Should I stay or should I go? Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying And Love HSC.

[wink]

There's more than just the dunker ride (the giant barrel with those eight seats inside... or was it ten?), there's some more helo guy-specific stuff- in particular a torture chair carnival ride underwater upside down miniature obstacle course thing (honestly, that's the best way to describe it) that they put over in the shallow end of the pool. You get flipped in that seven ways from Sunday and each time the "door" uses a new Fisher-Price junior mechanic puzzle as the unlocking mechanism.

Those popular family outing/office party "escape rooms" ain't shit...


edit: it's called a "SWET chair," shallow water egress trainer

I will say if you get flustered by being upside down and half tangled in something while you're underwater then that chair certainly acclimates you to that environment.

Helo guys don't necessarily get the full on ejection seat, parachute drag, etc. stuff unless your billet requires it (i.e VT instructor). You can always ask if you're a straight helo guy on helo flying orders, they'll say either yes or no, right?

Sump'in else different from the good 'ol days. Everyone used to get both full on helo type and ejection/fixed wing water survival in API or AOCS. Ah...good times.

 

[Jim123]

Sump'in else different from the good 'ol days. Everyone used to get both full on helo type and ejection/fixed wing water survival in API or AOCS. Ah...good times.

It was kind of a mishmash what we got when I went through API. I think the Corpus-bound guys got everything (cheaper than TAD-ing them back later for the specialized stuff) minus ejection seat perhaps. Whiting primary guys who selected helos got helo-specific extra stuff after primary. Everybody got at the very least the Dilbert Dunker, the parachute drag (overhead zip lines in the swimming pool), and the helo dunker (four group rides, don't kick your friends).

Just to muddy it some more, they'd temporarily stopped the redneck parasailing in the bay (did they later do this overland?), but we got a real live helo hoist. The helo hoist has since been replaced by a hoist sticking out past a 15' diving platform in the indoor pool. They blackout the pool room, have strobe lights and loudspeakers for lightning and thunder (and helicopter noise), and some big spray rigs for rain. It's pretty decent, like Universal Studios adventures meets water survival. Mostly all that's missing are the swells and real wind. When they turn off all the special effects and turn the regular lights back on, it feels a bit like when they turn off the music and turn on the ugly lights at closing time, like whoa... I thought this place was a lot bigger.

 

[cfam]

There's more than just the dunker ride (the giant barrel with those eight seats inside... or was it ten?), there's some more helo guy-specific stuff- in particular a torture chair carnival ride underwater upside down miniature obstacle course thing (honestly, that's the best way to describe it) that they put over in the shallow end of the pool. You get flipped in that seven ways from Sunday and each time the "door" uses a new Fisher-Price junior mechanic puzzle as the unlocking mechanism.

Those popular family outing/office party "escape rooms" ain't shit...


edit: it's called a "SWET chair," shallow water egress trainer

I will say if you get flustered by being upside down and half tangled in something while you're underwater then that chair certainly acclimates you to that environment.

Helo guys don't necessarily get the full on ejection seat, parachute drag, etc. stuff unless your billet requires it (i.e VT instructor). You can always ask if you're a straight helo guy on helo flying orders, they'll say either yes or no, right?

Sounds like it’s exactly the same as ours minus the parachute drag/climbing into the one man raft. We do the SWET chair, and the door obstacle course thing as well. Other than that it’s swim the length of the pool in full gear then tread and inflate the LPU, drown proofing with no gear, and the hoist using the tower (with the “storm” scenario). There also used to be a tread and inflate with a C2 passenger LPU, but I don’t remember doing that my last go-around.

 

[HAL Pilot]

they'd temporarily stopped the redneck parasailing in the bay (did they later do this overland?),

If they did, it would be typical since they went from overland to overwater because of all the broken bones overland was causing.

I spent the summer of 1983 stashed at water survival being a boat officer for the helo hoist and the demonstrator for the overwater parasailing. Good times.

 

[jollygreen07]

I did overland in ‘07. They don’t do any of that stuff now.

 

[DanMa1156]

Sounds like it’s exactly the same as ours minus the parachute drag/climbing into the one man raft. We do the SWET chair, and the door obstacle course thing as well. Other than that it’s swim the length of the pool in full gear then tread and inflate the LPU, drown proofing with no gear, and the hoist using the tower (with the “storm” scenario). There also used to be a tread and inflate with a C2 passenger LPU, but I don’t remember doing that my last go-around.

I actually think the only real major difference nowadays is the HABD bottle. You guys don't get that, right? I know for the helo course, we go through the normal course, then basically redo it all with a HABD bottle (incrementally each time) where they force you to use it even if you don't need it. I was surprised to see the other responses.

 

[cfam]

I actually think the only real major difference nowadays is the HABD bottle. You guys don't get that, right? I know for the helo course, we go through the normal course, then basically redo it all with a HABD bottle (incrementally each time) where they force you to use it even if you don't need it. I was surprised to see the other responses.

Nope, we don’t get the bottle. Doing everything twice would be miserable.

 

[IKE]

Has 3710 updated lately? It’s been awhile, but I thought I remembered night overwater pax transfers that landed on a boat were verboten, regardless of where the flight originated. I also thought all swims weren’t equal, aka a jet guy needs helo dunker training, to be considered a full crew member.

To be fair, 3710 is poorly worded and could use some more exacting language, but:

"Passenger" is clearly defined as non-crew on a point-to-point.
"Orientation flights" have to launch/land at the same place.
COs can waive sims for one orientation flight, not to include rated aviators (rated aviators must have swims).
If you have swims and aren't a passenger, by elimination, you're a crew member and should be manifested as at least an observer.

So technically, if SN Timmé is riding along on the fly-off -> passenger. If he's getting his good-deal reenlistment flight (ship or shore), it's an orientation flight, and there isn't really a defined term for the non-crew, non-pax SN Timmé (should be orientee, but I don't think 3710 uses that).

 

[HSMPBR]

All I hear for the last two pages is, “lamps lampslamps lamps lamps, lampity lamps, my lamps was harder than your lamps, lamps lamps, give VP a run for nerdiness, lamps lamps unaided MAD waveguide bottle VHS penguin frigate lamps.”

 

[Jim123]

All I hear for the last two pages is, “lamps lampslamps lamps lamps, lampity lamps, my lamps was harder than your lamps, lamps lamps, give VP a run for nerdiness, lamps lamps unaided MAD waveguide bottle VHS penguin frigate lamps.”

You didn't format this in 69 columns. Some of the punctuation is off too.

 

[Gatordev]

Aussies response to question if their ship had TACAN:

“No our pilots know how to navigate so we don’t need TACAN.”
They don’t have Hawk yet either.

Really? I'm surprised since Romeo has it. Looking at a picture of their S-70B, sure enough, no antennas, so I guess the ships haven't caught up.

 

[SynixMan]

Class 1: FW Ejection Seat
Class 2: FW Non ejection seat
Class 3: Rotary

Been a while since I've been in a fleet squadron, but I have a hard time imaging the CO buying off on a Hawkeye pilot riding around in back as "crew", doubly so when they didn't have the proper AvPhys.

 

[Gatordev]

Been a while since I've been in a fleet squadron, but I have a hard time imaging the CO buying off on a Hawkeye pilot riding around in back as "crew", doubly so when they didn't have the proper AvPhys.

So apparently you're Mr. LAMPS. This is why HSMPBR hates you.

RP3 is the helo training. Sounds like things have changed "recently" with the jet guys getting SWET training, albeit without HABD training. Seems like with SWET and dunker tube ridin' (@Jim123 , it's not a tube anymore), @IKE 's interpretation is more legit. I just think people need to be realistic that whatever any one of their intrepetations is doesn't mean it matches "higher's" interpretations, for better or worse.

Nope, we don’t get the bottle. Doing everything twice would be miserable.

Don't worry, it's miserable with the bottle. They just make it harder and harder to the point where you don't get to use it, so there's no double rides. Unless you "cheat" and they want to call you on it.

Like this guy:
<------

 

[wlawr005]

There was a way for dudes to get an "all qual"...CAG staffers come to mind as well as midshipmen who may get a ride in a helo, a T34, and a Rhino while attached to a VFA squadron.

 

[IKE]

Like @Gatordev indicated

There was a way for dudes to get an "all qual"...CAG staffers come to mind as well as midshipmen who may get a ride in a helo, a T34, and a Rhino while attached to a VFA squadron.

Yes, ASTC at Pax River spends most it's time giving 1-4, because TPS students fly everything and instructors usually hold 2-3 TMS quals. You can get the all-qual at any ASTC, I think; it's just harder to schedule.