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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Hmmm, he's done this before.


8 comments:

  1. Yup, that Huey pilot is good, but check out this:
    http://sophisticatedfinance.typepad.com/sophisticated_finance/2009/12/afghanistan-helicopter-heroics.html

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  2. Reminds me of the PA Nat'l Guard pilot landing the Shithook (CH47) on the roof in Irakistaniaq.
    Pure artistic ability in getting the job done.

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  3. When I worked in the Tolumne canyon 28 years ago, we did some spooky shit like one skid on a boulder in the middle of the river, or toe in with the back of the chopper hanging over the river and the rotors two feet from the hillside. The pilot would say, "Get out real careful". There were few places to land in that canyon. Both pilots were Viet Nam vets and did crazy shit! The first helo ride I ever got we did a barrel roll into the canyon! I watched the little attitude ball on the console go all the way around. One of the pilots just could not fly level. It was fun! and I'm glad I'm still here to tell about it. Years later I hired a pilot to do some log placement in a river we were rehabing, and his bird was a Viet Nam vet, A Huey like the one in your photo, and it had bullet holes all over it Those folks have big brass ones!

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  4. Sarthurk - nobody beats an Army pilot, man.
    I watched a medical flight landing at the pad at the hospital when Pops was in there and I swear to God, it took that motherfucker 10 minutes to lower it the last 200 feet. An Army pilot would've come in at rooftop level, dropped it and flared at the last second and set it down, total elapsed time maybe 15 seconds.

    I know the Tuolumne river canyon pretty well and it would be a bitch to work in. I would've liked to seen that.

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  5. Met a helicopter pilot who flew LRRP guys (including mercs) into Cambodia and Laos while Nixon was declaring we had no troops in Cambodia. He had some excellent stories. The semi related one here is that they used to play helicopter soccer. Big field, marked goal lines and an empty 55 gallon drum in the middle. Two helos would then try to use their downwash to blow the drum over the other guy's goal line. Excellent practice and boredom solved, at least temporarily.

    VJ

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  6. Must've been an Army Medevac pilot. Any time, any place, any condition.

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