job.This obligation eems to me to be especially bind-ing in areas where life may be placed n jeopardy.f a pilot operates his aircraft n an unsafe mannerand his commander does not take the action neces-sary to keep him and other pilots from repeating theunsafe acts, then the moral responsibility for any

2

future injury or death that may result from repetitioof unsafe practices rests squarely with the commander. He must accept the fact that positive corretive action on his part mo t likely would have prvented a second occurrence.Of course, the aviation commander can keep ahis aircraft on the ground and preclude any unsaflying. But it's not that simple. He has a tacticalwell as a moral obligation, and he must find a wboth to live within the spirit of the law and to acomplish his mission. He can discharge both hobligations by following two basic procedures: appling proven accident prevention measures to missiaccomplishment before the fact, and taking positiremedial action in individual cases after the fact.

U. S. ARMY AVIATION DIGES


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H T RE THE ingredients for a really tragicaircraft accident? They vary from time totime but here are the ingredients found in a singleaccident report from the USAAAVS files.Take one overconfident maintenance officer/testpilot who is tired. Give him a UH-1 and put him inan aviation unit that has no SOP for test flights. Placethese ingredients on an airfield during normal nonduty hours when the tower is not in operation.

Add one technical inspector, two UH-1 crewchiefs, one OH-58 crew chief and one platoon sergeant and then have them perform some maintenanceon the UH l. Test fly the aircraft for 30 minutes,then make some final adjustments and prepare foranother test flight.After the first flight , forget about the postflightinspection and, prior to the second flight , forget aboutthe preflight and ignore the checklist. Prior to thesecond flight, add three unauthorized passengers andperform the test flight at high speed, low level andover water.Now the stage is set, but the main ingredient isstill missing. Add a generous helping of inadequatecommand supervision and you have everything youneed for a really tragic accident.escription of the ccidentThe maintenance officer, technical inspector, two

NOVEMBER 1973

rnold R LambertDi rectorate or Education and Prevention

USAAAVS

UH-1 crew chiefs, an OH-58 crew chief and the platoon sergeant were all working on a UH 1D duringnormal nonduty hours. The main rotor and tail rotorwere tracked and the maintenance officer, acting asmaintenance test pilot , performed a 30-minute testflight. He felt that additional adjustments were required to properly track the main rotor. Adjustmentswere made on the trim tab and they prepared for asecond test flight.

The crew for the second test flight was the maintenance officer/ test pilot and a UH-1 crew chief.Along just for the ride were the maintenance officer spregnant wife, his 18-month-old son and the OH-58crew chief.The test pilot took off and climbed to about 300feet agl and flew cro swind at 80 knots airspeed. Ashe turned downwind. he nosed the lircr


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heC a ~SINCE SEPTEMBER 1972 acompletely unique aviationplatoon has been undergoingtesting at Ft. Hood, TX. TheSTAR (Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance)Platoon was included in the TOEof the 7/17th Cav 1 st CavalryDivision for the Attack HelicopterSquadron test which was completed in February 1973.The STAR Platoon, as usedduring the Attack HelicopterSquadron test, was composedof: Three FUR (forward lookinginfrared) equipped JUH-1 M (theprefix J designates the aircraftas having undergone extensivemodifications). Two SMASH Cobras (Southeast Asia multisensor armamentsystem for the HueyCobra).These JAH-l Gs are equippedwith a FU R mounted on the nose

The STAR (Surveillance, TargAcquisit ion and ReconnaissancPlatoon is providing night f ighticapabil i t ies for the 1st CavaDivision as t part icipates in Prect MASSTER tests

CW2 Charles M. Tidey

of the aircraft and a radamounted on the right side outboard bomb rack. One HELMS (helicopter mUltifunction system) equippedJUH-1 M-a radar system withone antenna mounted on thenose for approach and MTmodes and another bonded tothe rotor blades for 360 degreescoverage during the enroutephase. One MULTEWS (multipleelectronic warfare system)equipped UH-1 H-radar countermeasures system.The platoon s fourteen pilotsrange in experience from threewith nearly 33 months researchand development experienceeach down through WO 1s jusout of flight school. The enlistedmen of the platoon includedcrewchiefs for the aircraft aswell as highly specialized senso


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The SMASH-equipped HueyCobra combines a forward looking infrared (FUR) sensor with a moving target indicator radar

repairmen for the FUR andradar.The platoon s mission as proposed and tested was to go outand reconnoiter the forwardedge of the battle area (FEBA)for enemy movement during thehours of darkness. Even thoughsome aircraft were originallyequipped with armament sys-tems (the FUR and SMASHCobras), their roles in this testwere strictly as night scouts. Theaircraft were operated at nap-ofthe-earth even though it wasnight to avoid detection byenemy radar.Once an enemy location wasdetected and this informationrelayed back to squadron headquarters, the squadron commander would launch an aerialcounterattack either by directassault with his Cobras armedwith TOW missiles (simulated)NOVEMBER 973

or by an indirect assault with theinsertion of the Rangers (whowould be under his command)into an ambush site.When the flight leader of theassault aircraft approached theFEBA he would contact theSTAR aircraft on station and re-ceive an up-to-date briefing onthe tactical situation. The STARaircraft would then vector theassault aircraft into the target orinto the proposed landing site ifthey are the troop insertion aircraft.After this has been accom-

plished the STAR aircraft wouldremain on station to make damage assessments and then re-turn to homebase for a de-briefing.Even though the Attack Helicopter Squadron test is completed (the results w ll be published later) the STAR Platoonis still an active element of the7/17th Cav awaiting more testing.

This unique and strictly one-of-a-kind platoon is representative of the new looks and tacticsemerging in Army aviation.

The author was attending the Rotary Wing Instru-ment Course at the U. S. Army Aviation School Ft.Rucker AL when he wrote this article. He wasini t ial ly assigned to the SMASH Evaluation Teamwhich was later enlarged to become the STARPlatoon. The author is on assignment in Korea

5


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M ST elps In Washington

To keep him alive, for todaynd in the future

OFTEN MAST helicopter rescue flights are quiteroutine and spark little news interest. But there'snothing routine when it's your little boy whose life ismeasured by a flickering heartbeat and the speed ofwhirling blades.What you did was a part of what has kept himalive for today and the future, the grateful motherof 22-month-old Eddy Armstrong said n a letter tothe crewmen assigned to MAST (Military Assistanceto Safety and Traffic) at Ft. Lewis, WA.Eddy, whose home is in Yakima, WA, was burnedover 35 percent of his body when boiling hot waterfrom a vaporizer spilled over him last spring. He wasrushed to Yakima Osteopathic Hospital where doctors fought for the next 2 days to save him, thenrealized that treatment facilities there were toolimited.Doctors said the best hope lay in transfer to aSeattle hospital, but that the time needed for theambulance could be critical. MAST was called at6

its Yakima Firing Center base and a four-man crewpilot, First Lieutenant Richard Lehman; crewchiefSpecialist 5 Lewis Branson; and medics , Specialist John Corwell and Sergeant William Peyketewa responded quickly.An ambulance and police escort met the rescuhelicopter in Seattle and rushed Eddy to the hospitaThank you ever so much, wrote Eddy's motheafter he survived the pneumonia and his burns beganto heal. She continued, We came close to losinEddy that night, but closer still the next night. As thdoctors worked on him, with him very much conscious and with no relief from pain , it was discoverethat he had internal bleeding, too. Then campneumonia. Why Eddy did not give up we shall noknow now, Eddy is recovering fastIt's a long road to recovery, but a MAST helicopter helped Eddy over one of the big bumps.You ARE appreciated, Mrs. Armstrong repeatein her letter to the Soldiers who had helped Eddy.

u S ARMY AVIATION DIGEST


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M ST t Fort Carson

OUTSIDE THE HUT at SunSpot, CO, a patrolmanwaited. In 2 hours, with darknessand the chill of night settling overthe mountains, his long day on themountain would be over. But whenthe telephone on the side of thehut started to ring, he remindedhimself that accidents can happenany time of the day.Picking up the phone he heard avoice at the main switchboard thattold him all he needed to knowthere was a wreck on Cramnerabove the road. Quickly the patrolman grabbed his toboggan andsped away down the mountainside.

The scene described above happened recently at one of Colorado'slargest ski areas. Each weekend10,000 skiers slide, fly fall andtumble down its varied slopes.When the patrolman reached thescene of the accident, or wreckas it is called in ski-patrol ese, hediscovered that the downed skierwas a woman with obvious backand head injuries. She had somehow flipped over backwards andlanded on her head and upperspine. She was having troublebreathing and had lost feeling inher lower extremities.Because her injuries were soserious, more men were summonedto help transport her down to themain patrol house at the baselodge. The area's physician on call

M ST helicopters are quiteuseful and save time nevacuating patients

NOVEMBER 1973

ids Downed SkiersLieutenant evin H Rorke

verified that the woman was indeedhaving neurological problems. Sheneeded immediate evacuation toDenver. Any delay might result inpermanent paralysis.The doctor determined thattransport by ground ambulance

would take over 2 2 hours-tooslow for the type of injury involved.Consequently, a MAST helicopterfrom Ft. Carson, CO, was requested for the job. The helicopterarrived within 40 minutes and 20minutes later the woman was beingwheeled into Denver General Hospital. A crucial Ph hours had beensaved because of the MAST (Military Assistance to Safety and Traffic) unit stationed at the Ft. Carsonhospital.MAST was the brainchild of theDepartments of Defense DOD),Health, Education and Welfare

DHEW) and TransportationDOT) (see page 11).

To test the MAST concept,temporary helicopter sites werechosen at various military sites. Ft.Carson was lucky enough to havebeen one of those chosen and organized a MAST program in 1970.

By March 1971 the 78th (now the571st) Medical Detachment wasactivated to assume the MASTmission at Ft. Carson.Employing speed, medical skilland concern, the 571 st MedicalDetachment has gone far beyondthe limits and anticipations of theoriginal MAST concept. As indicated by the ski accident, MASThas come to playa major role inall aspects of medical and airevacuation to include ski accidents,mountain climbing accidents, seriously l l patients and many more.Speed, of course, is the main advantage a helicopter has over aground ambulance. But as manypatients have found out, that is notthe only advantage its crews offeran accident victim. Each patientreceives skilled inflight medicalcare.Most of the 571st's medics areline medics or Dustoff veterans ofthe Republic of Vietnam. Theyhave all received extensive emergency medical training and havetreated every imaginable traumaticinjury.All of the MAST medics have a


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thorough working knowledge ofbasic first-aid principles, fromsplinting broken bones and initiating artificial respiration to controlling bleeding.In addition, the 571st's medics

are highly proficient in performingmore complicated procedures suchas starting intravenous fluids,closed heart massage and suctionfor internal chest injuries.Along with speed and extensivemedical training and experience,the MAST unit at Ft. Carsonpossesses an intangible quality thatmakes everything jell. That intangible is concern. Every pilot,medic and crewchief of the 571 stis genuinely concerned with hismission and the performance of hisduties.For example, take the skiing accident mentioned above. One ofthe volunteer ski patrolmen whohelped the injured woman wasFirst Lieutenant Alan Perry of Ft.Carson. He said, From themoment the helicopter toucheddown it was obvious from the crewmen's attitudes that they were notsimply running a taxi service.

Those men were really concernedwith the woman's condition. Whenthey left we were all certain thatthe lady would be receiving thebest possible inflight care.Another incident which graphically indicates the lengths to whichthe 571 st will go to ensure a

patient's welfare occurred whenseveral members of a mountainclimbing party were caught in alandslide. Six of the climberssustained injuries that renderedthem unable to descend the mountain. One of the uninjured made hisway to a ranger station and calledfor assistance. MAST was asked toly the rescue mission.When the MAST helicopter,flown by CW2 David Borrell andFirst Lieutenant Randy Cockrum,arrived at the accident, the crewimmediately evacuated three of theinjured climbers. Two of the crewmembers, Specialist 5 Gene Chroneister and Specialist 4 DennisBarrett, were left to help. bring theother injured climbers down to alanding zone. The climbers weretrapped on an inaccessible ledge1,000 feet above the zone.Night was beginning to fall whenthe pilots returned for the remaining patients. Because of the difficulty in landing on the mountainside, there would be no other pickup after dark. Weight and spacelimitations dictated that someonewould have to stay and spend thenight on the mountain. That nightSpecialists Barrett and Chroneisterand a guide used the camping gearthe climbers left behind and spenta very cold night on a mountain.They were simply reflecting a ruleof the unit: patient care firstWhether an injury is caused n

a landslide, a skiing fall or aautomobile accident, the varioustate services and medical facilitieknow that MAST will responwhen called. But the public's support and trust did not come automatically.When MAST first began at FCarson, a great deal of emphasiwas placed on public awarenessConsequently, the 571st set up thMAST education mission designeto inform the public of MASTcapabilities and requirements.A crew from the 571 st woully to a town and speak with responsible representatives from thtown's medical facilities, police department, chamber of commercand city government. Members othe 571st would explain whaMAST could do to help save people's lives. They would tell themthe information needed when a cafor assistance was placed. Thealso would give instruction on thproper way to approach a helicopter and the types of landinzones needed.

The instruction on landing zonemust have been especially impressive. The hospitals at Salida, Leadville and Hugo built landing areaespecially for MAST. SeveraDenver hospitals--St. Luke, StAnthony and Denver Generalalso have built roof-top landingpads.From the standpoint of publi

MAST copter arrives at accident site Medics administer first aid


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education and awareness, perhapsnothing was as instructive asMAST 111. This mission broughtMAST's capabilities into clear,sharp focus and received nationalrecogni tion.

MAST 111 involved 15 injuredpeople. On 11 September 1971 aschool bus carrying the GunnisonHigh School junior varsity footballteam started down the east side ofthe 11,312-foot Monarch Pass.The team was going to Salida toplay a game. Simultaneously andwithout warning the bus lost itsshifting capabilities and its brakes.The coach and the driver franticallytried to apply the emergency brakeas the bus gained speed and flasheddown the mountain. Their effortswere futile.

The driver tried to avoid bothdownhill and oncoming trafficwhile negotiating curves at 50 milesper hour. However, the bus eventually went out of control, rolled overthree times and ended up overturned in a gas station parking lot.Four of the 40 passengers diedimmediately. Two more died before medical assistance reached the

scene and three of the players diedenroute to Denver. MAST wascalled, and before the day wasover, the 571st made five trips andcarried 15 patients to St. Luke'sHospital in Denver.Captain Jack Breckenridge, aphysician at Ft. Carson's hospital,

flew one of the MAST runs to pickup five seriously injured playerswho had been taken by groundambulance to the Salida hospital.The confusion and mass of people

at the hospital was incredible.Salida just wasn't equipped tohandle that many injuries at onetime, said Capta in Breckenridge.Authorities agree that withoutthe fast response of the MAST unitand Ft. Carson's physicians, manyother players might have died before they reached Denver.Although a mass casualty situation receives a great deal of publicity and taxes the unit's knowhow, for many men in the 571sttheir greatest job satisfaction liesin a different area. That is whenthey are able to help save the lifeof a premat\.Ire baby. CW2 PeterWard, for instance, said that themost rewarding mission he has hadsince he has been a MAST pilot isthe mission he flew to Aspen totransfer a premature baby to theDenver Children's Hospital.

The weather was bad, he said,but was able to make it in andpick up the baby. There was just

something about that mission thatmade me feel good.Captain McCrary summed uphis feelings in a different way.Premature babies are so totallydependent on you. It's not likehelping a rational adult who issupposedly self-sufficient and able

Patient is loaded aboard M ST helicopter

to take care of himself. The'premie' depends so much on thepeople taking care of it, that perhaps is why that extra effort is putforth in trying to save its life. Forsure there is extra satisfactionwhen the mission is a success.Whether they are transportingpremature babies, aiding in a masscasualty situation or helping an injured skier, the MAST unit at Ft.Carson is ready to fly But whatabout the public's reaction to themilitary stepping into the realm ofthe civilian? A look at the lettersof appreciation the 571st has received provides the answer to thatquestion.

For example, take the letterwritten by the parents of a prema-ture baby after the 571st helpedtransport the baby to a Denverhospital. They said, Without thisfast, efficient service our little girlwould probably not have lived.

Or the letter from a husband whowrote when MAST helped his wifewho had been seriously injured inan auto accident. I know thisspeedy evacuation certainly savedher life, he said.And finally, a letter thanking the571 st after they helped transfer awife's critically ll husband to aPueblo hospital which read, Intimes like these, it is refreshing andrevitalizing to know that the mili

tary can always be countedonOnboard patient care


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M ST S the acronym for Military Assistance to Safetyand TrafficWilliam H. Smith

Staff Writer

IN DECEMBER 1969 the firstmeeting of the MAST Interagency Study Group was held inWashington, DC. I t was agreed toanalyze legal aspects; federal, stateand local relationships; command,control and communications considerations; and funding of theMAST project.By February 1970 the studygroup had determined, on paper atleast, that the benefits to be gainedby establishing the MAST programseemed to outweigh the objections.

I t was therefore decided to test theconcept with a pilot program. Testsites were to be where the militaryalready had the proper aviationcapabilities; the local governmentsand populace were willing to cooperate; rural areas were near

MAST Operating Data15 Jul 70-31 Dec 70

Site Months ofExperienceFORT SAM HOU STON TX 5 2FORT CARSON CO 5FORT LEWIS WA 5LUKE AFB AZ 4MOUNTAIN HOME AFB ID 4TOTAL ..... . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . the use of military helicopters and servicemedical personnel to assist during civilian medi-cal emergencies.. . paramedical personnel putting their medicalknow how into practice. . . a suggestion by the Secretary of Defense inAugust 1969 that an Interagency Planning Groupbe established to consider a proposal to use mili-tary resources to respond to highway accidents.

adequate medical facilities; andwhere there were enough variousclimates and terrain conditionsneeded for the test.Various potential sites werevisited. At each the MAST conceptwas presented to local medical,public safety and political leaders.As a result three Army posts andtwo Air Force bases were selected.Operations were started at Ft. SamHouston (San Antonio), TX, bythe 507th Medical Company AA)in July 1970 and a month later atFt. Carson, CO, by the 4th Infantry Division. [Today MASTmissions are flown at Ft. Carsonby the 78th (redesignated the571 st) Medical Detachment and atFt. Lewis, WA, by the 54thMedical Detachment (Helicopter

igure 1

Ambulance).J These units use UHIH helicopters. Operations gotunderway in September 1970 atMountain Home Air Force Base,ID , and Luke Air Force Base, AZ,by the 42d Air Rescue and Recovery Squadron with HH-43 helicopters.

t the test sites programs weredeveloped by the civilian community working with the military.Helicopters were to augment localemergency medical services, notreplace any elements of them.MAST operations also were not tobe used in areas where groundambulances would be more responsive. Requests for helicopterswere to be made by medical orpublic safety officials on the basisthat a patient s condition was seri-

Patients EvacuatedNumber Hours Highway Other Med 1 Number2 NumberMissions Flown Casualties Emergencies Total Critical Non-Crit ical

114 141.4 86 52 138 82 5625 87 5 30 45 22 2334 4 4 30 44 9 25

5 13.2 3 5 8 5 34 7.5 0 4 4 3 1182 290.1 118 3 249 3 118

I- Includes heart attacks gunshot wounds accidental injuries illness premature infants burns etc.Patients admitted to hospitals in critical or serious condition as recorded in admission reportsNOVEMBER 1973


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igureMAST Missions ReportPeriod 26 Feb 73-4 Mar 73) Totals to 7 Oct 73

Site Missions Patients Hours Missions Patients HoursFORT CARSON, CO 4.0 477 597 1688.16 Aug 70)FORT LEWIS, WA 9 9 18.6 728 766 1282.86 Aug 70)FORT SAM HOUSTON, TX 3 3 4.6 995 1118 1494.215 Jul 70)LUKE AFB, AZ 0 0 0.0 82 113 178.41 Sep 70)MOUNTAIN HOME AFB, ID 0 0 0.0 47 52 97.21 Sep 70)TOTALS 13 13 27.2 2329 2646 4740.7

All missions were patient transportation Luke AFB, AZ, deactivated 31 March 1973dition, it might be necessary to givethese units special medical training and augment them with aircraftand personnel.

The study group concluded thatthe concept is operationally feasible and aeromedical evacuationprocedures developed for combatcan be used in civilian emergencies.I t also concluded that to be effective the air unit must be able tomaintain a full-time capability andthat the local civilian emergencymedical system must be highly developed and well-organized.When the MAST pilot programwas nearing completion civiliansliving in the test areas showed howsuccessful they thought the program had been. At all sites theymade strong appeals for continuation of the program. Their wisheswere granted and MAST is operating in these areas today. By 7October 1973 the five sites hadflown 2,329 missions, assisted 2,-646 persons and logged 4,740.7flying hours (figure 3).President Richard M. Nixonpointed out in 1971 that there wasan appalling and needless loss oflife in the United States due togrossly inadequate emergencymedical care systems. In his message to Congress in February 1971the President said, For someAmericans-especially those wholive in remote rural areas [medical]care is simply not available. . . .I'm calling today not only for newprograms and not merely for moreNOVEMBER 1973

money, but for something morefor a new approach which is equalto the complexity of our challenges.The President was referring, inpart, to statistics showing that 70percent of motor vehicle accidentsoccur in rural areas in communities of less than 2,500 people. Thestatistics also reveal that peopleinvolved in rural accidents stand agreater chance of dying at thescene of the accident or dyingsooner after injury-and of lesser

injuries-than those hurt in urbanareas. This is simply becausevictims in rural areas can't getemergency care as fast.By 1968 accidental injury in theUnited States became the leadingcause of death in the first half ofthe lifespan of Americans. In 1965about 52 million accidental injuries resulted in 107,000 deaths;400,000 permanently disabled; andmore than 10 million temporarilydisabled. Of the deaths 49,000were by motor vehicle accidents,still the leading cause of death inthe I-to-37-year age group and thefourth leading cause among all agegroups less than 75 years. By 1968the number of motor vehicle accident deaths had reached 55,000.In most accident situations thegreatest danger to an injured individual is shock and/or loss ofblood. The delay between the timeof injury and when an individualreceives first aid or specific medicaltreatment often determines whether

or not the person survives. Thus,there is a need for responsive andfast-moving ambulance and rescueservice capable of delivering im-mediate aid and supportive careduring trans port. This can often befurnished by ground ambulanceservice but at other times the already tested and proven MASTsystem is the answer.When the Secretary of Defense,in a memorandum dated 3 May1972, approved the continuation ofMAST operations at the fiveexisting sites, he authorized pl n-ning activities in 8 additionalgeographic areas, pending Congressional approval. Implementation ofthe new operational sites musttherefore wait until appropriatelegislation is enacted by Congress.A bill authorizing the Departmentof Defense to provide civilianmedical emergency transportationwas introduced in the House ofRepresentatives on 4 Jbuary1973. A similar bill was introducedin the Senate on 15 January 1973.As a consequence of the Secretary of Defense's memorandum,plans have gone ahead for establishing MAST operations at 18additional locations. The MASTInteragency Coordinating Committee, comprised of representatives of the Departments of Defense; Transportation; and Health,Education, and Welfare, have beenvisiting those communities thathave requested MAST assistance. . . outlining specific procedures

13


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and defining criteria for implementing operations. Areas interested inMAST are appointing civilian coordinators, coordinating committees and fund-raising committees,usually from among individualsrepresenting local emergency medical services EMS).As at the test sites, the newMAST systems will supplement thepresent emergency medical services with military air ambulances,crewmembers, medical equipmentand supplies. Their presence willneither be a substitute for, nor deter community investment in,emergency medical service. Helicopters will be used in seriouscases where ground ambulancesare not practical, roads are bad,traffic heavy, distances long andwhen the patient needs specialtransportation. For MAST purposes a serious emergency is defined as a situation where an individual s condition requires thathe be air-evacuatedto a medical centeras soon as possibleto prevent his deathor the aggravationof his illness orinjury.

MAST units mayrespond to seriousgunshot wounds,heart attacks, farm

gest problems it encounters whilebeing established around the country. Systems available on Armyhelicopters cannot provide commonlinks with civilian authorities,police or medical facilities involved with MAST.Except at Luke AFB, none ofthe pilot MAST communities , attempted to set up a comprehensivecommunications network (figure4). Air ambulances were usuallyrestricted to talking with their ownbase and the police vehicle at thescene of the accident. Communications between the police and thehelicopters were made possible byinstalling police or civil defenseradios in the aircraft that did notrequire modification of the aircraft.Funding for the communicationsnetwork is the responsibility of thecivilian communities. Some areasplan on using funds from their statehighway safety programs for thispurpose.

Figure 4Communications NetworkLu ke Air Force ase

Helicopter-I~ - . . . . . .ambulance I

IIIII

Ideally, the communications nework would have a simple meanto call for emergency assistance. Imost cases the requester would ba law enforcement officer, someone connected with the emergencmedical service or a civilian authority.A call for help normally is senthrough a hospital, a highwapatrolman, county sheriff or civdefense director. All requests foMAST flights are funneled througa central regulating agency CRAwhich is usually a hospital. Themay be only one or several scatered throughout the area, according to the need.

The requester furnishes thCRA with as much information apossible to help the helicoptemake the pickup. This includes thlocation of the pickup, weatheobstacles to landing, pickup aremarkings, number of patients, typof injuries, special equipmeneeded and whethea hoist is needed.he is a policemaor some other offcial with a radio, hgives his frequencand call sign.

When the CRAdetermines thatrequest is valid, th

ase Highwayaccidents and similar emergencieswhen the situationwarrants it. Theywill transfer patients among hospitals and also areavailable to pick upand deliver blood,medicine and human organs fortransplant operations.

command patrol

request is transmited to the MASunit. The CRA alsdesignates and subsequently notifiethe receiving hosptal of the pendinarrival of the patient and providethe known information concerning thpatient s conditionThe official initiaing the requestresponsible for coordinating with po

Communicationsare the heart ofMAST and couldbe one of the big-14

post1Bell boy

crew alert

-- RadioTelephoneBell boy Hospitalsand doctors

car

IHighwaypatrol

dispatchtOther law

enforcementagencies

lice, the sheriff ou S ARMY AVIATION DIGES


17/52

M ST crew unloads pre-mature baby at the SantaRosa Medical Center

other officials in the area of thepickup. These officials assume theresponsibility of directing the helicopter to a safe landing. They givethe pilot their estimate of the winddirection and speed, any hazardsto flight, a description and size ofthe landing area, markings used toidentify the landing area and thetype of lighting for night operations.The test MAST program showedthat the UH IH can operate withina radius of 100 nautical miles without refueling and is an excellenthelicopter for the project. The minimum crew required for an irambulance mission can be just apilot and medical attendant, butthe UH IHs will probably carrythe normal crew of an aircraft commander, pilot, medical attendantand crewchief.The aircraft commander is responsible for the helicopter andensures that he can accept the mission. He makes sure he has theinformation needed for the flight.When possible, he maintains communications with the CRA, personnel at the pickup site and hisdestination. He is responsible forleading patients and their care enroute to the hospital. He is thefinal authority as to whether or notthe mission can be flown becauseof weather restrictions.The medical airman coordinatesthe loading and unloading of patients, passengers and equipment.He furnishes care and treatmentfor all patients onboard the aircraft and keeps the aircraft commander advised of their conditions.He ensures that all medical supplies are onboard the aircraft andin usable condition, helps the crewchief install the hoist when required, and also helps the crewchief perform a daily inspectionand clean the helicopter.NOVEMBER 1973

The medical equipment on boardthe helicopter consists of blankets,oxygen, pressure bandages, ir-ways, I V. fluids, tourniquets, wiresplints, pneumatic splints, resuscitator and assorted bandages. Special equipment required for individual patients is furnished by thecivilian hospital and is picked upwhen the helicopter is enroute tothe pickup site.Experience proves that to be effective MAST must be available24 hours daily. Also, it has beenestablished that missions occurabout one mission per day permillion population. The number ofhelicopters required to be on callvaries according to the number ofmissions expected. Usually onlytwo completely operational helicopters are needed in each MASTarea. A third backup helicopteris desirable in case mechanicaldifficulties develop in a helicopteron call. The primary duty helicopter is preflighted, completelyrunup and mission ready with atleast 1,000 pounds of fuel at alltimes.

Each MAST helicopter has twofour-man crews on duty for every24 hours. One crew is on immediate call; the other is on standby,but assists the primary in the eventof mass casualty situations or responds to missions when the primary crew is committed. Every 6hours the crews alternate.When the call for a MAST mission comes through on the hotline or radio, whichever the casemay be, the primary crew scrambles to the helicopter and prepares to depart. While the copilotreadies and starts the aircraft, theaircraft commander receives in-formation concerning the mission.When sufficient information is obtained, he departs enroute to thepickup site. When they bring theirpatient into the hospital helipadthe members of the crew experience the wonderful feeling associated with helping your fellow man. . . and they know thatMAST is a way the Army is helping to do something to help reducethe mounting highway accidentdeath toll.

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orincreaI

WHISKEY Tower, this isStatler leader, airborne withtwo chicks, for mission run atYellow Base 4."With this rather routine radiochatter, three AR-lG HueyCobrahelicopters lifted off from the readypad of a forward base somewherein the Republic of VietnamRVN). The mission was close airsupport for a South Vietnameseinfantry unit. Each aircraft wasarmed with XM-l59 rocket podsand a complement of 7.62 mmammunition.As the support flight progressedto the target area about 30 airmiles away Whiskey Base CombatInformation Center CIC) wasmonitoring the flight. A short time16

Robert A Matthews DAClater Cobra flight leader rogeredthat they were over the target areaand acknowledged radio contactwith Yellow Base 4 leader, whodirected where they wanted the air-borne support fireLater Statler leader acknowledged he was commencing the run.Whiskey base CIC next heard fromCobra flight leader, "WhiskeyTower--Statler 2, has been hit andis going in "

With that rather excited andoften heard radio chatter an AR1G with its crew was lost. The illfated Cobra had slammed into thground, killing both crewmemberinstantly. Although this example ifictitious, the chronology of eventending in the loss of an AH-lG andits crew was all too familiar inRVN and elsewhere and can bereduced in the future.From 1967 through 1970 abou

Mr. Matthews is a project engineer atthe U. S. Army Aviation Systems Com-mand on the development of the aerialrecovery kit and inflight escape systemfor the Army s attack hel icopter

u S ARMY AVIATION DIGEST


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200 crewmen (AH 1G were lostin combat, training missions or dueto maintenance problems. Duringearly 1970 the Naval WeaponsLaboratory at Dahlgren, VA, began feasibility testing of an off-theshelf escape system, that is currently installed on the A-1 andT -28 aircraft. Early feasibility testsby the U. S. Navy demonstratedthat incorporation of a similar system, coupled with development ofappropriate linear shaped charges(LSC) to blow the rotor bladesand open the canopy, offered apos:1ble system that might work onthe : 1G/J.

The Department of the Army became interested in the results ofthese early Navy tests in late 1971.NOVEMBER 1973

Through a series of working meetings personnel from the NavalWeapons Command, the Naval AirSystem Command and the U. S.Army Aviation Systems Commanddeveloped data necessary for perfection of the criteria for an escapesystem for the AH 1 helicopter.This working group was later expanded to include personnel fromthe Army's Test and EvaluationCommand, Combat DevelopmentsCommand, Life Support andNatick Labs, each of which cooperated to hammer out an Armydraft materiel need document. Thisdocument was subsequently converted into the required o p e r ~tional capability format and wassubmitted by the then Combat Developments Command AviationAgency at Ft. Rucker, AL, toHeadquarters, Combat Developments Command, Ft. Belvoir, VA,for staffing and eventual approvalby the Department of the Army.

The Army's funding for thisjoint Army/Navy program was approved with overall developmentexpected to be completed in 27months. Critical evaluation of current off-the-shelf components of arocket extraction system indicatesthat their size and weight need tobe reduced to allow integration intothe current AH-1G/J cockpit.Further emphasis on such a systemis noted with the eventual fieldingof the Army's AH-1Q TOW Cobraand its mission profile of nap-ofthe-earth maneuvering prior totarget acquisition.Major emphasis of the joint

Army/Navy development projectwill concentrate on perfection of ahigh energy, lightweight tractorrocket, mUltiple sequencing devicefor blowing main rotor blades, engine shutdown and canopy removalprior to egress of pilot and gunner.A major problem in this area isdetermining a minimal safe ejection envelope for 100 percent successful extraction.

One of the many problems associated with the escape envelopeis the reaction of the AH-1 helicopter body once the rotor bladeshave been severed. Early computerrun-out by the Bell HelicopterCompany indicates a tendency forthe Cobra to yaw over and pitchup.

During the Navy's early feasibility tests, investigation of othermeans of safely extracting Cobracrewmembers ruled out methodssuch as using LSC to blow the floorarea out and ejecting crewmendownward, or removing the side ofthe aircraft by LSC and extractingcrewmembers out the side becauseof the need for a larger LSCchange and the weight constraintsfor such a system. Other problemsassociated with the joint development program concern the trajectory of the severed rotor blades asa possible threat to other escortingAH-1 aircraft in the area. Thisproblem has been investigated bythe Navy and will be part of thejoint development effort. Sequential severance of the mainrotor blades (which has beendemonstrated earlier by the Navyin consort with Sikorsky Aircraft)will be considered as a means ofreducing the hazard of the severedrotor blades to other escort aircraft.

Early development of a workable escape system will be donejointly by Navy and Army agencies.Design and development of theLSC will be handled by the NavalWeapons Labs, Dahlgren, VA, andFrankford Arsenal, Philadelphia,PA. Modification of a current harness and parachute system will beconducted by the Army's NatickLabs and the Naval Air RecoveryFacility at El Centro, CA. Overallengineering responsibility will behandled by the Naval Air Development Center, Warminister, PA, andthe U. S. Army Aviation SystemsCommand, St. Louis, MO.

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Ground-bound troops (below left) of the 25thInfantry Division participate in an assault on amount ain village during the Korean War. In orderto get from their position to the area of confl ictthey had to move over the rough terrain onfoot. Today, the helicopter has greatly increasedthe soldiers mobility as pictured by PrivateDon Dorman when the 2d Infantry Divisionconducted airmobile maneuvers recently

8 u S RMY AVIATION DIGEST


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irmobility In

KoreaLieutenant harles E McNamara

2d Infantry DivisionPublic Information Office

I N BLAZING 8-minute display of helicopterformation flying at low levels, Cobra stealth andChinook power, 2d Infantry Division units showedtheir airmobile prowess recently near Camp Casey,Korea.The airmobile exercise reflected how Americanforces are concentrating on airmobile tactics suitedto fighting on the tops of Korea's mountains. t waswitnessed by General Richard G. Stillwell, new 8thArmy Commander, and Lieutenant General RichardT. Knowles, the deputy commander.After the AH-1G HueyCobra preparation, and anescort by 3 of the big-toothed Snakes, three riflecompanies from the 1st Battalion, 31st Infantry, andfive 105 mm howitzers from B Battery, 2d Battalion,17th Artillery, were inserted on a hilltop by 24 UH-1Huey troop transport helicopters and six CH-47Chinook cargo helicopters.A total of 46 aircraft, including two observationships, were used in the exercise. This is believed tobe one of the largest airmobile exercises ever conducted in Korea, according to aviation officials.

In the exercises, the entourage of helicopters begansneaking along the Imjin River at such a low levelthat they were unseen until they turned toward theirobjective and started up the narrow valleys. The entire simulated attack, termed a tactical surprise,took only 8 minutes to complete. Under conditionsthat existed during the Korean War, it would havetaken hours and sometimes even days for the samegroup of soldiers to make a similar assault. In addition, they would have arrived tired and without thefire cover and element of surprise offered by thehelicopters.Helicopter support was provided by A Company,2d Aviation Battalion; D Troop, 4th Squadron, 7thCavalry; 52d Aviation Battalion; and the 213thAviation Company. . . , . .

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MOST PROFESSIONAL aviators wil l promptlyadmit the Incompatibility between drinkingand flying. In spite of the whimsical attitudeexpressed by the "no drinking within 50 feetof the aircraft" refrain, they wouldn't seriously consider flying off Into the Green Machine'swild blue In the Intimate company of ole"Ethyl."With our Increasing knowledge of thehuman body's metabolism of ethyl alcohol, tbecomes more and more apparent that theeffects of alcohol prevail long after the lastdrink. This may be of l i tt le concem to thesocial drinker headed to a desk Job the mornIng after. Flying, however, demands the coordination of many finely balanced bodysystems to produce Integrated and precisecontrol movements under the influence of amature and unclouded cerebral cortex. Asthe accompanying article reveals, this maynot be possible the morning after, whensignificant amounts of alcohol are stil i circulating in the blood stream. In addition, themetabolic and fluid imbalances that arecommonly reflected in that "hungover" feeling reflect the compromise that one's bodymust make with alcoholic beverages.Certainly, then, the professional aviatorneeds to think twice about his liquid sociability In proximity to flying missions. ArmyRegulation 40-8, entit led "Temporary Restrictions Due To Exogenous Factors," says:"Individuals receiving the fol lowing willbe restricted from flying duties as Indicated:Alcohol-12 hours after the last drink consumed and unti l no residual effects remain."Take that as your bottle to throttle t ime asa minimum. Give your ole Fright Scourgeoncredit for knowing a l i tt le bit about what'sgoing on under your skin. Believe t he'snot a prohibitionist at heart

NICHOLAS E BARRECA, M DLTC,MC,SFSDep Dir, OAET

Provided by the Society of u S rmy light Surgeontl


23/52

Reprinted from IRSCOOPt

o

o

o

Look t Drinking nd Pilot PerformanceLieutenant Colonel Alfred B. Watson Jr.

OVER THE PAST yearUSAFE has been active inthe identification and treatment ofalcohol abuse, and in educatingitself in the ill effects of intemperate use of alcohol. For the alcoholic, this has been a turn-aroundin our attitudes and managementtoward him. No longer are wesaying, "Old Charley's a good guywhen he's sober, but he's drunk allthe time,"-and carrying him; andconversely, no longer are we saying, "He's a drunk, drum him outwithout pity "-and firing him; weare encouraging Charley and hissupervisor to admit the problemand work on its solution. Andwe're making progress; as evidenced by the rehabilitation ofsome fine people who had fallenfar into the bottle.NOVEMBER 1973

Chief Aerospace Medicine DivisionHQ USAFEIn our efforts to get these peopleto treatment we've also been working on another health and safetydilemma-the "Who, me?" groupwhose drinking patterns are "notout of control." In our USAFEplanning sessions we've discussedthis under the heading of deglamorizing drinking. Contrary toa widely held view, this is not

addressed at any moral stance infavor of teetotalism-even thoughit is clear that no man will drink abottle if he doesn't take the firstdrink.On the contrary, there are somehardnosed reasons for the "Who,me?" crowd to know about andcontrol their drinking patterns. Evidence is available, for example,that 10-35 percent of the pilotskilled in private aviation accidents

in the United States had measurable quantities of ethyl alcohol intheir blood at the time of death.Alcohol is an element in more thanone-fifth of all private motorvehicle accidents in USAFE. Insurance companies, wise to thisnumbers game, will write moneysaving policies on the guy whodoesn't drink.

A recent FAA-sponsored studyis pertinent to the subject, encouraging the paraphrase of an oldsaw, to wit: "There are drinkingpilots and thinking pilots, but thereare no thinking, drinking pilots "The study took two series of pilots-experienced (average 9,500 fly-ing hours, 1.125 in


24/52

instrument missions. The Cessnawas considered by the test designers as perhaps the simplest, mostforgiving airplane in the generalaviation fleet --certainly tamerthan the USAFE fleet. The pilots'task was to fly ILS [instrumentlanding system] approaches, twoto instrument mlfllmums andmissed approach procedures, andtwo to landings. They did it soberand then drunk-after enoughvodka and orange juice to produceblood alcohol levels of .04, .08 and.12 percent. Both sets did wellsober. As their blood alcohol rose,their error rate did, too. At .12percent safety pilots had to takecontrol of the airplane more thanhalf the time (16 times in 30flights). The percentage frequencyof major and catastrophic errorsis shown in the accompanyingfigures.These figures are even more impressive when you know that experienced pilots could keep theairplane on the glide path, even athigh alcohol levels-that is theirprimary task was still going reasonably well (and hence their senseof well being) while their attentionwas narrowing and their channelcapacity for secondary tasks wasbeing overloaded. So the Who,

:f atastrophic errors8 Major errors6

42 -0

0 4

22

me? guy can slide down the pipewithout realizing he's doing it.Well, now, come on, Doc, nobody feeds me screwdrivers on theway to the flight line. Is tha t whatyou said? That's not the way itworks out. Let's do a little modemmath. Suppose you drink sometimes before flight. How high yourblood alcohol goes is a varyingfunction of how much alcohol youdrink and how much you weigh.You can bug the figures a little bywhat you mix it with, how fastyou quaff, and what you've eatenbefore-but only a little. The alcohol-whether it's beer, wine, ginor 'shine-has to go through yourblood stream, and is discarded at apractically constant rate (yourfavorite cures notwithstanding). Tofigure out how high your bloodalcohol will go, calculate from thiseasy checklist formula:Highest blood alcohol =60 X alcohol in drink X ozs. drunk

Your weight X 1000Rate of disappearance is .01 percent per hour. So say you're a trim160 pounds, every inch a fighterpilot. At midnight you top off yourtank with your fourth gin and tonicpreparatory to a night of fighterpilots doing it better and an eight

8

Twelve hoursbetween thebottle andthe throttle

o'clock local training flight. Highest blood alcohol60 X (4 -11h ounce drinks o70 proof or 35 g in -60 X 35 X 6 118160 X 1000 = 1600 = .074%Well, maybe you better walk homefor starters, Mr. Fighter Pilot. Andthen, you must, in this case, wait aminimum of 71h hours beforeyou're thinking again, especiallyabout the secondary tasks. WellI only drink beer. O.K., wise guytry the math on beer.Same results.

The point should be clear bynow. I f you are drinking, whetheryou know it or not, you have aperformance decrement. t couldbe enough to generate a catastrophic error, and you might notrealize it in a secondary task. Nextime you're tempted, ask it again- Who, me?

Phase Il i

ExperiencedpilotsInexperienced0 pilots

12

u S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST


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Publications AnyoneTech pubs are getting ne W' look

Darrell J. Godier DACTechnical Writer Maintenance DirectorateTechnical Publications Division AVSCOMA RMY AVIATION'S systems (hardware) havebecome more complex but more versatile, morecostly but more efficient. Experience in the Republicof Vietnam bears this out.We have in Army aviation an advancing technology. But what about its software-specifically, thepublications? They are needed to operatr, to maintain, to inspect, to overhaul. Have they advanced onthe same scale as the hardware? You betWe've gone from -35 manuals, to -34s, for maintenance and from combined airframe/engine manuals

to separate coverage. In cases where the models in aparticular series were becoming difficult to managecollectively in one series of manuals, they werebroken out and given separate t0verage:; .I've been told on numerous occasions that we in .the U. S. Army Aviation Systems Command's Technical Publications Division have done an o u t s t ~ d ~ gjob. The fact that it was my wife Jacquelyn \.ho toldme doesn't mar the fact that we have tried to keep

up. We are constantly seeking through contactswith the field and industry to improve the .way wegive information to our users. Where are we todayand where are we going? " '

ment. I might also meqtion that we're taking a hardlook at the "critical inspection m criteria versusthe mandatory safety of fligHt" criteria for the purpose of coming up with 1 0 ~ c a l m ~ t h o d stressing theimportance of looking at a . specific area, item orcomponent. ~ g h t ~ feel like "critical inspection" items have gotten h a n d .f the above improvements aren't .-enough, we havemore. MIL-M-63026 (TM) whick o v e r n s the preparation of maintenance manuals is being revised.

bapters between -20s and -'34s ,are being standardized as much as pOSSIble. Pm of this revision alsoinvolves the intrOduction of material at the beginningof a complex task whicn will tell the mechanics notonly what special tools they need but also what condition the a i r c r a f t must be in (Le., power on/off;serial nwitber effectivity; consumable materials) andhow m a n ~ men. l l ~ be needed to do the job, e tc . -in ~ b 9 r t ll the info or tools a guy needs to do thejot> hefore he star ts the job. We're also looking at thetroubleshopting charts. Nothing firm yet but an improvement s e e m ~ to be called for.And then there is the engine -24 manuals. Whatgoes in the engine manual and wh::tt goes in the airframe manual? Good question You just can't seem

to tell by comparing different manuals. So we're.revising MIL-M-63028 which governs their prepara) ion'. A :new ' criteria is being developed which willonce and for aU (we.,hope) resolve this.

First, consider maintenance test flights. Throughthe recent adoption of a suggestioQ, f i e l ~ .'expect to see individual maintenance test flightmanuals for each Army aircraft. They wIll be numbered TM 55-XXXX-XXX-MTF and have a beautifully written introduction (mine ) giving all,the necessary informatic;>B to use the manual. These manualswill result in t at maintenance test flight data wHich' ; Last but not leaSt {for now that is), there are the, lOs ~ a -Cl: s. W ~ h a v e MIL-M-63026(TM) which

is presently in the aircraft -20s to be deleted. Forthose who attended the maintenance test pilots c o ~ r s eat Ft. Eustis, VA, nave no fear-they were ill on it.You can expect to start seeing these manuals in thefield in the very near future if you already haven't.

How about combined preventive maintenancemanuals for Army aircraft? At p e ent we havedaily, intermediate and periodic inspection manualfor each aircraft. This combination was accompI1sheoby placing three columns next to the inspection itemand marking them D (daily), I (intermediate) andP (periodic). By placing X's in the appropriatecolumn, you indicate what parts of an inspection mustbe completed to accomplish the applicable require-NOVEMBER 1973

also covers -lOs and MIL-M-63029 for the checklists.MIL-M-63029 is being revise t only for thechecklists but also to include tH l tail requirementsfor -10 manuals. Logical, s it? I'm especiallyproud of this one. Checklis st ps will be numbered.Performance charts a1< etug redone to reduce theirtolume , simplify t elli use and just plain make themeffective. . 8p ten jn the -1 s also are being re-eHue coo aDd n some cases combined to give as ~ d place to find , for example, systems descriptions, performance charts, armament, etc. Don't sweatthis one either because the U. S. Army AviationSchool at Ft. Rucker, AL, is on it plus the flight testpeople from the Aviation Systems Test Activity atEdwards AFB, CA.

And that's what's new in publications23


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THS C O U R G EO F V I T IO N

Specialist 6 Stephen E Issak

during his first year he can make amistake that would send chills up anddown the spine of his operations officer

W ITHIN TH PULSING confines of every Army aviationflight operations lurks the Scourge.Who is this menace to aviators andcrewmembers? He is neither thedevilish lad who squeals with joyupon discovering an error on acarefully completed DD Form 175nor that smug little rascal who fillspage after page of flight scheduleswith tedious, ten-stop, 5-minuteground time each mission (andwho just as smugly informs battalion when the OH-58As are allgrounded for a one-time technicalinspection-thereby canceling innumerable missions) . No, .ourScourge is meek, mild tempered,rarely heard or seen, but by faroutdoes the clerks at the local24

finance center. Specifically, he isthe flight records clerk. How do Iknow, you ask? I know, 'cause Iare oneRecently, on a beautiful zerozero day (no dash 12s ya know)I spent some time flipping through7 years' worth of AVIATIONDIGESTs. t occurred to me thatwith all the stories of aviatorsabout other aviators, gunners,crewchiefs, et aI. that no one hasever had much to say about thelocal custodian of the individualflight records file. Perhaps thisdistinct void has been a result ofunprintable thoughts. Obviously,everyone in aviation has had atleast one memorable run-in withthe Scourge. But, alas, our for-


27/52

-rrJ

i


28/52

gotten, unsung hero is certainlydeserving of some mention; therefore, I have taken it upon myselfto fire the first shot both for andagainst my brethren of the paperfactories.

The flight records clerk is acurious creature, but before I firemy first salvo let's examine hisbackground. Ideally, he is a schooltrained clerk-typist (maybe twoout of five are trained clerk-typist),skilled in administrative and clerical duties. Upon completion ofan extensive 4-week course indigital finesse, he is channeled intoflight operations. Here he receivessimply scads of training in suchfields as navigation, weather, IFRshorthand, flight plans (DD Form175), aircraft characteristics,weight and balance, flight dispatching, dead reckoning, flight planning, map reading and applicableregulations. Oh yes, flight recordfiles come in somewhere along theline. I f my memory serves me correctly, out of the 4 ~ - w e e k - I o n gcourse, almost a day and a half isreserved for and devoted to records. Upon graduation our skilledhero is assigned to the flightrecords section of a flight detachment where he gets a dose of onthe-job training (OJT) in "ourway of doing things" as the outgoing clerk tells him.

Now during this OJT periodScourge learns more about whataviators are not supposed to do(such as log copilot hood, nightand hood simultaneously, log instructor pilot hood and variousother unusual entries) rather thanhow he is to actually handle flightrecords. His training in recordsauditing and closing comes eithertraumatically, at fiscal year end, orin slow progressions as aviatorsreceive permanent change of station orders. One way or another,he learns the hard way, through hisown errors as well as by the errors26

of others. Thus, it is easy to understand why during his first year onthe job he can make a mistakethat would send chills running upand down the spine of his operations officer.Assuming that Scourge has livedthrough his embryonic year ofhard knocks, let us imagine a dayin the life of our flight recordsclerk. This day is not typical in

G-3 just called theyneed to know the number ofaviators assigned by typeinstrument qualifications,fixed and/or rotary wingedincountry time and shoesizethat it covers most of the "extremes" that could occur. But thisis purposely done here to make apoint. By 0600 hours Scourge isoff and running. By 0730 hours heis at his desk awaiting the arrivalof yesterday's DA Form 2408-12s(aircraft flight logs). Looking atthe schedule and dispatch sheetsfrom the previous day, he notesthat today should bring at least 15dash 12s. He has a report to callin to battalion, in code, pr or to0900 hours. At 0830, the cutofftime for incoming dash 12s, hecalls the sections to complain aboutthe distinct lack of input.

Utility: "Oh, yeah, we sentturtle down with them an hour ago.I'll see what happened to him." Observation: "They're on theway, Scourge." Fixed wing (command airplane platoon): "We didn't haveany flights 'cause the only one thatflew came back with gear trouble."

"Wait a minute, Prop," deductedScourge, "if he flew then he shouldhave a dash 12.""Well, I'll check it out." Surveillance: "They're still inthe bird.""I'll give ya the bird if you

don't get me those dash 1 ~ " fireback Scourge.By 0915, battalion has called fothe report twice. Scourge finallhas the information from the das12s. With that done, he starts ttransfer the time onto his temporary DA Form 759-ls CaptaiJet Ranger logged copilot hooagain; CW2 Artie Rotation loggepilot hood by himself in an OH58A; First Lieutenant Split DNeedles logged night from 155hours to 1700 hours (official sunset was at 1715 hours). Well, nomuch new here.

By 1030 posting of timefinished. Scourge gets his first cuof coffee as WO 1 Spreadskidcomes in to find out how muctotal time he has for the mont(today is the 5th). Captain Flaneeds a complete set of maps, 1in the series. Sergeant First QasM K Wrench wants to switcsome people on the TOE for flighpay, "Okay, I wanchatu takSmith, Carruthers, Trujillio anRamerez off crew and make 'emnoncrew. Then put HarrisBlanche, Melville and RotorheaMorgan from noncrew to crewGot it?"Scourge nods his head in thaffirmative as he contemplates thmountain of paperwork. "Nexdrop Knuckles off flight for gooand replace him with ThumbBaskins. Lewis ain't T.I.-ing anymore so drop him and put Schnooks in there instead. Bleeder iPCSing so replace him with Henderson and that should do it foawhile.""Right, Sarge, I'll get to it righaway.""When'lI my boys get theiorders-tomorrow?"I think it's gonna take about weeks, you know how battalion ion orders," Scourge replies.

"Yeah, I guess so, see ya laterScourge."U. S ARMY AVIATION DIGEST


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Lunchtime means an hour awayfrom the factory; Scourge dreamilylooks forward to his lunch andmailcall.In the messhall, billed as "TheBest Mess Around," Scourge issuddenly surrounded by five iratecrewchiefs. "Hey Turkey, howcome I didn't get my hostile firepay for last month?""Yeah, me too "With a big long sigh Scourgeproduces his standard answer,"Well, either you weren't hostileenough or didn't make your sixtrips. Probably more the latterrather than the former, but it is

close enough to make it a hardcall." That stumps them longenough for Scourge to duck out theside door.Stopping by the PX for a packof cigarettes, Scourge muses, I'msmoking more and enjoying it less."2LT (the transponder kid) 1M. Sea grabs Scourge, "Hey,Scourge, what are the chances ofgetting on the next overseas flight?""Gee, sir, all I do is type theorders, I don't pick the crew.""Yeah, yeah, don't give me thatYou picked the last crew.""No, sir, honest, you'll have totalk to the operations officer.""Thanks for nothing, Scourge."

t would be 3th more hours before Scourge would be able to retire to his hideout. "Say, Scourge,"yells Staff Sergeant Mike Fox, theoperations noncommissioned officer in charge, "G-3 just calledand they got a new report requirement. They need to know the number of aviators assigned, by typeinstrument qualifications, fixedand/or rotary winged, aircraftqualifications, specify AC, IP andin type, model and series, incountry time and shoe size.""Shoe size?" Scourge gasps."Not really, I just threw that inbut you might get the informationanyway, you never know whatthose guys will want next."NOVEMBER 1973

So Scourge gets busy screeninghis 50 records. Two-thirds of theway through Sergeant Mike comesin again, "Forget the input, G-3decided they don't need it."Now starting his third pack ofcigarettes for the day, Scourgeposts the minima board, that 5-footby 10-foot plexiglass monster thatno one has ever learned to readcorrectly.By now the day is all but over.As Scourge cleans off the top ofhis desk and covers his typewriter,CW2 Crash Cramer runs in."Scourge, grab your DA 2397series worksheets, we just had aprecautionary. Gotta get a crashfacts report off right away.""Sir, we've got most of tomorrow to do it.""Yeah, Scourge, by regulationwe do, but the CO thinks differently, let's go."So as the sun sets slowly in thewest, Scourge settles down to along evening of collating three different stories about what happenedto the OH-58A when the seat belt

was left unsecured and hangingout the door for the umteenthtime.I'm sure you agree that the dayoutlined above is an extreme case.But, try this one. In the space of3 days I worked on an incident toflight involving personal propertydamage, two precautionary landings and a ground accident, whileOJTing an assistant safety officer

as the regular safety officer departed for leave on the first day.Oh, I almost forgot, we also hadtwo vehicular accidents.Granted, flight records clerks

make ocboo boo's," but give them abreak. Take a day to observe notjust his routine work but the extrastuff like monitoring standardization, safety, personally handing outFLIPs to make sure everyone getsa full set, answering questionswhich .most people shouldn't evenhave to ask, digging up input forvarious and sundry report requirements from above, chasing afterdash 12s, interviewing individualsinvolved in aircraft incidents, wording correspondence like a poet,typing continuity files and eventyping officer efficiency reports. It'samazing that the records are in asgood a shape as they are. Showme a flight records clerk who"gives a damn" and I'll show you aconfident, self-satisfied, paranoidasset to Army aviation

Now that the Army is slowingup a bit, let's take advantage ofthe knqwledge gained over the past7 or 8 years and readjust our methods of instruction (MOl). Aviation is a highly complex and criticalfield No one can ever be overtrained. By expanding and realigning our formal training in all areasof aviation, we stand to win.

With a tad more emphasis onregulations, records administration, aviation safety (which is adefinite must , standardization andreports control, the Army couldreally produce some terrific flightrecords clerks.The Scourge can fool you; hemay carry forward the wrong totalsfrom time to time, but give him theright info, light a small fire underhim and you'll discover that . . .he too is Above the Best

Th author was a flight r cords cl rkwh n h pr par d this story His psonal xp rl nc s at the c los of thefiscal y ar provided much of th

27


30/52

JEWSROE DERS

ontinued from pageSir:

Inclosed is a photograph of the girlsin the 1973 Miss America, usa Show[see below]. The girls are in front oftheir 55th Aviation Company HelicopterEscort. They are from left to right:Miss California Dianne WagnerMiss Kansas Cindy SikesMiss Delaware Cathy Lawton

Miss Oregon Sandy HerringMiss America Terry MeeuwseenMiss Maryland Kathy NeffMiss Indiana Becky GrahamThey are assembled at helipad 201 ,Seoul, Korea, on 18 August 1972 justafter landing, completing another out-standing performance during their 13day tour of the Republic of Korea.The Miss America Show performedat nearly all the major military bases in

Korea. Their shows included singindancing and even a banjo instrumentThe 55th Aviation Company enjoythe mission of escorting the Miss Ameica Show throughout most of its tourKorea. Along with the commanding oficer, Major Charles E. Dexter, allthe officers and men of the 55th Avtion Company sayan extra specthank you to Miss America and all the girls for the visit and the oppotunity to serve you during your stayKorea.

Sir:

CW2 Thomas CaplesPIO Officer55th Aviation CompanyAPO San Francisco 9630My compliments to Mr. Ted KontoUSAAAVS , on his informative and wwritten article, Impor tant Byproduor The Commander, in the April

sue. It is one of the finest articles I haread in the DIGEST.I have made this article recommendreading for all our aviators n addtion the IOlst has adopted an SO

1973 Miss America Show In Korea see letter above


31/52

which requires our company commanders to carefully evaluate pilots involvedin an accident or incident, where piloterror . . . was suspected or definite, before returning him to full flying status .This evaluation is to determine if an IPor pilot should fly as a copilot for 60days or where indicated receive remedial training with an IP as required.

Sir:

CW3 Grover W. BrooksAviation Safety Officer101st Aviation BattalionFt. Campbell, KY 42223

Reference is made to William P .Christian and Gene Berta's June 1973article "Thermal Runway." The articleprovided an excellent and valid check-

list for aviators and crewmembers; however, we have experienced numerous NiCad battery failures despite the fact thatthe checks have been followed diligently.Still, batteries boil over, leak profuselyand corrode the avionics deck on ourOH-58As almost to the point of structural failure.Is there hope for the future? Certainly , no one can argue with the factthat an effective maintenance programis essential, but I feel the Army purchased a bad system and until animproved battery is developed and purchased, the high cost of OH-58A maintenance will increase despite the qualityof user maintenance.CW2 Nathan B. Van KeurenHHC, 3d Bde, 2d ADFt. Hood, TX 75646

Yes, there is hope. The U. S. ArmyAgency for Aviation Safety (USAAA VS) has received information fromthe U. S. Army Aviation Systems Command (AVSCOM) that the AircraftDivision of Hughes Tool Company iscurrently testing a new Ni-Cad batteryin an OH-6A helicopter. This batteryhas new inter-cells, more head spaceabove the cells, a different battery caseand a positive vent system. f this battery proves satisfactory we may have asolution to our Ni-Cad problems. So farno problems of overheating, electrolitespiUage, etc., have been reported duringtests. AVSCOM is also working with theNavy and Air Force to determine if acommon NiCad battery can be developed for use by all three services.

INSTRUMENT CORNER820. ' 9. VOR RWY 30 TAe AL-2 36 (FAA) LON G 8 E A C H ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ J : L I ~ ~ R ~ lQ. Recently on an IFR flight to Long Beach, CA r l - - : - O N - : : G - - : 8 - - : - E A ~ C H : A ' : P - = - P R O ~ A = - - : = C H = - CL : O : : ' N : . L - - - - ' : ' : : ~ : : . . . : . . : : = . - - - - - ~ : : : : : ' : : : : " : : : ~ ~ =(Daugherty Field), I was cleared for a VOR RWY I = ~ i :30 approach. When I t u r ~ e d to the approach ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ C : d T ~ ~ ~ R 3 0 119 .4 2 5 1.1chart In VOL 2 of Low Altitude Instrument Ap- ~ ~ \ ~ ~ Y S a n d R W Y I 2 1 2 0 5 2 5 6proach Procedures, I found that the approach 121.9(E) 257 .6chart read VOR RWY 30 (TAC). What does the Ans 110 .3(TAC) indicate? \.: , ~ [ f ~ ~ ~ ~ J

A. The DOD Flight Information Publication, IFRSupplement effective 16 August 1973 underthe Special Notices Section, page 444, states:A limited number of VOR instrument approachprocedures based on a VORTAC facility havebeen approved for use by TACAN equipped aircraft. These procedures are identified by theterm (TAC) printed adjacent to the name ofthe procedure, e.g., VOR RWY 30 (TAC). Thisadded information does not change the nameof the procedure. It merely tells both the pilotand controller that a VOR RWY 30' instrumentapproach may be executed by aircraft usingTACAN. Air traffic controllers will not refer tothe term TAC in their air traffic control communications (see figure at right).

. \ L. ~ ~ . l 3 _ _ ,\ ' 4 3 0 ~\

\ \~

' Sl\ 2 ' ~ ' ~( SAN PEDRO\\MISSED APPROACHClimbing leI turn to 2500

heoding 200 0 to iotefceptR145 lAX VORTAC toSan Pedro Int and hold.

7200 1416

Holding at Sli VQRTAC no a - izedfor TACAN only a ircraft .HEV 58 Rwy 7lldg 4887 'VQRTAC One minute

IHold ing Paltern Rwy 12 Idg 8651 'Rwy 16R Idg 4519 'Rwy 16L Idg 3842 'Rwy 34R Idg 367 5 'Rwy 34l Idg 43 94 'NOTI E 1200:- 14004 .3DME\ I }.1 \> 119 1 Rwy 25R Idg 5661'6 8 1:ts19l

The PI LOT TO FOR ECA S T E R CATEGORY DSERVICE (PFSV) has changed to 530 600 50 570 (60 0-1) 5 7 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ P I LOT TOM E T R 0 S E R V ICE CIRCLING 600-1 542 (60 0-1) 6 2 ~ ~ O ~ 5 6 ~ W O ~ - 2 )

I(PMSV) and IS belOng phased IOnto C cIlngnotaulha zedSWof endedcenlerllneofRwy. 7l and 30274 ' 4.3 NMHIRl Rwy 12-30 from SU VORTACMIRl Rwy. 7l .25R,noperotlve table doe. not apply to HIRl or SAlS Rwy 30~issues of FLIP manuals beginningwith the Augu st 1973 issues ~ = - - = - : ~ - - = - = - - . 1 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I, VORRWY30 (TAC ) 33' W N -ll S 009'W82 and 7R25l16 l-34R.and 16R-34L unl ightedLONG 8EACH (DAUGHERTY FiElD)

NOVEMBER 1973 29


32/52

le rned bout Flyingfrom hemhey were the ones that taught me that

I will never know all there is about flying

I WAS GOOD. I had just completed a tour in the Republicof Vietnam and had a thousandhours of flying time under my belt.No one could teach me anythingabout flying a helicopter Put apair of blades on it and I'll make itflyThat was back in June 1966.Since then my thousand hours offlight time has grown to 4200hours and I've learned that I'mnot as good as lance thought.But let's go back to that time in1966 when I signed into Ft. Wolters, TX, where the Army's Primary Helicopter School was located. I was fortunate enough tobe in one of the last militaryclasses to go through both civilianand military instructor pilot training. At that time military studentswere first taught by Southern Airways how to instruct the presoloand primary phase of flying in theOH-23. We were then transitionedinto the TH-55 by military instructors and turned loose to ourrespective flight commanders.Upon being assigned my firststudents, I suddenly realized something: I'm supposed to teach themhow to fly All of the devious littletricks I used to pull on myoIdinstructors flashed across my mind.Every attempt I had make at killingthat wizened old pilot was remembered. Each time, where he

30

ach try I had made at kill-ing that wizened ol pilotwas remembered

Captain enjamin F Vandervoort

had waited until the last momentto salvage us from disaster, wasrealized. Now, they can't expectme to do that with my students ?But they did.My first few classes were adisaster at least to my mind theywere. I must have done somethingright though; all of my studentspassed their check rides that wasback when they had check rides.But, oh, those first few classes. Icouldn't keep up with my students.

"Sir, why aren't you supposed tautorotate an OH-23 from abov10,000 feet?" Or, "How does thdegree of bank affect the relativgross weight of the aircraft?" GadBack to flight school.I started by devouring the das10 for the OH-23D. At the samtime I learned my planned lessona week in advance just in cas

U. S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST


33/52

I IIIII

\ I jJ

No, that s wrong. Let meshow you how it s done

j)

one of the sneaky ones was readingahead in the program. I got a copyof their ground class schedule. Ilearned quickly that when theywere having meteorology I wouldbe besieged by such questions as,"Could ~ explain the differencebetween an altostratus and an altocumulus cloud?" Or take navigation- Would you please show mehow to compute wind drift with theE-6B?"E-6B Now, what was an E-6B?Occasionally, I suspected I wasdoing their homework for them.Fortunately, I didn't get too manycalls from irate ground instructors.My control touch improvedconsiderably those first few classes.There is nothing quite s embar-NOVEMBER 1973

rassing as saying, No, that'swrong. Let me demonstrate howit's done." And then making thesame error. Control touch had toimprove. I didn't mind a few students inadvertently trying to killboth of us, but I felt I did not haveto help them.After a while I got better. Istarted getting a feel for the aircraft. I began to get a reasonableidea of both my own and the aircraft's capabilities and limitations.The ability to communicate withmy students became easier. I nowknew several different techniquesI could use to "get through" tothem. Things were really shapingup. Yes, sir, I could handle anything.We recovered at about 50 feetabove the ground with the rotorrpm at a setting so low I still don'tknow how the aircraft stayed in theair. I didn't think he would holdpitch in a simulated forced landinglike that I learned a lot from thatincident. I did from all of mystudents.The 2 years I spent s an instructor pilot at Ft. Wolters wereperhaps the most rewarding timeI have spent in my life. To take afledgling aviator and watch himprogress and learn to fly fascinatedme. I learned more about flying inthose 2 years than is imaginable.To the students who had me stheir instructor during the timefrom June 1966 to June 1968-thank you. You taught me a lotabout flying. I hope I did the samefor you. And the most importantthing you taught me is that I willnever know ll there is to knowabout flying.

To those pilots who do know allthere is to know about flyingcongratulations on your retirement.

e recovered at about 50feet the rotor rpm wasso low, I don't know howwe stayed in the air


34/52

THE M IN INGREDIENTcontinued from p ge

The pilot, his wife and the crew chief releasedtheir seat belts while submerged and then surfaced.They clung to the floating fuel cell until they werepicked up by fishermen in a boat. All three receivedmajor injuries and were taken to a hospital. Diverswere not able to recover the bodies of the OH-58crew chief and the pilot s son until the following day.Following are excerpts from statements taken during interviews after the accident:Safety fficerQ Were you aware that the pilot made low passesover the airfield?A. Yes, I was aware he did them on test flights.I talked to him and he said he did it to boost morale.Q. How was the pilot on normal missions?A. He was as safe as anyone else.Q. Did anyone else in the unit make low passesover the airfield?A. Yes, it was a practice for DEROS flights .Q. As a safety officer do you feel making highspeed low passes over the airfield constitutes operating an aircraft in a careless and reckless manner?A. I don t think it was right, but I don t think itwas careless and reckless.Q. Was your platoon leader aware that the pilotmade low passes over the airfield?A. I m almost sure he was .Q. Was the company commander aware of thelow passes over the airfield?A. One time he saw the pilot making a low passand I believe he talked with him about it.Q How long ago did the company commanderstop low passes over the field?A. About 3 weeks before the accident , when hesaw the pilot making a low pass.Q . What is the company s policy for obtainingweather for local flights?A. There is no policy. The pilot is not requiredto get weather.Q Is there a local policy which says a pilot willnot fly the day after he is duty officer?A. No, it is up to the pilot.

irfield CommanderQ With respect to his flying ability and flyingsense, how would you rate the pilot as an aviator?A. Perfectly capable. He can handle an aircraft.32

It s evident from the number of hours he has.Q. How did he handle the aircraft to yoknowledge?A. He d been told several times about the taprocedures on the ramp. I told him on one occasiowhen he was taxiing in the vicinity of other aircrafthat he was taxiing much too fast and carelesslyThere was one occasion that I had to reprimand hifor flying low level over the river on a test flight anhe said that it was just part of the test flight. I askehim why it had to be done low level. He said it wasnreally necessary. These were two occasions when had said something about his flying. I thought themight be a possible safety hazard.Q. About how long ago did these incidents occurA. About ~ to 4 months ago.Q. Was the pilot admonished by the compancommander for low-level flying over the airfield?A. The pilot had made a low-level pass over thoperations building on the airfield. The compancommander said that was no way

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Army Aviation Digest - Nov 1973

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