that helo looks full and that gator/croc (?) has gotta weigh 500 pounds or so. Hope it let go are there's gonna be quite a mess to clean up!
Anybody have any information on this? http://news.yahoo.com/cg-crash-survivor-faces-charges-deadly-incident-163127666.html. The article is short on detail - who was the PIC and the Pilot at the controls. But it is unusual, to say the least, to see these kinds of charges filed after a mishap. Any Coasties here?
I'm a former coastie. That was 20 years ago now, and a lot has changed. But even back then, there was a change taking place. There seemed to be an influx of blame flamers. Sadly, reading this article doesn't suprise me at all. My reaction to it was more along the line of 'business as uaual'. I think that is the result of having a sytem in place where the only way to get rid of an ass hole at a duty station is to promote them. It's the easiest, surest method to get some one transfered out of a job, and it was used heavily to fix 'problems'.
Sounds very familiar. The military probably operates the same way today. Numpties were always sent on course, after course, after course, to get them out of the way. The obvious consequence arose when it was time for top jobs to be filled. The most "qualified" were the idiots that had been doing the courses and they were the ones that ended up in charge.
This brings to mind the tarring of the Captain of the U.S.S Indianapolis during WWII. Great book if you never read the story. Summary is he is the only Captain to ever be court marshalled after his ship was torpedoed by an enemy (Jap sub) vessel.
Got a chance to go out to Barstow Daggat this morning to watch the retirement of the last 3 Hueys. W5 John Harris gave a very moving speech on his memories of an aircraft whose career has spanned 6 decades. OPFOR replacement aircraft
I've been getting a pretty big kick out of scanning through this thread...Imagine my surprise when I see my CFI looking back at me. After a bit of a hiatus, I'm back at Midwestern Helicopters to finish up my private, and contemplating what I'm going to do afterward.
I don't think I had the pleasure of speaking to you. I was one of the Kern County Fire guys in the last row. John still flies for Santa Barbara Fire and will probably fly for us this year. We still operate 2 SuperHueys off highway 58 in Keene. Stop by sometime.
The Royal Australian Navy finally retires the Sea King: http://australianaviation.com.au/2011/12/sea-kings-make-final-flight/ Its being replaced by the NH90. The Australian military has apparently ordered them with a particular configuration and renamed it MRH90. Anyone fly these? Opinions?
Ahhh - nope, I didn't talk with many of the fire fighters but I did see you guys. I'll definitely be up to visit - I'd love to get a good close look at your Super Hueys. If you ever need another old Huey driver, give a shout. Happy Holidays. jdg
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Thanks for posting the link to your pictures. Was great to relive some of that. I was with HMH-361 crewing A's, D's and then the transition to E models. Also did a tour at HMX-1. I keep hoping that someday I'll run into my aircraft, BuNo 162502 at an airshow someday. I still work on helicopters, but the H53 is still the most impressive and amazing helicopter ever built. At least in my honest, be it slightly biased, opinion. Man, the stories one could tell just from seeing your pictures. Have done allot of the same things, including the C-5 breakdowns for transport. Thanks again for the pics. Fly safe. Semper Fi.
