Army Aviation Digest - Feb 1965

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FEBRUARY 965


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UNITED

DIRECTOR OF ARMY AVIATION, ACSFORDEPARTMENT OF THE ARMYBrig Gen John J. Tolson, III

COMMANDANT, U S ARMY AVIATION SCHOOLMaj Gen Clifton F von Kann

ASST COMDT, U S ARMY AVIATION SCHOOLCol Robert F Cassidy

EDITORIAL STAFFCapt Richard C AnglinFred M MontgomeryRichard K TierneyWilliam H SmithDiana G. Williams

GRAPHIC ART SUPPORTH G. LinnH. A. PickelD L CrowleyA. Lofe

USABAAR EDUCATION AND LITERATURE DIVPierce L WigginWilliam E CarterTed KontosCharles Mabius

RMY VI TION1GESJFEBRUARY 1965 VOLUME 11

CONTENTS

LettersArmy Aviation Tactical Landing Areas,Capt Richard V. CoulterThe Road from Nowhere,S/Sgt Stanley F. GuthrieOf Lumps, Bumps, and Landing Loads,Capt Rufus R. HartIt s a Picnic, Lt Robert L. HammondDouble Cross Training, J. D. WoodSteps to EM Promotion, Maj James E. KennedyVisual Airborne Target Locator System,Maj Donald A. Van MatreAirspace Utilization in Co mbat,Lt Col Morris G Rawlings (Ret)Quality or Quantity, Lt Andrew L BergeronFrozzleforth the Senator,Capt Lawrence F. BeyerCrash Sense

NUM BER

127

13

1516182224

2932

35Personal Preaccident Plan, Capt Frank W. Ogden 42TUG 45Survival for Aviators, Lt Robert C Knight 468 Million Miles in 6 Months Inside BackArmy Aviation Sets 11 More j W Records Back

The mission of the U. S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST is to provide information ofoperational or functional natu re concerning safety and aircraft accident prevention, traininmaintenance, operations, research and development, aviation medicine, and other related daThe DIGEST is an official Department of the Army periodical published montunder the supervision of the Commandant, U. S. Army Aviation School. Views expressherein a re not necessarily those of Department of the Army or the U. S. Army AviatiSchool. Photos are U. S. Army unless otherwise specified. Material may be reprintprovided credit is given to the DIGEST and to the author, unless otherwise indicated.Articles, photos, and items of interest on Army Aviation are invited. Direct commucation s authorized to: Editor-in-Chief U. S. rmy Aviation Digest Fort Rucker Alabama.Use of funds for printing this publication has been approved by Headquarters, Dpartment of the Army, 29 December 1964.Active Army units rece ive distribution under the pinpoint distribution systemoutlined in AR 310-1, 20 March 62, and DA Circular 310-57, 14 March 63. Complete DF orm 12-4 and send directly to CO, AG Publications Center, 2800 Eastern BoulevaBaltimore, Md. For any change in distribution requirements, merely initiate a revised Form 12-4.National Guard and Army Reserve units submit requirements throu gh their stadjutants general and U. S. Army Corps commanders respectively.


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Sir:My writing on the values of a preflight is only a comment on a subjectthat is obvious to all, yet, at timesand by some, is mocked or shruggedoff as being nothing more than atedious preliminary of flight.Because we all realize the safetyfactors involved and what well couldhang in the balance in a thoroughpreflight opposed to one that is haphazard, my main interest is to suggest other important factors, whichalthough secondary to determiningthe airworthiness of an aircraft, relative to inspection, are still or shouldbe of vital importance to a qualifiedaviator.I arrived at Rucker after completing the primary phase of training inthe OH-23 with an unfounded im pression that maintenance problemswer.e of no concern to me as a prospective aviator. f I were assignedan aircraft I concluded i t to beworthy of flight for no better reasonthan mere fact that it was on theflight line and assigned. For me apreflight consisted of a quick visualscan of the controls and rotor systemthat was nothing more than formality.Because of this, although I supposedly qualified to fly the OH-23, I leftit and Wolters knowing relativelylittle about the capabilities, limitations, idiosyncrasies, and generalproblems of this, the aircraft that Ispent some 9 hours in flying.I think I've learned more aboutflying and about the machines thatget us off the ground since I've beenhere at Rucker than I ever did atWolters and in only about one-fifthof the flying time. The reason forthis is that my introduction to theUH-19 and to the preflighting of itwas not only in respect to how tofly it, but also, and equally i f notof greater importance, why it fliesand its limitations of flight.

FEBRUARY 1965

Parallel to this I've learned theimportance of knowing why a component of the aircraft malfunctions,corrective action in coping with relative problems, and in many caseswhat caused the component to fail,not simply to recognize a discrepancy and to let it go at that.This has been a valuable lessonfor many reasons. t has taught methat the world of aviation is a muchgreater vista than I had assumed andthat all related areas of the field aredirectly related to the man in thecockpit and of equal importance tothe safe and successful completionof any given mission, as his personalability to coordinate his cyclic, collective and pedal controls.As a result of my brief experienceshere at Rucker in prefiighting aircraftI've gained knowledge that couldnever be had in flight experiencesalone. This has given me not onlyconfidence in myself, but a working knowledge of the aircraft whichis a vital prerequisite for an' aviatori he is to have confidence in hisaircraft.

Sir:

TIMOTHY P. COUSENSWORWAC 65-1W-l

Another aviator has recognized oneof the biggest boners of Army Aviation and has had the courage toput it in print. I have reference toCaptain G. F. Christensen's articleIdeals and Realities in the December issue of the AVIATION DIGEST.Since such articles concerning thesideline feature of Army Aviationkeep cropping up, maybe there issomething to them. I believe there is.The fellows who keep yelling thattheir branch comes first and that theywould give up flying before giving up

I

their branch are merely parrotingmilitary oriented views. The reasoning behind this loyalty is pure andsimple: Don't bite the hand thatfeeds you.The young officer must make achoice: pursue a career or a profession. And it is this path he must taketo get good efficiency reports and toget those promotions regularly. Makeno mistake, there is no career program for aviators as such. t is fromhis branch that he must carve acareer. You have riflemen in the in fantry branch and tankers in thearmor branch, etc., and then you

have aviators, where? They're notreally aviators at all; they're riflemenand tankers who have been given th eadditional duty of piloting a flyingmachine for two out of three years.Do not be deceived, for in theevent of an out and out war withthe enemy, it will be armed helicopter against armed helicopter andarmed aircraft against armed aircraft,etc., down the line. All the branchschooling and good efficiency reportsand fancy patches sewn on our flightsuits won't deter the enemy one bit inhis attempt to kill us. f the equipment is comparable, only one thingwill determine who shall survive,and that is the skill level of the participants. Skill level is determinedby one thing - FLIGHT EXPERIENCE. You get this experience fromflying, not by sitting behind a desk,or laying off every third year. A fewthousand hours doesn't make the ex perienced pilot. t takes much training followed by more intensivetraining.You can't have first class aviationas long as you give it second classcitizenship.

CAPT WILLIAM R. HOLLISMineral Wells, Texas

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ROM THE jungles of Southeast Asia to the plains ofEurope, Army Aviation is beingemployed to perform an everincreasing number of taskswhich require greater effectiveness than ever before. As is truewith any undertaking of thismagnitude, problems developwhich affect the overall efficien-cy of operations. One of themajor problems encountered isa lack of standardization interminology and in methods of.marking and lighting tacticallanding areas. Not only aviatorsbut ground commanders as wellmust have a common understanding in this area if effectiveresponsive aviation support isto be expected.

TERMSAsk any soldier to define a

tactical landing area. Read anyexercise or test report. Refer toany field manual on the subject.Note the erroneous terms usedto represent and describe tactical landing areas. What a conglomeration of erroneous andambiguous information Notonly do these sources contradict each other, they are noteven uniform within nyonesource.

In the past few years manyterms have evolved along withthe development of Army Aviation. Most of the terms, such ashelipad, base airfield, artilleryCapt Coulter is an instructorwith the Dept of Tactics,USAAVNS, Ft Rucker, Ala.F'EBRUARY 1965

strip, flight strip, etc., hold-oversfrom the old triangular andROCID eras, are no longer acceptable but are still beingused. As a result, a great deal ofmisunderstanding is associatedwith tactical landing areas. Adefinite need exists for standardization of useable existingterms and elimination of antiquated terms from our vocabulary.

Basically Army Aviation isconcerned with two types oftactical landing areas: the airfield and the heliport. Airfieldsare used primarily for fixedwing aircraft, but can normallyaccept helicopter traffic becauseof their configuration. However,heliports, because of their rela-

tively small size, are normallyuseable for helicopters only.

Airfields and heliports arefurther classified according totheir degree of improvement,based on surface conditions andhazards to flight safety, into thefollowing categories. Pioneer. This landing areanormally has an unimprovedsurface and usually is locatedin the forward areas to helpsupport the combat arms elements. Seldom will aviation elements larger than sections orplatoons operate from suchareas. The pioneer landing areais usually operational onlyunder fair weather conditions. Hasty. Ordinarily the hastylanding area is improved but isnot usually surfaced. The degree

Figure 1. Landing zones designated phonetically ALPHA, BRAVO, etc).Landing sites and landing strips designated by color code red, blue, etc).Landing points designated numerically (1, 2 3 4 etc).

L NDING SITES

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WIND DIRECTION r H ? UJ

I 1. RIGHT TRAmcIDENTPANELS2. LEFT TRAfFIC

3. OPTIONAL

BY TURNING THE TAIL OFTHE "T" INTO THE WIND

DIRECTION OF LANDINGFigure 2. inimum airfield markings for fixedwing landing area

Figure 3. Optimum airfield markings for fixedwing landing area

WIND DIRECTION T]

/3 LENGTH

10 0T ] 3 LENGTHPANELS0 01/3 LENGTH

t [IJDIRECTION OF LANDING

NOTE: THE NUMBERS ON THE PANELS INOICATE THE PRIORITY O EMPlACEMENT.

0

0

0

Figure 4. Helicopter landing are

1 50 METERS tnil I' 50 METERS i----.- III ------ITa I I 0::

RIGHT WHEEL OR SKID 1 'I TOUCHES DOWN HERE Io I 1 0r DIRECTION OF LANDING i1

50 METERS1\ AOOmONAL TOUCHDOWN PANELS AS I SOREQUIRED FOR OTHER HELICOPTERSIN THE FORMATION

NOTE: T INDICATES LANDING DIRECTION

i T0 METERS tJ., .. DIRECTION OF LANDING1 t

50 METERSII0 METERS

NOTE: EXAMPlE OF STAGGERED TRAIL FORMATION PANEL LAYOUTMAY BE MODIFIED OR ANY LANDING FORMATION

U. S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST


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of improvement required willdepend on the type of aviationunit operating from it. We willnormally find the hasty landingarea used by the brigade anddivision artillery aviation sec-tion, and sometimes even by theaviation battalion at the divi-sion s instrumented i r f ie I d.Since the hasty landing area isnot useable under prolonged ad-verse weather conditions, a di-vision operating in an area overa prolonged period of time willcontinually improve the instrumented airfield to such an extent that it will progress to a de-liberate landing area.

Deliberate The deliberatelanding area is normally foundat corps and field army level.Because of the degree of im-provement required, it is usuallycapable of handling all types ofaircraft within the Army inven-tory and possesses a capabilityfor all-weather operations.

Although these are the basicdefinitions of types of tacticallanding areas and their threeclassifications, there are stillother terms with which wemust be familiar.

ircraft parking areas shouldbe located near the lailding surface, but positioned to permitdispersion and concealment ofaircraft.

ircraft dispersal areas provide further aircraft dispersionand an area for maintenance.These areas are normally lo-cated farther away from thelanding surface than the parkingareas. In a tactical situation, ithe enemy possesses air superiority or a nuclear capability,dispersal areas must be used toa maximum extent.

Satellite landing areas serveas an auxiliary to the landingarea occupied by the parentunit. Besides being used to ac-cept overflow traffic, they are

FEBRUARY 1965

.... RED LIGHTS IF AVAILABLEo

GLIDE SLOPE INDICATORWHEN AVAILABLE

LANDING

WHITE LIGHTS

o

o- GREEN LIGHTS IF AVAILABLENOTE: NUMBERS IN LIGHTS INDICATE PRIORITY OF EMPLACEMENT .

Figure 5. Night markings for fixed wing landing area

Figure 6. Lighting system for helicopter landing area

D GUO ,LOPE OICAlO'GREEN ,:: WHEN AVAILABLEREDO :E' 9 CES 0{ ~ ~

/111 :ERIGHT WHEEL OR SKIDTOUCHDOWN HERE

DIRECTION OF LANDING

NOTE: ADDITIONAL WHITE LIGHTS CANBE USED TO MARK TOUCHDOWNPOINTS FOR OTHER HELICOPTERSIN THE FORMATION WHEN CON-DUCTING AIRMOBILE OPERATIONS .BARRIERS IN THE AREA SHOULDBE MARKED WITH RED LIGHTS .

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also used as additional dispersalareas. Within a ROAD divisionarea, a satellite airfield or heliport is normally located notmore than 6 kilometers (or notmore than 15 minutes by groundvehicle) to facilitate commandand control, and administrativeand logistical support betweenthe parent unit and its subordinate element(s).

An alternate landing areamust be selected in anticipationof moving from the primary location, should it become unten-able for any reason. The alter-nate should have the same facilities and provide the same capabilities as the primary to allowcontinuous aviation support tothe supported unit.

Besides these major terms wehave discussed, others associatedwith airmobile operations mustbe fully understood to completethe landing area glossary.

The terms discussed thus farpertain to those landing areasnormally found within the fieldarmy area of operation. The re -maining terms to be discussedpertain to airmobile operationsor areas used only for briefperiods of time to accomplish aspecific mission.

A landing zone is selected onor near the objective of an air-mobile force, and should be capable of handling traffic for acomplete airmobile unit. Thelanding zone contains any num-ber of landing strips and/orlanding sites. The landing stripis a predeSignated area whichwill accommodate any fixedwing aircraft that the airmobileforce might have. The landingsite is selected to accommodatehelicopter traffic. Within thelanding site landing points aremarked to indicate individualtouchdown points for helicopterslanding within the site (fig. 1).6

As you would guess, term-inology association with loadingclosely parallel those for landing in conjunction with airmobile operations and include load-in zone loading site etc.

MARKING AND LIGHTINGAs is true with the terms encountered concerning tacticallanding areas, many methods of

marking and lighting landingareas have been used through-out the Army. The Air AssaultDivision uses one method, path-finder detachments use another,and TOE divisions in the fielduse another. Though mission re-quirements for the various unitsdiffer, requirements for landingareas remain substantially thesame.

A short time ago a group ofthe more experienced instructorsassigned to the Department ofTactics of the United StatesArmy Aviation School discussedthis problem in a series of freediscussion seminars. Mter discussing the methods of markingand lighting presently in useand citing some excellent ex-amples of incidents which hadbeen observed as a result ofthese methods, certain basicfacts were generally agreedupon.

A definite need exists forstandardization in the methodof marking and lighting tacticallanding areas. Another new methodwould not solve the problem butwould only tend to complicate

it further. Instead, the best features of all those methods pres-ently in use should be evaluatedand consolidated.

Any met hod developedshould be of a progressive type,capable of being used on anylanding area. The exact degreeof development would naturallydepend on the type and size of

the aviation element operatingfrom it.The method of marking andlighting proposed herein takesinto consideration these threefacts and will encompass the

needs of all elements operatingin the aviation environment.Airfields are marked to iden-tify the landing area and to aid

the aviator in landing. Thisshould be accomplished by usingground - to - air signal panels,which are issued to all units ofcompany size or larger. Eventhough marking of airfieldsshould be standardized, it canvary from minimum require-ments (fig. 2) to optimum mark-ing (fig. 3). Minimum requiredmarkings for airfields should always indicate the length of theuseable runway and direction oflanding.

Markings for a heliport shouldindicate the point of landing aswell as the direction of landing.This system of marking is depicted in figure 4The methods of lighting landing areas are similar to those

of marking the areas in that thelights are used primarily, withminor exceptions, to replaceeach panel during the hours ofdarkness to provide sufficientillumination for landing andground handling. Further ex-planation is depicted by figures5 and 6

As Army Aviation continuesto grow, we must constantly develop associated techniques tofacilitate operations. But, at thesame time, these techniquesmust be standardized i the operations are to be efficiently accomplished. The recent stand-ardization of terms pertaining toArmy Aviation s tactical landing areas is a step in the rightdirection. Perhaps the methodof marking and lighting, as out-lined here, will be another



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M OTHER NATURE S a good01 gal f you find your-self plunked down in the Elsewhere Area unequipped, disoriented and disconsolate, don tfret - rely on her. Of coursein average survival situations,with compass and map for assistance, you may not be closeto the corner store, but you renot lost. All you need is a ride.Without these manmade aids,you must depend on Mother

FEBRUARY 1965

S/Sergeant , Stanley F uthrie

Nature s guides to lead you tosafety.In combat situations and var-ious unforeseeable c i r e u m -stances, almost anyone connected

with Army Aviation could findhimself lost and unequipped.Imagine yourself in such a situa-tion, with one added condition- you must move out immediately on foot.First determine a direction totravel. Common sense will help

you decide. Will you have tolive off the land? What aboutshelter? Is there a chance youwill encounter hostile groups ofpeople and/ or animals? Will yoube traveling by day or night, orboth? Such questions must beconsidered c r e f u 11 y beforestriking out.

After deciding on a directionto travel you must turn to na-ture s guides to ensure that whatyou think is north ctu lly is


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north. Also to stay on coursewhile walking out, you must depend on these guides. This isimportant. Those who feel theycan travel in a straight line byinstinct are making a big mistake. At least two universitieshave conducted experimentswhich prove that by instinct manwill travel in a circle every time.

Fortunately, many of nature sguides can be used in most situations one might encounter.These will be emphasized here- the guides that can be usedalmost worldwide.

TEMPERATE ZONESYou re lost in a temperate

zone. After considering the situation, you decide to travelnorth. Now, seek out nature sguides.

First, the sun. It can be afairly accurate guide and .sendyou on your way within a fewdegrees of a true heading. Youcan use the sun at any time ofday to ensure that you re trav-eling in the right directionby following these three steps:

1. Drive a stick into theground so that it stands up ver-tically about 4 or 5 feet. Markthe tip of the shadow cast bythe stick and then relax forabout half an hour.

2 After your break you llnotice the shadow has moved.Make another mark at the tipof the shadow.3 Draw a straight line fromthe first to the second mark and

you will be drawing a line inan easterly direction. Of course,i f you stand and face east, northwill be to your left and south toyour right.But what if the sun is hiddenbehind clouds? Find some shallow water, such as near theSgt Guthrie is an instructorwith the Dept of MaintenanceUSAAVNS Ft Rucker Ala.

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bank of a stream. Even thoughthe sun s not shining, a shadowprobably will be reflected on thewater. Then mentally repeat thethree steps discussed above.No water, no sun? There s always the quick fingernail meth-od. Wet your fingernail andhold a small, slender object per-pendicular to it. The shadowwill point in the general direction of east or west, dependingon the time of day.Other guides exist to help determine or confirm direction.Ridgelines usually follow a setpattern. Most will parallel eachother and run pretty much northand south (in Asia and SouthernEurope they tend to run eastand west). Obviously ridgelinesmust not be used as a guaranteeof direction. Other guides shouldbe checked before saddling upand cantering out. With all theguides available, it s foolish touse just one or two.Air currents offer anothermethod of determining direction, especially in open, flatcountry where the winds areconstant. In broken country -thewinds are not always stable.However, at higher altitudesFigure 1

prevailing winds remain constant for extended periods. fyou know from which directionthe prevailing winds blow youcan easily determine direction.Cloud driftage can be associatedwith distant landmarks and thusafford an excellent method topick and follow a direction totravel.What if there are no clouds?You can still use high altitudeair currents to help determinedirection. Keep an eye peeledfor soaring birds. It is not toodifficult to tell whether they reflying downwind, hovering intothe wind, or bucking a crosswind.

Now let s take a look at thenight shift. Combat situationsor desert heat are a couple ofgood reasons why travel at nightmay be necessary.While traveling at night ishazardous due to limited visibility, there are nevertheless ex-cellent guides to keep you oncourse.In the Northern Hemispherethe Big Dipper and the NorthStar Polaris) guarantee thatyou can locate true north. Mostof us have known since child-



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Figurehood where to look for the BigDipper. t consists of seven stars,three for the handle and fourfor the cup.

We know the Big Dipper islocated n the northern skies,but how many know exactlyhow to locate the North Starand true north by using the BigDipper? I've picked five aviators at random and asked themif they knew. They all knewgenerally, but only one knewexactly.

To locate true north, simplydraw a line in the direction thedipper is facing and throughthe two stars that form the lower edge or spout of the dipper( fig. 1). The North Star isabout five times the distancebetween the two stars. Thismethod is never more than 1off true north.In the Southern Hemispherean approximate direction ofsouth can be found by locatingthe Southern Cross (fig. 2). Notice that this group of stars re -

FEBRUARY 1965

sembles a kite. Extend an imaginary line from the tip of thetail 4% times the length of thekite. The end of the line is approximately south.

The planet Venus also can beused to determine direction atnight. t is the largest, brightest star in the sky. It rises inthe east and travels across thesky in a westerly direction.When looking for Venus, justremember part of the time itrises after midnight. At othertimes it rises and actually becomes visible before dark -shining brilliantly in the easternskies.

The moon can be used bothduring the day and at night (depending on the time of themonth) to determine direction.t also offers the added advan

tage of pointing out directions.For example, the new crescentmoon follows close behind thesun with the crescent tips pointing eastward. The old crescentmoon precedes the sun, with the

crescent pointing westward (fig.3). DESERT

The desert is one place whereday travel should be avoided i fpossible. Heat and dehydrationare big problems, so remain asquiet as a mouse on tranquilizers during the daytime. Atnight, the moon and stars canbe used as discussed above. Thesun and stake method can beused effectively in the daytime.

While the desert isn't asfriendly as the more lush partsof the country, it does offer onebig advantage: landmarks aremore pronounced. For instancea mountain, lone cactus, tree, orvegetation along a stream is visible for miles.

Another desert guide is thesand dune formed by the ratherconstant prevailing wind usually found in deserts. The windbuilds the sand up into a gradual slope which drops off abruptly on the lee side (awayfrom the wind) of the sand dune.Also, a crescent will build outon each side of a small dune. Remember the gentle long slope isto the windward side.

Discovering a dry stream bedis next best to finding a wet onein the desert. While it oftenyields moisture if one digs, italso points to high ground andthe possible source of morewater. It is easy to determinethe direction of flow by the waythe banks are washed out andby the debris deposited fromflash floods (fig. 4).

The desert also is a good areain which to make use of clouddriftage. f you have anyknowledge of the country, thiscan help determine your route.For instance, in western NorthAmerica weather clouds movein from the northwest toward thesoutheast. Consequently, plentyof water is on the west side ofthe mountains.

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As a rule of thumb, it is wisest in desert country to travelin the direction of increasingelevation. A dry stream bed offers a good route up. But becareful f your stream bed appears to be diminishing, theodds are that you are headingdown into the desert and itwould be wisest to tum aroundand head in the other direction.Of course, i you re sure you areclose to help or the edge of thedesert that s another story. Butbe as sure as possible that you reheaded out of the desert andnot into it.

Another desert guide that canbe used to advantage is cactusFigure 3

10

Figure 4and other vegetation. Due togood visibility you may be ableto note in the distance an in-crease in size and quantity ofvegetation. This generally meansthe edge of the desert. Take aheading by any or several of themethods described above andmove outIncidentally, at the risk ofbeing blamed for departing fromthe main subject a bit, I wouldlike to stress a point on the proper rationing of water indesert survival situations. Toomany people have the erroneousidea that they must stretch outtheir water supply as much aspossible by taking only smallsips or just dampening theirtongues. But a dangerous pitfalllurks in this thought. The waterin your canteen isn t doing yourbody a bit of good.The body and mind requirea certain amount of water tofunction properly. Without it,both b e com e incapacitated.Therefore to remain rational -and physically able - one shouldsip small amounts of water, buthe should drink wh t he needs(TF 1-4991). A sip now and asip later never catches up with



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the water lost through perspira-tion. Since dehydration is theenemy at hand, drink all youneed, travel during the coolesthours of the day, and exert your-self as little as possible. Don tlet searchers find your dehydrated body alongside a canteenhalf full of water.

ISLANDSWell, here we are among theswaying palms. Quite a change,isn t it? I don t see any girlsthough, and I thought all isolated islands were supposed tobe full of beautiful maidensswimming out to capture theshipwrecked. Well no matter.There are islands and islands,but no matter how big or small,nature s guides are present.If you should find yourself onan island with no apparent ridge,it is pretty certain that the island is fairly round. Pick a direction with the best referencepoints to use as guides. Becauseit s an island don t be overconfident. You could wander for daysand end up almost where youstarted out i you do not maintain a close check on your reference points. There is one little item you can count on almostevery time. If you find a stream,it s almost certain to be headingfor the coast without too muchmeandering.

Various types of vegetationoffer clues to your location onan island. For example, i f yousee palms (in tropical areas) it sa good bet that you re near thecoast. Palms in the immediatevicinity of the coast tend to leantoward the shoreline, while thosefarther inland lean toward themorning sun. Lone trees onhigh ground will lean with theprevailing wind, which blowsfor days from the same directionoff the ocean (fig. 5).Inland, vegetation varies frombanyan to hardwood, depending on rainfall and the rise of

F'EBRUARY 1965

the ground away from the shore-line. Foliage on islands not hav-ing barren or volcanic centersis usually dense inland andtends to thin out somewhat nearthe coast. In colder areas, forests taper out to brush andweeds along the shoreline. Butthere s always that exception-on small tropical islands vegetation is usually dense through-out.While on the subject of ex-ceptions, it is appropriate to re-emphasize that COM M 0 NSENSE IS Y O U R ESTGUIDE:-' l Jse it before youdecide.

MOUNTAINSLost in the mountains Thissounds like trouble - realtrouble. But actually everyguide we have discussed so faralso can be used in the moun-tains.A little study in botany shouldbe useful and can be applied ifone is lost in mountains. Inrough mountain areas, trees and

lesser vegetation are sometimescompletely separated by speciesmerely by being at one altitudeor on one side of a mountain.

Many softwood trees andthose that shed leaves each fallgrow on the south or shelteredside of a ridge while evergreensare found on the cold side.Moving up from valleys, onewould first find softwoods, thenlarger red oaks and chestnutoaks and then white oaks, hick-ory, ash, and finally the ever-greens. Going higher, the lattergradually gives way to scrubcedars, oaks, junipers, conifers,and finally even these fade outinto barren soil or snow.t might be well to remember,too, that lone trees will growaway from the prevailing wind,with their branches bending inthe same direction. A tipoff ondirection in the North Americanmountains is the bark on oldertrees. t is usually thicker on thenorth and northeast sides. Also,one can determine direction by


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NORT

SOUTcutting a tree and observing itsrings. Over 9 percent of thetime they will be farther aparton the north side (fig. 6).

Years ago the New York StateForest Commission ran a teston 7 black spruce trees andfound that 94 percent showedgreater trunk growth towardthe north.

Climate pretty much deter-mines at which altitude varioustrees can be found. Consequently timberlines do not necessarilyshow accurate altitude. Howeverthey are good guides to use getting to or from high ground orremaining at the same level.A stream is one of the bestguides to use in mountains. Itis certain to lead out of themountains and usually flowspast inhabited areas.To find a stream, climb to highground and look for windingbrush or trees in open ground.Such winding vegetation usuallyis a dead giveaway for the banksof a stream. f no such line ofvegetation is visible one standsa good chance of finding a

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stream or brook at the bottomof a canyon or ravine.When follOWing a stream beprepared to wind around a bit

and to travel a short distance

from the stream's banks, whichgenerally are characterized bydense growth and numerousmosquitos and other insects.A word of warning is appro-priate here. A stream is otnecessarily the easy or best wayout. One could travel along astream for days - even weeks- and wind up even farther fromhabitation. Use common sensef you know there may be ahighway, for example, 30 or 40miles to the east, then head forit using other guides already discussed.

You may not be gifted withthe instincts of a native warrior,but nature has provided youwith everything you need tofind your way out of any situa-tion. f these guides are appliedwith common sense, you willnever be lost.

Remember the old saying Imay not know where I am, butI dang sure ain't lost"? It'sa lot more sensible than itsounds.



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I T WAS ANOTHER sunny dayin central California. BigUgly, the affectionate Otter,was stretching its feet, in 3-pointfashion, toward the rolling turfof a little known field stripcalled Martinus Corners. In atypically friendly way the U-1Arounded out and nudged thecrest of a first mound of thestrip. It seemed to spread itswings a little farther as it floatedacross the low point of the fieldand settled onto the upslope ofthe next mound.

CRUNCH - the right strutpushed into its fuselage and BigU g I Y win c e d wi t h p a i n.CRUNCHELCRUNK -CRUNCH, portions of the bulk-head gave way and the rightwing settled lower as it came torest.

The Accident InvestigationBoard appeared on the scene ashort time later. Its findings: The instructor pilot wasFEBRUARY 1965

Captain Rufus R. Hart

qualified for the mISSIon (with4000+ hours total time and1700 hours in this model). The pilot and instructorpilot executed an acceptablelanding within the design limitations of the aircraft (based onwitness testimony, markings on

the tires, and imprint of wheeltracks on the ground). Metallurgical analysis re-vealed no fatigue (but that adisparity existed in the strengthof two of the failed members).It was like watching a PerryMason TV program; none of theclues seemed to point to the culprit. So the board returned tothe scene of the crime. Standingon the end of the runway pondering Big Ugly's fate, I sud-denly realized that the point oft ouchdown which we hadmarked, could not be seen frommy position. From where I stoodI could see just how uneven thestrip really was. Could this be

the missing clue? Several hoursand many computations later,the board had a fourth findingto add to the list: THE LANDING LOADFACTOR WAS SIGNIFICANT-LY INCREASED BY THESLOPED CONFIGURATIONOF THE RUNWAY.

What effect does the slope ofthe runway have on the landingloads incurred? An example ofa ski jumper may be used to illustrate the answer. Picture theOlympic event of a ski jumperflying 270 feet through the airand making contact with thesnow at a rate of descent greaterthan 1,000 feet per minute. Twothings account for his successful landing: the absorption ofenergy by his landing gearCapt Hart is viation SafetyOfficer rmy viation SectionFort Ord Calif.

13


16/52

(legs) and the slope of the runway on which he is landing.Particularly important is theslope, which is probably at anangle of 50 to 60 downhill.You can imagine the result ihe landed on flat terrain, orworse yet, on an upsloping hill.

The same is true when an aircraft lands, but because slopesare far more gradual and rateof descent much less, the effectis not as dramatically illustrated.However, by reducing facts tofigures we can compute theexact effect.

Let s take Big Ugly on thisparticular landing and say thatthe upslope on which he landedwas 4 feet of rise in 240 feet ofdistance O ~ 4 = 1.7% slope),not really perceptible untilroundout. On this day (considering flaps, load, density altitude, 2 knot tailwind) his stalling groundspeed was 49 knots(which equates to a forwardspeed of approximately 5,000fpm).

Before the aircraft will cometo rest, the energy of this forward speed must be absorbedby: aerodynamic braking (windresistance), wheel braking, and

5000 FPM FW SPEE

the effect of gravity resisting theaircraft from going up the slope.When the aircraft initiallytouches down these three forceswill be at their greatest.

Gravity resistance is directlydependent on the slope of thehill, and is proportional to thesquare of the aircraft s speed(deceleration) at touchdown.This f ~ r e then can be expressedin terms of the forward speed ofthe aircraft by knowing the degree of the slope. In this caseit would be 2 percent times5,000 fpm, which gives us aneffective rate of descent of 100fpm (Le., the vertical component of its forward velocity).

The Otter is designed to withstand landing loads from ratesof descents up to and including500 fpm. Therefore, the additional effective rate of descent incurred from a slope landing isonly significant when the aircraft approaches its critical limitation of 500 pm ROD (rate ofdescent). In the case at point,let us assume that Big Ugly wastouching down with an ROD of450 and 100, the resultant ofwhich would exceed the designlimitations of the aircraft.

It is of particular interest tonote that the force absorbed bythe landing gears (landing loadfactor) varies as the square ofthe rate of descent. Therefore,a 20 percent increase in the rateof descent increases the landingload factor by 44 percent. Nowonder poor Ugly s bulkheadhad to be replaced ~

A 20 percent increase in the rateof descent resulted in hardlanding bashed tter

~ --.-: ~- _ .;::--..,...-- -- ~ ---- . .. -'-. - . - .

.


17/52

Lieutenant Robert L ammond It sAPicnic

YES, IT IS a picnic flying with AuStabilization Equipment (ASE) . . .pilot has a basic understanding of the operationof ASE and the system is properly main tallneC; tASE is a proven piece of equipment, andCH-34C and CH-37B pilots who arewith it think it is great. However, manywho are qualified in these two typesdo not use this expensive piece ofThe main reason they don't use itdo not have a basic understanlQlIuthink that it does not work.

The majority of so-calledare caused by improperor by the system being

One of the most importantunjustly criticized is causedservo is improperly rigged. It ispilot to experience a completeunder this conditioni When the ASEthe center position rollercenter of the cam .sloppy;not centered andhardover condition,of the cam. f thisin the servo a s ~ ; e n 1 0 1 yThis means thatand the power pistonstop. This would causeciated with this servo to to its extremeposition and the pilot would be unable to override it. The immediate action would be to turnoff the auxiliary hydraulic pressure. This placesthe roller in the manual position of the cam andopens the auxiliary servo bypass valve, thusgiving the pilot full control of the aircraft again.As a result of a fatal accident in Greenland,the override check switch is no longer used by

FEBRUARY 1965

this condition (see Crash61). No check was sub-check in the -10, butjump check as ation.

engageand check allpproximately cen-

raised 2 inches, turn offpressure. f the rollersthe flight controls inor jump. The maximumthe cyclic stick is 1/8

e c l S U l r e d at top. Although no figures Q ~ J L for the limits on the movement ofand collective, very little jump

be felt. On a properly adjusted systemmovement will be felt in any of the controlswhen turning the auxiliary hydraulic pressureoff or on.

ASE was designed to aid the pilot by stabilizing the helicopter so that he would not have todevote his full attention to flying the helicopter.ASE can do this only when it and its associatedsystems (aux servo, flight controls, generator,inverter, etc.) are properly maintained and whenthe pilot uses ASE properly.

s i n ~ ASE properly includes an adequateground check to ensure satisfactory operation ofASE and its associated systems. With this, theCH-34 or CH-37 pilot can take his lunch alongand relax, knowing that he always has completecontrol of his aircraft. Otherwise, he might losehis appetite.Lt Hammond is an instructor with the Dept ofMaintenance USAAVNS Ft Rucker Ala.

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18/52

NTAKE, compression, power,exhaust, two-stroke cycle,four-stroke cycle - BOY Justwait until I arrive at that aviation company. f the CO thinksI need retraining in aircraft engines because I have been on recruiting duty for the past threeyears, is he going to be surprised

Those manuals I ve been

16

J. D ood

studying sure were easy to understand. Let s see now - afterfire, backfire, valve overlap.Maybe I should throw in a fewterms to really impress that COwhen I go in for an interview- hp, fhp, BMEP, thermal efficiency. Ha, bet he ll think I designed those old powerplants.Now, i f I could take over asmaintenance sergeant, th r e

would be flight pay, pro pay, andjust maybe I might slide rightinto an E-7 slot. What a tour ofduty this is going to be (Dreamsgo on - and on - and on.)Mr. Wood is an instructor in thePrimary Maintenance DivisionPowerplants Branch Dept ofMaintenance USAAVNS FtRucker Ala.



19/52

THE IMPRESSIVE MOMENTNCOlC: Sergeant Ferventness, the captain will see younow. Captain Scrutinizer, Sergeant Ferventness. S e rg e an tFerventness, ap t a i n Scrutinizer."

After a spit and polish, heeland toe ceremony, the two forcessquared off and jockeyed for

FEBRUARY 1965

positions. Sergeant Ferventnesssits erect in a straight backchair furnished by the captain,who is now sitting at a highlypolished desk, shuffiing papersand intermittently tapping thetable top with a pencil.

The boom is lowered. Withoutlooking up, Captain Scrutinizershot a question at SergeantFerventness. Sergeant, what doyou think of a HUNG START?The blood started slowlydraining from Sergeant F erventness' face, which was coveredimmediately by beads of sweatthat caused the retaining boltwhich held the lower jaw tosnap. The flapping action of thelower jaw could not overcomedissymmetry of lift. A diskslipped and the tip-plane of thebody tilted 'forward, causing adroop in the cranium assembly.w e-l-l, Sir, a hung start isalways hard to overcome. I havealways said start fair and squareand everything else will fall inplace.""No No Sergeant, I mean a

h u n ~ start on a gas turbine.Gas turbines, Sir, are a little

out of my line. I have workedin aviation most of my Armycareer, except for' the last fewyears which were spent on ' re cruiting duty.Gas turbines, Sergeant, arederived from jet engines andare the powerplant for all ourlate-model aircraft. The oldfour-stroke cycle, reciprocatingengines are on their way to the

s l v ~ e yard. Sometimes whenvou attempt to start a gas turbine, it won't light off due tosome m a I fun c t ion. This isknown as a hung start.

Another result of either amalfunction or an impropers t r t i n ~ nrocedure is an extreme high EGT, known as a hotstart.

Sir. high E-G-T? H-o-t-start?

Yes Sergeant, EGT is a termused for Exhaust Gas Temperature. When the, EGT is exceeded, a special hot section inspection should be performedwith close emphasis on metalfatigue, burns, cracks, warpageand turbine blade creep.

Blade creep, Sir?"Yes, with turbines turning

several thousand rpm, the centrifugal force is tremendous andwill only withstand a certainamount of temperature withoutthe blades stretching or growing,and this is known as bladecreep.

Sergeant, e qu i p men t andterms have changed at a fastrate in the last few years. A lotmore is expected of a mechanictoday. His job demands a highlyskilled technician who is crosstrained in many very complicated components. Only the mechanic with foresight can keepup with this fast change of pace.One MOS will no longer sufficein aviation. Studying, schooling,cross-training, and know-how isthe new concept today.

"Well, enough of this for thetime being. Let's get back toyour qualification and new assignment. What did you havein mind?Sir, i it's possible, I wouldlike to get an advanced main

tenance school to help me catchup on the things I have beenmissing out on while on specialduties."OK Sergeant, I'll try to get

you on the next levy. In themeantime, just browse aroundand get acquainted with someof the aircraft and equipmentyou will be working on."

Sergeant Ferventness snaps toheel and toe, salutes, Thankyou, Sir. As he leaves he mumbles under his breath, EGT,blade creep, hot start. I wonderwhat else." ......

7


20/52

,,,,,, - ' _ J I o . w t ~ ~ ~ . . -.- .

1 1 ' R A N G E ~ C T l V I T Y; , ~ , : : : ~ , : : - - I'~ .: : ; : - ;fe-. , ~ ,I ~ _ , _ ~ __ _ + _.:4

Advice to the fledgling Imechanic which if followedcain improve chanctes for person: ladvGtncement.

tMaior James E Kennedy PROMOTION IS a subject near and dear toall enlisted men participating in the aviation

mechanic training program. Of those now grad-uating a course of instruction, many will jointheir first troop unit. Others will take anothercourse before joining a unit. In any event, eachindividual will soon have an opportunity to earna promotion. Note I said earn.

When you arrive at your unit, little will beknown about you. You and you alone will de-termine your own promotion opportunities byyour appearance and, even more important, youractions and deeds. And you must do this withinthe first few weeks after your arrival.

One of the first things to determine is whopromotes you. The answer: the company com-mander. But the CO will ask many others foropinions. He will ask his 1st sergeant, who inMaj Kennedy is chief of the Studies BranchDept of Tactics USAAVNS Ft Rucker Ala.



21/52

turn will ask the platoon sergeants. He will askhis platoon leaders. One of these platoon leadersis the service platoon commander who doublesas the aircraft maintenance officer, and he inturn will ask his NCO supervisors and techinspectors for their recommendations.Yes, you will indeed be in an unenviable position while competing for a promotion. You willhave many bosses to work for. f you are assignedto crew a particular aircraft, you will work for

many people. Although your primary allegianceand loyalty must be to your NCO section super-visor, you ll find yourself working under thesupervision of the company radio repairman, theaircraft tech inspector, the platoon sergeant, individual pilots, and the platoon leader. Whenyou go on guard, KP, or CQ, you will work undermany NCOs throughout the company. And everyone of them will form an opinion of you - somewill even take the trouble to let your supervisorknow what kind of man he thinks you are.

What characteristics will these people look for?Naturally, each man will look for somethingdifferent, so I can only tell you what three char-acteristics I looked for when I was an aircraftmaintenance officer.

First of all is the matter of pride. I didn t par-ticularly care to see a new man who was tooproud - one who was too proud to sweep thefloor of the hangar at the end of the day. I didn tparticularly care to see a man who was tooproud to clean vomit out of an airplane, l e ~the latrine, or clean the grease trap when onKP. Remember, you re on the bottom of thetotem pole. There isn t anyone else to performthese functions except you.

On the other hand, I liked to see a man whotook pride in his work. One who wanted everynut which he safetied to look perfect. Remember,i you aren t proud of your work, your super-visor will not be proud of having you work forhim. And i he isn t, why should he recommendyou for promotion?

Take pride in the condition of your work areaand your tools. Stay overtime to clean up yourarea and your tools when necessary. Take pridein the men you work with - your fellow mechanics. Speak well of them. You may noticesome of them have some bad characteristics, butdon t discuss these with others - it s none ofyour business or other people s.. Take pride in your supervisor. Of course he llhave some faults; everyone does. After all, he shuman, and there haven t been many perfecthumans made. Try to seek out his good points;FEBRUARY 1965

talk only about these, and -ignore the others.f you don t like him, don t tell others about it.Brainwash yourself. Make yourself believe that

you do like him for his many good points. Thereare times - and this is one of them - when anounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness.Be loyal to your supervisor and when the chipsare down, he ll be loyal to you.Rotary wing tie down. Take pride in you.r workno matter how insignificant it appears - like checkingthe rotor blade tie down or seeing that everynu.t is safetied correctly.

9


22/52

The second characteristic I looked for in allnew mechanics, and particularly the shorttimers, was their attitude towards the ArmyMany of the new men that arrived in our unitwere short-timers. They were in the Army fortwo years, and many months of that time hadalready been spent in basic training and aircraftmechanics courses. I suspect that many will fitthat description when they arrive in a unit.

Some of these men became infected with whatI'll call terminal psychosis. They spent their timewishing their lives away. They carried calendarsaround with them and pasted additional calendars in their toolboxes or footlockers. Don't become infected with terminal psychosis. t is amental disease that starts in early childhood. Atthe age of four this type of person probablywished he were in school. When he got in schoolhe wished he were a teenager and in high schoolWhen he reached that stage he wished he wereout of schooI.Tracking the OH-13 blade. Learn to overcome thedisease terminal psychosis. Use your Army serviceto advantage. Learn as much as you can about your job.Have an ffold pro attitude toward Army life.

Learn to lick this disease. Don't waste yourtime telling others how you dislike the Armyway or Army barracks life. Use your 2 yearsof Army service life to your own advantage.Learn as much as you can about your presentjob. Two years is too much time to waste wishing you were doing something else. And wishingwon't change facts.

The third characteristic I looked for was asense of responsibility. When you see that something needs to be done on your aircraft, to yourtools, or in your work area, don't wait to be toldto do it. Recognize the problem, realize yourresponsibility, and take care of the work immediately. f you have never developed a sense ofresponsibility, now is the time to do it. Unless youdevelop a sense of responsibility, you will alwaysbe working for someone else. Someone else willalways be telling you what to do, and it s unlikely that your boss will ever trust you enoughto supervise others. So once again, why shouldhe promote you?

I've told you of three characteristics I lookedfor - pride, attitude, and responsibility. Now Iwant to tell you of two things I required each ofmy mechanics to do - and i they always didthem, their promotional opportunities were almost assured as far as I was concerned.

The first requirement was the method of conducting an inspection. Each new mechanic wasrequired to use the manual as he performed aninspection. Very few people can remember allthe steps in the various types of inspections. Andeven the oldtimers were required to always usea checklist as they performed an inspection.

The second item - each man was always required to have his work checked by a tech inspector before the aircraft could be flown. Infact, our mechanics were instructed to put abig red X on the status today box until the aircraft was checked by the tech inspector It's truethat this caused more work for the tech inspectorthan actually required by regulation, but it alsoprevented accidents caused by faulty main-tenance.Sometimes an aviator who was under extremepressure from his platoon leader to fly a missionwould demand that a mechanic roll his aircraftout of the hangar immediately. When this happened, our mechanics complied quickly - because they were always told to follow their lastorder. But when the aviator saw that big red X,he had two alternatives: he could go find the techinspector to remove it, or he could request hebe assigned a different aircraft.



23/52

By the book. Section chief uses manual to check OH-13 repairs made by mechanic.Don t be afraid to use a manual on every inspection.This technique saved our mechanics from theever present problem of clashes with officers.And remember, you can t afford to argue withofficers if you are looking for a promotion.I ve covered three characteristics I looked for,

pride, attitude, and responsibility, and twothings I required of every mechanic - using achecklist on inspection, and having a tech inspector check the work before flight.Lastly, I want to tell you of two techniques

you may find helpful.The first technique is observation. Take a closelook at the oldtimers in your outfit who seem to

be respected by everyone. Analyze why they aresuccessful, and attempt to follow their examples.(Ignore the wise guy, the loud mouth, the guardhouse lawyer, and know-it-all. Don t follow theirexamples.)At this point you might say to me, Well,when do I have time for all this introspective observation and analyzation? f you make it ahabit to think and reflect while you are cleaningyour tools, sweeping the floor, or cleaning themess hall grease trap, you'll have lots of time to

mentally compare yourself to the oldtimer andsee where you failed to measure up to his standards. And at the same time, you will find thatyour clean-up job will seem to go faster.

FEBRUARY 965

The second technique evolves around a favorite expression which I picked up many yearsago: Things never stay the same, they either getbetter, or they get worse. You can apply this toanything in your life. Take your personal appearance, for example - your shoes, your beltbuckle, your uniform. Apply it to your physicalcondition .Apply it to your knowledge about yourjob. Apply it to the personal plan you have foryour life - Which way are you going?

I ve talked about seven items. f listed in slightly different order, they will spell the wordpatriot. f you follow these seven steps you willbe a patriot in a very real sense. Once again theyw rPride - but not too much of it.Attitude - toward the Army.Tech Inspector - get one to check your work.

Responsibility - develop a sense of it imme-diately. 'Inspections - follow a checklist.Observation - observe the oldtimersand yourself and compare the two.Things never stay the same.[The author discusses certain maintenanceprocedures which worked in his unit Their applicability to other units will vary with the or ganization and experience level o personnelinvolved. - Editor]

2


24/52

A new method for fast, accurate target location has been developed for the Artillery. Called the Visual Airborne TargetLocator System VATLS), this electronic device has completed engineering-service tests and is now in advanced tests.

Visualirborne

TargetLocatorSystelMaior Donald A Van Mafre

HE ROLE of Army Aviationin support of the groundgaining arms has been expanded

recently by the development ofthe Visual Airborne Target Lo-cator System (VATLS). Thisfully integrated mobile system,which consists of airborne andground equipment, provides theaerial observer with the capa-bility for extremely accuratetarget locations. Hence, it en-ables the artillery to place veryeffective predicted fires. Theaerial observer's primary roleremains unchanged, but his ca-pabilities will be greatly en-hanced.

Key to the system is the pre-cision gyro mounted in the air-craft. This gyro constantly sensesthe aircraft attitude in yaw,pitch, and roll. At the time theobserver sights the aerial tele-scope on a target and makes amark depression of a contact

button), the azimuth, depressionangle, and aircraft attitude areautomatically transmitted to theground station.

The mobile ground stationGround station control equipment including shelter-mounted computer, tracker, distance measurement equipment, andpower generator. Airborne station shown mounted in copilot s door ot Iroquois UH-1A.


25/52

continually tracks the aircraftduring flight in azimuth and elevation, and maintains a constantdistance measurement, groundto aircraft. At the time of themark, airborne data and grounddata are fed into a digital computer located at the ground station. The observer sights andmarks a second time establishing an aerial base line and twolines to the target. This procedure is called the two-sighttechnique.

The target is fixed by two intersecting lines of sight from thebase in a manner similar to triangulation survey. The targetcoordinates and altitude are output in a visual display or onpunched, printed paper tape.These coordinates can be usedfor further target analysis or infire direction procedures.In anticipated tactical employment, one VATLS groundsubsystem will be used withtwo airborne subsystems. Eachairborne subsystem will bemounted in a helicopter. Thesetwo airborne s t t ion swi l lpermit alternating surveillancealong the FEBA. Only minormodifications, if any, will be required to ready the air vehiclefor the VATLS airborne subsystem.Service tests were conductedby the U. S. Army ArtilleryBoard in the U-6A and UH-1A.In the future the airborne station will be mounted in the UHlB. The light observation helicopter will assume the airbornestation role in the future.When using the two-sight technique in less maneuverablefixed wing aircraft, the aircraftwas required to maintain reasonably level flight betweenMaj Van Matre is Chief ProjectOfficer Fire Direction BranchGunnery Division U S. rmyrtillery Board Ft Sill Okla.

FEBRUARY 1965

sightings. Hence, it was exposedto enemy surveillance for an extended period of time. Withrotary-wing craft, the pop-uptechnique used allowed the aircraft to be exposed for only ash6rt time, make a mark, thendisappear below the terrainmask.Future systems will be enhanced by including a LASERin the airborne subsystem fordistance measurement. An accurate one-sight technique thenwill be possible, with the groundstation fixing the aircraft andthe aircraft fixing the targetwith only one mark.

Major advantages offered bythe LASER are reduced aircraftvulnerability and requirementthat the observer sight the target only one time. This eliminates confusion encountered byobservers sighting a difficulttarget from one location andthen acquiring the target fromanother aspect with a variedtarget background and contrast.

Observers who have receivednormal forward observer training with the U. S. Army Artillery and Missile School canmake accurate target locationswith as little as 1 hour ofspecialized training. No specialized training is required forpilots. However, during initialtests at the Artillery Board, apilot with some VATLS experience could aid the observer inthe initial search for targets.He could also advise the aerialobserver on the relationship oftarget location to aircraft attitude during sighting.Using the two-sight technique,a target could be sighted andcoordinates computed in 1-5minutes. With the one-sighttechnique, this time can be reduced to f2 minute.

An additional capability ofVATLS is internal survey. Fireunits of a battalion or division

erial observer sighting on target

artillery can be connected bysurvey in a fraction of the timenow required when using laborious ground techniques. Positionand direction control can bebased on real or assumed data.

When target coordinates fromVATLS are integrated with theoutputs of the gyro-azimuthorientor, the chronograph formuzzle velocity measurement,and up-to-date meteorologicaland weapon-ammunition information, very effective fire control is possible. This can be accomplished with the Armystandard M -18 gun directioncomputer. The way is open tofirst round hit accuracy. Bonuseffects accrue with reduced ammunition expenditure and improved ability to attack targetsby predicted fire techniques.

The Visual Airborne TargetLocator System is a giant steptoward long needed improvement in target acquisttion capability. Potential value can berealized only after the equipment is employed with tacticalunits. The benefits will be great- the first round hit a reality.

3


26/52

irspaceUtilizationLieutenant Col9nel Morris G Rawlings Ret) In COlDbat

HE PRIMARY objective ofairspace utilization in com

bat is to minimize collisionswhile maximizing intercept. Toutilize something means only tomake it useful or profitable. Airspace is useful as it furnishes anavenue by which friendly objects advance the land battle.t is profitable when the gains

from its use exceed the cost.Profitability, then, can be

measured on a sliding scalewherein the cost of achievinga goal is weighed against thegains inherent in its achievement. Something must be pinneddown in such an equation, orthe balance point can never berecognized. Let us do somepinning:

We want assurance that thecollision hazard will not exceed1 in 2,000.

24

We want assurance that thefailure of planned intercept willnot exceed 1 in 1,000.

The cost of achieving thesegains must not exceed the existing supervisor/ worker ratio:1 in 10.These, then, represent ourgoals. We have yet to determinethe magnitude of the task. Howmany objects will attempt simultaneous use of how large anairspace? From unclassified andeasily-obtainable sources, anyone may learn that in a 12-division type field army there canbe on the order of82 surface-to-surface launchers, firing missiles;360 surface-to-air launchersalso firing missiles;2,728 Army air vehicles, with7 percent of them expected tofly two missions per day;

15 unmanned air vehicles,with 7 percent of them expectedto fly 3 missions per day; and48 preplanned reconnaissance,576 close air s uppo r t 845wholesale delivery" logisticalmissions - all flown by Air

Force aircraft.An analysis of these figuresindicates that some 1,000 flyingobjects will attempt to share theavailable airspace at the sametime. Additionally, 2 and 40mm weaponry, mortars, conventional artillery, and enemy objects will compound the clutter.Let us, to be safe double thecomputed use and anticipate amaximum of 2,000. Let us assign each an average size, say300 square feet (heaven forbid ) .f grocery store arithmetic is

correct, we have a demand for600,000 square feet of airspace



27/52

- and we have been generous.Although the altitude of someof these space users may benothing short of fantastic, letus reduce our figures on available airspace to that just abovethe ground over an area fromthe disputed terrain at the lineof contact to a line 20miles rearward Again,using u n c I ss i f i e dsources, we can definethis area as being a rectangle,528,000 feet long and 105,600 feetwide, containing over 55 millionsquare feet of airspace in thefirst foot above the ground fevery flying object intruded intothat airspace just above the sur-face, with no altitude separationat all, each object could still besurrounded by a nothingness 9times its own size Every foot of

FEBRUARY 1965


28/52

additional 'altitude used by suchobjects would further increasethe area of nothingness, and decrease the odds against collision.e can safely reach one conclusion: the congestion in theairspace will not even approxi

mate that of any big-city freeway during the rush hour Noone has yet demanded that eachautomobile driver notify a central agency of his intent to takethe road; nor has anyone suggested that counting the carswill enable any agency to compute the individual collisionhazard.This is exactly what would,and will, . be required of anymilitary agency designed to furnish air traffic control duringcombat. Partial control will notsuffice, for the addition of a single missile, artillery round, helicopter or bounCing jeep willmake invalid all earlier computations affecting the collisionhazard. The statement Thereare no known hazards to yourflight path is as meaningless asis You never hear the roundthat kills you. And each offersthe same degree of assurance tothe unfortunate listener. e areleft with three options:Enforce full control, at anycost, under all conditions.Establish no control.Enforce full control, at a lesser cost, under certain conditions.Our goals, in each case, havealready been stated. e wantassurance that mission completion, as affected solely by thecollision hazard, carry odds of2,000 to 1. e want odds in favorof planned intercept of 1,000 to1. Cost, to play a minor part,should not exceed 10 percent ofthose assets using airspace.Lt Col Rawlings, Ret is withCombat Operations ResearchGroup, USACDC, Ft Belvoir,Va.

26

Surface-to-air launchers will add flying missiles to the typefield army airspace. And don't forget VTOL aircrafthat is the control necessary

to achieve these goals? hatvariables can be made constant?Let's talk first about the assurance of intercept. Two thingsare required: properly emplaced,alertly manned weaponry anda means for identifying targets.The first is not a part of airspaceutilization; nor is it capable ofresolution at any level short oftop command. t must be assumed that the tools are present; it is only their use whichconcerns us here. Intercept ispossible i friendly flying objects(particularly, manned air vehicles) are recognized, and enemy flying objects are. identified.Since the enemy can hardlybe expected to cooperate in identification, it is necessary, if weare to reduce the variables, tofire at everything not recognizedas friendly. What must be doneto assure recognition? Twothings:

Manned air vehicles, operating under visual flight conditions, must be visually seen before engagement. They will bepresumed friendly until identified.

Manned air vehicles, operating under nonvisual flight condi ions, will be electronicallychallenged before engagement.They will be presumed enemyuntil recognized.

Implementation of this concept - this command decision- will offer minimum assuranceof target engagement while offering the maximum practicablereassurance to friendly aviators.The only controls required aretrained air defense personneland an electronic IFF link between air and ground for useduring nonvisual flight conditions.

Variables which r e l ~ to recognition can be reduced to near-



29/52


30/52

need also transportation, administration, and fighting gear.With all this, can we computecollision hazard and ensure mission completion ? No.We must establish and maintain a verif ication system - a

means to ensure that objects areat their projected locations andare following their programmedflight paths. This will cost us2 additional radar installations, emplaced to cover the en-tire area from treetop to the ionosphere, from army rear toenemy reserve locations. Thesemust have crews for 24-houroperat ions, a t t a c h e d maintenance and repair personnel,communications, transportation,et al. This requires a minimumof 500 additional personnel.

f furnished, can we nowguarantee that there will be nounplanned meetings in the air?No.

The enemy refuses to cooperate. His equipment is not on aflight plan known in advance toour central memory bank. Ene-my objects, appearing at ran-dom on our radar screens, mustbe identified, their paths cQm-puted, and their effects onfriendly flight transmitted, leaving sufficient time for the pilotof a ,manned air vehicle to takeremedial action.

The commander s third question relates to the point at whichthe cost outweighs the possiblegain. Based solely upon the re -lationship of su p e r v s 0 r toworker, that point is reachedwhen the ratio exceeds 1 in 1- in this case, when more than200 men are assigned the task ofcontrolling 2,000 flying objects.Our computations indicate thatapproximately 1,000 men are re -quired to implement a centralized control concept, which will,even then, be unable to assureus that there will be no un-planned mid-air collisions.

28

Let s stop beating a deadhorse. Full control under all conditions is not only infeasible, itis impossible.Our second option is that ofno control. We have determinedthat no central flight control

facility is necessary to assureintercept, and we, therefore, require control only to avoid collision. We are willing (at least,the commander is) to acceptodds of 2,000 to 1 that a missionwill not fail because of mid:-airsmashups. Do we have that assurance without establishing anycontrol? Frankly, yes. Thenwhere s the problem? The prob-lem is that we re dealing withmen and not mathematics. Theabsence of control is unacceptable for several good reasons.

During nonvisual flight conditions, a blinded pilot drawsreassurance from a friendlyradio voice which tells him he isonly alone in space - not in theworld. He draws comfort fromthe knowledge that someone onthe ground has his interests atheart and will warn him of ex-traordinary hazards to aerialflight, hazards not always recognized by nonairminded warriors.Local commanders, h a v i n gdispatched organic aircraft, arenot always able to maintain contact with them. They welcomethe presence of a facility whichcan relay information through-out the entire area without re-quiring recourse to an alwaysbusy command circuit.

Senior commanders, having agreat disregard for some of theirown regulations, do not alwayshave the time nor the inclination to await results transmit-ted through the chain of command. They have been knownto use more direct methods -one of which is an air traffic control facility - to obtain .information or give orders directly toairspace users.

A congestion over juicy tar-get areas and over designatedholding areas; a backup meansof identification for stricken airvehicles unable to answer theroll call of air defense weapons;a disparity in the speed of man-ned air vehicles which makesmore difficult the see and beseen recognition - all of thesehave some degree of validity andcause some requirement forcontrol.

Our final option, as expressed,is to apply full control underspecified conditions. Partial control exists only in theory. Theconditions which call for fullcontrol are those in which theprobability of collision so jeopardize mission completion as tomake the use of airspace un-profitable. Mathematically, thiscondition may never be reached.Practically, it is reached whenpilots can no longer see wherethey are going, have no idea ofthe location and amount of othertraffic, and have the feeling ofhaving been totally deserted.

This weather condition exists,for manned Army aircraft, lessthan 15 percent of the time. Notunexpectedly, it is this particu-lar time which commanders ofall echelons consider the mostappropriate for air movement.The much publicized and eagerly sought after 24-hour capability for air vehicles is an overstatement of the real require-ment. The actual need is for continued airspace utilization dur-ing that small portion of thetime in which air traffic is noweither greatly reduced or completely stopped. To operate dur-ing these periods, control of flying objects is mandatory.

Greater progress toward thegoal of proper airspace utilization will be achieved by simplifying the problem rather thanby increasing the complexity ofthe solution.



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Smoot, recently returned from a Caribou unitin the field. He had logged 6 Caribou hours inthe past year since graduation. Upon his reassignment to Fort Rucker, Lieutenant Smootrequested a Caribou IP rating. After completingMOl the previous week he was now anticipatinghis first class.

This data sheet looks like mumble jumble tome, Mr. Ben, stated Tom, looking at the manwith little hair.We don't prejudge a student by his previousexperience, replied Mr. Ben, but the historicaldata sheet does indicate possible problem areas.

I've been here since the course began, so I sortof inherited the job as historian. You'd be surprised at the conclusions that I am able to drawsimply by looking at these slips of paper.Mr. Ben continued, giving the young lieutenanta history of the course. t was apparent to Lieutenant Smoot that he was the second party of anOld Guy and a New Guy discussion. However, in this case the Old Guy appeared to havecomplaints as well as constructive criticism. Itwas as i Mr. Ben just had to make this lieutenant aware of the situation as he saw it. Hetalked on

It is difficult to maintain standards as theywere when the course began in 1960. We hadmore experienced pilots going through thecourse then, and even with high standards, veryfew people washed out. Now the student experience lev:el is lower, but we must continue to keepour elimination rate at the barest minimum.Granted, many are qualified to become goodCaribou pilots, but we know that many whomwe put through the course are going to havedifficulty in the field. We should have the prerogative to eliminate these definite cases. Ofcourse, there are borderline cases. These peopleshould be handled very carefully and given everyopportunity to complete the course.

We can ordinarily predict from the historicalsheets which students will fall into the borderlineand the well qualified categories. There is nota possible elimination category. The borderlinecategory consists of people who are immediategraduates of C phase, or who have less than 5hours of flying time, and those who have lessthan 100 hours in the past year. Many of theseLt Bergeron is an instructor pilot MultiengineDivision CV-2B), Dept of Fixed Wing TrainingUSAAVNS, Ft Rucker, Ala.3

people do quite well; however, 2 percent ofthem will flunk a checkfiight. Found in this 2percent is a small percentage of students whoshould be eliminated because of lack of profiCiency.Remember the Caribou is a unique aircraft.And it is capable of carrying 32 passengers undermost conditions. Therefore, the crew is responsible for a half-million dollar aircraft plus whatever value you set on 35 lives.The turn-around C phase student, one who hasjust received his wings, provides a unique problem. Because of lack of air-sense due to inexperience, he has difficulty in planning and judgment,

aggravated sometimes by poor control. Poorjudgment is very noticeable in shortfield work.t should be noted that the reason the Army hasthe Caribou is its shortfield capability. Throughrepetition many inexperienced students finally

catch on, but always a few do not.It is necessary that the proper glide slope befound as quickly as possible and maintained untiltouchdown. Again his inexperience makes itdifficult for the student to stay on the glide slopedue to his poor control technique.A student who has less than 500 hours totaltime, although he may have been rated for ashort while, generally has the same problems asthe turn-around student. His proficiency is usuallyon a higher level, but he too has difficulty withaircraft control and judgment. His deficienciesPoor judgment s very noticeable in shortfield work -experience is definitely the best teacher for theaviator transitioning into the CV -2


33/52

The Army needs aribou pilots in quantity but quality must be maintained.are not as acute, however, when compared to theaverage new aviator. Experience definitely is thebest teacher for an aviator.

Students who have been on a ground tour, whohave been flying rotary wing aircraft, or whohave just been flying their minimum time in therecent past sometimes have difficulty with thecourse. Lack of proficiency is their basic problem.As the course progresses many of them graduallycatch on. However, a few never seem to get theidea, and they have extreme difficulty with thecourse.A very unpredictable trouble area occurs whenthe instrument stage is presented. As a prerequisite, all students must be fixed-wing instrumentqualified with a current instrument card. Thisportion of the course is 9 hours long and is designed only to familiarize a person with Caribouinstrument procedure and to teach him how toproperly use the instruments. It is not designedto teach basic instrument flying.

In actual practice, flying instruments in theCaribou is easier than in many other Army aircraft. A second omni, which makes en route workquite easy, a radio magnetic indicator, which isalways used for . ADF work and sometimes forVOR procedure, and a glide slope receiver arethe only navigational radios not found in theaverage Beaver. Even with this simple systemmany students have great difficulty learning tofly instruments in the Caribou.

Approximately half the students' problem isslow acceptance of Caribou procedure and instruments. However, the other half just havedifficulty flying instruments.

No definite trend seems to be established todetermine who might have problems. A recentreturnee from an overseas area which has ADFas its primary navigational aid, an aviator whohas just been meeting his annual minimums, or

F;EBRUARY 1965

a turn-around student - all of these may anticipate trouble in the instrument portion of theirinstruction.

This particular stage of the course quite ofteninvolves teaching a person how to fly instrumentsin general, as well as how to fly instruments inthe Caribou. Those who have difficulty learningCaribou . procedure should be given additionaltime i they need it. Those who need instructionpertaining to instruments in general shouldn't behere in the first place.

We always have those who are weak both inflying the Caribou and in flying instruments.Flown separately a fair job is done on each. Whencombined, almost anything is liable to happen.t is like teaching a child to walk and later to

chew gum. Done separately the mission is completed; combined, the child either falls down orbites his tongue.

We realize that a certain percentage of studentsin any course is going to have a reasonableamount of difficulty. We also believe, however,that the present percentage in the Caribou Transition Course could be greatly reduced. We mayappear to be striving for an ideal of perfection.We are After all Caribou pilots carry manypeople on their missions, and what is moreprecious than a human life?The newest source of Caribou students is recentgraduates from C phase, both from the Officerand the Warrant Officer Candidate courses. Because of the present demand for Army Aviators,this particular source should continue to be used.

Until now no discrimination has been made inselecting probable students. The C phase student receives his orders before graduation fromflight school. f he is slated for a Caribou unit, aspace is reserved for him in the next class aftergraduation. Continued on page 4

3


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Captain Lawrence F eyerAPTAIN Frozzleforth, Colonel Blapp wouldlike to s you at the command post imme-diately, sir.Aw for crying out loud " replied Capt Horatio

Z Frozzleforth, III, throwing down his cards.This is the first chance I've had to draw to aninside straight all morning. You'd think the oldman could choose some other time. Well laddiebucks, deal your old dad out. The world's greatestaviator is off to the wars.

Yes siree, Colonel, I ll givthe old boy the bestcook's tour anyone everhad in a helicopter


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Grabbing his cap, Frozzleforth strolled out,noting mentally that it was a beautiful day forflying. The sun was shining and the air wascrisp and clear. t was a relief from the constantcold drizzle that had plagued SWIFT BANYANFREEZE IV for the past week. Why was it thatfield maneuvers always seemed to be scheduledduring the worst weather of the year?

"You wanted to see me, Colonel?" asked Frozzleforth as he entered the CP tent.The aviation officer looked up. His jaw hardened and his eyes gathered frost as he staredat the slouching figure before his desk. "Frozzleforth, straighten up At least try to look likean officer "

Frozzleforth snapped to attention and the heelsof his unpolished boots slapped together. Hesaluted smartly. "Yes sir Captain Frozzleforthreporting as ordered, sir "

"Now listen to me carefully. Senator Beauregard Waspshot is due here in 30 minutes and hewants a helicopter tour of the maneuver area. Ijust found out about it, and you the colonelwinced, " you're the only pilot available. Thesenator is a member of the Armed Services Committee and would like to get a good look at thescope of a corps exercise from the air."

"Yes siree, Colonel, I understand perfectly.I'll give the old boy the best cook's tour anyonehas ever had in a helicopter. Why, when I'mthrough-"

"That's just what I don't want, Captain. Allthat's required is that you fly the senator quicklyand safely around the area. The inherent advantages of mobility and flexibility of the helicopter will be adequately evident without anyof your - and I use the word advisedly - helpNow remember, no hanky-panky with thesenator "

"Why, Colonel, you wound me deeply. f youthink for a moment that I 'd -

"Captain, where is your .45? Aren't you awarethat you are supposed to carry your side arm atall times during these maneuvers?"

FEBRUARY 1965

"Oh yes sir, I - ah - left it on my bunk. Didn'tthink we had to lug those things around the CParea."

"Just go, Frozzleforth. Please go."Frozzleforth left the tent with a fine feeling of

well being. What could be better than this? Flying aU . S. Senator from the Armed ServicesCommittee around certainly couldn't hurt hischance for promotion any. He imagined how thatgold leaf on his collar would feel. Why i f he werelucky-

"Good morning, sir. Your bird is all ready togo.""Thank you, Sergeant," replied Frozzleforth

as he returned the mechanic's salute. "But let'sgo over her once again just to be sure. I'm flyinga real VIP today and I want everything perfect.""Yes sir. Excuse me, sir, but did - ah - you

forget your .45 this morning? I'll go back to yourtent for it while you preflight i f you'd like."

"No need for that my boy. This is an administrative adventure today. No need for a .45 whenyou're carrying a U. S. Senator."

For a change Frozzleforth made a thoroughpreflight. He dusted the instruments and evenchecked the gas tank. t was a sight to beholdand the mechanic watched in wonder, for it wasnot often that Captain Frozzleforth was seen topreflight an aircraft.

Senator Waspshot's U-SF arrived on schedule.After a few words with Colonel Blapp, the senator walked briskly to Frozzleforth's runningOH-13. "Good morning, Captain. Are you allready to go? I hope so because I have to leavefor Washington in 2 hours.

"You bet, Senator. Just strap yourself in andwe'll be off into the blue before you can sayfilibuster. By the way have you ever ridden ina light helicopter before?"

"No, I've never been in a small helicopter before. I can't seem to find the other end of thisseat belt. Could you give me a hand-

At that instant, Frozzleforth, who was notlistening to the senator, pulled pitch, eased back


36/52

the cyclic, and jammed in left rudder. Might aswell give the old boy a thrill," thought the intrepid aviator, as the Sioux rose and backedoff the pad in a hard left turn.Frozzleforth glanced at the senator for hisreaction and was most surprised to see his passenger 90 percent outside of the helicopter. Theonly thing preventing him from being 100 percent outside was the death grip in which he heldthe inboard half of his seat belt. Frozzleforth alsonoticed that the senator's knuckles were quitewhite.Quickly, Frozzleforth transferred his left handto the cyclic and dragged the senator back intothe cockpit with his right. Sorry about that, heapologized. I thought you were all strapped in."

The senator was too shaken to reply.Frozzleforth leveled the helicopter at 500 andheaded out across the countryside. He noticedthe carburetor air temperature gauge in the icingrange, reached up, and pulled on some carburetorheat. That ought to fix things up," he thought.On they flew, with Frozzleforth pointing outthe features of the maneuver area to the senator.Suddenly, he felt a twitch in the pedals - thekind he'd learned to associate with carburetorice. Automatically, he reached up and pulled onmore carburetor heat. Again the twitch. Thistime it was far more severe. No time for halfmeasures, old bean," he thought to himself. It'stime for full carb heat before this quits on me."With that, he pulled on full carburetor heat, andthe engine promptly failed.What's wrong? asked Waspshot, his voicequavering and his face ashen.

No sweat, dad. It's just a little engine failure.I'll autorotate us down into that open field."What open field?"

Now that was a good question. Frozzleforthwas sure there had been an open field downthere a moment ago. but now there was nothingbut pine trees. Resigned to a tree landing, helooked at the console and reached to pull themixture to idle cut off and turn off the ignition.

He couldn't believe his eyes. There was themixture already in idle cutoff, while the carburetor heat level was in the full cold position. Rapidly, he jamnled the mixture to full rich. Afterwhat seemed like hours, the engine roared backto life and Frozzleforth was able to check hisdescent. The skids were inches from the trees.I've seen enough, Captain Let's go back now "Reluctantly, ~ r o z z l f o r t h headed for home.Soon the airfield came into view. "Will you be

staying a while, Senator, or leaving immediately?

4

I'll be departing as soon as pOSSible, Captain "Very well," thought Frozzleforth. I'll givehim a real demonstration of precise helicopterflying. I'll set this machine down not 10 stepsfrom his U-8."Frozzleforth notified the control unit what he

intended to do and began maneuvering for alanding. As the U-8F was parked with its leftwing upwind, Frozzleforth decided on a crosswind landing so as to let his passenger off asclose as possible to the airplane's entrance door.He approached the parked U-8F from the leftrear with the reported 7-knot wind from his left.He brought the Sioux to a hover and allowedthe wind to drift him right, towards the opendoor of the Seminole. At exactly the spot wherehe planned to stop his drift and land, he easedin left cyclic. The Sioux continued to drift. Suddenly, realizing that he was getting too close tothe parked aircraft, he pulled pitch and increased power. It was too late.As the rotor blades slashed into the verticalstabilizer of the U-8, the air was filled with thesounds of tearing metal. The helicopter lurchedon its right skid. Slowly, ever so slowly, it tippedforward onto its back. The still spinning tail rotortook great hungry bites at the forward

Army Aviation Digest - Feb 1965

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Transcript of Army Aviation Digest - Feb 1965