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Selection Time...

exhelodrvr

Well-Known Member
pilot
That's a good point too. For you helo guys out there, do you ever get tired of having someone looking over your shoulder?

Absolutely not!!! Much of what is done in helos requires the entire crew. For example, dusty landings or externals where one person has reference isn't rare. I wouldn't consider it as 'looking over your shoulder' but rather a system of checks and balances...you start of as more of a balance and become more of a check as you gain experience.

That said, I can still kill a junior guy just as easy as he can me so by doing something stupid. That's why it is important that everybody is engaged. Sure, a salty dude still has to do some crushing occasionally but it is also the salty dudes that are more prone to balling up an aircraft as they typically will fly the more demanding flights either operationally or in training so somebody else with them for a sanity-check is a GOOD thing.

quote]

"but it is also the salty dudes that are more prone to balling up an aircraft"

And the statistics prove that.
 

Pepe

If it's stupid but works, it isn't stupid.
pilot
Selected Rotary. Starting up 15 July. Pepe is a helo Bubba!
 

jarhead

UAL CA; retired hinge
pilot
Come on Skid, you’re generalizing bud … what’s your definition of an “old guy”?

A new Hornet dude arriving in his fleet squadron has to do a handful of certain flights to get his “combat wingman” qual … until then, he can expect to fly all air-air sorties with at least an ACTI (first tour guys can get that qual) & all air-ground sorties with at least a division lead (first tour guys can get that qual). After the new guy has his combat wingman qual, he can fly as a wingman with any section lead (most first tour guys will get that qual). ….. so what’s an “old guy”?

That being said, if a squadron has been tasked to support a Wing frag, i.e. TACP, TBS CAS or some grunt unit at 29 Palms or Lejeune, and the lead breaks for whatever reason & doesn’t have a spare, that combat wingman qual’d Hornet dude is going at it all alone... he better have listened to the brief.

… inter-flight freq is not like an ICS … as a matter of fact, excessive comms should be brought up in the debrief… it either means the lead gave a shitty brief or the wingman didn’t pay attention to the brief (or he just sucks)

It is true, as a Hornet/Harrier wingman, you follow around your lead... but you're still getting all 1st pilot time, all PIC/AC time, and you're still maneuvering & employing your jet.

S/F

Dont believe all the single seat hype, some of it is true but your first year or so is following some section lead around who will treat you like everyone else treats their copilots. Their inter-flight sounds like our ICS.

No more so than any other aviator. Not a single seat guy don't claim to be one. However this notion that a single seat pilot is out lone wolf hunting the enemy is in no ways accurate. A new single seat guy will be on one of the old guys wing doing what he is told.
 

Pepe

If it's stupid but works, it isn't stupid.
pilot
I was flipping through my new PCL for the 57...I wanted to bang my head on the wall. I hate EPs. And it seems that now every EP is really 2! One for altitude and one for a hover!! FML. :D
 

E5B

Lineholder
pilot
Super Moderator
Congrats man. I was one of those wierdos that actually wanted helos from the beginning and I've never regretted my decision.
 

BACONATOR

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
I was flipping through my new PCL for the 57...I wanted to bang my head on the wall. I hate EPs. And it seems that now every EP is really 2! One for altitude and one for a hover!! FML. :D

Yes but MANY of the EPs end the same way. Only so much trouble shooting you can do when plummeting to the deck in a helo. Not like a T-34 where you can do 27 steps and try a restart.

Helo EPs are typically something like this if it involves anything to do with being able to continue flying:

1. Try A
2. Try B
3. Autorotate
4. Bend over
5. Kiss ass goodbye.
6. Lock harness

Once you learn to make associations and find commonalities between different EPs and understand the WHY in doing those steps, learning EPs is a lot easier and makes a lot more sense.
 

Pepe

If it's stupid but works, it isn't stupid.
pilot
I went and set in one of the birds this morning. First time I've ever sat in a helo. Just kinda looked at the gauges, all the switches, really just trying to figure out the general layout of the cockpit. I'm going to go ahead an assume that since the instrument cluster is relatively small and outta the way that I won't be using it too much. True?
 

Gatordev

Well-Known Member
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
I went and set in one of the birds this morning. First time I've ever sat in a helo. Just kinda looked at the gauges, all the switches, really just trying to figure out the general layout of the cockpit. I'm going to go ahead an assume that since the instrument cluster is relatively small and outta the way that I won't be using it too much. True?

You were probably sitting in a Bravo model, which has a small panel because it's primarily a visually flown aircraft. The Charlie panel is bigger and more instrument centric.
 
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