Five by Five a M Essage F Rom the P Resident
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Vol. 1, No. 2 Summer 2021 The Newsletter of the Helicopter Conservancy, Ltd. FIVE BY FIVE A M ESSAGE F ROM THE P RESIDENT ne of my earliest memories is of a was able to intervene. So my own rescuer family trip to the beach. I remember ultimately saved not just one life that day O the warmth of the sand between my back in 1969 but two. toes, the blue sky overhead and the roar of the surf as it broke on the Pacific coast. The Helicopters are well known for their im- year was 1969. I was oblivious to the war in portant role in rescue work, a role that dates Southeast Asia then in full swing; I knew back to the early machines of the 1940s. With INSIDE THIS ISSUE: nothing of the tumultuous events here at their ability to get in and out of tight spots, home. In fact, I was just old enough to walk helicopters are ideally suited for this task. Five by Five 1 and, using this newfound ability, slipped away Around the Hangar 2 from my parents to go explore this exciting Their crews are equally at home in this mis- and unfamiliar place. sion and have earned a reputation for re- Firestorm 3 maining cool under pressure, often facing I toddled over to get a better look at the extraordinary personal risk to deliver their 6 The Last Dragon waves and a school of small fish I had spotted charges—all in a day’s work. Short Final 8 swimming in the shallows. I had never seen either before and was driven by an intense In this issue, we cover a particularly dramatic curiosity to know more about them. The next helicopter rescue of 242 people by National events unfolded very quickly. As I stooped Guardsman that took place on the West down to look at the fish, I was caught by a Coast amidst last summer’s wildfires. We also wave and dragged under. I remember chok- take a peek at new artwork gracing a helicop- ing on water as it went into my nose and a ter of a Navy search and rescue squadron. sensation like fire in my lungs; I was dimly Finally, we’ll look at rescuers of another kind: aware of an ebbing strength in my limbs as I an aircraft restoration team in Austria work- was pulled out by the return current, then ing to save the remains of the last example of nothing. a pioneering helicopter from the 1940s. When the world returned to focus, I was lying I hope you find their stories inspiring, and on the beach, coughing up seawater while a thank you for reading. group of concerned adults pressed around. Fortunately for me, a family friend only a few years older than I had seen what was happen- ing and fished me out in the nick of time. I’ll never forget her quick-thinking action or the Kenneth Eward debt of gratitude that I still feel to this day. President [email protected] As it happened, an opportunity to pay that debt forward arose many years later when another drowning boy needed rescuing and I Page 2 Vol. 1, No. 2 A ROUND THE HANGAR t’s been said that Wisconsin has only two vice from veteran helicopter aircrew to give seasons: sledding season and the three visitors a better understanding of what they I or four months of the year when the do for a living. Stay tuned on this channel for sledding isn’t so good. We’re now well into updates. the critical warmer months and have been busy on a number of projects in the hangar. Helicopter Conservancy Membership This spring we introduced our new member- Virtual Reality Helicopter Simulator ship program. Members receive a subscription BECOME A Imagine you’re a civilian contractor taking a to the print version of Hoverfly and a limited routine helicopter flight in one of the contest- edition helicopter art print of Iroquois Still Life, MEMBER! ed regions of the world the US often finds signed by the artist. Members can also tour itself involved in. The blast of the wind our museum workshop and receive a 10% Visit our website to through the open doorway tousles your hair discount on T-shirts and other merchandise. learn how to join or as you gaze out at the landscape rushing past This is a great way to show your support! to become a sponsor: below, the slipstream not quite swift enough Please visit our website for details: to drive out the faint lingering smell of jet fuel, HelicopterConservancy.org transmission oil and sweat. As the thrumming HelicopterConservancy.org vibrations of the rotors and drive system work their way through your body, the radio comes alive: an allied pilot has crashed in the area and your ride is being diverted to look for sur- vivors. It’s not far, and as you approach the wreckage, you can see the downed airman waving. He seems to be ok. Just then, a stream of tracers flashes past; you hear and Cover photo: a MH-60S Sea- feel bullets impact the hull. Your pilot jinks, hawk of US Navy Squadron and your heart leaps into your throat. Down HSC-3, equipped for fire- below, an insurgent “technical” is racing out fighting duties, flies through toward the downed airman from a concealing heavy smoke near Camp wadi. Your pilot has to decide whether to risk Pendleton in May of 2014, a quick extraction or wait for reinforcements. when a rash of wildfires Without hesitating, he drops the collective erupted in California’s San and plunges in . Diego County. Wildfires along the Pacific Coast have Work continues on our helicopter flight simu- gotten worse in recent dec- lator and we can now release a few details. ades, fueled by drought and The simulator models the iconic UH-1H Huey, unusually hot summer tem- a helicopter that began its career in Vietnam peratures. Helicopters are and is still flown today in updated models. Our increasingly relied upon for sim is being constructed from an actual Huey fire detection, deployment fuselage and will include virtual reality (VR) of firefighters, water dumps stations at several crew and passenger posi- Iroquois Still Life and rescue. (Mass Commu- tions. The VR headsets will immerse partici- nication Specialist 1st Class pants in a simulated flight that engages all the Funeral Service for Chris Daly Joan E. Jennings/USN) senses (including taste, as in “taste of excite- Services for Chris Daly will be held July 10 at ment”). You can also try your hand at flying Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, 6869 The appearance of U.S. Department the aircraft. of Defense (DoD) visual information Wildwood Rd, West Bend, WI. The Daly family does not imply or constitute DoD invites all who knew Chris to come. Visitation endorsement. The ride will be exciting, but the real strength will be from noon to 1:45 PM, with service to of the sim lies in our focus on designing realis- follow at 2:00 PM and a light lunch afterward. tic missions like the scenario above, using ad- Hoverfly Page 3 A DARING RESCUE IS LAUNCHED DURING THE LARGEST SINGLE WILDFIRE IN CALIFORNIA HISTORY By Les’ Melnyk he fire began early in the evening of ers, so the National Guard was called in. As the Friday, September 4, 2020 in the for- Creek Fire raged out of control, the stage was T ested Upper San Joaquin River Water- set for one of the more harrowing and auda- shed, an hour’s drive northeast of Fresno. Va- cious feats in rotary-wing aviation history. cationers had already begun to gather at the local lakes to spend the Labor Day weekend, Crews from the California Army National drawn by the idyllic rugged scenery and the Guard’s 40th Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) opportunity to escape the worst of the sum- arrived to assist firefighters in battling the fast- mer heat predicted in the weather forecast— moving Creek Fire shortly after it broke out, some of the hottest and driest September but the wildfire raced through the dry brush of weather on record. The fire spread quickly, the Sierra National Forest and nearby areas, propelled by strong winds. In its path were defying all attempts at containment. In many thousands of people attempting to escape, cases campers, hikers and residents were cut Above: A UH-60M Black among them some 1,000 at Mammoth Pool off by the advancing walls of flame. This was Hawk helicopter descends Reservoir. the situation as the sun was setting on Sept. 5, through a firestorm sur- when a 40th CAB UH-60M Black Hawk piloted rounding Mammoth Pool Cal Fire—formally the California Department by Chief Warrant Officer 5 Kipp Goding and a Reservoir to evacuate peo- of Forestry and Fire Protection—is the third- CH-47 Chinook piloted by Chief Warrant ple trapped by the flames on largest fire department in the United States. It Officer 5 Joseph Rosamond were called to res- the night of September 5, is arguably one of the most experienced and cue more than 200 civilians trapped at a 2020. The crews of this heli- best equipped agencies for handling wildfires. campground near Mammoth Pool Reservoir. copter and a CH-47F Chinook In addition to its extensive ground assets, it made three sorties each, boasts a fleet of some 50 fixed wing aircraft Flying in the dark through heavy smoke, in- rescuing a total of 242 per- and helicopters, the largest aerial firefighting tense flames and winds of 22-30 knots, the sons.