Army Aviation Digest - Sep 1967

8/12/2019 Army Aviation Digest - Sep 1967

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U NIT E ST T ES RM YVI TION


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UNITED

DIRECTOR OF ARMY AVIATION ACSFORDEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY

MG Robert R. Williams

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COMMANDANT U. S. ARMY AVIATION SCHOOLMG Delk M. Oden

ASST COMDT U. S. ARMY AVIATION SCHOOLCOL M. H. Parson

DIGEST EDITORIAL STAFFMAJ l. J. Herman Jr. Editor-In-ChiefRichard K. Tierney EditorWilliam H. SmithDiana G. WilliamsJohn P. Jones

GRAPHIC ART SUPPORTHarold G. linnHarry A. PickelDorothy l. CrowleyAngela. A. Akin

DIRECTOR U. S. ARMY BOARD FOR AVIATIONACCIDENT RESEARCHCOL Warren R. Williams

USABAAR EDUCATION AND LITERATURE DIVPierce l WigginWilliam E. CarterTed KontosCharles Mobius

RMY VI TION1GESJSEPTEM BER 1967 VOLUME 13 NUMLETTERSAEROMEDICAL EDUCATION TRAINING

COL Richard B. Austin, IIIDON'T PRESS THE PANIC BUTTON, CPT James P. GoldschA REWARDING PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, CW3 Max H. BenI LEARNED ABOUT FRONTS FROM THAT, CPT Eddie M. BeA GAME OF NOSTALGICS, MAJ Rip CordDEFENSE AGAINST AIRMOBILE OPERATIONS

MAJ Howard A. KendallWEAPONS EXHAUST STUDYAVIATION TESTING AT THE ARCTIC TEST CENTER

MAJ Nelson E. LuceAVIATION MEDICINE, CPT Thomas J . BourgeoisHEARING LOSS CPT Terry L. SchuetzOVERDUE CREDIT, MAJ Eugene A. BeyerSLEEP, LTC Charles R. OgleCRASH SENSE

AIRCRAFT ENVELOPE SENSE, MAJ Chester GoolrickCORROSION-ITS CAUSES AND CURES, William H. BarTHE FLIGHT SURGEONPEARL'S

The mission of the U. S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST is to provide information of an operatiofunctional nature concerning safety and aircraft accident prevention, training, maintenance, operresearch and development, aviation medicine. and other related data.The DIGEST is an official Department of the Army periodical published monthly under the supeof the Commandant, U. S. Army Aviation Schoo . Views expressed herein are not necessarily thDepartment of the Army or the U. S. Army Aviation School. Photos are U. S. Army unless othspecified. Material may be reprinted provided credit is given to the DIGEST and to the author,otherwise indicated.

Articles, photos, and items of interest on Army Aviation are invited. Direct communication s aized to: E iitor.in.Chie , U.S. Army Aviation Digest, Fort Rucker, Alabam.a.Use of funds for printing this publication has been approved by Headquarters, DepartmentArmy, 29 December 1964.Active Army units receive distribution under the pinpoint distribution system as outlined in AR 20 March 62 and DA Circular 31057 14 March 63. Complete DA Form 12-4 and send directly tAG Publications Center 2800 Eastern Boulevard Baltimore, Md. 21220. For any change in distrirequirements, merely initiate a revised DA Form 124 .National Guard and Army Reserve units submit requirements through their state adjutants generU. S. Army Corps commanders respectively.For those not eligible for official distribution or who desire personal copies of the DIGEST, paiscriptions, 54.50 domestic and 55.50 overseas, are available from the Superintendent of Documents,Governme n t Pr in ting Ofhce Washington, D. C . 20402.


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Sir:Not wanting to bring any discredit toas fine a fighting unit as the 173d Airborne Bdgade, I would like to point outthat the UH-ID pictured in June 67 issue of your magazine on page 62 is inreality an aircr.aft from my own unitthe 173d Assault Helicopter Company,11th Combat Aviation Battalion, 12thCombat Aviation Group , presently stationed at Lai Khe, R VN. The nicknameon her door, Sic 'em Puss, and theRobin Hood hat on her nose distinctly confirms the aircraft to me, and I'msure all the members of the RobinHoods of Sherwood Forest. Thankyou for showing her anyway. All themembers of the l73d Assault HelicopterCompany will be glad to see her.

SFC ELWOOD SERGENT1st U. S. Army Flight DetachmentFt George G. Meade, Md . 20755 Many thanks for your kind letter.The photograph in question was re-ceived with caption identifying the aircraft as being I73d Brigade. We regretthe error The EditorsSir:

The uncomfortable realization thatone may not be able to cope with anyone of the multitude of emergency situations that might arise while flying aparticular aircraft is the concern ofmany aviators today. Monthly safetymeetings, safety bulletins, and posterscan all be exposed to the aviator, explaining in detail recent accidents andthe pilot's course of action during theemergency, yet that still flyable aviator will come away with the same uneasy feeling that in a very demandingemergency situation he might not beable to perform such maneuvers as autorotations or landings with antitorquefailure with his cutrent proficiency ofemergency procedures. Why?Because if he is not currently in anorganization in which he, as an instructor pilot, is teaching basic emergencyprocedures, then the chances of his being able to take periodic proficiencyrides to maintain his proficiency is veryslim. With the current intensive training programs, massive buildups of aviation units stateside, and the tremendous schedu ling of missions in Vietnam,aviation units are not able to maintainprescribed periodic proficiency ride programs.SEPTEMBER 1967

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Without a chance to research thisarea of Army aviation, it may be saidthat most aviators y from four to sevenmonths without a dual ride with an instructor pilot to update his proficiency.t has been the experience of some thatto get a proficiency ride, they mustmaintain a constant vigil on the scheduling and operations officer for manyweeks, th en sometimes resort to pressureon higher authorities to secure suchtraining flights . This is especially true

in Vietnam where combat missions takeprecedence over training. f aviators areexpected to fly 1,000 hours in Vietnamin rotary wing aircraft, then they mustbe allowed more frequent training opportunities.f aviation safety is to increase, unitcommanders should not leave this formof unit training responsibilities up tothe individual aviators, but ensure avery definite training program incorporated into the daily, weekly, and monthly schedules.

CW2 CECIL O. GILLDept of Rotary Wing TrainingFt Rucker, Ala. 36360 USABAAR reviewed the above letterand made the following comments:Th e need fo r prOficiency training in acombat environment is well recognizedand so is the problem of conducting thistraining without detracting from theunit s primary mission. There is noregulatory solution to this problem;every unit has to establish a programthat can be adjusted to its operationalrequirements .The writer s impression that most aviators fly four to seven months without adual ride may be based too much onpersonal experience, although we mustadmit unfortunately that the complaintis not an isolated case. On the otherhand we .have the good examples ofunit commanders who run an imaginative prOficiency training program whichp r o v ~ e s the pilot, for instance, with auto-rotative practice every 90 days and aminimum of two hours hood tim e every30 days.We hope that the writer s letter willstimulate command awareness and initiative in this vitally important matter.Sir:Armed helicopter missions have ex-

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panded from the sole mISSlOn of escortof unarmed helicopters . Today armedhelicopters are one of the best direct firesupport weapons available to the groundcommander. To accept the mission ofdirect fire support, the armed helicopter commander mu st know as much as,or more than, the ground commanderabout the ground battle.This statement is a truism that un fortunately is not understood by manyof the people concerned, both aviatorsand ground commanders. Until thisstatement becomes a part of the qualification for armed helicopter commanders , aerial fire support for ground unitswill not approach the degree that thehelicopter weapons can provide.Any armament trained aviator canprovide fire at the point or area requested by the ground commander. Inaddition to firing weapons, the aviatormust know and understand enemy capabilities and limitations. Knowing thelimitations will allow the armed helicopter aviator to select the best attackto inflict the most damage with minimum exposure of the helicopter.The versatility of the helicopter can

and will allow the aviator a furtherchance to assist the ground unit. Theaviator is in a far better position to seeand observe the battle area. The groundcommander has immediate knowledge ofwhat he can see and hear; the aviatorca n see the whole battle area. He can,in many cases, determine enemy positions, strength, and disposition. He cansee the friendly forces, avenues of approach and obstacles. He can see whatcourses of action are available to theground forces and advise that commander on how he can best support an attack.The armed helicopter commandersees these things in the course of battleand he must know the ground unit'scapabilities so he can immediately reject inappropriate recommendations andoffer only those recommendations feasible to the ground unit.The armed helicopter commandercannot replace the ground commander.Armed h elicopter direct fire support isan augmentation to increase the groundcommander's capability to inflict damage on the enemy. The armed helicopter must be an integrated part of hisresources. All final decisions rest withthe ground commander. As a memberContinued on page 6

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DAET functions in an advisorycapacity to the commandant ofUSAA VN S on all aeromedicalproblems. Its mission involves theconduct, planning, supervisionand coordination of aeromedicaleducation and training within theArmy Aviation School.

This department is primarilyconcerned with the organizationand conduct of the Army FlightSurgeon Training Program. TheBasic Army Aviation Medical Officers Course is a five week courseoffered to Medical Corps officerswith no previous training in aviation medicine. At the conclusionof this course they become aviation medical officeFs and most ofthem are ordered to Vietnam tocare for aviation personnel as-signed to aviation uni ts in combat.

The Army Aviation MedicalOfficers Orientation Course isgiven to Medical Corps officerswho have recently completed either the Navy or Air Force Flig-htSurgeon s Course. This two weekcourse is specifically designed topoint out some of the medicalproblems among aviators in theArmy.

The Senior AMEDS OfficersAviation Orientation Course isgiven to nonaviation AMEDS of-ficers (MC, DC, ANC, and MSC)and is designed to acquaint seniorofficers who will assume commandpositions in units with large Armyaviation contingents with some ofthe peculiar medical problemswith which they will be faced.No new MOS is given ill thiscourse.

Of considerable interest to Armyaviators is the aeromedical consultation jinflight evaluation service operated by DAET Throughthis service an Army aviator withSEPTEMBER 1967

a medical suspension from flyingduties as a result of an accidentor combat incurred injuries maybe considered for return to flightstatus if his condition is stableand not considered a hazard toflight safety. The inflight evaluation portion of this service wasestablished at the USAAVNS byAR 600-108 on 31 May 1966. Requests for evaluation are initiatedby local flight surgeons throughmedical channels. f the requestis approved by OTSG and OPOthe aviator is ordered to the ArmyAviation Center for the aeromedical consultationjinflight evaluation. The results of this evaluation are then forwarded to TheSurgeon General s Office wi th therecommendation of a board offlight surgeons. To date approximately 40 medically incapacitatedaviators have been evaluated, andthe majority of them have beenreturned to flight status withvarying restrictions.

Future plans of the Department of Aeromedical Educationand Training include development of an aeromedical specialistcourse with a new MOS. Thiscourse is being planned for fiscalyear 1968. The course will be oriented toward acquainting enlistedpersonnel with some of the medical problems peculiar to aviators,and they will receive instructionin assisting the flight surgeon withthe flight physical. The coursewill also deal with administrativeprocedures involved in medicallyrestricting aviators and returningthem to flight status. These medical soldiers will also receive training in aeromedical evacuation.The prerequisites of this coursewill be advanced individual medical training and experience as amedical soldier.

The Department of eromedicalEducation and Training s primarilyconcerned with the organizationand conduct of the rmy FlightSurgeon Training Program

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mount. Hooked up now, and Ibegin to ascend slowly to get thestrap taut. Good grief, I'm attreetop level and it just now istightening up. Must be 60 to 70feet of sling strap. No groundcushion, and no wind. Well, heregoes.6400 6200 6000 beep,beep, beep Abort. Looks like aheavy one-and 1,000 pounds offuel doesn't help, either. Let's tryagain.6400 6200 6000 beep5800 beep, beep 5700

translational lift lower thenose just a bit airspeed comingup to 35 knots. Looks like wemade it.

Climbed out at 50 knots and6200 rpm. Upon reaching 1,500AGL (above ground level), weproceeded toward the beleagueredbattalion and their hunk of real

hot jungle. My radio call onF'M tells them we're coming, toget the WIA ready, that we'll takethem out after dropping theammo. The reply is to forget theWIA as the grunts. can't get tothem, to just bring in the ammo.I overhear a platoon leader tellthe battalion CO that two VCmachineguns to their front havethem pinned down. Nobody tellsme which way is front.

Hang on; here we go. GreatScott, look at that LZ: 100-foottall "snags," elephant grass andbullets. Sling is holding me back.Descending at about 700 fpm and60 knots instead of the usual 2,000fpm and 80 knots. Getting closer.Grunts re pinned down. Onehundred feet above the groundand I can't find a good hole. Let'slook right and WHAMl

t was a .30 cal round from anautomatic weapon, but my headfelt as though someone had hitme with a baseball bat above theear. It knocked my head sohard that my ear bounced off myshoulder. The aircraft had received numerous hits, and hadSEPTEMBER 1967

yawed since I most probablykicked out with my feet. However, it yawed not as far as itcould have because my copilotwas on the controls with me, as Ihad instructed him to be, beforestarting our descent.

Is it off?" I yelled to the crewchief while squeezing the slingrelease bu tton as often and ashard as I could. "Yes," was thehurried response.

The sling was dropped fromabout 50 feet above the ground,and I sure hope it didn't land onsomeone. My copilot and I pulledpitch and began to fly out overthe jungle. We had no hydraulics,s they had failed immediatelyupon receiving the hits; and theloudest screaming, grinding noisethat I've heard was coming fromthe engine area.I knew I was hi t in the head,but not how badly. The crewchiefyelled over my shoulder that thegunner was hit in the neck. Icould see four holes in my windscreen. I knew we were in bad

he imp ct bounced my head off my shoulder

shape. No servos, no radios, nointercom, and a loud grindingwhine in the engine area. I quickly recycled the hydraulic switch,bu t placed it in the off posi tion topreven t a surge, since there wasno indication of servo assist.

My biggest fear now was an engine failure. I made a left tumand headed for an open areaabout 1/ 2 mile from the fighting.Ve made a poor approach-somewhere between the school solutionand a combat dive, but we got itdown wi th zero groundspeed, nobouncing, and no damage to skids.

Upon landing, the grindingnoise stopped. I got full rpm outof the engine, and decided thatgetting myself and my gunner toa hospital quickly was worth thegamble of an engine failure withno servo assist. We pulled pitch,climbed out over a 75-foot barrier,and began the 8-minute flight tothe hospital at Tay Ninh.It wasn't until I gave the controls completely to the copilotthat I even realized I had taken a


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in a training si tuation. I dD nocondone the flagrant violation orules by performing unauthDrizedflight maneuvers, but I dD feethat Dne such violation anddemonstration in a servDs-Dff configuration contributed to the saving of lives and equipment.When the platoDn leader s FMradio failed, I was mDved intolead position, and that is nO timto press the panic button. I hadto make a decision as t0 go or nDgo when I first attempted t picup the sling load Df badly neededammunitiDn. I decided that thneed overweighed the risk.

The crewchief yelled th t the gunner w s hit in the neck

When my ship was hit, we losall intercDm capability, all FMand my copilDt cDuld neithetransmit nor -receive, while I waable to dD bDth on guard. VDiccommunicatiDn inside the shiwas accomplished by yelling aone anDther, and was difficult tsay the least.

round thrDugh the left arm abovethe elbow, and had another embedded in my left thigh.

With proper c0 ntrDl applications, we made a second zerogroundspeed touchdown, this timeat the hospital pad. We shut downand my gunner and I receivedimmediate first aid and wereplaced in line t pe med-evacedto SaigDn. The last thing I askedbefore going t Saigon was forsomeDne to ship my helmet homewi th my belongings. I t has a smallentrance hole in the shield abovethe left eye and a large Dne inback.I received wDrd later that theship had over 50 holes in it, andnobDdy knows what kept it in theair. I guess we were real lucky. Ishouldn't be grounded more than12 months r SD and the gunnerhas already returned to duty.We were lucky. That sling IDadwas about 500 pounds tO heavyfor the ship, and the sling itselfwas apprDximately 50 feet toolong. I t put us at a real disadvantage fr m a maneuverabilitystandpoint for a cDmbat DperatiDn.

The loss Df the servo assist could6

have prDved a bigger prDblemthan it was. I believe that my confidence in our ability to fly theaircraft and make twO zerDgrDundspeed landings and Dneconfined area takeoff with nDservos stemmed frDm a demonstration and practiced exercisegiven to and executed by me whenunder the contrDl of a scho0 l P

Nobody aboard Robin H0 o593 pressed a panic button. Common sense, training, and coolheadedness prevailed among thcrew-and this spelled the differnce, I'm sure.

FOUR IN A ROWARLY THIS year 8th U. S.Army became the first majorArmy command to receive theNational Safety Council's Awardof Honor fou r consecutive years

by winning it again for fiscal year1966.The award acknowledges thehigh standards maintained in 8thArmy's overall safety program,outstanding reductions in thenumber of injuries and fatalitiesand the resulting savings in totalaccident costs.

This award winning commandhas a so received the tJ S. ArmPacific Award four consecutiveyears and the Department of thArmy Award of Honor twice inthe past four years.After receiving all three awardduring FY 65 8th Army's safetprogram reduced U. S. Army personnel injuries 8 percent, othepersonal injuries 24 percentArmy motor vehicle accidents 11percent, Army motor vehicle fatalities 26 percent, and Army aircraft accidents 11 percent.

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ewarding Personal xperiencehad tossed a few grenades. Mostof them had done little damage;bu t one had landed ei ther insideor just outside the small sheltersome of our troops were trying torest in, and these three men hadbeen hurt badly. One had a severehead wound, qne had a suckingchest wound, and" he other had abadly injured leg. There had already been some delay, naturally,in trying to transport these merisome distance to the compoundwhere we were based, so we allhad to do a lot of quick planningfor their immediate evacuation.

No instrument capable "slick"helicopter was available. Onlyour gunships were left, and theywere all loaded for a last-minutefire support mission. Getting afixed wing ship into the nearbyairfield was simply asking toomuch because the ragged fog anddrizzling rain and an educatedguess" ceiling of 100 to 200 feetmade it impossible. A Cariboudid come, in spite of conditions,arid made an attempt to get inwhile we were getting set to go.He called us and agreed to meetus ' on the ramp at Qui Nhon(about an h ~ u r away for us) with

his engines running, to transferthe injured to his ship and takeoff immediately for Nha Trangwhere ~ h e best medical help couldbe had. That took care of that endof the mission. Now back to ourpart.

My gunship had the flex gunsystem with t t ~ c h e d rocket firingpods and would take quite a bitof time to dearm; and time wassomething we just couldn't spare,so we headed on for our Hog.She was a good, strong-poweredsqip. Even though I hadn't flown

t h i ~ one much lately, I knew thecrew took loving care of her andI could trust "her to get "us there.There was a matter of getting this

one unloaded of all the extras wecould remove, plus dearming andremoving the heavy load of rockets. Everyone pitched in andstarted to work on getting the shipprepared while the platoon leader, my copilot, and I set aboutgetting the final details of theflight worked out.

The two of us had been selectedfor the mission because we werethe only instrument pilots available (at this time instrumentrated pilots in Vietnam were veryfew). My copilot was not too longout of instrument school and hadnot had the opportunity to bu"ldmuch experience flying actual instruments, but he more than madeup for this part by his knowledgeof procedures, good judgment,and a very smooth control touch.I was going on my 15th year inthis business, but I must concedeto having had a few butterflies inmy stomach, which I am sure Iblamed on that lousy coffee

We agreed that the fast way, iyou call 80 knots fast, to get therewas to go on a direct course, evenif it meant flying over roughmountainous terrain. The plan.would include an instrument takeoff to the west and climbing onthis heading to 7,000 feet beforeheading back southeast over themountains east of us. This wouldgive us good terrain clearance, achance to tune in the automaticdirectiqn finder station at ourdestination, and last, but not least,a good chance to be picked uponthe Air Force radar for vectors toQui Nhon. There was a possibleADF approach waiting at QuiNhon, but it was their dry seasonand ceilings should remain aboveminimums.

We had our maps and approachplates, so we headed back to theHog, which by this time wasready to go. Everybody had done

a fine job preparing the aircraftto go, even including setting upthree litters for the injured troops.

The vehicle soon arrived withthe injured and we put themaboard as soon as possible. Theywere in bad shape; I didn't haveto be a medic to see that. Sincethere were three of them and amedical officer who needed to goalong, we decided to leave thecrewchief and gunner to lightenthe load. s soon as everyone wasout of the way, we started theengine and hovered to the extreme east end of the compoundto give us as much clearance " verthe trees on takeoff as possible.

Our takeoff worked out fine;the Hog climbed like a charm andwe went into the soup. We followed our plan. and leveled at7,000 feet, crosschecking eachother for fully operational equip-ment, correct course, and bothwiped a little sweat for goodmeasure "

Radar s ~ i s t came through andgave us course corrections and distances remaining to within sighof our destination. This madenavigation easy, so that all we hadto do was fly instruments andwork the radios to get there.

Unfortunately, the man withthe head wound didn't make it;he had lost so much blood evenbefore takeoff that he didn't havemuch chance for survival. Themedical officer did everything hecould to save this man, but thehemorrhaging couldn't be stopped.

The weather broke up over QuiNhori before our arrival, so wemade a VFR approach and landedclose to our Caribou friend, whohad his engines running afterhearing our call to the tower.Everyone helped get thewounded moved in to the Caribouand they took off immediately forNha Trang. We parked our faithful Hog for refueling, and bothbreathed a sigh of relief that ourformer passengers would be in a

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good hospital in a short time.After some food and rest andfiling our plan at operations, wefired up our Hog and headed .for

home at Poppa Kilo." Theweather had been running prettygood when we started but s wewere nearing the Mang Yang Pass,things weren't looking too conducive to remaining VFR for theother side of the pass. At this timeit still wasn't a good idea to getwi thin small arms range of thepeaks while traversing the pass.So we diverted to the An Khearea and landed for more fuel anda bit of waiting for the weathersituation to improve.

The best that our weathermancould promise was a wait of abouttwo hours before the Poppa Kiloarea would improve. Incidentally,for people who haven't flown thisarea during the rainy season, thereis somewhat of a weather boundary between the dry season onthe coast and the rainy season inthe Central Highlands. ,The AnKhe area sometimes becomes thisboundary with weather that isbroken to scattered. With the risein ground level, the ceiling will

We both wiped a little sweatget progressively lower on up intothe Mang Yang Pass, with accompanying shower activity whichcuts down your forward visibilityin helicopters considerably, making it difficul t to get through.I contacted our o p e r a t i ~ n s giving them the expected delay, andmy copilot looked up some oldfriends, since this was his old outfit from stateside.

After the delay we fired up theold ship and headed on throughMang Yang Pass. This is the timefor They lived happily everafter," but no such luck Afterthe pass we started running intosome weather, but we had goodcontact with approach controJradar, and since they weren'tcrowded with other traffic we decided to go on top and do an approach on arrival at the ADF atdestination. We ended up at10,000 feet over Poppa Kilo andheld over the area until theycould bring us on down via aradar directed approach.

We had decided to do the radar

approach instead of the ADF because approach control could do amuch greater job of keeping usout of the way of C-130s cominginto t h ~ nearby Air Force facility.In approximately 1 minutesapproach control started vectoringus down in a big rectangular pattern. We went actual instrumentsat 8,000 feet indicated altitudeand kept following radar vectorSdown to norma] ground controlled approach altitude. Wewere handed off to GCA and continued the approach until o:ur airstrip showed through rain andovercast at 1/2 niile and 250 feetof altitude.

We eventually got back ourcrewchief and gunner from theoriginal departure point, and ,ourHog was ready to go in a shorttime

In summary: The above storyis true and, I believe, proves oncemore that good instrument flighttraining pays-in this case withtwo lives saved and a rewardingpersonal experience.

Minigun Production oosted

SEPTEMBER 1967

The U. s Army has granted General Electrictwo letter contracts for continued productiQn ofthe 6,000 shot-pe,r-minute, 7.62 mm minigun,minigun pod and spare parts. t left, an assembler makes final adjustments on one of theweapons at General Electric's armament department in Burlington, Vt. The minigun is beingused on rmy helicopters in Vietnam (see TheYear of the Mini, DIGEST, May 1967). H i g ~rates of fire are made possible by using a rotating cluster of six barrels and a high-speed,linkless feed system. Each barrel fires only onceevery six shots, resulting in low maintenanceand high reliability.

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I le rned bout fronts from th t cat?)I T WAS August 1961. I de, parted Henry Post Army Airfield, Fort Sill, Okla., at approximately 1400 hours. Destination:Tradewinds Airport, Amarillo,Texas. Purpose: weekend pleasuretrip. Crederitials: 60 hours totalflying time and a private ticketearned at Redleg Flying Club,Fort Sill. Equipment: a PA-18Super Cub (L-21 to you oldtimers), 05 + 30 fuel, basic paneland VHF-3 omni. Passengers andequipment: a two-month-old kitten, in box withairholes, strappedin the rear seat, toothbrush andchange of clothing. Herr Kittenwas to be a gift to the children ofacquaintances in Amarillo.I lined my trusty little aircraftup with sod 13L, added power,and was merrily on my way. Ataltitude, I noticed the summercumuliform and light turbulencewhich had been forecast; no problem. Over Clarendon, Texas, Inoticed that the cumuliform were

g ~ t t i n g more frequent. I crackedthe volume on my omni. It wasabout 42 after the hour and I justmight be able to get Amarillo'sweather on the 45 weather report.

"Amarillo, scattered cumuliform, winds SW 15 knots, steady,altimeter 29.82. Pilot reports lightto moderate turbulence west,southwest, Cessna 310. Quasi stationary front lies along T 'exas,New Mexico line from Dalhartto Clovis, N. M.; occasional lightning observed to the west.",These weather people and their$1.98 words I'm not sure aboutthis "quasi" bit, but I ,thought Iknew what stationary meant-noproblem, continue to marchl

Over Claude, T e ~ a s I can nowclearly see this "quasi" something10

Captain Eddie M easley

or other front to the west. Lookslike the tops might be t oh-about 50,000 feet. Sure glad I'mnot going any farther west thanAmarillo.

It's now about 1710; and itseems to be getting dark earlierthan usual. I'd better tum myrunning lights on. That's od,d; Ican see Amarillo Air F.orce Baseand the beacon from Tradewindssouthwest of the air base. Sureseems early to have the beacon onat Tradewinds. I'd better callAmarillo Flight Service and findout what's going on Now thatwas sure a waste of time Theygave me about the same report aswas given over the omni an hourand a half ago.I can now clearly see Amarillo,Tradewinds, and the Air ForceBase. Wait a minute; where didAmarillo go? I don't see Tradewinds either Now the Air Baseis rapidly disappearing. I'd betterget there in a hurry. Now I don'tsee anything but my runninglights, and I can hardly see them- the ground has disappeared.Now what did my instruqor tellme about this situation? OJ: yeah,make a 180, keep that little ballcentered, put the left edge of theneedle on the right side of thedoghouse.-I wish that cat wouldshut up. t isn't that tUtbulent How about that? Worked like acharm; flew right back out of itl

"Piper 6478 Delta, this ISAmarillo radio. Over."

"Amarillo this is 78D. Goahead.""Roger. Be advised that Amarillo has gone IFR, prefrontalsquall. What are your intentions?Over."What kind of nonsense is this-

prefrontal squall, IFR? What aremy intentions? This guy must besome kind of nut. My intentionsare to land-somewherel"Amarillo, this is 78D. Whereis the nearest field with night

lighting and VFR conditions?Over.""ROger. Suggest Plainview,Texas, 65 miles south on the 180radial of the Amarillo VOR.Over."

"This is 78D. Extend my flightplan one hour and change mydestination to Plainview." - Surewish that cat would shut up backthere.

Over Canyon, Texas (15 milessouth of Amarillo) and omnineedle is beginning to come iIi onthe 180 radial. Well, I'll be darnI can see the four-lane highwaybetween Amarillo and Canyon,and there is Tradewinds. I'll justfly up the highway, jump into thepattern at Tradewinds, and land.'Vhat a bunch of nuts theseweather/flight service types areThey haven't been right yet.So far so good. Now for the 45entry leg to downwind. Amarillosure looks good Should be downin about 5 minutes. Not againThe city lights have again disappeared. The altimeter is winding up like aZ watch. Full power,stick full forward, the altimeteris still winding, rapidly. - Theregoes that cat again - Make a turnback the south; maintain ageneral heading of south. Nowthe turbulence is moderate toCPT Beasley was an instructor inthe Academic Synthetic TrainerDivision Dept of Fixed WingTraining Ft Rucker Ala. whenhe wrote this article.

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severe and aircraft control is questionable - That cat has tornhimself a hole in the box. Nowhe is on the ceiling, between mylegs, on my back, his claws suredo smart. N ow he's back in thebaggage compartment; he is onthe ceiling again - must be inverted. The altimeter reads 12,800SEPTEMBER 1967

feet and climbing; control is almost impossible, heading is questionable, and the magnetic compass looks like a yo-yo. I 'm through16,000 feet indicated. Things justdon't seem to matter anymore.feel pretty good. - f could getmy hands on that cat though, I'dkill him

he turbulence suddenlystopped. Now it is perfectly calm.The instruments are settling downand I can see for tremendous distances. That looks like Plainviewabout 50 miles south and beyondit at about 100 miles, Lubbock.The altimeter reads 17,800 feet.feel just fine, but still realizethan 17,800 feet is just a littlehigh.

Now at 8,000 feet, I have asplitting headache but am other-wise OK. The aircraft seems,miraculously enough, to be operating normally. The cat is nowin the baggage compartment, apparently hung up in the first aidequipment. Good enough Thatwill keep him off my back. surewish he would cut out the noisethough.

On final at Plainview, the lightsof both the city and the activerunway were beautiful. Neveragain shall encounter a sightmore gratifying or breathtakinglAfter landing and engine shutdown, I suddenly realized thatwas extremely tired. I also realizedthat what had encountered, fewmen live to talk or write about.I also counselled myself that Iwould make it my business toprosper from the many gross errorsand stupid mistakes I made thatnight.

In reading this, I'm sure myerrors are obvious enough to you.For this reason I'll not summarizethem. However, if there is anyquestion in your mind about myrespect for weather, I'll be glad totalk with you. You see, I teachweather - and I might add,volunteered for the assignment.

Incidently, after landing, I unt ~ n g l e the cat from the first aidequipment. He bit me, I turnedhim loose, and last saw him racingacross the field at full speed. Iturned to ask the attendant if hehad a hose and water available. Ihad an airplane to clean up. ~


14/68

GA v EOF

ajo r " ip" CordPanic struck Rumination of the flight had led me to theirrevocable conclusion that I had not checked the BOOK- I had not even seen the BOOK

ET'S PLAY a little game.We'll call it Nostalgics, or

Has this ever happened to you?Go directly to jail, do not passgo, do not cDllect $200. Wellnow, let's play a more seriDus

game-has this ever happened toyou?One day not so long ago, itcame to my attentiDn that I re

quired SDme flight time to makeup my allotted number of hoursf r the mDnth. Anyway, I wastired of flying this desk-thissquare, brown machine that I fly99 percent of the time. Having noplace in particular to go, I indicated (to the fDlks at unit flightoperatiDns) my availability f r asoft-touch mission.Yes, there was a requirement towing it over to Plum PDint MarineCorps Air StatiDn to deliver aload f cargo and two officers. Asit turned Dut the officers weregrDund pDunding friends f mine.12

One was a college classmate, theother an acquaintance; so I reallywanted to impress them with mySteve CanYDn capabilities.

The sky was a brilliant sunnyblue, and the weather was warmfor October. In Dther words, itwas a thorDughly beautiful fieldgrade day to be ou t of the officeand in the arms Df this friendly,southern sky. With spirits soaringand my mind fixed on a fabulousMexican dinner we were to havethat night, I sauntered to baseoperations and filled out my 175,checked the NOTAMs, and gDtthe weather, which was violentlyVFR-CAVU all the way.I made a o ~ u m effDrt to finda sectional to go along with myen route low altitude navigatiDnchart-mainly because I had neverbeen to Plum Point and I wantedto peruse the lay f the land. Anyway, all the nav radios might goou t, and then I wDuld need a sec

tional. I did not find one. Theflight planning room was undergoing its umpteenth redecoration/reorganization, SOP for GoodOle Army Airfield; therefore, thecharts were in sDmeone's trunk orother handy place.

Well, no. matter, the navigational chart would get me there.If necessary, I could fly directlyeast, turn right at the ocean, andproceed down the beach-too badit was October-to Plum Point.Having checked the weather, I gotmy 175 proofread by the WAC atthe operations counter and wassent on my way with a cheery,Have a good fligh t, sir.I approached the airplane witha certain jaunty, carefree attitude,trying to IODk terr ibly n Dnchalantand at the same time seriously professional- somewhat like SnDDpypreparing to go. Du t in his SDpwithCamel to gun dDwn the RedBaron. W ith an air of n on chalance, fraught with displays of

U . S. AR MY AVIATION DIGEST


15/68

studied grace and care, I conducted my external preflight inspection, wheeling about the aircraft looking as i I knew what Iwas looking for.I made sure that all was fasteneddown, ushered my passengers totheir places, and explained thatthe "smoking lamp was out-alittle touch of the nautical to addto the impressive picture I wasdeveloping for my audience. Isaw to it that the passengers weremade as comfortable as possibleand instructed the fellow in thecopilot's seat on how to operatehis headset so we could make lightconversation. Now let's see. Ichecked the cargo and saw to tthat it was properly secure; mademy rounds abou t the aircraft,scrutinizing all the salient pointswhich I could remember from the-10; and made sure that my passengers were properly tied down.I checked the panel in a competent clockwise sweep, checkedthe circuit breakers, saw to it thatthe main gas switch was to the onposition and made elaborate motions to start the engine. A pressof the switch and the aircraftcoug d and barked to life. Wereceiv a instructions to the runway where I carefully went thoughthe preflight runup, gained permission for takeoff, taxied ontothe runway, aligned the gyro compass, checked all engine instruments in the green, and blastedoff into the blue.I informed my passengers thatthe stewardess would not be available On this flight and that themartinis ad been left at baseoperatio light banter to putmy passengers at ease. My eyesscanned the instruments for possible trouble.As we cruised smoothly along,my mind was dancing withthoughts f enchiladas, tortillas,refritos, sty cold beer, and rousing good company awaiting myreturn home. M mind then wan-SEPTEMBER 1967

dered back to the flight, and Ibegan mentally tallying up thescore to this point in time andspace. Then it happened. PanicstruckAlthough my life didn't flashpast, my mind's eye caught aglimpse of the untimely demiseof my flight career which, ofcourse, piled panic on top ofpanic. Ou twardly I remained asunruffled as the proverbial duck.Rumination of the flight had ledme to the irrevocable conclusionthat I had not checked theBOOK - I had not even seen theBOOKFurtive glances were made inan attempt to find that littlegreen devil. Surely, it was underthe seat or in the back. Finally,I enlisted my passengers to forma posse. The inside of the airplanelooked like an A-GO-GO party ina ph'one booth. Alas, to no avail.I called off the search with a shrugand indicated everything wasA-OK (this so as not to alarm mynoW rumpled, sweating straphangers).My eyes scanned the instrumentpanel. All the engine instrumentswere calm and in the green. Betteryet, the airplane wasn't doinganything unusual. But-what wasthe status of the airplane? Istarted to rational ize myself out ofit. Well, I mused, they wouldn'thave assigned me the aircraft ifit weren't ready. No? That's nogood. How many times, you bigdope, have you found a red Xduring preflight? Plenty Well,they certainly wouldn't haveloaded the cargo on board if theship weren't ready HalEverything looked all righteverything looks all right now.Wait, what's that funny noisejust my imagination? A missingengine? runaway prop? Maybethe horizontal stabilizer is fallingoffl I guess I had better tumaround. No It's closer to Plum

blindly on. Surely everything isall rightlThoughts of enchiladas, tortillas, and refri tos left my mind.

But did I ever want that coldbeerl The nonchalance of beingan old pro, newly appointedsenior aviator left my mind. ThereI was stranded in the blue withtwo passengers, a load of cargo, arelatively expensive airplane, andI hadn't even checked the BOOK- gad

We finally landed after whatseemed to be an interminableflight. Actually, it was all of 45minutes. I got out, gave the oldairplane a fraternal pat, and sentthe passengers and cargo on theirway. Heaving a sigh that we hadgotten there safely, I saunteredover to base operations and casually asked for the telephone tocall SCAN-to Good Ole ArmyAirfield. I finally got the crewchief on the line and confirmedtha t the BOOK was, indeed, backat the base. There were no redX's or diagonals; everything hadbeen signed off and the aircraftwas, in fact, ready to go.

With a feeling of immeasurablerelief, I climbed back in my trustysteed, took wing, and headed forthe haven of home. When Ilanded, out came the crewchiefwearing a wide grin-you knowthe kind-with that little greenbook in his hand. He put the icingon the cake when he said, UN0sweat, sir. At least you didn'tcrash." I registered my flight time,the fact that the flight was OK,signed off the BOOK, and beat ahasty retreat to warm, waitingwifely arms and that cold beer.

Has this ever happened to you?Why don't you play a game ofUNostalgics" and see what mayhave happened or could happento you. It is a deadly serious game,and if you don't look at all aspectsof it, you may find that you willgo "directly to jail, and not pass0 and not collect $2001" It

13


16/68

Defense gainst Airmobile OperationsT HESE IDEAS for a defenseagainst an airmobile attackbegan to grow in Vietnam whereI flew both the CV-2B airplaneand the UH-IB armed helicopter.It was apparent that our aerialsuppressive fire was more effectivethan an equal volume from groundpositions. I attribute this to theViet Cong s fear of unknownweapons and tactics, or a resul tof their experience with the massive destruction of conventionalair support. The real reason isunnecessary to this study, and isincluded only to show that suppressive fire is necessary to reducethe accuracy of ground fire.

Another observation was theextreme inaccuracy of ground fire.Even tracer fire was poorly adjusted. In conversation with ourown ground personnel, I discov-14

Maior Howard A Kendall

ered that a majority of them haderroneous ideas of the principlesemployed in firing at moving targets. They also did not understandhow to use tracer ammunition.

Our . ~ t e n t i l enemy in largescale , lGilld warfare is known topossess airmobile capabilitieswhich equal or exceed our own.As early as 1956, the USSR was apioneer in helicopter development, and held world records forhelicopter speed, size, altitude,and capacity. Russia still hasquantities of the record-settingHound and ZPU-2 aircraft, andalso has improved replacements.Soviet entries in recent Paris airshows leave little doubt as to theRussians abilities in aircraft technology, or ambitions in the airmobi lity field.

We must counter employment

of the helicopter, just as we counter any development giving substantial advantage in combatpower or mobility.

Undoubtedly new specializedweapons will be produced. When,at what cost in p e r s o n n e l ~ training, logistic support, ~ I 1 whatquantities will we r e c ~ i v e them?Possibly a faster method ~ I d moresatisfactory answer would be theimproved training and use ofweapons already in the hands oftroops.Heat-seeking and noise-seekingmissiles, radar fire direction, andlarge caliber weapons are relatively ineffective against low-flyinghelicopters, because of their proximity to ground sources of heatand noise, terrain interference toradar, and the extremely shortengagement time. Furthermore,

U. S ARMY AVIATION DIGEST


17/68

the entire zone cannot be controlled, even with specializedweapons. Until the Chapparel/Vulcan Battalions [employing missiles and 20 mm machineguns] aredeployed the U. S division willnot have organic air defense artillery capabilities.Air defense emphasis has beenplaced on missiles, radar andearly-warning systems to be employed primarily against high performance aircraft at medium andhigh altitudes. Some recent interest has developed in reissue todivisions of 40 mm and 50 caliber

~ n t i i r c r f t systems. Our loss offive high performance aircraft tomachineguns over North VietnamIn March 1965 indicates that thisis a feasible action, and demons.trates that machineguns can shootdown even supersonic aircraft having substantial stand-off ranges.Their coverage, however, will remain limi ted.

A n t i a i r c r a f t ~ r e fighter aircraft, friendly and enemy artilleryand mortar projectiles (especiallyproximity fused ones), combinewith air traffic control requiremen s to make altitudes of morethan a few hundred feet un tenable for helicopters. For thesereasons helicopter forces have developed and employ contour flightand nap-of-the-earth techniques.The terms contour flight andnap-of-the-earth are used here asdefined. in Technical Memorandum 1-62, U. S A. Human Engineering Laboratories, AberdeenProving Ground, Md.

Nap-of-th,e-earth flight takesadvantage of all natural terrainfeatures, flying down gullies andriver beds, around trees and hills,and reachiI?g a designated pointby any route which affords maximum cover.

Contour flight is accomplishedMAJ Kendall was assigned to theDept of Fixed Wing TrainingFt Rucker Ala. when he wrotethis article.SEPTEMBER 1967

by flying as close to the ground aspossible without altering course,rising only to clear trees, hills, orany objects along the way-literally flying the contour of theearth.

Of the two techniques, it becomes readily apparent that contour flight provides advantages inair navigation, a reduction of pilotfatigue, ability to detect, observeand identify enemy targets, andto accurately report their locations along the route of flight.N ap-of-the-earth flight providesmaximum security and surprise.We can expect that at altitudes ofless than 100 or 200 feet contourflight will be employed, exceptwhen forced to nap-of-the-earthtechniques by passive defense requirements. A combination of thetw o will provide the optimummix of mission accomplishment,security, and surprise.

In active air defense, groundunits engage enemy targets assoon as they come within rangeand attempt to destroy them orto prevent them from accomplishing their mission. Units withoutair defense coverage employ activedefense only when passive defensemeasures have failed or are clearly impractical. Passive defensetakes maximum advantage of cover and concealment, dispersion,

deception, warning systems, electronic security, and light discipline.The primary disadvantage ofpassive defense, other than thefact that none of the enemy isdestroyed, is that it is becominginadequate, due to m o ~ m methods and systems of target acquisition using infrared detection,moving target radar, and advanced aerial photography. Concealment is largely ineffective, andno modern, mobile army can effectively function for long without radio communications and theresultant electromagnetic radiations. Passive air defense is suitable against enemy weapons sys-tems which have not employedthe more modem target acquisition means and when offensivecapabilities are lacking.

In using low-level tactics toavoid sophisticated ground fire,helicopters come within range ofindividual fire. Weapons availablewithin most units include one ormore of the various 30 or 50 caliber machineguns, individual automatic and semi-automatic rifles,all adequate from the standpointof range, accuracy, and power tocombat helicopters. The onlylimiting factor is the inability ofthe marksman to deliver accurately aimed fire. Marksmanship ac-

The Russian MI IO made an impressive appearance t a recent aris Air Show


18/68

ow level light brings helicopters within range of individual fire

curacy can only be acquired bytraining and practice.What training can we assume

the Viet Cong have had, considering they have been engaged incombat with themselves, theFrench, or the United States sincechildhood? At least the hard corehave had formal military trainingalong the lines of a known distance and / or trainfire marksmanship program. We know, also, theyare now frantically establishingmoving-target training, using aircraft silhouettes and a system ofropes and pulleys to simulate aircraft in flight. Allied forces overrunning battalion sized VC training . areas have discovered thesetargets on numerous occasions.Such training, under guerrillawarfare conditions, indicates thatthe Viet Cong place great importance on the need for movingtarget training. However, theUnited States does not use moving-target training.

At Ap Bac, Vietnam, in 1963,we sustained great losses of helicopters and Vietnamese troopsduring an unsuccessful operation.A g r ~ t amount of discussion centered around the reasons for thisfailure: (1) The timidity of the

VN troops in establishing theoffense, or 2) Viet Cong troops

were beginning to exploit thevulnerability of airmobile forcesby improved accuracy of fire.In July 1965, at Dong Xoai,

Vietnam, the Vietnamese troopswe landed experienced a highcasualty rate, with the first battalion landed having more than95 percent casualties. The possibility that the VC forces had recently engaged in moving targettraining is not remote, and couldwell have been the reason for thefailure. In any event we cannotafford to ignore lessons. so painfully learned, and we can reasonably assume that our enemies willprofit from our experience inVietnam.U. S. Army basic marksmanshiptraining is devoted to principlesof mass firepower. The trainfireprogram is excellen t in teachingthe techniques of detecting andengaging targets, but it neglectsknown distance and moving-targetmarksmanship. Targets which aretermed moving are actually disappearing or bobbing, so that emphasis is on stationary objects.Even this training is of insufficientduration, approximately 75 hoursof total training. There is littlereal continuation of training forthe vast majority of soldiers. Onequalification period each year IS

required, but is not sufficient practice to maintain marksmanshipability.Machinegun training for groundunits is much like that for rifles.The moving target recommendedfor the 50 cal. mg (M-2) consistsof a silhouette towed at 15 mphwith little change in elevation.No moving target is recommendedfor the 7.62 mm M-60.It is possible we are neglecting essential training in the hopethat new and better, specialized,weapons will be produced. Excessive dependence on limited AirDefense artillery is unsafe, andanother specialized weapon forthe already overburdened soldiermay not be the answer.

The American soldier is reasonably familiar with several typesof individual weapons; he has thedesire, intelligence and ability tobecome an excellent marksman.The only things lacking are training and practice. The cost oftraining, although ~ u b s t a n t i a l isnot great when compared to thecost of a missile or other specialized weapon.

Time available to aim and fireis a most important considerationin development of antiaircraftcapability. From the followingchart, reproduced from The Employment of Helicopter andV Stol Aircraft in Counterinsur-gency by Sikorsky Aircraft Division of United Aircraft Corporation, some idea can be obtainedas to the time we can expect thetarget to be visible.

It can be seen that increasedspeed of detection and aim, andpreparation of fields of fire willsubstantialiy increase helicoptervulnerability. The short exposuretime severely limits use of crewserved weapons, but is within thereaction capability of well-trainedriflemen.

The first major attempt to teachmoving-target marksmanship wasduring World War II. Hundreds

16 U. S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST


19/68

of aircraft gunners and pilots wereneeded to shoot from aircraft. Itwas soon discovered there was Ii t-tle difference in shooting from amoving platform and in shootingat a moving target. Pilots andgunners were given the usual,known distance marksmanshipcourse, and period of traini'ngwith t4le 30 caliber machinegun.Tracer. ammunition was used,both for indoctrination and toprove beyond doubt that hittingmoving targets required an angleof lead in direct proportion tospeed and range of the target, aswell as its relative angle to theshooter. The natural, but incor-rect, assumption of the traineewas that projectiles traveling at3,000 feet per second made leadrequirements negligible.

Another obstacle to overcomewas the inherent and involuntaryvisual pullback which is associated with the marksman's desireto look at the target instead of infront, along the flight path at amentally established aiming pointin space, which the projectile andtarget will reach simultaneously.Visual pullback can be directlyattributed to unfortunate butnecessary requirements of bothknown distance and trainfiretraining methods.

Mter a few training periods,gunnery instructors began to no-

ment, and among operational air- that now the cost of shooting iscrews. Both the Navy and Army prohibitive to the lower ranks.Air Forces made maximum use of With the helicopter we haveskeet in their respective training returned to essentially the sameprogram. The Navy, in particu- era of antiaircraft and aerial firelar, required skeet shooting be- which existed during World Warfore machinegun training. II. Additional factors of maneu-

Eventually, developments in ra- verability, lower altitu4e capabildar, increased aircraft speeds, and ity, and employment of airmobilesophisticated weapon systems vir- tactics, make the helicopter antually eliminated the need for even more formidable threat thanaerial gunners using visual sight- the aIrcraft of World War II.ing inethods. Financial support of Although skeet be expectedskeet ranges was discontinued, so to contribute to abiFty and con-

TIME AVAILABLE TO GROUND TROOPS FORAIMED ANTI-AIRCRAFT FIRE WITH VARIOUS FOLIAGE DENSITIES

20

15

10

NOTE: MAXIMUM E F ~ E T I V E RANGE OFWEAPONS = 500 METERSPROBABILITY OF AIRCRAFT SURVIVALWHEN OPERATING IN SHADED AREAAPPROACHES UNITY

V-=AIRCRAFT SPEED IN KNOTS

tice a definite pattern-students (/)who had moderate ' experience ~with shotguns were consistently 8far ahead of the rest in ability and ~retention. Students who had ex- w:Etensive training shooting skeet or i= 5other moving targets required zonly .the most basic training with either 'rifle or m-achinegun. ~

Tests were conducted to de- ~termine the value of skeet shoot-ing as an aid to aerial gunnerytraining. ' Test results were remarkable: skeet shooting washelpful, not only in initial training, but in maintaining the abil-ity of gunners awaiting assign-SEPTEMBER 1967

0 ~ - - - - - r - - ~ ~ ~ - - 4 - - - - - ~o 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100FOLIAGE DENSITY ( )

TIME REQUIREDTO DETECT .AIRCRAFTTIME REQUIREDoAIM AND FIRE

17


20/68

Defense gainst irmobile Forcesfidence in engagemen t of aerialtargets, it is not logically considered a complete training program. Firing at towed targets, useof blank ammunition, and lightsources aimed .at photoelectricsensors mounted on aircraft wouldalso be valuable training means.A motion picture projeqed targetsimilar to the joint Air Force/Crossman Arms Company pistolmarksmanship course might bemodified and adopted.

One important factor to consider is that initial training is notsufficient, the ability must bemaintained by constant practice.One or two familiarization orqualification courses a year is notenough pra


21/68


22/68

viation Testingt the

rctic Test CenterT HE NATION not preparedto fight under extreme climatic conditions is inviting disaster. As a result of experiencegained during World War IIwhich demonstrated that theUnited States Army was not prepared to fight under adverse conditions, the War Department organized a group of task forces totest U. S Army equipment underarctic and subarctic conditions.

Task Force Frigid and TaskForce Williwaw tested U. S Armyequipment during 1946 and 1947.Although these task forces gaineda wealth of information therewere limitations and disadvantages that made this type of operation expensive and impractical.Time required to establish unitson test sites, logistical supportacclimatization of personnel, anda lack of continuity after eachexercise were major disadvantagesin the use of task forces. Based onthe result of Task Force Frigid, itwas recommended that a perma-nent test organization be estab-20

aior elson E Luce

lished, with test groups representing each of the permanent boardslocated in the Zone of the Interior.

In 1949, the Department of theArmy ordered the organization ofthe Arctic Test Branch at BigDelta Air Force Base now knownas Fort Greely, Alaska). A cadrefor the organization was activatedat Fort Knox, Ky., in March of1949 by the transfer of personnelfrom each of the Army FieldForces boards located in the Zoneof the Interior. The organizationmoved to Big Delta Air ForceBase in July 1949, and test operations were initiated. In 1957, theArctic Test Branch was designatedthe U. S Army Arctic Test Boardwith the mission of conductingarctic service tests of all Armyfield equipment.

In August 1962, as a result ofreorganization of the Army, theArctic Test Board was establishedas a class II activity and placedunder the command of the U. SArmy Test and Evaluation Com-

mand. It was expanded to absorbthe Research and DevelopmentOffice, Alaska, and the TechnicalServices Test Activities, both stationed at Fort Wainwright inFairbanks, Alaska, and the Chemical Corps Test Activity, FortGreely. With this expansion camethe additional mission of conducting engineering type tests to include integrated engineering service tests. This required an organizational realignment and arequirement for a greater instrumentation capability. On 1 March1964, the U. S Army Arctic TestBoard was redesignated the U. SArmy Arctic Test Center.

The Army aviators assigned tothe Aviation, Avionics, and AerialSurveillance Test Division operated assigned aircraft from unprepared snow covered areas,frozen lakes, glaciers, and mountainous terrain in the extremeM J Luce is Test O f i c e r ~ Avia-tion} Avionics} and Aerial Surveil-lance Test Division} U S rmy

rctic Test e n t e r ~ Ft Greely}AlaskaU. S ARMY AVIATION DIGEST


23/68

cold of the arctic winter. Fromtesting a ski kit from the L-190-1) and a winterization kit forthe H-13 OH-13) to challengingthe operational spectrum of theCH-47, arctic testing of aviationequipment has been a distinctcontribution to the developmentof more reliable equipment forU. S Army soldiers.

Operationally, the crews havesupported the aerospace laboratory at the 14,500-foot level ofMount Wrangel, relocation ofevacuees of the Alaska earthquake, and numerous search andrescue missions whose gratefulsurvivors owe their lives to thepositive attitudes of these dedicated aviators and their flyingmachines. Alaskan sportsmen forgenerations to come will enjoy theharvest of the half million rainbow trout and silver salmon fingerlings that annually are transplanted to the more accessiblelakes along the Alaskan highwayin a joint effort of the Army andthe Alaska Fish and Wildlife Department.SEPTEMBER 1967

Progress of this magnitudedoesn't come without some sacrifice In August 1964, LTC RobertAllen was killed while recoveringthe body of a fellow soldier froman Alaskan lake. The airfield atFort Greely, Alaska, has beennamed Allen Army Airfield as alasting tribute to the former aviation division chief.

Environmental testing is a relatively new concept, and the effectsof severe cold on plastics, alloys,and lubricants are not always predictable. The United States ArmyTest and Evaluation Commandplaces the responsibility of testingthese items squarely on the shoulders of these aviators.

Exploiting the full capabilityof a machine under arctic winterconditions is exciting and can behazardous, but the satisfaction ofovercoming the obstacles andcompleting a mission of service isextremely rewarding.

We took off from Allen ArmyAirfield at 0200 with the temperature at minus 56 Farenheit andice fog creating a zero-zero visibil-

ity condition. The expectantmother and the nurse were bundled up in the back of the UH-IBhelicopter. Everything went fineuntil we heard a loud bang andfelt the temperature drop. Theprocess of learning can be painful. The crewchief discovered thatthe window over the pilot's headhad blown out. All the warm airwas soon replaced with a coldarctic chill. Twenty minutes tothe hospital pad. The patient inan evacuation bag was fine; therest of the crew, chilly. Ice fog atthe airfield at Fort Wainwrightcompounded the problem. Landing at the hospital was attemptedand aborted because of low visibility. On the second try a GCAapproach brought us in on centerline over the high intensity lights.We hovered through a white-outpowder snow to the rotating beacon of a waiting ambulance. Thepatient was transferred to the hospital with minutes to spare. Theflight crew patched the hole witha blanket and returned to FortGreely to a cup of hot coffee. We

21


24/68

WIND HILL CH RTLOCAL TEMPERATURE (OF)

WIND SPEED (MPH) 32 23 14 5 -4 13 -22 31 -40 -49 -58EQUIVALENT TEMPERATURE OF)

CALM 32 23 14 5 -4 13 -22 31 -40 -49 -585 29 20 10 1 -9 18 28 37 -47 -56 6510 18 7 -4 15 -26 37 -48 59 -70 81 -9215 13 1 -13 -25 -37 -49 61 -73 -85 -97 -10920 7 8 19 32 -44 -57 70 -83 -96 -109 12125 3 10 -24 37 -50 -64 -77 -90 -104 117 13Q ,30 -13 -27 41 -54 -68 -82 -97 109 -123 -13735 1 -15 -29 -43 -57 71 85 99 113 127 -14240 3 17 31 -45 -59 -74 87 -102 '116 '131 14545 3 18 32 -46 61 '75 89 104 118 -132 '14750 -4 -18 -33 47 62 76 91 105 120 -134 .148

, 0>,LITTLE DANGER CONSIDERABLE VERY GREAT DANGERFOR PROPERLY CLOTHED PERSONS DANGERDANGER FROM FREEZING OF EXPOSED FLESH

learned something about temperature differential on plastic windows.

The easy going description of aroutine medical evacuation reflectsthe confidence that there reallywas no other way. Somehow, whenit is -56 0 F, automobiles balk andanywhere is too far to walk. Thereis a magical sound in the turbineof the modern helicopter thatexudes confidence.

The windchill chart on thispage indicates what is expected ofan arctic crewchief. He still standsfire guard in the rotor wash of astarting helicopter. His issue ofclothing includes a parka, vaporbarrier boots, and heavy arctic mittens. On all l ~ g h t s he carries anindividual survival bag with adouble sleeping bag, air mattress,rations, signal , flares, weapon andammunition.We speak from personal experience when we say that you can becomfortable in an aircraft parkedin a snowbank with the outsideair temperature at 5 0 F and thewind in excess of 60 mph. Ourcrewchief put all the seats outs ideand stacked the unnecessary cargobeneath the tail boom of theUH-IB. We inflated our air mat-

tresses and crawled into our double arctic sleeping bags andwatched the frost grow on the inside of the copter. Every hour wewould turn the heater on for fiveminutes. When the high altitudesearch party flew across the passwe ignited the flares and 12 hourslater a convoy of tracked vehiclesand snowplows rolled alongsidefor the rescue operation. Wereally hated to part with our snuglittle nest.

We publish regulations and wetalk up survival preparationsevery opportunity we have, yetwe continue to pick up strandedhunters or stalled motorists whoface the possibility of walkingthrough the arctic with hopelessly inadequate equipment. Lowquarter shoes and cowboy bootsare comfortable when the carruns, bu t a 9-mile walk in lowquarter shoes at -35 0 F cost a manboth feet this winter. In our business of arctic testing, we evaluateproblems in our equipment butwe rely on the individual to takecare of himself. Occasionally, wehear a mumble from a new arrivalas he carries his bag out to theflight line. We don't say much butwe make it a point to come to a

hover over a glacier or set downon a ridge line at 9,000 feet. Theview is impressive and the thoughtof walking out is casually dispelled. It is amazing how muchgets packed in the bag for thenext trip out.

The criteria against which testaircraft are measured is established by Combat DevelopmentsCommand for each product in theform of military characteristics,qualitative materiel requirementsor small development requirements. In these documents an aircraft is required to start and operate independently from auxiliary preheating down to -25 0 F.With less than one hour preheat,and using an auxiliary powerunit, the aircraft must start andoperate down to -65 0 F. Additionally the aircraft heater requirements are spelled out. With ambient temperatures down to -25 0F and normal heating system mustoperate and provide a cabin temperature of +40 0 F within 10minutes after operation begins.With a winterization kit, the heating system must provide a cabintemperature of +40 0 F within 10minutes after operations -beginsat -65 0 F. Defrosting and deicingcapability are evaluated. Therearen't a large number of items,air or otherwise, that pass thesestandards with flying colors.

Mobility in the arctic regionsof the world is, perhaps, a greaterproblem in the summer than inthe winter. There are few roadsand what passes for an acceptabletrail in the frozen ground of thewinter months becomes a quagmire of unpredictable depths during the months of the midnightsun. Muskeg remains an obstacleto vehicles of all types. Muskegcan trap the unsuspecting helicopter pilot who shuts down andwalks away to look back at hissettling helicopter that is restingup to its belly with a tail rotornestling in the grass. High flota-

22 U. S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST


25/68


26/68

Aviation medicine extends from the laboratories t battlefields such as the one above in Binh Dung Province RVN

Aviation Medicinewhere did it come from what does it do?

A w C'MON DOC, DO Ineed that shot now? I havea golf date at 2 o'clocklSorry, Mac, you're 20 poundsoverweight and until you're downagain, I'll have to ground you.N0 sir. No physical, no fly-

inglHow often have you heardthese phrases? f you've been in

the flying program very long, itis a safe bet that you've heardsimilar statements made by theflight surgeon. Although Armyaviators have long since stoppedviewing the flight surgeon as anogre out to ground them, notmany actually know him. Most ofus simply take him for granted - 4

aptain Thomas J ourgeois

since he has always seemed to bethere.Aviation medicine got its start

in the early balloon flights latein the 18th Century. In France onSeptember 18 1783 the first flightwas made in which animals weresent aloft. About a year later anAmerican physician, Dr. JohnJeffries, made the first of severalballoon flights with the Frenchballoonist Francois Blanchard.They made a number of scientificobservations of medical intereston the temperatures aloft, changesin barometric pressure, and composition of air.

Thus, the beginning of aviation medicine. How does this af-

fect us? Every day that we leaveMother Earth, the findings ofaviation medical personnel andtheir developments for safer flight,both of man and inachine, havea bearing on Army aviators.

Going hack to April 15 1875we' find that Joseph EustacheCroce-Spineili, Henri TheodoreSivel, and Gaston Tissandier of:France made a high altitude balloon ascent that left a graphicrecord of disaster. Their balloonascended to 28,820 feet and de-CPT Bourgeois is assigned to thedvanced Instrument Flight Divi-

s i o n ~ Dept of Rotary Wing Traini n ~ Ft u c k e r ~ Ala. .

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scended without guidance or manipulation due to the unconsciousstate of the three occupants. OnlyTissandier survived the flight, buthe was able to detect the want ofoxygen, loss of consciousness, andhis own recovery as the balloondescended into denser atmosphere. To these balloonists wemust attribute our first knowledgeof the effects of a lowered barometric pressure as it occurs in as- ent in flight. Therefore, theneed for an oxygen supply forhigher al ti tudes was recognized.Very little progress was madein aviation medicine after thattime until World War I, whenstudies of medical problems as-sociated with flying were greatlyaccelerated. By this time the heavier-than-air machine was underactive development and an AirService had been established under the Army Signal Corps.

The appalling death rate dueto accidents and the quest forhigher flight altitudes stimulatedthe formation of physiological andpsychological laboratories andschools to train flight surgeons.Some of the finest professionaltalent in Europe and Americawas assembled and aviation medicine emerged as an organizedmedical special ty field. These doctors are credited with reducingthe fatalities due to flying acciden s by more than 50 percenIIi Great Britain, iil the firstyear of World War I it was determined tp.at of every 100 aviators killed, 2 met death at thehand of Germaris, 8 died becauseof defective aircraft, and 90 because of their own deficiencies.Of the latter, 60 deaths werefound to be due directly to physical defects.SEPTEMBER 1967

rmy aviation h s benefited greatly from continuous medical researchHere the need for flight surgeons became evident, and their

name as we know it today cameinto being. As you can realize, thephysical requirements for aviatorpersonnel started to form, andgreater restrictions were placedon these individuals. The needfor a pilot with an alert mind ina healthy body was amply demonstrated in that first World War,and this has been the basic tenetever since.

The slow growth of aviationand aviation medicine was eviden t from the end of World WarI in 1918 to about 1938. Then thethreat of World War gave greatimpetus to both aviation and aviation medicine. In the latter partof this period the great networkof world airlines began to form.Thus many giant steps were takenin both military and civilian aviation in the late 30s and early40s.

With the conclusion of the war,the jet age was ushered in, andmany new problems arose in aviation and aVIatIOn medicine.Medical men, together with an

array of talent in the allied sciences, devoted their professionalcareers to solving these problems.Today we have thousands of scientific personnel and research organizations pooling efforts to prepare man for flight in outer space.Medicine is a corelative part ofevery advancement.

Just what is involved in thepractice of aviation medicine fromthe pilot's view? A few of themany jobs and responsibilities ofthose in aviation medicine include the medical aspects of se-lection and classification of pilotsand aircrew personnel; the main-tenance of health, efficiency, andsafety of aircrews; the prolonga-tion of flying careers; the prevention of disease and injury peculiar to aviation; prevention of dissemination by aircraft of diseaseand harmful insects; the air transport of the sick and injured; rescue and survival; the aeromedicalaspects of aircraft design; and thedevelopment of personal equip-ment that is required for the welfare and safety of aircrew personnel.

The Army aviator first encoun-25


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26

ters the flight surgeon when he isgiven a flight physical :before entering pilot training. He is examined to ensure that he is physically and mentally capable to endure the special demands andneeds of flying an ctircraft. Because of these demands, standardsfor selection of pilots are normally prescribed by a governmentagency (Federal Aviation Agency).

From that first encounter theaviator will continue to see muchof the flight surgeon, who willtake part in the aviator s flightactivities, and even engage inhangar talk with him. Indeed itis through a .working associationaway from the formality of theoffice that many flight surgeonsfeel they are best able to contribu e to the personal practice ofaviation medicine. That way theyare able to know their patientsand can r e o g n i z ~ intangible butincipient psychological pressureswhich might endanger the life ofthe aviator and his passengers.

In addition to this type of relatioriship, the aviator must see hisflight surgeon for ail annual physical examination. Both civil andgovernment agencies usually require that an aviator undergo acomprehensive annual physicalexamination. This detects anytroubles while they still smalland correctable and ensures thesafety of an aviator from the medical standpoint. Besides the anriual physical, the flight surgeonis the aviator s personal physicianall during the year - when coldsslow him down, minor cuts andbruises appear or there s a majorillness.

It is on the personal physicianpatient relationship that the flightsurgeon is best known to the average Army aviator. But the aviation medical specialists serve inmany other capacities to ensurethe well-being of the pilot andthe safe operation of his aircraft.He is engaged in research to find

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out the effects of various elementson the aviator in flight, those ofboth natural and mechanical environments. He teaches othermedical service personnel and educates the aviator and his familyon the medical aspects of his job.He helps design and develop special equipment needed in thesometimes hostile environmentencountered in flight. He is concerned with the whole man in hisrelationship to flight - and withthis concern comes safety of flight.

This one factor, safety, hasprobably had more influence onthe design and operation of aircraft than any other one criteria.t is so important in today's avi

ation world that not only theflight surgeon but also numerouscivilian and mili tary organizations are concerned with its various aspects.While some solutions have

been advanced to aviation medical safety problems, many stillconcern us today. Aircraft mustbe designed to overcome hazardssuch as stability and positive control, structural integrity, reliability, performance, independence ofvisual reference to earth, airmanship and training, reliable groundnavaids, and organization. To allof these add a most importantone - the frailties of man.

Until World War II researchwas confined mainly to material developments, such as highstrength alloys, corrosion resistance, performance, fuels, and communications. But more complexaircraft flying higher and fasterhave spurred research and movedit more into the area of humanfactors.

With this in mind, the designot aircraft and cockpits to fitman's physiological and psychological limitations was introduced.Man's ability to withstand extremes of temperature, vibrations,accelerations; his ability to co-ordinate as part of a team; to see,SEPTEMBER 1967

feel, hear, reach, and react - allbecame factors and fundamentalsto safety in the new realm of flight.Another important factor enters into the wide field of aviationmedicine - man is placed in a

situation of stress. Stresses, biophysical and psychological, disturb the fundamental equilibriumthat the body strives to maintain.The inherent tendency towardstability in a normal body requires constant adaptation tochanges in relation to gravity.Many adjustments have to bemade rapidly for noise and vibration.Pressurized compartments andcockpits help relieve these biophysical and psychological stresses. Aviation medicine has alsocome to our rescue again in relation to the mechanical characteristics which exert stress and strain.An example is the developmentin control relations of a modernbooster system which relieves individuals of the need to exertstrong control forces. Of course,this also removes that one senseof control - feel. So an artificialfeel has been buil t in to eachsystem.Not only has aviation medicinehad a part in redesigning cockpitand aircraft for the aviator's comfort, efficiency, and safety, but ithas also helped develop auxiliarysafety equipment. Today thereare fire retardant flying suits andjackets, gloves long enough tocover the lower arm, helmets toprotect the head, earphones tohelp direct and confine the soundto the place where it is needed,special survival equipment, andmany other items for a more comfortable and safe environment.And many other items under development.

Have you ever stopped to thinkof the many contributions thataviation medicine has made toyour well being and your career?Don't sell your flight surgeon

short because he might interferewith a golf date or some otherplan occasionally. He has goodscientific reasons behind his decision - and it is for your well being. Without the man with thelittle black bag and stethoscope- and his colleagues in laboratories and at design boards - aviation could not have progressedto the threshold of space and beyond. He has stood at the aviator's side from the very first intrepid balloon and airplaneflights. He stands with you nowand will be there in the future.

Perhaps this comment by MGOtis O. Benson, Jr., USAF, commandant of the School of Aviation Medicine, sums up this co-operative effort: Perhaps thegreatest significance of aviationmedicine lies in the fact that agroup of professionally and scientifically trained men devotetheir attention, energies, skills,and knowledge to the humanproblems of flight. There is, thus,constituted an articulate groupinterested in the human element- the people who fly and allthose affected by ,aeronautical activities. Also, there is available toaircraft designers, manufacturers,and operators a source of professional advice of which the basicconcern is the welfare of man inaeronau tics.

PROGRIESti .

27


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-. .--

earing ossO F THE FIVE senses a humanpossesses, hearing is oftenconsidered the most remarkableintricate and delicate mechanismof them all. Even today, with allthe advances in medical knowledge, much is yet to be learnedabout the ear and how it functions. We do know that the ear issubject to degeneration from age,exposure to sound pressure levels,and many other factors.

The aviator is concerned withsound pressure levels from thespectrum of sound of his environment. An important portion ofthat environment is the flying machine. Before we discuss the problems an aviator faces .with thisspectrum of sound and hearingloss, a brief, general knowledge ofsound and how the ear functionsis important.

Sound is caused by an , objectvibrating in air or other matter.The pitch of the sound is determined by the number of timesthe object vibrates per second28

aptain Terry L Schuetz

cycles per second, cps). The morerapid the vibration the higher thepitch; the less rapid the vibrationthe lower the pitch. Humanspeech ranges from 250-4,000 cy-cles per second. A normal humanear can detect a frequency rangefrom 20-20,000 cycles per second.

Sound is also measured in degrees of loudness. The unit ofmeasure is called the decibel db).A doubling of sound energy willincrease the sound pressure level6 decibels. A power lawnmowerhas a sound pressure level of approximately 90 decibels at fullthrottle. Music at a comfortablelistening level is approximately80 decibels.

The ear mechanism is dividedinto three general parts. The external ear, the middle ear, andthe inner ear see diagram A).The external ear consists of theouter part or the auricle, and theear canal, part A The middle earcontains three small bones calledthe hammer the anvil, and the

stirrup parts D, E, F. The innerear contains the cochlea, part Iwhich is divided by the basilarmembrane along its length, and agreat number of lymph-filled canals. In the cochlea are locatednerves which give us the sense ofhearing. t must be rememberedthat the ear is much more complex than what is stated here. Weare discussing only those portionsof the ear that deal with the senseof hearing.

When sound waves are caughtby the auricle and reflected intothe ear canal, they strike the eardrum part B, and cause it to vibrate. The vibrating eardrumca uses the three small bones ofthe middle ear, the hammer anvil, and the stirrup to vibrateand carry the impulses across themiddle ear to the oval windowCPT Schuetz was assigned to theDept of Rotary Wing TrainingFt Rucker A la. when he wrotethis article. He s now serving inVietnam.

U. S ARMY AVIATION DIGEST


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part G, which connects to the inner ear. As the oval window vibrates, there must be a way forthe lymph fluid in the inner earto move, and this is provided bya small round window coveredwith a delicate membrane, part J.As the membrane goes in andout, lymph waves are set up.These waves move tiny nerve endings in the cochlea, producingnervous stimuli which are carriedthrough a branch of the auditorynerve, part K, to the brain wherethe mind transforms them intohearing.

How does all the above concern us as aviators? The answerto this question is simple. Manyaviators today have a loss of hearing sensitivity at certain ranges ofthe sound spectrum due to constant exposure to high soundpressure levels from the aircraft.To begin with, there are twotypes of deafness associated withsound in our case. First is a temporary deafness or fatigue whichlasts only a few days. We experience this type of deafness after firing all day on the rifle range. Thesecond type of deafness can bea permanent deafness which iscaused by constant exposure to ahigh sound pressure level such asaircraft noise. To some individuals, this high sound pressurelevel induced deafness is temporary; however, to most it becomespermanent over a period of time.This does not imply that one becomes totally deaf. It just takesmore volume or decibels to hearthat particular frequency than itdid before you started flying.

When the cochlea is continuously subjected to a certain frequency or noise of a high pressurelevel, the basilar membrane (seediagram B), a portion of thecochlea degenerates at a region associated with that frequency. Ithas been found that high frequency tones cause a degeneration of the basilar membraneSEPTEMBER 1967

near the oval window, part G,whereas the lower frequency tonescause a degeneration at the opposite end of the basilar membrane.Tones of the middle frequenciescause a degeneration in the midportion.

435 hp aircraft engine running at 3200 rpm generates approximately 120 decibels. Thehigher the horsepower the greaterthe decibel level. This 120 decibellevel is about 1,000,000 timesgreater a force than the averageear is capable of detecting. Thisis analogous to weighing a 15 tonpackage on a postage scale. Constant overstimulation of the ear,that we experience when we fly,is a casual factor in loss of hearing.Since WW II, extensive studieshave been made to design variousdevices to attenuate the soundlevel. To this date, the problemis not completely solved. Engineers tried to attack the source ofthe sound but found this routecostly, and it imposed some engineering problems with the aircraft. Researchers and manufacturers have developed earmuffswith good sound attenuation characteristics. They are worn by AirForce and Navy line personnelfor protection of their ears fromjet engine noise.

Another effective ear protectivedevice is the V51R earplug whichis available to the Army aviator.However, many aviators fail towear the earplugs because of dis-

comfort. Since the standardAPH-5 offers very little sound attenuation, it is advisable that ear-plugs be worn with the flighthelmet.

Research is still continuing andefforts are being made to developa helmet that will offer greatersound attenuation. Until suchtime as this is accomplished, wewill have to depend on the earplug for ear protection.

No statistics are available as tothe number of aviators groundedeach year because of a hearingloss. But remember, a hearing losscaused by a high sound pressurelevel coming from aircraft noisecan be a permanent loss of a portion of your audible hearingrange. Only you - the Army aviator - can preven t this damagefrom happening or continuing.Wear your earplugs, regardless ofthe discomfort. little discomfort is only a slight price to payfor retaining your hearing.

EXTERNALEAR INNEREAR MIDDLEEAR

DIAGRAM BFREQUENCY


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The man at the right and iscolleagues are long overdue for

OVERDUEeREDIMajor Eugene A. Beyer

I have often wondered how a crewchief felt when ispilot received an award and he a verbal Well Done

S INCE OUR buildup startedin the aviation field for theSouth Vietnam conflict, immeasurable attention has been di.rected toward the helicopter pilottraining program. This does notmean that the other requirementswhich go hand in hand with pilottraining have been slighted, butlet us say they have not beengiven the coverage. Let us pausenow and consider just one of theparallel requirements of pilottraining: the mechanic or crewchief. Even though the amount ofmoney spent on training this individual does not approach thatbeing spent on the pilot, let usgive credit where credit is due.

The 67N20 course (Single Rotor Turbine Helicopter Maintenance Course) is a five weekcourse with a very comprehensivecurriculum. During this programthe crewchief candidates are presented classes in powerplants, airframe maintenance fuel and engine lubricating systems, flightcontrols and hydraulic controls.1 this is not enough to absorb,30

try a follow-up on tail boom andtail rotor, pylon system, electricaland utility systems, weight andbalance, loads and inspections.

During this time, the prospective mechanic is given practicalexercises where he actually rigs atail rotor, or whatever the classmay be on, for that particularday s instruction. Keeping inmind the five week course, hislearning is also taxed with fivedays of tactics where he gets hisgunnery training. To be a wellrounded crewchief these days aman must be able to keep his birdflying and his ordnance firing.This not only includes the weapons mounted on an armed helicopter bu t also his basic weapon,which in most cases is the M-60machinegun.

With the family of aircraft theArmy possesses at present, one canreadily see the need for manytypes of mechanics, but like pilottraining the emphasis is on helicopters. With the addition of theOH-6 into the family and the future additions of the Cobra and

the AAFSS (advanced aeria l firesupport system), a varied and interesting field is open to helicopter mechanics.

Maintenance students, muchlike aviators, really begin to learnonce they depart the AviationSchool and put their talents touse. After they are assigned anaircraft, a sense of pride begins tobuild within the individual. Hedoes the best he can and in mostinstances, he finds himself in acombat situation which stimulates the learning process. He enjoys, more than he will admitkeeping his aircraft flying. Heworks long, hard hours and I amsure he feels the weight of theworld resting on his shoulders.Each day his bird flies, lives areplaced in his hands. He knowsjust on

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