Chinook Transition Course

After graduating and getting my Wings and Warrant Officer bar, I went home for a short visit before I head to Ft. Rucker, Alabama for the Chinook Transition Course. I am so ready to get into that big helicopter and fly it. I assumed that when I got to the front gate at Rucker they would have someone there to meet me and tell me how great it was for me to be there. I am kidding of course, but this is the beginning of my “ Whale crap on the bottom of the ocean” theory. It goes like this.

In the Army and many other types of careers that have ranks and titles, you get to a point where you are the most senior or well qualified guy in your unit. Everybody looks to you for the answers or for the expertise that goes with your experience at the unit. Then the dreaded change of job or station comes along, often disguised as a promotion. For example, when I graduated from flight school I was more senior than the other pilots that had not graduated and of course, I thought I was the best. When I arrived at Chinook Transition Course I was the new guy with no experience and a brand new warrant officer to boot. I was whale crap on the bottom of the ocean, nothing is lower than whale crap. You don’t know where to go or who to see and you don’t even know where the mess hall is.

Well I lived thru that and got signed in and started the training. It didn’t take long to realize that I was among a new league of talent. Most of these guys had already served one or more tours in Vietnam or had graduated top in their classes. As I think back on it, it was good to be in that group of guys. There was a lot to learn and everyone was willing to help everyone else.

The Chinook is a very complex helicopter, with two turbine engines and a third small one for aux power. Two of every other system as well, such as hydraulics and electrical. The controls were different in ways that are hard to describe. The collective was called a thrust lever and had two electric engine beep switches to allow the pilot to balance torque on the rotor system. The cyclic had a stick positioner that would allow you to put the stick where it needed to be based on the center of gravity. The twin rotor system would allow for most any center of gravity position on internal loads, which may require you to but the cyclic farther forward or rearward for comfort. The pedals were not antitorque as in a single mast conventional helicopter, but were used to trim in flight and make turns at a hover. All this took some time to get used to.

Besides the difference in the helicopter itself, the missions would also be very different. We would be hauling a large assortment of cargo, from internal loads such as combat troops and vehicles inside to sling loads outside. The sling load was the most normal type of cargo we would encounter in Vietnam. We would haul everything from other helicopters to artillery to any assortment of netted cargo. It all had to be learned and practiced.

We did lots of emergency procedure training. Single engine operation, single hydraulics or electrical failure, engine fires and everything you could think of. The training was very thorough, but hardly enough to prepare you for flying in a combat arena. When we left this course we were qualified to be pilot in command of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter in any Army job. When we arrived in Vietnam, we weren’t qualified to be co-pilot. Remember whale crap. It existed in the war zone big time.

After graduation from the Chinook course I got a couple of weeks off before shipping out to Vietnam . I will pick it up there next time.

Thanks for reading

Bob

ARMY FLIGHT SCHOOL GRADUATION

I am now flying Hueys every day and going to class to learn navigation, avionics, tactical maneuvers, and the rules of conduct for becoming an Army Warrant Officer.
We were treated very well by now as we had become senior candidates which was indicated by an orange tab under our name tag.
We got to go off base a lot and have some fun. I think the impact of going off to the war soon was hitting everyone by now including the TAC officers who were taking it easy on us.
One of the most sobering events of this training was the final survival training course. I remember we all dreaded this as it got closer. It was winter time and cold in the swamps of Georgia. They divided us into teams of three pilots and took us out into the swamps with a rubber map, compass and very little else. This was to simulate being shot down in Vietnam and trying to stay alive and reach a safe place. It was in the afternoon on Friday and they dropped us off at different spots along a dirt road in the swamp. We were assigned a destination that would take us all night and into the next day to get to. It had to be a team effort or we wouldn’t make it. It got very dark and the water in the swamp was about two feet deep in many places and quite cold. The enemy was portrayed by the local National Guard troop who would get points for every team they captured. All the enemy had to do was shine a light on them and they were captured.
This would play a large part in our overall grade and if you got captured it made a big impact on your graduation status. The team I was on worked very well together and we made it to the safe spot in short time. About half the teams got captured.
After that day the end of the course seemed upon us and we were all getting ready for graduation day and the impending trip to the war zone. There was speculation about where everybody would be assigned and what kind of missions they would be flying. There seemed to be lots of nervousness. We all had become close and knew we might never see each other again as we went to different assignments.
Graduation day was around the corner and we all had to go to the base store and purchased our Officer uniforms for the big ceremony. We were about to become Officers and Pilots in one afternoon. We would get our Warrant officer bar and then our wings.
On graduation day my mom was the only parent to go on the stage and pin on my wings. She was allowed to do that because I was the Distinguished Graduate of class 69-47.
It was the end of a year long training program. My flight records show 218 hours of helicopter time with ratings in Hueys and OH-13
My next assignment is Chinook transition course at Fort Rucker Alabama. I will pick up the story there.
Thanks for reading
Bob

A few beers in Vietnam

Hello again,

I wanted to address something Larry Fann said in a comment to the last post, about sitting in his BOQ room after a few beers and thinking about looping a Chinook Helicopter.

This first photo is from the little bar we had downstairs in our BOQ in Can Tho Vietnam. The "strange looking" guy in the white hat is Matt Wodjak who made a career in the Army and either retired as a CW-4, or is still at the pentagon. In case you dont know it, that's a big deal. Larry told me Matt arranged for him to get a transition in a CH-47D back in 1992 with another former Hillclimber, Bob Agee as the Instructor. I am sooooo jealous. According to Larry the D model puts the A,B, and C models to shame. The guy in the white Tee shirt in front is Bear MacAteer, who Larry told me has passed away. He used to make us all laugh every time we got mortared or the siren went off he was the first in the bunker right outside our BOQ. He had on his underwear, a flak jacket, pot helmet and a battle shotgun. We were about 50 feet from the concertina wire and he wasn't going to let anybody get him.

This picture is Bob Agee in our little bar enjoying some music and Captain Horton, who must have had gaurd duty that night since he has a flak jacket and his cap. I believe Capt Horton has also passed away.

Anyway back to the part about Larry having a few beers, I may be a little fuzzy about this but I think we mostly had a few beers every night. Our little bar was occupied every night with most of us pilots drinking beer or whatever other stuff we could get to stock the place. Lots of poker games and story telling.

We drank our beer out of cans with rusty tops and bottoms from the long boat ride to vietnam, opened with a "church key" since this was before pop tops. I remember one time we relinquised a pallet of beer from the Navy. It was in aluminum cans with no rust, we were in hog heaven. The navy really roughed it.

Well, enough of the party talk. If anyone out there has any details about these guys, let me know.

Thanks for participating in the memory

Bob

Fehrs, Wright, Fann, Weiracht, and Cockerham

I got an email today from my friend Larry Fann who was Hillclimber 20 in Vietnam. He sent me a link to some very cool helicopter flying. The reason he sent it to me is because when he and I learned to fly helicopters, this would have been totally unheard of. The closest thing to this type of flying would have been a "wing over" by a cobra to enter a diving attack. So this is quite a thrilling site. Take a look and thank you Larry for the contribution.

http://www.flixxy.com/red-bull-helicopter-aerobatics.htm

By the way, for those of you who have been around aviation for a while, you may know Larry. He was an instructor pilot in my unit in Vietnam where he served two tours over there flying Chinooks. He later worked for the FAA in Hawaii and other assignments around the country. He was an ASI, which is Aviation Safety Inspector, (I think). He recently retired to a life of playing golf and enjoying his family. His daughter CPT Ashleigh Fann is an Army veterinarian and serving in Okinawa, so if you know her say hello. His son Jeff is in Oklahoma. Larry and his wife Carol live in Abilene Texas. I will see him and hopefully some other guys I know this summer in San Antonio at the reunion for the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association.

If anyone has flown one of these BO-105 helicopters, I would like to know what it feels like to fly the rigid rotor system in these unusual attitudes.

Thanks for contributing

Bob

A Tribute to Gary Green, my friend

I am very sad today. As you all know I had a very good friend named Gary Green. He and I were together all thru basic training and up to graduation from flight school. It was a long time ago but since I started writing this story and thinking about those times, it has become almost like yesterday.

Today I found out that Gary was killed in 2000 doing what he liked to do the most, flying. I wish he had been more careful, according to the information I received, he was flying a homemade gyrocopter and it broke apart in midair. It was just like him to push it like that.

I know this blog is about my becoming a pilot, but this is a part of the story I can’t resist telling, so I will give you some insight into what I knew about Gary Green.

He was from Pocatella Idaho, where he had done some rodeo clowning. He belonged to the PRCA (professional rodeo clown association) at his very young age. He had this personality that made you laugh just looking at him. When we were in basic training we went thru a gas chamber training exercise. While we were on the bus waiting for our turn, a Katydid bug landed on the window of the bus. Gary said he thought that bug looked good and he was hungry. This went around until he got a bet going that he wouldn’t eat the bug for $10.00. Well he ate the bug to everybody’s surprise. He had a big smile on his face when he did it. Later on in the basic training we were on a forced march and were stopped to rest when one of the guys caught a small lizard. You can imagine the back and forth about whether Gary would eat the lizard. You must remember that this was army basic training and no one had much money so a cash bet was a big deal. The bet got up to $25.00 and Gary said OK but he would eat it in two bites if the bet was raised to $50.00. Everyone on the bus except me and a few other guys put up the money and the bet was placed. Gary bit the lizard in half head first and swallowed it, then with a smile on his face he put the rest in his mouth and pushed the tail in with his finger. The crowd ran into the woods to get sick!! Gary was known as Lizard after that.

At Fort Wolters whenever we could get off base and there was a rodeo in town, Gary and I would go and he would ask if they would let him clown with the bulls. He was like an acrobat. He would run up and jump on the back of the bull and off again before the bull could react. He had a lot of fun and showed no fear. It seemed that he could think and move ahead of the bulls.

After flight school ended and I went to Chinook transition I lost track of him. I had heard he went to LOH or Cobra school. After I was in Vietnam I began to hear rumors about him.

He was with A Troop, 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. He got shot down in a LOH one day as part of a pink team. The enemy was very close and he assumed were coming his way to get him. He had a 45 auto and a car 15 rifle. He ran in the direction that he thought they would come from and intercepted them and killed all 6 of the VC.

He stayed a second tour. He was shot down 5 times in a cobra and twice in a LOH. One of the times he was shot down he was hit in the foot or lower leg with a 51 cal round. He defied the odds and walked again. He was highly decorated for valor in his two tours.

At some time in his career he took a commission as a 1st Lieutenant. After Vietnam he went to Europe and lost his leg in a motorcycle accident. I heard from someone who knew him that he might have aggravated the previous injury in a rodeo clown event before he went to Europe and had the motorcycle accident. There were false reports that he had lost his leg in the 51 cal incident but he stayed at my house for awhile after he got out of the army and he told me it was a motorcycle accident in Europe. I remember him sitting at my kitchen table with his leg removed and telling me about how he had competed in some sort of special Olympics for amputees. I think he won a gold medal.
He told me he was going to buy a crawler backhoe and put in septic tanks back in Idaho.

He ended up in Wyoming in the real estate business. That is where he lived when he was killed.

You can read a report about him if you wish. http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/garygreen.htm
Or just google gary green army

I would like to hear from anyone else who knew Gary and maybe they can share some other stories about him or correct any inaccuracies I may have.

To absent companions.

The realization has hit me, I am a Helicopter Pilot!!!! The course at Fort Wolters has ended and I am off to advanced training. My records show I have 46 hours of solo flying hours in the Bell OH13 and about 60 hours of dual. No license is in my pocket but I have enough hours to feel like a helicopter pilot.

I take a little time at home and then I am off to Hunter Army Airfield (HAA) near Savannah Georgia for the next phase of training. This will turn out to be significant in a different kind of way. I will be introduced to instrument flying in a helicopter and the best part of all, the turbine powered Bell UH-1 Huey! It was and still is a magnificent helicopter.

The first time you lift off the ground in a helicopter and the instructor gives you the controls, you are in a new world no matter how many flying hours you may have. The entire process of handling the helicopter in a controlled manner is difficult right up until you press the hover button. This is somewhere inside you and is the prerequisite of being able to fly a helicopter. No hover, no fly. It can take longer for some than others, but it is like magic when it finally happens.

Transitioning into other helicopters is no where as significant a step as those first hours leading up to solo flight, but they are significant , as they will be steps toward your advancement in being a helicopter pilot. Most career helicopter pilots have been checked out in an assortment of helicopters. Many either have or are working to get instrument ratings, which is no small accomplishment.

The advanced training at HAA was similar to the training at Ft Wolters except we were treated in a slightly more civilized manner. The weaker students have already been washed out and there is less harassment. My roommate is Gary Green again but this time we are in three man rooms in a nicer barracks. I can’t remember my other roommate. We are still expected to pass regular inspections for our uniforms and barracks cleanliness.

The flight training started in the TH-13T instrument trainer which is a more powerful version of the OH-13. It had a turbocharger and was painted orange, I remember that it flew a little faster. We spent lots of hours under the hood working toward an instrument rating which was a requirement for all Army aviators. The war had placed a major strain on the system and the demand for helicopter pilots was more than the supply. The training was adjusted to meet the requirement for an instrument rating by adopting a new rating called the Tactical ticket. This required less time and basically gave pilots the skills needed to get the aircraft on the ground in the event of inadvertent flight into actual weather conditions. It would not allow the pilot to file an IFR flight plan.

The flying I had done with Bob Luke before I went into the Army gave me a leg up on the instrument flying portion of the course. As we neared the end of the Huey transition portion, the instructors put me up for a check ride for a standard instrument rating in a Huey. I flew with CW2 John T. Jordan who was the instrument examiner at HAA. The flight lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes. I still have that flight sheet and am very proud to have been the only student pilot to graduate with a standard instrument rating out of flight school.

After the instrument portion of the course we worked on the Huey transition and the tactical training for our deployment to Vietnam. We flew formation flights where we joined up with 3 to 5 other helicopters and flew in formation like a flock of geese. We would take off and fly to a landing zone and land in this formation with our blades less than 50 feet apart for the entire flight. It took awhile to feel comfortable doing this.

As I recall we would put 3 students in the helicopter at a time. One flew and the other two would be in the back on either side as observers. There was so much air traffic, we liked to have observers to avoid mid- air collisions. We would switch at fuel stops so all three got to fly. I thought the instructors must have had butts of iron to put up with this for several hours at a time, only to learn later that we would put in long hours in the seat after we got to Vietnam.

I never flew solo again in the Army since the helicopters I flew required two pilots. I don’t remember if we flew with two students or always with an instructor, but we always had fun. We would do low level tree top flying and all types of different approaches to either airfields or to the “jungles” of Georgia. We also took cross country flights to teach us navigation and the use of radios. We also did some night flying to learn to land to jeep lights in the jungle.

The emergency procedure training was always there, so much so that I think we all sort of forgot to think about it and took it in stride. This probably saved many lives in Vietnam, and elsewhere. The military sets some very good examples for emergency training and spares no dollars doing it.

We did practice autorotations of every kind, almost always fully to the ground. It was a great confidence builder and a thrill. The Huey has a high inertia rotor system and does wonderful autorotations. The helicopter I have now, the Robinson R44 has less inertia and as yet hasn’t taken me all the way to the ground in a practice autorotation. I will attend the Robinson Safety Course later this year and do them in their helicopters. I will let you know after that how they compare.

I will continue this story later.
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy.
Bob

Primary flight training and the Warrant Officer Course

Primary flight training was blended with the Warrant Officer Course. We would go to class every day for about half a day and go to the flight line for the other part. The classes were partly the mechanical workings of helicopters, flight aerodynamics, navigation, and all the things most people had to learn to fly. We also had physical training to stay in shape. In addition to this we had to learn about the Army and the life of being a Warrant Officer. To make it thru the course, you had to pass the flying and classroom phases of training. There were many who did not make it thru the primary course due to poor grades in the classroom or inability to grasp the flying portion or even to cope with the harassment by the TAC Officers.

If you don’t know about Army ranks, the basics are like this. It all starts with the Enlisted ranks, which is private to corporal or specialist 4th , then the Non-Commissioned Officers or NCO’s such as Sergeant or Spec 5 all the way up to Command Sergeant Major, who is very powerful and usually works for a Commanding General, Then the big one, Sergeant Major of the Army who is at the Pentagon. After that are the Warrant Officers, starting at WO1 and going to CW5. Warrant officers are in the specialty areas such as aviation, maintenance, supply etc. These officers are by nature sort of mavericks and have some of the best assignments. The Commissioned officers are next starting with the 2nd Lieutenant, 1st Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Lieutenant Colonel, and Colonel at the top. Commissioned officers are associated with a branch such as infantry, artillery, armor, intelligence etc. and wear the insignia of their branch. The highest are the General Officers, from Brigadier General, Major General, Lieutenant General, and General. They do not have a branch, they just have stars. I believe there have been three 5 star generals in the Army, they were Pershing, Eisenhower and Marshall, they were called General of the Army.

The reason I was going thru the Warrant Officer Program was that there was no College degree required. To be a pilot in the Army, you have to be an officer, either Warrant or Commissioned. Commissioned Officers were usually college graduates or had gone thru OCS and/or upgraded from NCO.

Back to primary flight school, I remember the warm to hot days of Summer at Ft Wolters out west of ft Worth. My instructor was a heavy man and we were always at max gross weight and could barely get to a hover in the afternoon with full gas. It was good training to learn to fly at the limit of your aircraft. The OH13 was a stable flying platform and did very well in autorotations due to the mass of the rotor system. This was important because the main thing we were taught was how to live thru an engine failure. On some days the instructor would chop the throttle 5 or 6 times without notice and we were supposed to be able to turn into the wind and make it into some acceptable landing area. This was challenging at first but became second nature after this training. I learned to constantly keep my hand on the collective and remember where the wind was coming from, plus keep an eye out for fields. There were several actual engine failures during my time at Wolters, so the training was taken very seriously.

We also did lots of traffic pattern work at the staging fields, making many takeoff and landings in a day. We learned the techniques of confined area operations and handling tail rotor failures. It was lots of fun!!!

As this primary training was coming to an end we were divided into two groups to go to advanced training. Most guys went to Ft Rucker at Dothan Alabama. I was with the group that went to Hunter Army Airfield (HAA) at Savannah Georgia. I will pick up here on the next post.

Thanks for reading my story, be sure to post a comment if you think of something I forgot.

Bob