Why do I want to Be A Chinook Pilot?

[DishDoggie]

Something About it Makes me Focus Harder.

[Bummer]

 

[trev5150]

Pinnacle ops would be more impressive if it weren't for the fact that it's a task that every Chinook pilot has to do in order to call themselves a Chinook pilot. 

[Harry.R]

On 5/14/2023 at 1:47 AM, trev5150 said:

Pinnacle ops would be more impressive if it weren't for the fact that it's a task that every Chinook pilot has to do in order to call themselves a Chinook pilot. 

...and every Chinook crewman has to direct.

[Nomatic]

I really hope either combined arms gets a major refresh, or we get a major Troop/ground forces AI update. I would love to see troops embarking and disembarking my aircraft; C-130, MI-24, Huey, <profanity>hook, all of them. We’ll see. ED has a lot on their plate at the moment, so maybe in a few years. I’m hopeful though. I’m very excited for the 47. I can’t wait to see it in the game. 

[WildBillKelsoe]

pinnacle landings... only if dcs surfaces support it.. 

[Avimimus]

On 5/13/2023 at 8:47 PM, trev5150 said:

Pinnacle ops would be more impressive if it weren't for the fact that it's a task that every Chinook pilot has to do in order to call themselves a Chinook pilot. 

I think that makes it more impressive, honestly.

[cw4ogden]

On 5/27/2023 at 11:39 AM, Avimimus said:

I think that makes it more impressive, honestly.

As another former 47 guy, I’ll confirm pinnacle / ridgeline landings look way cooler than they are hard, or require skill and or a great cyclic touch.  
 

On the other hand, getting that huge SOB down in the sand or dust at night with NVGs, that was incredibly close to the edge flying.  Don’t know many guys that NVG dust landings didn’t give them at least a bit of the heebie geebies.  
 

That’s how you knew you’d made it to the show, we’re in the club etc, when powers that be trusted you with 50 heroes in the back, going into the green void on a moonless night for God and country!

 

NVG pilot in command is where the rubber meets the road in army aviation, everything else is some form of copilot.  

[Avimimus]

On 6/11/2023 at 7:39 PM, cw4ogden said:

As another former 47 guy, I’ll confirm pinnacle / ridgeline landings look way cooler than they are hard, or require skill and or a great cyclic touch.  
 

On the other hand, getting that huge SOB down in the sand or dust at night with NVGs, that was incredibly close to the edge flying.  Don’t know many guys that NVG dust landings didn’t give them at least a bit of the heebie geebies.  
 

That’s how you knew you’d made it to the show, we’re in the club etc, when powers that be trusted you with 50 heroes in the back, going into the green void on a moonless night for God and country!

 

NVG pilot in command is where the rubber meets the road in army aviation, everything else is some form of copilot.  

 

As a guy who has only flown helicopters in sims - I'm still very impressed!

You won't dissuade me of that. But it is very interesting to hear. I assume that the down wash combined with the NVG would make it extremely difficult in terms of visibility? I'm getting rather nervous just thinking about it (sitting here at my desk in good lighting conditions).

[cw4ogden]

11 hours ago, Avimimus said:

assume that the down wash combined with the NVG would make it extremely difficult in terms of visibility? I'm getting rather nervous just thinking about it (sitting here at my desk in good lighting conditions).

Yes.  You essentially race the dust cloud forming behind you, and once you're ready to land, you transition to a rapid deceleration, trying to simultaneously bring airspeed and altitude to zero or near zero, before being engulfed by the dust or sand etc. 

One crewmember calls the dust cloud's location, the other aft wheel height, sometimes it's just one crewmember doing both.  Nothing else requires the kind of split second timing dust landings do or did, prior to the F model.  I hear the F model can do it for you, but in the D model and prior, it's akin to a carrier landing in terms or sheer sketchiness.  It's a controlled crash.

It happens as fast as you can read this: "Aft gear is off, 50, dust cloud forming at the ramp, aft gear is off 25, dust cloud mid cabin, aft gear is off 10 feet, dust cloud cabin door , off 5,4, 3,2,1, contact"  the last two to three seconds are often flown totally blind, just relying on everything looking good at the moment you get swallowed.  The danger being spatial disorientation, once you are engulfed in the dust, you damn well better be on the ground or very near with no side drift, because even though you have an artificial horizon, it can't show you drift.  You can be straight and level and sliding 15 mph sideways, with no real indication.  That's how accidents usually play out, botched approach resulting in a completely browned out pilot who can't see the sideward drifting which becomes a rollover accident on touchdown.



Here's a few good videos.  Video number 1 is a textbook dust landing.  It's just about perfect in terms of getting down with the least amount of forward motion before the dust swallows them.

Versus in number two, you can see the bird is enveloped for up to three seconds before they actually touch the ground.  Not sharpshooting the pilot, as they could probably see thru that level of dust, to some degree with the NVGs.  But that's the difference between what I'd call a good dust landing and a bad one.  It's subtle, but notice on the day video, the back wheels contact BEFORE being engulfed.  The second video, not so much.

The third is a pilot's perspective but it's an F model, so likely this is an entirely different approach profile flown with and relying on hover symbology.  And it's of course daytime.  The approach is much slower, very controlled feeling, and provided mostly to illustrate what the inside of the dust cloud looks like.

Cheers!



 

 

 

Edited June 13, 2023 by cw4ogden

[aaronwhite]

Yeah, that dust cloud looks miserable to be dropping into, especially considering the history of trouble that can come from dust clouds, like with Operation: Eagle Claw.

My Dad was a door gunner in Vietnam on the Chinook, and he was telling me that they apparently got run over by a C-130 one day while sitting at what was apparently an uncontrolled airstrip. I've never been able to find anything on the story, but I would guess there's surely an article out there somewhere. 

The videos also make me realize it would be nice if DCS added a dust cloud to the game when you're down low over dry ground like in the desert maps, to make it a little tougher to just hug the ground in helicopters. 

Edited July 19, 2023 by aaronwhite