Good military pilots save lives.

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cudaspaz

cudaspaz

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Anyone who has been in the military knows how much troops rely on air support of any kind to keep them safe in tough situtations.
These guys are to be commended for saving many lives in the courses of all the wars this country ever fought in.

Here is one small example of the importance of keeping our military well equipped, well trained, and well....just plain tough as nails.

The pilot of this ch-47 Chinook worked as a medivac helicopter pilot in civilian life.

This picture say's a thousand words.

Loading wounded soldiers in the rear while barely perched upon the only flat surface the soldiers could find within miles.

chinook.jpg
 
My hat comes off for them, and thanks for reminding us what they go through
to keep us and our troops safe. Thanks cudaspaz:salut::salut:
 
Here's a couple comments from my brother who has been around these aircraft since he joined the Army.

Hi guys,

I guess I should let you know a bit about this picture being that I know this particular aircraft more than any other. Of course, this is a CH-47D model Chinook. This was taken in Afghanistan back in 2004. The particular landing that has occured here is called a "pinnacle landing". It is actually quite a standard event during load in, load out configuations in certain situations. The aircraft is situated so that the rear landing gear are on the deck and the forward gear of course are in free air, and the pilot keeps what is called "positive thrust" in the collective. This keeps the rotor blades at a pitch which keeps the forward portion of the ship off the ground in a hover configuration. You can hold this position all day long if necessary. Kind of cool, isn't it? I have actually done many pinnacle landings, especially during our little stint in Iraq during desert storm when we were part of "Operation Provide Comfort" (OPC), when we were dealing with the Kurdish refugees. We were not able to land on all the gear because we had to be very careful not to let the locals try to board the ship. This was something that they all tried to do because they wanted to get out of there and we could not take on passengers during our missions. If you look closely at the aircraft, you will see a guy standing to the immediate left of the aircraft ramp. That is the Flight Engineer, (which was my job) while in the Army. That particular guy is actually a very good friend of mine who is in the PA National Guard. His name is Eddie, and the pilot flying the aircraft works for us here at Keystone. The helicopter business is a small world... After a while, you get to know everyone in the business, so it's always a good idea to treat everyone well! A bad reputation gets spread like wildfire!

This particular aircraft is no longer in service. She has been dis-assembled and re-manufactured into the new upgraded CH-47G model aircraft with all "glass cockpit" instrumentation, (TV screens instead of gages), ACMS avionics package, and many other new updated equipment. Geez, I'm gettting old... I remember when I was flying in C Models, went into the D Model transition course and was the first unit in Germany to get issued the new D model Chinook helicopters, and now they are all timed out and being upgraded into the new F and G models! Just thought I would share this with all of you!



Ronnie
 
I agree that they need to be well equipped. This is where we ended up the last time I was on a sh!thook.....I mean Chinook. There was a transmission warning light on so we had to make an "emergency" landing on the beach till the replacement part arrived on another Chinook.

shithook1.jpg
 
I used to work with a couple of guys in particular that flew choppers in Nam. One was a Cobra pilot and the other a Huey Medivac pilot. They always had some great stories and photos from Vietnam. I also know and have known many Vietnam Vets and they will tell you quick how good those chopper Pilots are and how many lives they save every day! God Bless all the Troops that defend this Great Country!
 
the folks that risk it all deserve all the support we can give them thankz for doing a real hard job i hope we can take care of those folks in the long run must be a tough job how dos a person un wind from that man woww help the vets they desrve all we can give them:happy10:
 
Being good news, the massive humanitarian support of earthquake victims by US and NATO forces really didn't get much press time. Too bad, we did so much for these people. I know, I was there.

Too often we rate the success of a military operation by the number killed. But seldom if ever do you hear about the lives saved by tactical aircrew. We take the "trash haulers" in C-130's, UH-60's and CH-47's (among others) for granted. It's unfortunate that these Soldiers, Airmen and Marines (most of them Guardsmen and Reservists) get little credit for the vital role they play at home and around the world. Thank you for posting such a picture and the accompanying story.

It is our honor to serve.
 
C130 Chief said:
Being good news, the massive humanitarian support of earthquake victims by US and NATO forces really didn't get much press time. Too bad, we did so much for these people. I know, I was there.

Too often we rate the success of a military operation by the number killed. But seldom if ever do you hear about the lives saved by tactical aircrew. We take the "trash haulers" in C-130's, UH-60's and CH-47's (among others) for granted. It's unfortunate that these Soldiers, Airmen and Marines (most of them Guardsmen and Reservists) get little credit for the vital role they play at home and around the world. Thank you for posting such a picture and the accompanying story.

It is our honor to serve.
Click to expand...

They may not get much credit by the media, but ask any soldier that comes home from service and he/ she will have cool "highlight" stories of how air support helped save their asses, blew the hell out of the enemy with gunships, plucked wounded soldiers from precarious positions, ensured safe travel in "hot" areas, delivered much needed supplies, cleared a bloody path through enemy lines with some precise, awesome firepower.

Oh, yeah, they are appreciated more than the mainstream media wants to admit.

What could be more fun than playing with some of the coolest toys known to mankind?
 
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