Yeah, the destin one. My bad.
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USN HT's a calamity
- Thread starter ChuckMK23
- Start date
In defense of Army pilots I want to hit off something @RobLyman wrote. It is true that Army pilots are not well versed in genuine instrument flying as are their Navy counterparts, however, after spending two years in Iraq and two years in Afghanistan and spending lots of time in (not as a pilot) in Army helos, I discovered that Army pilots are remarkably skilled at difficult flying. Their NVG, brown out, NOE, and air assault experience is nothing less than impressive. I was on high altitude missions in Afghanistan where Army guys were off-loading grunts out the back of a Chinook with a mountain above, next to, and below them.
I put it this way. It's the same as the difference between soldiers and Marines generally. The average Marine is better than the average soldier. The best soldiers are better than the best Marines. I'd stack any line Marine unit, air or ground, against its Army counterpart. But the Army has units for which there are no Marine counterparts, e.g. TF160.
...and if you have worked with some ODA/ODB teams (which you probably have) before you quickly realize that some of them are past thier prime as well. I generally agree with your analogy though.
The switch you are speaking of is an OEI training switch - I have never seen one on a non-FADEC engine. Typically when you turn on the system, the gauges on the glass cockpit reflect a single engine situation although you are really 2 engine. There is usually a safety feature that if the rotor system droops too low, the OEI training automatically disengages and you get full power.
I will say this about my IFR training: it's saved my ass more than once in the 60 and I couldn't imagine doing the type of flying that I've done in the Navy without it. If nothing else, just the basic skills of scanning, trusting instruments, and translating that into not ending up upside down in the water has saved my life more times than I probably even know. It's also been wayyyy more crucial in the helo, to me anyways, than it ever was in fixed wing.
Your main point about it essentially being a homicide is still true. A giant below in headwork by some salty, combat experienced crews who knew better. Killed training stateside at the beach. Really?
Homicide? Really? You should go to the facility in Louisiana and tell everyone your thoughts personally.
Sounds like the ultimate catch-22. The FAA won't certify/waive any IFR certs for future TH-57 iterations, apparently which could be solved with a dual engine trainer. The Navy/CNATRA won't by a dual engine trainer. I'm sure logic will somehow prevail.
I work with a dude from that unit so, I'm not totally disconnected
If you think that accident was anything but preventable and those pilots were anything but negligible, you're out to lunch. They killed themselves, their crew and 7 Marines. They should have followed their playmates lead and knocked the fuck off. Don't be an apologist for this kind of decision making.
If you've received the same brief from the army safety center and come up with a different opinion I'm honestly surprised. I've seen that video twice, and have come to a similar conclusion both times.
Whichever company is willing to offer the USN the best deal on paying for that NRE, and for getting the aircraft out of the right pot of money, will get the gig.
Probably a dumb question, but what's NRE?
Non-recurrent engineering
Dumber question: What's that in the context of this discussion?