02-26-2022, 09:07 AM
Sky's intention was to land or crash into the three shipper so that hopefully they could be extracted from the one ship L.Z. Next to the waters edge. This would enable his already
heavily loaded fellow slicks to use the lake as a clear way for take off as they were all loaded to the max if not over max gross take off weight. The slicks would need all the clear way they could find if they put one or two more troops on their aircraft if they expected to be able to get airborne with such a load. Sky did not want to crash into the water as he knew full well his fully loaded combat troops would either drown or be chopped into mince meat by 915's rotor blade. As he lowered the collective 915's EGT gauge decreased rapidly which made Sky think the engine had finally failed . It seemed like Sky was getting himself into a real no $hit situation ! He was to high for the one shipper and through the chin bubble he estimated they were to low for the planned approach to the three ship L.Z. If he had been able to see he might have been able to do some creative auto-rotating and manage to squeeze into the one shipper but without visibility he was seriously behind the power curve of staying alive.
“Chief tell them were are going to crash and to grab something to hold onto.” said Sky over 915's intercom.
“ All right you mother F**kers we are going to crash ! Grab onto something and hold tight,” the chief yelled loud enough for Sky to hear through his helmet.
One moment everything was normal for the situation and the next second Sky was being pulled up out of his seat by his shoulder harness as one of the adrenalin pumped troops got a death grip on the harness just above the inertia reel on Sky's seat back.
“Chief get him off my shoulder harness !”
“YOU...LET GO OF THAT STRAP NOW!” hollered the Chief.
The harness relaxed and Sky was once again better able to manipulate 915's controls.
Sky saw a dried stream bed that emptied into the lake; it was narrow but it should afford 915 a better option for a crash sight than no options at all. Pointing the nose of 915 in that general direction he reached with his left hand and removed his chicken plate from his body. He laid it between his seat and the center console of 915. This completed he started to raise the nose for a low level rapid flare and deceleration. As the nose came up Bobby Bad Back asked, “ You got those trees?”
Sky nodded and replied, “Yep.”
It was obvious that it was Bobby's first clear look outside as his wind screen was covered in muck like Sky's. There whole visible world and situational awareness was limited to what they could see through the small clear plexiglass window called the chin bubble between their feet.
The Army's policy for crashing into the trees consisted of basically doing an auto-rotation to the top of the jungle foliage and stopping all forward momentum while leveling the aircraft and finally cushioning the bird into the tops of the trees. Once this was accomplished you were along for the ride with no control and only luck as your companion.
heavily loaded fellow slicks to use the lake as a clear way for take off as they were all loaded to the max if not over max gross take off weight. The slicks would need all the clear way they could find if they put one or two more troops on their aircraft if they expected to be able to get airborne with such a load. Sky did not want to crash into the water as he knew full well his fully loaded combat troops would either drown or be chopped into mince meat by 915's rotor blade. As he lowered the collective 915's EGT gauge decreased rapidly which made Sky think the engine had finally failed . It seemed like Sky was getting himself into a real no $hit situation ! He was to high for the one shipper and through the chin bubble he estimated they were to low for the planned approach to the three ship L.Z. If he had been able to see he might have been able to do some creative auto-rotating and manage to squeeze into the one shipper but without visibility he was seriously behind the power curve of staying alive.
“Chief tell them were are going to crash and to grab something to hold onto.” said Sky over 915's intercom.
“ All right you mother F**kers we are going to crash ! Grab onto something and hold tight,” the chief yelled loud enough for Sky to hear through his helmet.
One moment everything was normal for the situation and the next second Sky was being pulled up out of his seat by his shoulder harness as one of the adrenalin pumped troops got a death grip on the harness just above the inertia reel on Sky's seat back.
“Chief get him off my shoulder harness !”
“YOU...LET GO OF THAT STRAP NOW!” hollered the Chief.
The harness relaxed and Sky was once again better able to manipulate 915's controls.
Sky saw a dried stream bed that emptied into the lake; it was narrow but it should afford 915 a better option for a crash sight than no options at all. Pointing the nose of 915 in that general direction he reached with his left hand and removed his chicken plate from his body. He laid it between his seat and the center console of 915. This completed he started to raise the nose for a low level rapid flare and deceleration. As the nose came up Bobby Bad Back asked, “ You got those trees?”
Sky nodded and replied, “Yep.”
It was obvious that it was Bobby's first clear look outside as his wind screen was covered in muck like Sky's. There whole visible world and situational awareness was limited to what they could see through the small clear plexiglass window called the chin bubble between their feet.
The Army's policy for crashing into the trees consisted of basically doing an auto-rotation to the top of the jungle foliage and stopping all forward momentum while leveling the aircraft and finally cushioning the bird into the tops of the trees. Once this was accomplished you were along for the ride with no control and only luck as your companion.