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AceEagle

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Everything posted by AceEagle

  1. Never mind... I got it working, just can't use it in tracks that were made before I changed the settings :doh:
  2. Hmm can't get terrain restriction to unlock... Does Lock On hate me or something? =P
  3. Don't fly Zeros for months in IL2 then get back into Lock On and expect to be just as good. ;]
  4. Heres a long one but funny :thumbup: John C. Ratliff We were on a combat training flight out of DaNang. The pilots were training for an actual rescue by flying at tree-top level. The idea in an actual combat SAR (Search and Rescue) mission is to fly as close to the ground as possible, as fast as possible. This way of flying keeps the helicopter from being shot by small arms fire. By the time the enemy can see the 'copter, it has flown out of range. But it isn't as easy as it seems, when you figure that the helicopter is flying at about 250 knots and that the terrain is not level. The pilots had to fly in concert with the terrain's ups and downs, anticipating the contours of the ground and keeping close to the trees. The risk is that the pilot will fly too low, and hit a tree, or too high, and be subject to small arms fire. On one run, we came close to the trees. On the final approach, the helicopter must flare out to stop and hover. This nose-up attitude places the tail close to the ground, and in doing so, care must be taken to avoid any obstacles. The crew in the back must be very alert to any problems, and on this run I was the tail observer. I had my harness on, and was watching out the back of the helicopter through the open ramp. As I watched, a tree limb as big around as my leg came into view, andkept coming up toward the tail between the tail rotor and the skid on the tail boom. I shouted "Up, up, up, up" through the mike. The helicopter immediately rotated toward a nose-down attitude. The branch passed safely, inches below the tail rotor. Flying combat SAR is a team effort, and without eyes in all directions accidents could very easily occur. Another tactical training mission began the same way, flying at tree-top level. We were again simulating a rescue mission, using Monkey Mountain for this mission. The pilot was new to the unit, and had not flown contours (hugging the terrain) before. We flew up the mountain just above the treetops, and then the ridge fell away. Before we knew it, we were flying at over 500 feet above the terrain. This is a "no-no!" since it provides the enemy time to raise a gun and fire at the helicopter. The pilot lowered the collective, and pointed the nose of the Jolly toward the ground in an effort to loose altitude. The Super Jolly Green HH-53 is a very large and heavy helicopter, but its controls are quite responsive; it rapidly began it's descent. Unfortunately, lifting a large, heavy helicopter is quite another matter. As the trees approached, the pilot raised the collective, but tentatively at first. Then he pulled it up hard. I was in the back of the helicopter, again monitoring our rear from the number 3 mini-gun position just inside the ramp. From this position, one can only look backwards. The view is breath-taking since it offers an unrestricted sight of the jungle we had just flown over. I looked down as we quickly regained altitude to see the precise outline of our helicopter in the top of a large tree. A number of vines trailed from underneath to about twenty feet behind the helicopter. I keyed the mike, and talked to the pilot "Pilot, PJ, we have vines trailing the helicopter. Do you want me to take a look underneath?" He answered "Affirmative". I put on the safety harness. With the strap fastened to the floor "D" ring, and enough strap let out to reach to back of the ramp (but just enough!), I walked underneath the strap barrier onto the ramp, laid down on my stomach, and put the visor for my helmet down. I then inched out far enough to hang my head over the ramp's edge, and look underneath the helicopter. The vines were trailing from the right wheel, but there didn't appear to be any damage. Then I looked under the helicopter at the bottom of the fuselage, and noted a fluid running back toward me—bad news! I pulled my head up, keyed the mike and notified the pilot of my findings. He asked me to identify the fluid. Fluids coming out of a helicopter can usually of two types. It can be either fuel, or hydraulic fluid. Oil is a more remote possibility, unless the copter is fired upon and hit. Hydraulic fluid is usually pink in color, but fuel can be colorless. The fluid coming out was colorless. I told the pilot, and he asked that I make sure. It is possible to mistake the problem in the 250 knot air stream, and to only definitive method was to taste the fuel. I took a glove off, stuck my finger into the fluid and tasted it. It was salty! I whirled around, looked up the inside of the helicopter and as my eyes adjusted to the dimmer light, I noted a flight engineer using the urinal! At least, we weren't in as bad a shape as we thought. But I did have some words with the flight engineer.
  5. Well I hope it doesn't strike from below :crazy:
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