Army Aviation Digest - Feb 1967

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    UNITED

    DIRECTOR OF ARMY AVIATION ACSFORDEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY

    BG Robe rt R. Williams

    5

    COMMANDANT U. S. ARMY AVIATION SCHOOL

    MG John J . Tolson III

    ASST COMDT U. S. ARMY AVIATION SCHOOL

    COL M. H. Parson

    DIGEST EDITORIAL STAFF

    MAJ l. J. Herman Jr . Editor-In-Ch iefRichard K. Tierney EditorWiII ;am H. SmithDiana G . Williams

    GRAPHIC ART SUPPORT

    Harold G. l innHarry A . Pickel

    Do rothy l. CrowleyAngela . A. Akin

    DIRECTOR U. S. ARMY BOARD FOR AVIATIONACC IDENT RESEARCH

    COL Warren R. W illiams

    USABAAR EDUCATION AND LITERATURE DIV

    Pierce l. WigginWilliam E. CarterTed KontosCharles Mobius

    RMY VI TION

    1GESFEBRUARY 967 VOLUME 3 NUMBER

    Letters 1Better Aircraft Availability - Everybody s

    Goal , MAJ Harold L Jones 2Smoke in the Cockp it , LT John C Logan 8

    Minipadsin

    Vietnam 10Operation Red Leaf , COL J. Elmore Swenson 11Roger Wilco , Over and Out , 16

    SSG Geor ge L MailletNeed Help At Your Destination? 18

    CPT Peter H. Mitchell andLT William F Winblood , Jr.

    Do You Have That Exceptional Touch? 20CPT Glaston J. Ford, Jr .

    The Role of Army Aviation in NationBuilding, LTC Dillon Snell 22

    Collateral Investigation of Airc raftAccidents , MAJ Douglas T Banks 27

    Engine Missing , CW2 C D Holbrook 29The Man Who Doesn t Kn o w Bu t Should 30

    CPT Gary V. DennisonA Nest of Rebels 32Crash Sense

    The Case for Close Supervision , Evaluation, 36Standardization

    Supervision and Discipline 42Pearl s 4 4CPT Horatio Froz z leforth 46On Your Toes Sense 48An Appeal to the Ladies 63

    Downing Army Heliport , MAJ w. F. Gabella 64A Couple of Firsts Inside BackAmor Seat Back Cover

    The mI SSIo n of th e U. S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST is to prov ide in f orma t io n of an op e ratifunctional natur e concerni ng safety a nd aircraft acc ident preve nt ion tr aini n g m a in t e na n ce operesearch and deve lopme nt aviation m edici ne. and other rela ted da ta.

    The DIGEST is an offic ial Depar tment of th e Army periodical p ubli shed m o nthl y under th e supeof the Commandant U. S. Army Aviation Sc h ool. Views expressed herein ar e not n ecessa ril y tDepartment o f th e Army o r th e U. S. Army Aviati o n School. Photos are U. S. Army unless otspecified. Ma terial m ay b e r e printed provided credit is g iv en t o th e DIGEST and t o the au th orothe rwi se indicated.

    Arti c l e photos a nd it ems o f interest on A r my Aviation are invited. Dir ect co mmuni ca t io n sized to: Editor. in-Chief U.S. Army Aviation Dig es t Fort Ru c k er , Alabama.

    Use of funds fo r printing this pubJi.cation has b ee n approv ed by H ea dqua r t e r s D epar tm en tArmy 29 December 1964.

    Active Army units rece iv e di s t r ibut ion und e r the pinpoin t distribution system as outlined in AR20 Marc h 62 and DA Circular 31057 14 March 63. Compl e te DA Form 12 -4 and se nd directlyAG Publications Center 2800 Eastern Boulevard Baltimore Md. 21220. For any chang e in distrir equi rem e nts merely . i n i t i a t e a r e vis e d DA Form 12-4.

    Na ti on a l Guard and Army Re s erve units submit requi rements through th ei r state adjutants generU. S. Arm y Corps co mmand e rs r espectively.

    F or those not eligible for official distribution Or who desire personal copies o f the DIGEST paid

    sc ripti ons S4.50 d omestic and SS.50 overseas are available fr o m th e Superintendent of Doc um e ntsGovernment Printing Ofuce Washin gto n D . C. 20402.

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    Better ircraft vailabilityverybody s goal

    A IRCRAFT AVAILABILITYis at best a hazy term. Tomany people it means 90 percentor better-people tend to talk interms of statistics and percentageswhenever availability is mentioned. High percentages are welland good, but like many thingstoday they're just so much eyewash in reality. What is important is whether or not enoughsafe aircraft are available to satisfy operational requirements.

    If a unit with 25 assigned aircraft pushes for a month or so,using 19 or 20 aircraft every dayand then gets a breathing spellwhere operations only needs 14 or15 a day for a week or two , it'snot logical to continue to expect20 flyables every day, is it? Almosteveryone will agree that this

    would be the time to get caughtup on maintenance. It would begreat to be able to pull eight orten periodics and fix those two

    seeping rotor heads, wouldn'tit? Sure i t would. Then most of

    M AJ Jo n es is As sistant Chief)jHaintenan ce Section ) Aircraftl vlaintenan ce Branch ) DCSLOG )Ft Rucker Ala.

    Major arold L Jones

    the aircraft would be ready forthe next sustained push. All toooften , though, maintenance is expected to keep up that magic fig-ure of 22 or 23 out of 25. Whenoperations calls in these statisticsto the battalion operations centeryou can guess what happens:

    How about two more ships,Joe?

    We' ve got 'em, but we need tokeep a few down for a Ii tle deferred maintenance, Mac. Andbesides, m y pilots and crews needa rest.

    I hate to tell you this, Jo e , butthe Three just handed me a note.I' ll quot e : 'Get four more shipsfrom Joe. One of the other companies is short today.'

    So what happens? You're stillcommitted for 19 and mainte

    nance misses another chance tocatch up som e. Instead , they cont inue to push at max effort andhope they'll be able to continueto produce the magic 90 percentpl u s

    It all boils down to one fact:good availability is a team effort.I t requires the cooperation ofeveryone in an aviation unit from

    pilots to the newest crewchief.Platoon leaders, the ops officerthe XO and the CO, and even threfueling truck opera tor and thcooks are involved. Mechanics,tech inspectors, the maintenanceofficer, supply clerks, the peopleat support levels of maintenanceeven back to AVCOM-allthese people are directly involvedin the unit 's efforts to meet ioperational requirements.

    You find this hard to swallowHow can a pilot, for exampleaffect availabilit y? Here are a couple of ways; there are more.

    PILOTS AND A VAILABILITY

    The newly assigned aviatora t the con troIs on a rou tine mision, straight and level. He's doing all right and his aircraft com

    mander relaxes. When the newdriver sees the old hand settldown, he relaxes slightly, too. Buthen he feels a twi tch or two ihis cyclic control. He becomealert again and looks aroundsee if the aircraft commander n

    A II too otten maintenance is expected tokeep up that magic figure ot 22 or 3out of 25

    U. S ARMY AVIATION IGEST

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    Better Aircraft Availabilityticed. No. He thinks about t acouple of minutes, trying to remember his maintenance training ,waiting for it to happen again.

    When it doesn't, he passes it offand resumes his relaxed flying.The flight is over; he doesn't evenremember it.

    So what? Well, it might be thathis aircraft had been having trouble with the servos or the magnetic brakes in the force trim. Thecrewchief would have knownabout it. He would have repeatedit to the flight line crew and itcould possibly have been adjustedin a matter of minutes. As i t is,the pilot flying the aircraft tomorrow might have to abort amission if the problem progresses.One more aircraft down.

    That same day Cowboy Joehits the range. He kicks his aircraft in the tail, pulls pi tch, andis off in a veritable cloud of dust.But sometime during that rapidpedal turn, the high speed takeoffrun, and the inevitable cyclicclimb, a small crack appeared on

    the underside of the tail boom.As the cowboy continued in hisday's mission, the crack grew.When the crewchie pulled his

    daily that night, he noticed thecrack. Result: the cowboy's horsehas to be reshod. One more

    down for unscheduled maintenance.

    COMMANDERS IMPACT

    In the earlier illustration involving the ops officer and thebattalion operations center, theimportance of both positions wasapparent. T o stress that point, theaircraft that new guy was flyingwas one of the ships that maintenance had planned to work onthat afternoon. And Cowboy Joehad already settled down to a dayoff, writing letters and playingcards. He doesn't normally cow-

    boy, but he'd been flying a lotlately, needed a day off, and was,frankly, a little teed off at beingcalled out for this unimportant

    mission. Cowboy joe's platoonleader knew Joe was unhappy andknew that he'd been flying hotand heavy for the past week, butJoe was low man on the platoon'stime board that month. He'dbeen sick a couple of days twoweeks ago and everyone had gotten the jump on him. Sorry'bout that.

    The XO? While the maintenance officer was on a test flight ,the XO had called the hangar tohave the other test pilot report tothe orderly room. Monthly inventory or something. Result:When the next two aircraft rolledout for runup and test flight, theline crew had to wait for themaint enance officer to get to them.So what? In Vietnam, they're

    combat flyable and count onthe plus side, for availability purposes anywa y. But can they beused in that 0530 assault coming

    tomorrow morning? Eyewash.How about the CO? Practically

    everything the CO does has wideimpact on availability rates . Hispolicies and attitudes are of vitalimportance to main tenance efforts. A maintenance wise commander is the best friend a maintenance officer ever had-bu t beingmaintenance wise doesn't meanthat the commander shouldtighten every nut or look overevery inspector's shoulder. Heknows when to delegate responsibility and how to maintain confidence. He knows that thehangar is not a place to discusstechnical or engineering theories.He asks his MO instead, Howmany would you like to work tomorrow? Can you get out 19?He tells maintenance when there'sa big push scheduled in two weeks

    and then follows up to see theverything possible is donemeet the requirements, i problems are forecast.

    SUPPORTING ELEMENTS

    How about the company'scooks? Can they affect availability. Admittedly a little farfetchedbut they can. They can run bhind on the chow schedule ancost crewchiefs and mechanicsvaluable half-hour's daylight. Tcrewchief who had intended to gback to his bird ri g ht aftechow all of a sudden doesn't havthat hour or half hour of daylighto spend on correcting those few

    minor wri teups. So he lets thwriteups go and the conditionsexist and progress another daBut that's just one man. Howabou t the fiveman PE crew anthe two crews pulling intermediates? Multiply those 15 men bhalf an hour each, and you'vlost 7Y hours of valuable dalight. All because the cooks werehalf an hour late.

    f the refueling truck drivermisses one aircraft on his finround of the day, it will costto 30 minutes the next morningThat's 15 to 30 minutes when thaircraft is technically availableBut is it? f your unit were odered to evacuate the airfield duing the night, could it go?

    Supply people? All they dogive you parts and requisitionplacements. The most obvioueffect they have on availabilitywhen they don't have the paryou need and can't fly withoutyou're EDP. That is the cawhen the part is needed foraircraft.

    How about the whoozis for tair compressor? Sheetmetal isgood at all without air. We requsitioned the whoozis two monthSago and it's still not in . Why

    4 U. S ARMY AVIATION DIGEST

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    Many people play roles in the aircmfl availability factor.The com mander his exec lJ,tive officer and the maintenanceofficer (above) are most important. But others such s theman who drives the fuel truck, the supply people and eventhe cooks ( r ight ) have a definit e affe ct on aircraf t availability.

    The clerk copied the wrong federal stock number onto the requisition and the DSU cancelled therequisition back. It's over in thatstack waiting to be posted to thecards and the register. The DSUeditor could have taken the partnumber and noun and researchedthem, but his supply officer hasbeen having a hard time with thisunit and the word's ou t - Uthere's anything wrong, cancel it

    back.But that's being a litle harsh

    on the DSU. Maybe the supplycatalog doesn't have the part number listed , or maybe the cataloghas a couple of numbers inverted.The result is the same: the requisition is cancelled and you don'tget the whoozis.

    SUGGESTIONS ORM INTEN NCE

    f you have now seen how justabout anyone can affect availability, we'll now get to the man whohas the largest impact on availabilit y : the maintenance officer.Some of the ways that have workedbefore to improve a unit's performance will be discussed below:

    Don ' t over-maintain your aircraft. This is nearly as detrimentalto unit effectiveness as under-

    FEBRUARY 1967

    maintaining is An aircraft doesn'thave to be perfect every ime i tcomes out of your hangar. I t isnot unusual to find an inspectorwho, in his zeal to do a good job,condemns parts that are worn butare still within tolerance . An inspector of this type is a very valuable asset i his tendencies arerecognized. But he, like the restof the mechanics in any unit ,should be reminded that toler

    ances are computed for a purposeand include a very real safetymargin.

    f you spend time replacing atail rotor bearing that's still within tolerance, you're wasting time- a n d not on l y the time spent onthat job. What would that manhave been doing if you hadn't hadhim on the tail rotor? You've lostthe 3 manhours spent on replacing the bearing plus the 3 manhours the man would have spenton the other job. Your total lossis 6 manhours in a 3 hour periodfor one man. And why? A bearingwas worn-but within toleranceand therefore still SAFE. Yourjob is to produce SAFE aircraft,not necessarily PERFECT aircraft.

    It's easy for people in support levels of maintenance to

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    Better ircraft vailability

    agree wi th a discussion of thistype and say, Yeah, he's talking about organizational maintenance. That's not true. Tolerances don't change with levels ofmaintenance. Twenty thousandthsallowable clearance at secondechelon doesn't become .015 atthird or .010 at fourth echelon.

    Remember that the aircraftyou're working on belongs to aunit maintenance officer and heneeds it. He didn't give you awork order to IROAN the aircraft. He wants the hard landingdamage repaired. He's confidentof his unit's ability to police up

    their share of the work and, unless he's specified otherwise, hewants the aircraft back as soonas you can fix it. Give him a safeaircraft. Let him decide on hisown degree of perfection. Youmight prefer to have 14 or 15 relatively perfect aircraft in each unit ,but the unit commander can doa more effective job with 20 safeaircraft.

    Put your qualified pe ople closest to the aircraft. Be surethat a good daily is performedand that your line maintenancechief is capable of making gooddecisions on what should be done

    now and what can be safely deferred. You can sleep soundlythen. The people who performthese functions keep a unit flyingsafely. They see every aircraftevery day and must know thequirks of each. They closely watchthe progression of problems andtry to correct each as early as possible. They decide when to askyour foreman to pu t the bird inthe shop and when to carry it toits next scheduled maintenance.They've got to be good-some ofthe best you've got.

    The flight line crew and crewchiefs keep you in business, meet

    your expenses. The intermediate,periodic, sheetmetal and enginecrews are the people who makeyour profit. Good people in thesejobs, by doing work that holds upand doesn ' t have to be redone,cut down on your unscheduledmaintenance workload.

    Plan to maintain your birdswhen the ops officer doesn't needthem. When's that? Usually atnight , granted . By putting halfyour people on 8 hour shifts andspli tting them, half your crewson days and half on nights, noone crew is overworked. At organizational level this is often

    inety p er cent air craft a va ilability s possible but ittak es a c onc entrat ed coordinat e d effort by everyone in anaviation unit

    difficult , but in a unit whichsupported by a third echelon dtachment a pooling of manpowecan be accomplished. This pmits makeup of seven or eigfive-man crews and resultsenough flexibility to work 16

    hours a day on a single aircrawithout overworking anyone.also prevents the duplication thresults when the organization hato button up the aircraft to giit to field maintenance to ubutton, fix and button up aga

    Hold up your end of the suply system. Get those unserviceable components turned insoon as you can. Be sure ththey're preserved properly athat the DA Form 2410 seriesproperly filled out and distributedHave you ever gotten a compnent through supply channethat you couldn't use due to complete or missing historicadata? Frustrating, isn't it? f eveunit makes max effort to eliminatthese mistakes within its own unwe'll all profit. Indoctrinate yosupply people to doublecheck atheir work. In an earlier illustrtion the impact of one misplacedigit on a requisition was showCut down on your cancellatirate and you'll improve yoparts stance.

    Even out the peaks and vleys in your workload. Pidream? Maybe, but between yoand your ops officer you can ctainly reduce fluctuations to amore acceptable level. Askops officer to talk to the peopthat you support, or arrangeconduct a briefing session your

    self. Explain something of tcomplexity of your aircraft them, and stress the requiremenfor 1 or 3 or 13 hours of mainnance for every hour's flying thyou give to them.

    Ask them to cooperate with yand release the aircraft as soon they can reasonably do so. Shthem that this action on th

    u.S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST

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    part will give you the chance towork in the daylight, will increaseyour maintenance scheduling flexibility, and will quickly showdividends in the form of more andbetter aircraft available to support their big pushes.

    One division advisor in Vietpam, for example, estabiished amandatory "release time" of 1500hours. This requirement waswaived for special missipns, ofcourse, but 'maintenance prospered. And aircraft crews appreciated it. It showed, too , in everyone's willingness to work for thatdivision. '

    Defer all the maintenance thatyou can until a sc;:heduled inspection (intermediate or periodic)falls due. When you have a surplus of flyable-hallelujah - don'thesitate to Bull a periodic or acouple of intermediates five or sohours early. 'You can't decide todo that the day this auspiciousoccasion arises, though, or ops'will have the aircraft you want towork out on a mission. You'vegot to project your schedule asfar into the future as possible.You must decide not later thanthe night

    before you plan tospring the big one and coordinateit with ops, with the platoons,with the CO . Coordinate it withanyone who'll listen to you. Themore people who know yourplans, the better chance you haveof succeeding.

    Project your parts requirements.Everyone , we ~ s s u m enow recognizes this need as far as TBO(time before o ~ e r h a u litems are

    concerned. But what about thethousands of parts that aren't onthe TBO s c h e d ~ l e ?What can youd9 to project these requirements?You can keep a record of theitems that you're deferring. Forexample, that leaking grip sealon the main rotor hub you re trying to s t r ~ t c hto PE will requireeither a parts kit or a hub. You'vegot a hub b' lt no kit. Well, requi-

    FEBRUARY 1967

    produce safe i rcr f t

    ot n e c e s s a r ~ l yperfect

    sition the kit nowl You may havei t when the ship comes down.Though even if the kit arrivesbefore the PE is due, you may decide to change hubs and then install the seal kit when you havethe time. But do you see theflexibility tpat you have gainedbecause you requisitioned the kitas soon s you recognized the requirement?

    Another way to organize yourunscheduled parts projection is toinspect every aircraft closely at2nd or 3rd intermediate, depend

    ing on the intensity of your unit'sflying program. Look at the aircraft closely and determine whatyou'll have to change at periodic.Then requisition those parts. Collect them and when the aircraftrolls into the barn at PE, handthem to the PE crew. On the firstfour or five aircraft you'll simplybe making educated guesses, butas you get experience you'll improve. Try it. You'll cut yourEDP rate. .

    Train your people. I f you'rein Vietnam and your unit is organized into two shifts, you canprobabl y arrange for an hour'sinstruction at the end of the dayshift two or three times a week.I f you're in a CONUS or garrison situation, you can use some ofthe commander ' s open t ~ m eon thetraining schedule. Use this timeto instruct in the specific areasyour uni t is weak in. Have your

    technical inspectors and bes tmechanics teach the peculiaritiesof your aircraft. Have classes onprocedures that your unit uses.Encourage discussion of these procedures. The inevitable suggestions may be worthwhile, mightstreamline your procedures. Instruct in anything that you canthink of that isn't normally con-

    side red part of the general ArmyTraining Program but that willimprove your unit 's effectiveness.

    Don't l imit your training ses-

    sions to these informal sessionseither. Switch your people between jobs occasionally. Thisbreaks the monotony for themand improves your flexibility.Have your key leaders help yourless experienced people along.

    Don't neglect the test flightarea. The main tenance officer isusually the unit 's primary testpilot. As such he is directly re

    sponsible for the capabilities ofthe flight line and troubleshootercrews. Every flight line mechanicshould be well trained in inflighttroubleshooting procedures andin helicopter units in trackingand balancing out vibrations. Inthis connection , a test flight shouldnever be flown solo. The test pilotshould have a troubleshootertrainee or a test pilot trainee onboard every time he leaves theground.

    When maximum availability isrequired, test flights should beflown as soon as the aircraft isready. In combat zones, this meanseven at night. An aircraft thatsits on the ground for 30 minutesto 6 hours awaiting test Hight ISof no value to anyone.

    NINETY PER ENT

    Ninety percent available? Yes,it's possible - even over a longperiod. But it takes a concentrated, coordinated effort by everyon assigned to an aviation unit .The key is the maintenance offi-cer. He's the availability quarterback who calls the plays , eventhough he does it with occasionalhelp from the coach (CO). Thoseplays make the unit 's aircraftready when they're needed.

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    Smoke n The ockpitH I YA DOING, Frank? 0bexclaimed as he walked intothe coffee shop. Long time nosee. Ho w 's everything?"

    "Aw, doing okay I guess, Bo b .What brings you here? I thoughtyou'd be on your way to Vietnamby now.

    Just about, said Bob, leavingin two w ~ e k sI came do w n with

    my CO to pick up some -lOs forthe crew chiefs assigned to ourcompany and also to get somepilots' checklists if the school canspare any.

    I can see the -lOs, Bob, butwhy the checklists? Practically allof you are just out of flight schooland should have the checklistmemorized by now.

    I feel the same way, Frank,but you know how some of thesesenior aviators are."

    I guess I should know whatyou mean. I had this major for acopilot the other day and he wentaround the ship reading his checklist like he had never seen a U-6before "

    A few minutes after I told Bobgoodbye, my friend Jack Smithcalled. He said he had an administrative flight l ined up to go toAtlanta tonight and wondered ifI 'd like to go along. He was leav

    ing at 1700 in a U-6.That gave me an hour to go

    home and get my gear and beback. I told him to go on out andfile and I'd be back ASAP.

    I was back at the ai r field in 40minutes and found Jack abouthalfway through filing. We weregoing to Atlanta to drop off a manwho was taking emergency leave .

    8

    Lieutenant ohn C Logan

    The trip should be no sweatabout an hour forty-five up andthe same back. I should be backand in bed by 2300.

    The weather forecaster was pr edicting broken clouds a ~ 4,0 00with no showers or thunderstorms.It was fall of the year and flyingconditions were good. We filed for5,000 going up which put us in

    and out of the clouds. Both of uswanted a little AI time anyway.The winds were forecast at 310at 10 knots.

    A few minutes later we weretaxiing out for runup. We hadmade a hurried preflight-but ofcourse wi thou t the aid of thechecklist. We didn't miss a thingas far as I know. At least if wedid, it took care of itself sincethe flight went without a hitch.

    We dropped our passenger offjust in time to catch a plane tohis destination and grabbed aquick cup of coffee.

    Jack suggested that we dividethe time so I flew back and herode shotgun.

    We jumped in hurriedly andstarted up . After getting taxi instructions, we started out to runway 09. We were about halfwayout when I thought I smelledsmoke. Jack confirmed that he

    thought so too. Both of us checkedall the gauges and everythingseemed to be in the green.

    After getting our clearance andbeing cleared for takeoff, I stillnoticed th e smoke and it seemedto be getting stronger. I pulledmy window down and stuck myhead out to see if it were possiblycoming from the city somewhere.

    Not wanting to wait in that lonline again for takeoff, I convincedmyself that the smell couldn'possibly be caused " by our aplane. With that, I closed thw i~ d o w poured the coals toand started my climbout. We webeing radar vectored to the VOso there was no problem on navgation. I unhooked my flashligh

    from my shoulder strap, laid it btween the seats and told Jacwhere it was in case he needed

    It wasn't long either We hadjust leveled off at 4,000 and wereleased to resume our own navgation when all hell seemed tbreak loose. Everything wenblack and smoke began boilininto the cockpit from under thinstrument panel. I yelled to Jacto get the flashlight while p u l lmy window down to try to clesome smoke ou I t seemed whad lost all the electrical systemNo radios or lights would worJack immediately shut the geerator and FM switches off , whicpu t everything on the ba ttery.

    In the meantime, I had uhooked the rear seat and was ustrapped and ready to go ouAfter what seemed like an eternity(but was only seconds) the lights

    slowly came back on. Jack keye

    the microphone and found thattoo was working again. Havinjust been released from AtlantDeparture Con trol we had nhad time to change channel

    L T Logan was AdministrativeOfficer Dept of MaintenanceTraining when he wrote thisticle.

    U. S ARMY AVIATION DIGEST

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    moke began boiling in to the cockpitfrom under the instrument panel

    Therefore, we immediately gavethem a call and explained oursituation, requesting a radar vec

    tor back into Atlanta. This wasapproved and we were given aheading.

    We were about 8 minutes outso this gave us time to try to analyze what had happened. Fortunately, the clouds had all dissipated and the sky was clearwhen it happened, so I was ableto maintain control of the aircraftwhen the lights were off. Theengine had not sputtered once, sowe decided that it must havebeen some sort of electrical short

    b u t where? Everything seemedto work O on the battery, so itmust have been a generator fire.At any rate, I didn t chop anypower until I was sure I had thefield made power-off. Have youever overshot a 10,000 foot runway? I almost did

    The tower had crash crews

    FEBRUARY 1967

    wal ting when we touched down.We were ad vised to pull off immediately and shut down in caseof fire-which we did gladly. Aftera few minu tes of probing aroundthe aircraft with the crash crewto make sure there was no fire, wedecided to start up and taxi to ahangar to get some maintenancepeople to look it over. I couldn tget the energizer to turn, so atow bar was brough t ou t and wewere hauled in. No maintenancepersonnel were around at thathour, s the proper calls weremade to Cairns to advise them ofour mishap and that we probablywouldn t be back until the nextafternoon.

    Atlanta Depot sent a man overthe next day to look at the aircraft. You re right; the starter hadburned up. What caused it? It sfor sure that it would have happened had the energizer swi tchstuck in the up position (which itmay have and snapped downlater). However, it was downwhen we landed that night. I

    don t remember distinctly checking i t down after start, but I haddone it s many times in the pastit was second nature. f it hads tuck in the up posi t ion I wouldhave found it if I had had Jack

    read the checklist off before taxiing and during runup.

    This has certainly taught me alesson about checklists. Beforethat, I had had other things happen that weren t quite as frightening-like forgetting my flaps during B phase strip work, not switching to the fullest tank during Cphase and running out of gas during an approach, leaving the pitottube cover on a Bird Dog andwondering what s happened to myairspeed on climbout.

    All of these are things thatcould certainly have been prevented by using my checklist.

    Now ask me who needs a checklist and I l l tell you right quickthat everyone does There will beno more smoke in the cockpi t forme caused from not using mychecklist.

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    inipads n VietnamThe 8 th Engineer Brigade has come up witha system that sharply reduces the dust prob-

    lem around heliports n South Vietnam

    T H RO U G H O U T Vie tnamthere is a heavy demand forheliports to accommodate UH-Iand CH-47 helicopters. Along theeast coast of Vietnam most of theheliport sites ~ r e sandy or dustyduring the dry season. Duringtakeoffs and landings, the helicopter downblast raises thick,swirling clouds of dust, causingdamage to engines and rotor bearings, in addi tion to blinding thepilots. The 45th Engineer Grouphas recently come up with a design to help overcome this problem.

    The new design calls for theconstruction of minipads andwas made possible by the successful application of peneprime, anew dust palliative material of

    asphal tic base.When an area has been selectedas a helipadsite , it is bulldozed,leveled and graded in the usualprocedure. The entire area isthen compacted with a sheepsfootand/or steel wheel roller andsprayed with peneprime. Thepeneprime is usually applied withan asphalt distributor although,in difficult areas, a hand distributor can be used. When sprayedonto sand, the asphaltic substancebinds small particles together,making the surface dust-free.

    Peneprime requires very littlesettling time, and construction ofthe minipads is usually initiatedimmediately after the area hasbeen shot (sprayed). A minipadis a 24-foot square of pierced st eelplank PSP) surfacing placed directly upon the compacted, pene-

    10

    primed sand. They can be buil tseparately or in groups, depending on the use and workload ofthe heliport. Walkways made ofPSP are also provided to preventdisruption of the dust-free surfacearound the minipad .

    Successful use of this design wasdemonstrated recent ly in an operation near Tuy Hoa, RVN .. Asevere dust problem existed thatgreatly l imited aviation supportgiven to combat opera t ions in thatarea. Company B of the 39th Engineer Battalion (Combat), 45thEngineer Group, 18th EngineerBrigade, constructed a UH-l heliport consisting of 64 minipadsand two refueling pads see fig-ure) . I t consists of two sections of32 minipads; the pads are located

    PE NEPRIME

    ~ p s

    so as to accommodate helicopterand passenger traffic easily. Thtwo refueling pads ~ n handleight U H -ls at one time. Botareas have access roads surfacedwith laterite, a sand-clay mixturethat is re adily available in Vinam. In all, over 38,000 gallons openeprime and over 75,000 squarfeet of PSP w ere used. The minpads considerably reduced thedust problem and were builtonly six days.

    The successful use of peneprime and the new minipad dsign have provided a simple solution to a serious problem in thVietnam war. The 45th EngineerGroup has adopted the minipaddesign, or modifications thereoffor a ll of their heliport project

    SECTION A

    W LK W A Y

    MINIP D T[

    SCHEM TIC OF HE PORT l.-: '---' '--'--' '---' '---' '--'f-' ' '--+''--t' ' '--' '---' 'I-'T TUY HO RVN .

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    peration Red LeafThe transfer of the U S rmy CV-2 missions tothe U S ir Force result ed in an interesting insightinto joint maintenance management at the company jsquadr on level .

    U NDER WH AT conditionswould an Army senior airplane mechanic serve as an "advisor" to an organic main tenanceteam of an Air Force squadron?

    Where would you find an Armyaviation company performing technical inspections of aircraft main-tenance performed by an AirForce main tenance team of a comb' .t crew training squadron?

    The conditions are those createdby Operation Red Leaf and thelocation is the 1st Aviation Company, 10th Aviation Group, FortBenning. Operation Red Leaf isthe designation given in the JointBasic Plan for implementation ofthe well known agreement between the Army and Air Force

    FEBRUARY 1967

    Colonel J Elmore Swenson

    Chiefs of Staff on 6 April 1966.The objectives of this plan were:

    To transfer the U. S ArmyCV-2 missions and resources to theU. S Air Force beginning in Apriland completed by 31 December1966.

    T o accomplish the transferwithout disruption of the Armytactical capability.

    To phase the transfer to allow early Air Force assumption ofthe aircrew training responsibili tywith the Army continuing main-tenance and logistical a ss istanceas required.

    The 1st Aviation Company ,with its splendid record in Armyfixed-wing aviation, was probablythe first Army unit t feel the real

    impact of the decision to relin-quish the faithful Caribou. Ofcourse , the 1st has a history of"firsts ." From its historic globaldeplo yment to Southeast Asia in1962 to the present, including itsoutstanding contribution to theALOC (air line of communica-tions) concept during Air Assault II, each mission has received the best of the 1st.

    Could the company live up toits rec ord in this obviously uniquemission assignment? Morale of avia tors and mechanics suddenlydropped to the lowest point inthe unit history. Rumors and

    COL Swenson is CO 10th vi -ation G r oup Ft B enning Ga

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    peration Red Leaf

    fears expressed by senior NCOsand Specialists were at an all timehigh. Would they be able to compete after retraining or reclassification into a new MOS? Immediately affected by the decisionwere 49 Caribou-rated aviators inthe group, of which only two weredual rated. Other assets affectedwere the 22 CV-2 aircraft withinthe 1st Aviation Company, TOEof the unit, elements of TOE ofthe 254th TC Detachment (FM),and possibly a maintenance sliceof the 609th TC MaintenanceCompany (DS).

    Certainly The 1st Aviation

    Company could be dependedupon to turn in a commendableperformance, even under theseadverse conditions. Some of thepitfalls of Operation Red Leafand the innovations for their solution represent a new series of"firsts" for Army aviation andshould be examined further.

    To begin the operation, 10thAviation Group had the missionto transfer operational trainingresponsibility to the Air Force asessential Air Force training capabilities have been attained. On30 April, the first Air Force student IPs arrived. Six Air Forcestudents joined six Army transition students in Class 66-8 whichwas to be the last class for ArmyCV-2B transition students. Thecourse syllabus was reduced fromsix to thre e weeks to accommoda te

    the Air Force students with extensive multiengine flight experience.

    The most significant problemencountered during the transferwas the maintenance workload increase resulting from the intensified tran si tion training program.The Joint Basic Plan of 8 Junehad specified that the Army wouldbe responsible for aircraft maintenance until 31 December 1966.Part of the increase was plannedeven before arrival of the first AirForce students. However, the factor contributing to the largest increase in maintenance workloadcame somewhat as a surprise. This

    was the aircraft wear factor increase. Intensified STOL operation, i.e., 86 landings on one aircraft in one day and the resultantincreased percentage of hard landings necessitated frequent aileronand flap damage repairs. Eighteenengine changes were required ina two-month period.

    A large percentage of these increased wear factors would applyto any aircraft during an intensified transition program. The surprise element was that the severityof wear factor increase was directly attributable to the verystudent input criteria which wasanticipated to reduce it, as wellas the length of transition training time required. In retrospect,it may be that the greater theexperience in multiengine aircraftunder normal conditions, the

    IntensifiedSTO

    operation suchas 8 landings on one aircraft inone day were unexpected andresulted in the largest increase inthe maintenance workload

    more difficul t the trans i tion totrue STOL operations under fieldoperating conditions. Studentswith greater multiengine jet aircraft experience had to completely relearn reciprocating enginehandling techniques (rpm / manifold pressure control). Enginesand major Caribou componentssuffered.

    To prepare for the planned increase of maintenance workload,the 1st Aviation Company and254th TC Detachment had initiated double shifts totaling 1hours per day in April. By 1June, the transition program re

    quired ten aircraft per day, sixdays per week. Individual aircrafwere averaging approximately 1hours per week in flight time.Add the surprises in wear factorincrease and it is apparent thaall organic maintenance assetwere committed.

    How would the company nowprovide OJT (on the job training) for practical training of th4449th CCT Squadron (CombatCrew Training) personnel without interrupting the maintenanceeffort? The 4449th ceT Squadronhad been activated on 1 May1966, and was now beginning tfill with maintenance personneof varying experience levels. The

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    t is an historic moment as the U S Air Force receives the responsibility for U S Army GV-2 missions. Key officers involvedin the transfer of Fort Benning GV-2 assets to the Air Force a re (left to right) GOL ] . Elmore Swenson, commander 10th Aviation Group; LTC Harold Bailer, commander 4449th CCT Squadron; MA] Richard A. Lochner commander 1st Aviation Company; and LTC Wayne Witherington operations officer, 4449th GGTS.

    601st Field Training Detachmentwas activated on 8 June and hadestablished classroom type training facilities at McKenna AAF.At this time, the 601st was turning out the first group of maintenance personnel for the 4449thGCTS. These filler personnel hadreceived a two-weeks CV-2 groundschool orientation as they arrived.It was now necessary to provideadditional training by OJT.

    Herein lies the most unique ofthe Army aviation firsts involvedin the transfer operations. An

    over-the-shoulder training sys-tem was jointly agreed upon bythe commanders of the 1st Aviation Company and the 4449thCCTS in early August. The sys-tem called for initial assignmentof an Air Force maintenance

    technician to an Army supervisor / counterpart. As the Air Forceenlisted man became proficient inhis specialty, he was ready forintegration into a joint maintenance team. The joint maintenance team was supervised by anAir Force NCO, with an Army

    advisor main taining overallcontrol.

    FERRUARY 1967

    As the Air Force team chiefbecame proficient, the Army advisor dropped out of the supervisory chain. As sufficien t teamsbecame proficient, further jointreorganization resulted in the4449th CeTS assuming the workload under the Air Force systemof maintenance management. TheArmy retained quality control until approximately 15 November,at which time the Air Force alsoassumed this responsibility. Afterthis date and until 31 December1966, the Army retained advisorstatus only at company / squadronlevel.

    Operation Red Leaf afforded10th Aviation Group maintenance personnel a rare opportunity to observe, at first hand, adaptation of the more time-tested Air

    Force maintenance managementsystem to an Army aircraft. Observation of the transfer at unitlevel has indicated that the Armycould well benefit from a furtherstudy of certain management procedures used in an Army aviationcompany versus an Air Forcesquadron. A step-by-step analysis/comparison of subordinate man-

    agement devices is truly feasibleonly under such rare circumstances when both systems (inpart) are being used concurrentlyat the unit level.

    A few of these managemen t devices deserve further study because they are uniquely adaptableto Army airmobile companies asthey exist today-with a TC detachment attached. Further, Armyrequirements for greater separatecompany mobility and self-sufficiency should not be overridingconsiderations when the companyis supporting a counterinsurgencyoperation. Airmobile and mediumhelicopter companies operatingwithin and from relatively largesecure areas have established aneed for greater maintenancemISSIOn orientation. Flyability

    rates demand more attention tothe maintenance mission and theattached FM detachment is a partial solution.

    Specific examples of areas wi thin the Air Force system that areworth further study as to adaptabilityare:

    Pooling of maintenancespecialists, up to and including a

    3

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    Red Leaf gave the Army a look

    at a time -tested maintenance systemlimited GS capability, immediate-ly responsive to a single flight linemaintenance dispatcher. This includes response to both preplanned and unscheduled mainte-nance requirements.

    An adequate flight line transportation and communicationsnet permitting rapid movementof specialist personnel , materiel,and transmission of instructionsand requests.

    Simplification of fli ght linejob order documentation .

    A single Maintenance Man-agement Manual which is allinclusive of subordinate headquarters revisions and supplements using page insert type revisions when required. Air ForceManual 66 1 , Maintenance Management, provides such a reference. TAC supplements are issuedas different colored pages and are

    ighteen engine changes were requested in a 2 month period

    inserted wherever the reVISIOn iapplicable. The combination includes common systems for unirecords, aircraft technical supply,flight l ine maintenance control,and all other aspects of aircraftmaintenance management underthe single cover.

    Advantages of the Air Forcsquadron system of maintenancemanagement are as follows:

    The squadron is more selfsufficient from the maintenancestandpoint than the Army aviation company. The squadron hathe approximate equivalent of theArmy TC detachment (FM) , direct support company, andl imited GS capability.

    The squadron is more main

    tenance-mission oriented than thArmy aviation company due to lack of diversity . (The responsibility for mess, security , and vehicle maintenance is removed fromthe squadron commander.)

    The squadron maintenanceofficer maintains continuity of effort by his more extensive author-ity for local fix of subassemblies,avoiding such heavy reliance onthe supply system. This continu-ity is further enhanced by elimination of separate unit variationsin SOP, the resultant reduction indocumentation of job orders andthe rapid response of more highlyskilled personnel to flight linrequirements.

    Bismark, the great Iron Chan-cellor of Germany, once said

    Only fools learn from experience; I learn from the experienceof others. It has also been saithat history repeats itself. Dur

    ing Red Leaf, the Air Forcegrandaddy of all the flying busi

    ness, returned to the Army foflight training. Interesting firstdeveloped throughout the operation. Should we wait for historyor should we gain from the experience of long-time maintenancemanagers as applied to our common friend, the Caribou?

    14 U. S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST

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    Staff Sergeant George L Maillet

    Communication be-tween controller andpilot is of utmost sig-nificance especiallydurin g these days ofovercrowded skies.

    ROGER W I L C O ~OVER ND OUT

    H ow MANY TIMES haveyou squirmed in your easychair when you've been watchingan antiquated WW II movie andheard this expression? Plenty I l lbet.

    Safe, orderly and expeditiousflow of traffic on and in the vicinity of an airport.

    From the time a person enters

    the field of air traffic control, heis taught to keep this phrase inmind. His entire career as a controller revolves around this statement.

    The air traffic controller is governed by a stringent set of regulations, contained in the ATP7110.1B-ATC Procedures, whichhas been adopted by the Armyand designated TM 11-2557-27.Th e foreward in this publicationreads:

    This ATe Procedures Manualis one of the Air Traffic ControlManuals referred to in Part 65 ofthe Federal Aviation Regulations.It prescribes procedures and ac-companying phraseology to beused by personnel of all facili tiesproviding air traffic control service. Controllers are required tobe familiar wi th all provisions of

    16

    this manual and to exercise theirbest judgment i they encountersituations not covered by it.

    What ' would happen i we wereto operate aircraft, in and out ofan airport, without benefit of acontrol tower? Especially whatwould happen if this airportboasted a traffic count of morethan 1,000 operations a day? I t

    would probably result in complete chaos and disorder. Wewould be required to stationsweepers at strategic points alongthe runway to clear off debris leftby pilots who thought there wasenough separation between theirsand the preceding aircraft.

    Many pilots are left with a badtaste stemming from instructionsreceived from a controller whohas told him to go around or tomake a 360 on final for spacing.Instructions of this sort are givenonly when corrective action mustbe taken. Sometime we find theoverzealous controller, who wouldrather be safe than sorry. Hesometimes issues instructions prematurely which may cause a slightdelay. controller's judgmentimproves in direct proportion tohis experience. Keeping this in

    mind, i t is much better to controla situation a bit early rather thantoo late.

    THE ONTROlLER

    Generally, the air traffic controller is a dedicated man. Noonly is he dedicated to the Armybut to the field of air traffic control as well.

    A young man entering thArmy who cannot become anArmy Aviator usually chooses thnext best occupational specialty,which in this case is air trafficontrol.

    In many instances the militarycontroller is a rated civil pilotHis training begins with a grueling 17 weeks at Keesler Air ForcBase in Biloxi, Miss. A wide variety of subjects is covered to include weather, navigational aidscivil air regulations, airport traffic control, and air route trafficontrol.

    Upon completion of this course,he is subjected to another 4 to months of on-the-job training

    SSG Maillet is a senior air traffico n t r o l l e r ~airns F ~ Ft Ruck-

    e r ~Ala

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    which is culminated with anexamination (written and practical) administered by an FAAexaminer. On successful completion of this test, the controller isthen certificated by the FAA as ajunior controller.

    The way has now been clearedfor the controller to really beginstudying this complex field.

    First, there is a local area whichmust be memorized. This areausually encompasses a 50 mile ormore radius to include all airways, VORs and their frequencies,holding patterns, intersectionsand the VOR radials which makethem up, and the distances between various fixes. When a pilotreports over a point, the control

    ler must be able to visualize hisposition in relation to the airport.Now we come to the giant

    killer - t h e 200-mile area map,which must also be drawn frommemory. This, coupled with mastering the intricacies of conventional approach control, preparesthe aspiring controller to onceagain face the FAA examiner inhopes of obtaining a Senior AirTraffic Controller's Certificate.

    The entire process of trainingcovers a period of 6 to 9 months.The junior and senior phase oftraining must be repeated eachtime the con troller is transferredto another control tower.

    SOME OF THE PRO LEMS

    A look at some of the typicalmistakes will illustrate some ofthe problems encountered by boththe controller and pilot.

    A controller plans his traffic

    well in advance, sometimes picking out a spot on downwind oron the base leg where a landingsequence will be issued to thepilot. If a pilot initiates the callup well before entering the trafficpattern, he is expected andplanned for by the controller. Inmany instances pilots make theinitial call when turning onto the

    FEBRUARY 1967

    Few Points t RememberFOR THE PILOT

    Monitor the frequency before you transmit. You may becutting someone else out.

    Be as accurate as possible in reporting your position. Thiswill help the controller to plan accurately for you.

    Be specific in your requests. f you don't receive an answer immediately, be patient. The

    controller may be talking to someone else on another frequency.

    FOR THE CONTROLLER

    Be specific in issuing instructions. A pilot must understandwhat he is to do.

    Use good phraseology. t saves time and trouble. Tell the pilot the reason you cannot approve a :request. I t

    makes for better relations. Always put yourself in the pilot'S place. Ask yourself how

    you would react if you received your own instructions.

    downwind leg or entering the pattern on an extended base leg.This will work just fine providingit happens at a time when notmuch traffic is in the area. However, during peak traffic periodsit can become what is known asthe controller's nightmare.

    Many controllers fabricate theirown problems by what is known

    asovercontrolling

    and undercontrolling. Overcontrolling simply means that some of the instructions or advisories issued toa pilot are not necessary. U ndercontrolling is just the oppositethere is not enough detail in theins tructions.

    A controller should strive tomake all of his transmissionsmean something. For example,when a pilot calls the tower requesting a right turn out of traffic and the controller replies

    Roger, this can only mean tothe pilot that the controller hasreceived and understands thetransmission. t does not constitute approval or disapproval.Above all, the controller must bespecific in his instructions. pilotcannot be held responsible fornoncompliance if he does not

    understand what he is to do. f forany reason a controller is unableto approve a pilot's request, thepilot should be given the reasonfor disapproval, time permitting.A pilot will more readily complywith such instructions if he understands the particular situation.

    Our jobs as pilots and controllers involve great responsibility.We must remember that a pilot isin no position to control air traffic from his vantage point; by thesame token, the controller is inno position to fly the aircraft.

    We should all strive to stayabreast of the ever-changing regulations governing flying and airtraffic control. In this way we canall be instrumental in keepingArmy aviation the great organization that it is

    f you are ever visiting a cont r ~ tower at the time a shift isbeing changed, you'll probablyhear something like this: Herecomes our relief. Let's go for acup of coffee. And over that cupof coffee, you would probablyhear him say to the other. Howabout that go-around I gave Army12345; do you think I could havewaited a little longer?

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    NEED.HELP

    T YOURDESTINATION?

    Captain Peter H. Mitchell

    t William F Winblood Jr.

    18

    If you en counter difficulties at yourdestination you might consider RV R -runway visual range which s amechanical system that looks down therunway at the lights and states exactlyhow far down the runway it can see.

    Y OU REPORT your last in-tersection and turn towardthe locater outer marker for an

    ILS approach. It s been a longhard flight and you think long-ingly of a hot shower a goodmeal and a little bit of relaxingentertainment. Suddenly you real-ize that the weather being re-ported to you at this time includesan existing visibility below theauthorized minimums. Your teethgrind together in disgust. After

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    flying all day to reach your destination, Lady Luck has chosen tosend you to your alternate-orhas she?

    Not too long ago you wouldhave been forced to proceed immediately to your alternate i theweather was reported below minimums (AR 95-2, para 20d). Butnow, at this point in time, younote that either Sliding Scale orRVR may be applicable. f theyare, you may at least be able tobegin the approach and you havea good chance of completing yourmission.

    In the back of your mind is anagging thought: It 's there, butwhat is it? Can I use it? How doI use it?

    Even if the AR is aboard, thisis not the most feasible time todrag it ou t and try to figure itout. The time is now too short tostart doing research and tryingto understand something you'venever heard of. So let's try to blowthe smoke off R VR and whilewe're at it , let's also consider Sliding Scale.

    First of all, what is RVR? I tstands for runway visual rangeand is a mechanical system thatlooks down the runway at thelights and states exactly how fardown the runway i t can see. f itcan see down the runway a certain distance, then you should beable to see the same distance withyour uncorrected 20/ 20 vision.Sound a bit more accurate thanthe normal weather reporting procedures? You bet .

    Standard card holders may useRVR anytime they are authorizedon the appropriate approachplate, in your case DOD FLIP .Further, anytime R VR is reported,

    When they wrote this article CPTMitchell and L T Winblood wereassigned to the Academic Syn-thetc Trainer Div Dept of FixedWing Training Ft Rucker Ala.

    FEBRUARY 1967

    tandard cardholders can use V

    if it is authorized in th O LIP

    whether published or not, youmust use it.

    The first step therefore is tocommit to memory the appropriate equivalents which follow:

    RVR 24 = 1/2 mileRVR 40 = 3/4 mileRVR 50 = 1 mileRVR 60 = ~ milesN ow that you have that down,

    let's see how it works.When RVR is published within

    the confines of any block on theapproach plate, it may be used asyour sole minimum regardless ofreported ceiling or visibility.Thus, if the minimums publishedare 400-1 or R VR 40 (in the sameblock) you may begin the approach if the reported R V R isequal to 40 or greater, regardlessof the reported ceiling or visibility.

    f it had been reported as ceiling 200, visibility 1/2 mile, RVR40, the RVR is equal to what you

    need so you may begin the approach, but you must level off atthe published altitude; in thiscase, 400 feet. Conversely, if thereported weather was ceiling 400feet, visibility 1 mile, but theRVR only 30, you can't go -it's less than 40. So you can seethat one fact becomes instantlyevident: the given RVR must beequal to that published beforeyou may substitute i t for both ceiling and visibility.

    Suppose RVR is not publishedon the approach plate, yet approach control gives you an RVRreport. In this case the only itemyou may substitute RVR for isvisibility.

    For example: Your approachplate minimums are ceiling 400feet, visibility 1 mile. You know

    the equivalent RVR for 1 mileis R VR 50. O n the way in approach control reports Ceiling400, visibility 1/2 mile, RVR 50.No problem; R VR 50 equals 1mile so in you go , again levelingoff at the published altitude. Butsuppose they say Ceiling 300,visibility 1 mile, RVR 50. RVR50 does equal 1 mile but yourceiling is 100 feet below that published. So since R VR was notpublished on the approach plate,and all you may substitute RVRfor is visibility, you can't go in.So you can see that one fact reallystands out when RVR is not published, all you can substitute foris visibility-the ceiling must beequal.

    So now let's move on to SlidingScale, shown on the approachplate as SIS. Sliding Scale lets youdrop 1/4 mile of visibility foreach 100 feet you add on to yourceiling down to a visibility of noless than 1/2 mile. f you should

    have aminimum printed as

    400-1SI S you can accept a reportedceiling of 500 feet, visibili ty 3/4mile or ceiling 600 feet visibility1/ 2 mile (but never less than1/2 mile). Of course your newlevel-off altitude will be the altitude you converted to. As you cansee SIS becomes a real fine systemwhen your ceilings are prettygood, but the visibilities leave abit to be desired as happensaround most of your metropolitan

    areas. And after all, isn't thatwhere most of the Playboy Clubsare?

    We hope these explanationshelp you understand RVR andSIS. They aren't really so confusing after all and they sure haveprevented a lot of aviators fromhaving to move out smartly totheir alternate.

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    DO

    YOU

    HAVE

    That fExcepfionalTouch?

    'LL BET YOU that I can takethis chopper off and land it

    with less power than you can.When was the last time that youmade this statement to your co-pilot? Issue this challenge tosomeone soon and see how smoothyour con trol touch is.

    Just what is control touch? Howabout the delicacy with whichone performs coordinated controlmovements. In other words are

    you rough on the controls? Doyou "rattle the cyclic all overthe cockpi or do you handle thecontrols in a smooth, deft manner? Do you overcontrol, or doyou use only the graceful slightness of control movement necessary to get the job done.

    Now let's look at coordination.Even if we possess the ultimate in

    20

    Captain Glaston J Ford Jr.

    the finesse of touch it will be oflittle value if we are unable tomanipulate all controls to achievethe perfect or near-perfect endproduct. Therefore, let us thinkof control touch and coordinationas being a happily married pair.

    What does control touch meanto you, a VFR pilot? N othing-that's what those instrument drivers need; they're the ones whomust maintain specific altitudes

    and make minute control movements to keep those gauges fromjumping all over the place. f thisis the completeness of your beliefof control touch, then WHOALet me see what I can do aboutsupplementing your belief, because if you fly long enough thesituation will arrive when yourdeft handling of the controls will

    determine either life or death,completion or noncompletion oyour mission.

    I'm sure you are aware tha"rattling the cyclic, besides producing an uncomfortable feelingfor crew and passengers, requiresmore power to keep the helicopterairborne. In a situation whergross weight and density altitudeare not factors, there is no immediate danger; however, don't form

    two types of flying. By this Imean sloppy or cyclic rattling flying in the above situation andthen turning to serious or polished flying when gross weightand density altitude are factors.

    PT Ford s assigned to the Tac-tical Instrument i v ~ Dept oRotary Wing T m i n i n g ~Ft Ruck- r ~Ala

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    My reasoning is simply this: thetime will come when a sloppysituation will quickly change to aserious situation, yet you mightvery well forget to switch habitscommensurate with the situation.You can easily imagine the predicament you could find yourselfIn.

    Have you ever tried to fly formation on some joker who fliesas i f he has ants in his pants? It'ssimply beyond his capability tomaintain straight and level flight.This guy has two main problems:control touch and attentiveness.I f you have flown with someonelike this you know how much unnecessary work it causes you, ashis wingman, to perform. I f you

    haven't, you're in for an experience when you have this unfortunate opportunity.

    You're carrying passengers now.All aboard-you clear left, rightand overhead-ready to go. Youease the ole bird off the groundmaintaining directional controland guide her right on into atakeoff, all real smooth, no yaw,no bump. Your passengers leanback, let out a sigh and say tothemselves, Real fine. This guyknows what he's doing; no sweaton this flight. You have just imparted a sense of high professionalism.

    In a parallel situation you jerkthe aircraft off the ground, allowit to yaw wildly, drop the noseexcessively and blast off. Whatkind of a sense have you impartedthis time? It certainly isn't a favorable one; and think of the jeopardy in which you placed your

    crew and passengers. No matterhow smooth th remainder ofyour flight may be, remembranceof this intial takeoff will linger inthe minds of your passengers.

    Now you're on a medical evacuation mission. You must evacuatea lot of seriously wounded menwho require immediate extensivemedical treatment. With your

    FEBRUARY 1967

    cyclic rattling flying, you finallytake off with as many on boardas possible (you are not at maxgross and you do have additionalspace available). On your returnpickup trip you are informed thatone of the wounded just died. Yousay to yourself, I f I could havetaken him on the first trip, hemight have survived. Well, theywere all seriously wounded and Icouldn't take any more than Idid.

    Let's analyze this situation. I fyour control touch was prettyrough, you probably did take offwith all you could carry. Nowtake the Huey, for example: onepsi torque is worth 200 pounds oflift capability. I f your control

    touch was rough enough to causeyou to use power beyond that required (through use of a smoothcontrol touch) to take off, youcan clearly see where you felldown on the job. I f you had beensmooth on the controls, it's possible that you could have taken oneadditional person on the first trip,and probably saved a life. Ofcourse, the magnitude of a situation such as this would dependupon just how good or bad yourcontrol touch was; however, youcan readily see how easy i t is tolose or gain a few pounds oftorque through your controltouch.

    Almost anyone capable of flyinga helicopter can jerk i t around,but not everyone who can fly i tpossesses an exceptional controltouch. Exceptional-that's right, Isaid exceptional. We Army Aviators have access to more fine heli

    copters than do any other peoplein the world, so why not set ourstandards accordingly.

    One might say that some peoplejust naturally possess an exceptional control touch. For others,it's a long, hard uphill climb toachieve this goal. Whichever thecase, let's start developing andmaintaining this control touchcommensurate with our professional flying ability. During the

    conduct of daily missions makeall your takeoffs and landingswith great precision; see i youcan perform each maneuver safely, with minimum power. Workto improve your attentive ness also.While cruising, pick an altitudeand airspeed and concentrate onmaintaining both. Think ahead.Always use smooth, minute andaccurate control movements.

    You know, next to love, help isthe most beautiful word in theEnglish language. Make use of it.Don't hesitate to ask someone tohelp you in developing your exceptional control touch.

    useum eeks istorical ItemsHE u s ARMY AviationMuseum at Ft Rucker, Ala.,

    now is under the direction of afull-time civilian curator who isanxious to receive material significant to the history of Army aviation.

    Many of us have items of importance to the history packedaway in footlockers. Others oftenwatch a significant document or .piece of hardware destroyed with-

    ou t thinking tha t t should besaved for the museum. nyon isauthorized to contact the museumcurator about donating or lending items of interest such asphotos, maps, or even aircraftfrom any area-especially Vietnam.

    Those interested should contactthe Curator, U. S Army AviationMuseum, Ft Rucker, Ala., 36360(telephone extension 4507) before

    shipping items.

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    he Role of rmy viation In

    N iON BUILDING

    RMY AVIATION is certainly the rising star in the

    Anny's galaxy of new concepts,doctrine, hardware and even basicmissions. A look at the expandedrole of aviation in Vietnam, theorganization of a dramatic newairmobile division built aroundArmy aircraft, the vast increase

    of aviation training facilities, andeven the recommissioning of aWorld War II seaplane tender tosupport maintenance functionsare all evidence of the increasingimportance of Anny aviation.

    Army aviation detachments arelocated at all large headquarters.Most posts and literally thousandsof units have aviators and aircraft. Service colleges, some Annyattaches, MAAGs, and mappingdetachments all boast at least oneAnny aircraft wi th a pilot whowears the wings of the Anny Aviator.

    There is one area, however, inwhich Anny aviation is not wellrepresented. In many of the de-

    LTC Snell is attending the U S.A rmy War C allege Carlisle Bar-racks} Pa

    22

    Lieutenant Colonel Dillon Snell

    veloping countries where theU. S. military effort is used in nation building the full potentialof Army aviation is not being exploited.

    According to the Anny'sHandbook on Counterinsurgen-

    cy, nation building has theobjective of increasing the via

    bility of a nation through ef-fecting programs of economicbetterment, and social progressthrough such activities as engineering construction, transportation and communications improvemen s incl uding roads,railroads, bridges, telecommunications facilities, airfields andport facilities

    Furthermore, the U. S. Anny'srole in nation building is important enough to be described asthe third principle mission ofthe U. S. Army, according toChief of Staff, General Harold K.Johnson. 2

    Anny aviation can assist greatlyin this new mission of the Army.This article, therefore, investigates the possibilities for Annyaviation to assist selected emerging countries in the building of

    their nations. I t will address thenonfighting role of Army aviation,i.e., transport and associated operations.

    As a vehicle for discussion, a potential insurgency situation inRuritania, a fictional country, willbe developed. I t will then beshown how Army aviation re

    sources can be applied to this lowintensity conflict 3 situation.

    RURITANIA S PROBLEMS

    Our present economic assistance program is modest in Ruri-tania; our military effort is nil.Ruritania has the typical problems of most developing countries: divisive tendencies of ethnicgroups, inexperienced leadershipwith little popular political support, lack of adequate communications to extend the influence ofthe federal government to the rural areas, an urgen t need for all

    lU S. Dept of Army Field Manual 31-73Handbook on Counterinsurgency, p.180.

    2Gen Harold K Johnson, The Army'sRole in Nation Building and Preserving Security, Army Information Digest,Nov 1965, p. 6.

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    N TION

    UILDING

    sorts of development projects, adrastic disintegration of societycaused by migration from thefarms to the cities, a demand forhigher standards of living, andpainfully slow steps towards industrialization. All these frustrations have been generated by therising expectations of independence.

    PROPOS L

    A United States military grantaid program could be offered toRuritania, with emphasis on theuse of Army aviation as a unifying force in nation building. Specifically, Army aviation could beintroduced to support a modestlocal airline. This airline wouldproject itself into the remoteareas of Ruritania, and have aprime mission to carry the l ~ gtothe hinterlands. Its routine operation would be t ~ r i f f p r o d u c i n g(probably heavily subsidized). It

    would haul passengers and cargobetween the cities located alongthe rail line and the remote areasof Ruritania. To accompany theairline s progress there necessarilyWOllid have to be an intrastruc

    ture of radio stations, weatherreporting stations, modest terminals with freight and passengercapability and, of course, simpleairstrips minimally adequate tosupport modest performance aircraft.

    A small fleet of the aircraft currently in Army aviation s inventory would be adequate, such asthe U-IA, U-6A, and OV 1.4Their capacity for rough fieidservice, rugged dependability,and ease of maintenance would

    3Low intensity warfare is defined as operations involving U. S. advice andcombat support for indigenous or alliedforces engaged in establishing, regaining, or maintaining control of landareas threatened by guerrilla action ,revolution, subver sion, or other tacticsaimed at internal se izure of power.(USCDC study Concepts and General

    Doctrine for Counterinsurgency, Sep1965, p. 3.)

    be ideal for the Ruritanian N a-tional Airlines. The aircraftwould be painted with the national colors, and a distinctiveRuri tan ian symbol would be displayed. Indigenous pilots andcrews would be used as soon aspractical. Passenger and cargorates would be low. The cargowould be low density, high costitems for use in trade, with a viewtowards building up a segment ofRuritania's middle managementestablishment and increasing thes amiard of living. 0 ther than theconduct of routine cargo and passenger lift, the modest fleet wouldbe available to:

    ransport federal govern-ment officials to remote areas

    This use would serve to identifythe leaders in the capital withthe federal government, andwould facilitate exchange of information between local leadersand federal authorities. This mobility and exposure of federal officials would hopefully build upa national following, as opposedto the tribal following whichlimits many of the leader s effectiveness.

    Carry federal military unitsto local ceremonies The Ruri-tanians, like most people in developing nations, consider pageantry and display to be important. A colorful band, drill team,or display of military equipmentsubtly should impress upon thetribes that the Ruritaniart government has a potential capability to enforce its w ~ This r e a lzation would increase the prestigeof the federal army. .

    ransport selected athleticteams to important intersectional

    4Although specific items of hardware arenot important to this discussion, theArmy s fleet of aircraft offer advantagesin ease of maintenance, short and roughfield capability and rugged characteristic s. More sophisticated aircraft, including th e new small jets and even the oldven erable C-47, are often much toosophisticated and costly for the developing nations.

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    events Regional and tribal ath-letic contests should be encour-aged as a method of releasingtribal tensions. Ruritania is proudof its athletes, especially its trackstars. This national pride shouldbe capitalized upon and encour-

    aged. Missions of mercy An ob-

    vious role for Army aviation air-craft would be as ambulances forcritical cases. Criticality may notdepend on the severity of the ill-ness, but rather on the tribal po-sition of the ill.

    Assistance to agricultureCrop spraying, surveys, popula-tion counts of herds, wild animalsurveiilance for the benefi t of the

    hunting tribes, also should beconsidered. Aerial photography and map-

    pings Of major importance now,and of vital interest in the yearsahead, will be the photographyand mapping of critical securityareas (access routes, rail lines,bridges, etc. . Photography alsohas a use in agriculture and hithe planning of new roads andrail lines.

    Surveillance and potentialtrouble areas Communism andFriendlian borders. Special air pa-trols could cover critical areasalong borders and be used to aidin population control in dissidentareas which support the insurgentarmy, or the terrorist organiza-tion.

    roop movements Movementof government troops to remoteareas either on peaceful missionsof parade and display, or missionsto maintain internal security.

    A small detachment of helicop-ters could perform many of theaforementioned tasks and also as-sist in projects by capitalizing ontheir unique capabilities of beingable to fly into areas with no pre-pared landing site. The cost aridexpensive maintenance of heli-copters should be recognized in

    }4 EBRUARY 1967

    Transporting freight s one of the most im portant contributions

    assigning these aircraft to Ruri-tania; however, they are versatileand could be used for:

    Placement of telecommunica-tion facilities in remote areas toaid in establishing control andcommunication faciiities through-out Ruritania. Perhaps flying TVstations, similar to those in use inVietnam, would eventually be

    feasible. Provision of intensive patrol-

    ling or surveillance over especialiycritical areas: pipelines, bridges,railroads, sites of border crossings,etc.

    The purpose of this Army avi-ation effort would be to aid inunifying the country by makingtribes and individuals in the in-terior aware of the federal gov-ermherit s existence and efforts ontheir

    behalf.The airline should

    make every effort to display thesymbol of the Ruritanian govern-ment in the hinterlands by worksof mercy and delivery of goodswhiCh would raise the standard ofliving in remote areas. The visiblepresence of the aircraft, as well asthe airfields, terminals, weatherstations, and other support facili-ties, should focus attention on

    and extend the image and thegoverning capability of the fed-eral authorities.

    Of special importance is the as-sistance which the airline projectwould give to Ruri tania in thetraining of i r c r e w s ~radio opera-tors, weather experts, and a multi-tude of maintenance personnel.The training structure to support

    these skills should be more thanadequate to train men to theneeds of the airline. Commerceand industry should be encour-aged to use these subsidized train-in facilities to improve the skilllevel of their employees.

    Additionally the constructionof airstrips and communicationfacilities, perhaps by RuritanianArmy units used in civic actionroles, would increase the presenceof the federal government in thehinterlands. t w )uld offer em-ployment and instruction in mah-ual labor skills to local citizens,and would thereby have an eco-nomic impact on the local stan-dard of living.

    Certain objections to such aproposal are evident. Foremostare the real criticisms of cost anddissipation of assets. The cost

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    would be high and U. S Armyaviation resources are stretched tothe limit at present in Vietnam.But in terms of alternatives-ifthere is a possibility of U. S involvement in any large scale insurgency in Ruritania-the cost

    objection seems n e g l i g i b J ~Themoney spent in one week ' by theUnited S t a t e ~in Vietnam wouldcertainly more than underwritethe proposed program in Ruritania for years to come.

    The use of perhaps 100 Armyaviators and technicians wouldbe a drain on Vietnam ~ p dotherpriority requirements) but, interms of prevention instead ofwar, Army aviation's contributionwould be extremely worthwhile.A relatively modest effort nowmight preclude the epitaph of

    too little, too late which sooften is used to epitomize our aideffort.

    Another objection, and perhapsthe most revealing one, from thedeveloping nations' point ofview, is that aggressive U. S ef-fort to aid Ruritaqia would bringcharges of neo-colonialism, or aidimperialism aimed at the United

    States. The Ruritanian government would be accused of supporting U. S interests (stagingareas, or bases for counterinsurgency effort) for aggressive purposes. This charge of neo-colonialism would have to be countered by a straight-forward announcement of U. S intentionsand an equally frank proclamation by Ruritania of its ready ac-ceptance of this aid program.

    A final objection to be considered is that the aid, whose primary goal is to unify the countryand strengthen the incumbentgovernment, would be supportingthe status quo administration. InRuritania or any other country,the incumbent administrationmight not be the one that wouldbest s t r e n g t h ~ nU. S prestige andadvance programs for the dignity

    26

    c -

    t r l l l l

    - -~ - = - ~he ircr ft playa m jor role supporting v rious loc l ceremonies

    and well-being of the individual.Perhaps the only counter to thisobjection is to accept the pragmatic view that the Ruritanian

    government is as popularly supported and as good as any othergovernment would be now or inthe foreseeable future. Certainlya hard, realistic look at any government we support is necessarybefore we attempt ~ o back it upand strengthen its power structure.

    Alternatives to , this proposalfor strengthening an emerging nation's unity by use of Army aviation are to proceed in our timehonored way of developing capital projects, assisting by development loans, and giving aid toindividtlals and communitiesthrough the Peace Corps andAID's agricultural developmentassistance. These alternatives maynot gain results fast enough tocombat successfully Ruritania'slatent insurgency problems.

    The Army aviation programcould be used in many countrieswhich are plagued by tribalismand lack of communication to the

    interior. Any new country gainsfrom a strong federal system.Developing countries would bestrengthened and their pro-Westoutlook improved by the use ofan air feeder line into remoteareas. A successful model programin R u r i t ~ n i acould be used to expand similar activities into othercountries.

    Army aviation with its versatilecapability can contribute greatlyto the United States nationbuilding program, the third mission of the U. S Army. Supportof a local feeder airline is a primeexample of how Army aviationcan enhance and strengthen acountry's unity and increase itsability to counter internal subversion. f successful, such a programmight prevent another Vietnamin the developing areas.

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    FEBRUARY 1967

    A LL RIGHT, Chuck, holdyour horses. Let's think thisthing over. I know he's lost threeaircraft in less than a year-al ldue to pilot error. But I don'tlike to throw the book at anyoneuntil I know all the facts.

    WalkeriAs

    soonas

    you're throughcome into my office and we'll kickthis thing around a bit.

    As soon as Captain Walker finished his phone calls he went intoColonel Smi th ' s office. He gotthere just in time to hear MajorCharles Brown say, I think Major Jones and the other boardmembers should go out there immediately and get right on thisacciden They should make anextra copy of their accident report. We can use it as evidence ina flight evaluation board on Lieutenant Hamphill.

    The surprise that registered onCaptain Walker's face must havebeen pretty obvious because thecolonel said, It's sticking out allover, Walker. What's your objection?

    We can't do that, sir.Ohl Why not?Army aircraft accident investi

    gation is privileged testimony. I tcan be used only for acciden t prevention and safety and can't beused as a basis for any administrative action.

    Are you sure?Yes sir. That's what AR 95-30

    says. Also it's one of the big pointsthey kept hammering at us at theArmy Aviation Command andStaff Officers Course at Fort Rucker. We got quite a good presentation on aircraft accident investigation and collateral investigation.

    What the devil is a collateralinvestigation?

    That 's the one you'll want inthis case. It's a fact finding investigation. And you can use the

    MA Banks s assigned to theCommand Staff Div Dept ofTactics Ft Rucker Ala.

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    Collateral Investigation o ircraft ccidents

    evidence you get from it for disciplinary and litigation purposes.You can even use it for fixing liability.

    "You see in the aircraft accident safety investigation, testimony is usually not made underoath. The witness is assured thathis testimony is privileged andwill not be used for legal or disciplinary purposes. There are sev-eral reasons this is done this way.But an important one is that it allows the witness to talk freely andoff the cuff.

    In a collateral investigationthe witness is told that what hesays may be used for legal purposes. He is advised of his rightsunder article 31 of the UniformCode of Military Justice. The witness cannot be required to giveinformation that could be usedagainst him.

    Then you think we should appoint a collateral board in thiscase?"

    "Yes sir. We'll have to if we aregoing to have material for usein any disciplinary action. Theschool said a collateral board

    should be convened when someone is permanently injured orkilled. They also said this typeboard should be formed when theaccident may lead to any kind ofcommand prosecution, liabilityagainst military personnel, orwhen private property is damagedbadly. And, of course, a commanding officer can call one whenhe feels it necessary."

    Well good," Major Brownbroke in to say. With your permission, sir, I'll get another set oforders published making MajorJones the president of the collateral board, too. That way we can

    kill two birds with one stone."Whoa, Major You can't do

    that. People on the collateralboard can't be on the investigation board. Fact is, nothing doneby the investigation board can beused by the collateral board.Members of the collateral can'teven attend the accident boardproceedings. "

    How about the accidentboard's findings and recommendations?" Major Brown asked.

    No sir. These can't be usedeither.

    Good grief "How about pictures?" the col

    onel asked.Well there's the one excep

    tion. Youcan

    usethe

    same photographs, but there can't be any ac-cident investigation board information on them. Of course thesame witnesses can be interrogated."

    When did all this come out?Oh some time ago. But i

    didn't become effective until thefirst of last month (January 67)It's in the new AR 385-40."

    Well, sir," Major Brown said,i f we can't use Major Jones' peo

    ple we'll have to get anothergroup together. Since CaptainWalker knows so much about itI suggest we let him head it up.I'll get the orders cut.

    No, Chuck, the colonel cutin to say, I don't want Captain' ' ' 'alker on this board.

    Well, who sir? We don't havemany officers left."

    I ' ll need Captain Walker hereto advise me on all this stuff. Putyourself on as head of the collateral board.

    ortable Weather StationNEW PORTABLE mete

    orological measuring set, theAN/TMQ-22, is undergoing engineering evaluation tests at theU. S. Army Electronic ProvingGround, Fort Huachuca, Ariz.The set was developed by the

    Army's Atmospheric Sciences Laboratory.

    The AN/TMQ-22, slightlylarger than a standard attachecase and weighing only 17 pounds,provides capabilities for measuring wind velocity and direction,temperature, dew point, barometric pressure, rainfall and snowdepth.

    28

    These capabilities represent asignificant improvement over older versions of similar equipment.The AN/TMQ-22 is designed toprovide more information, betteraccuracy, easier operation, andfaster data acquisition thanequipment now in use.

    This increased capability isachieved while, at the same time,reducing the size and weight byusing electronic sensing devicesto measure temperature and dewpoin and by using more compact components far other functions.

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    ngi e issing CW2 C D HolbrookThis brief headline doesn t tell the reader much and may

    be a source of irritation to him. It might also be a sourceof irritation to the maintenance man who finds the samewords used in a hurried writeup on DA orm 2408 13.

    HE MOST important formpertaining to aircraft in the

    using organization is the DAForm 2408-13. This small rectangular form contains a world of information which directly concernsthe pilot, crew chief, maintenanceofficer, and Command Management Maintenance Inspection(CMMI) teams.

    There have been numerouscases of this one form revealingenough information to fail a uniton a CMMI. The main area thatneeds much improvement is themanner in which we as pilotswri te faults of the aircraft on thisform.

    Pilots generally are very carefulto check the log book before the

    first flight, but generally are verylax at the end of the flight. t requires much less t ime to write

    FLT I OK than write up thedeficiencies of the aircraft. Sominor deficiencies progressivelyget worse until the aircraft is finally grounded.

    A prime example of a minordiscrepancy which could cause undue damage to the aircraft is aslight lateral vibration in a helicopter. A slight lateral is usuallynot annoying to the average aviator, so consequently it will neverbe written up. The correctionwould be aweigh added to thelight blade (very simple operation) . This type of vibration willseldom in tensify wi th added

    CW Holbrook s an i n s t r u t o r ~Dept of Maintenance TrainingFt u c k e r ~Ala.

    FEBRUARY 1967

    hours, but every t ime the rotormakes one revolution the mastbearing is receiving undue wear.The transmission mounts are alsoworking more than normal whichwill cut their life span.

    The aircraft will probably flyuntil periodic inspection at whichtime the maintenance officer willcatch the vibration. A close inspection will then reveal possiblemain mast bearing and transmission mount failure. Those itemsfor a UH-IB cost $226, whichcould have been saved if one pilothad entered slight one to one lateral vibration during all maneuvers on the DA Form 2408-13.

    A simple writeup will usuallyget some corrective action from

    the maintenance personnel butseveral dollars and manhours canbe saved if the aviator will givea full description of the fault.

    Prime examples of improperwri teups which occur each andevery day are as follows:

    UHF Radio InopEngine MissingHigh Frequency

    Actually the aviator meant tosay the UHF radio will not transmi t nor receive more than 5 milesfrom station. Avionics will becalled, the radio will work beautifully sitting on the ramp, sothey sign the writeup off Groundchecked OK. The same writeupwill appear after the next flight.In most cases the crewchief willbe able to explain the pilot'Swriteup if he flew with the aircraft, but we can't always depend

    on him for such vital information.

    Engine missing could meanseveral different discrepancies depending on who entered the writeup and who is making the interpretation. In all probability theaviator was trying to say the engine had a rapid X number ofrpm drop on the left or rightmagneto. f he had written it upthis way almost any mechanicwould be able to pull the fouledplug without any further troubleshooting.

    High frequency actually tellst