.jpg)
.jpg)
In the last photo, note the guys lounging on the deck next to our helicopter. After they chained us to the deck, they just took a seat on the deck! That would be unheard of over here. Things were a little more relaxed over there. We traded patches with some of the deck crew. Their yellow shirts seemed to perform the same general function as our yellow shirts - directing aircraft on the deck. It was a quick stop just to drop off and pick up some passengers, and we kept the rotors turning on deck while we waited for about five minutes. We made it back "home" in time for an awesome lunch of made-to-order carne asada with pico de gallo. Polished that off with perfect chocolate dog mixed in with cookies and cream cake. Almost like Cold Stone. OK, not quite. But it was good!
The afternoon was a test of HS-8's mettle. We were called on to do what we train for but hope we never have to do. One of our airwing's F-18's had a mechanical problem when returning to the ship and the pilot was forced to eject. Within 15 minutes, he was once again airborne, courtesy of HS-8 after our SAR crew pulled him out of the water. The pilot is doing fine and the crew of the helo have enjoyed many kudos. They did a great job. I believe the term "text book rescue" was used several times. It's a blow to the airwing to have lost a jet today, but spirits are high within HS-8, having met the challenge and come through. Saving a life is always good for morale! This is why I became a helo pilot. Ironically, in 12 years of flying, this is the first rescue one of my squadrons has performed while I was there! That's a testament to the reliability of our jets and the skill of the guys who drive them. The initial press release can be found here.
Bible study is in about 15 minutes, so I'm going to wrap this up and head that direction. One final note... I offer these links for those who need some explanation of the term "March Madness" (which refers to the NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament).
5 comments:
Glad the hear the pilot is OK. Have not seen anything on the news about yet (just the press release you linked to).
You sound much better today than a few days ago. Glad to see things are looking up.
Glad the pilot's okay. Incredible that they were able to rescue him so fast.
Great pictures. Did they move the E-2C while you were on approach?
Congratulations to HS-8, job well done. I am so thankful the pilot is doing fine. I am sure he and his family are very happy you guys were there.
Thanks for the link to March Madness. More than I ever need to know. I didn't see anything about pole vault, so it couldn't be too important.
Awesome pics! And give the guy that was lounging a little bit of credit - maybe he stayed up too late the night before...
Brian & I spent the weekend glued to the TV due to March Madness! Go UCLA!
Ah, Chris, Chris, Chris. You have flown model helicopters. You should know better! The E-2 was parked near the round down. As you can see, we landed up near the island. Helicopters need not make an approach up the landing area like the pointy-nosed jets. We simply make an oblique approach to a hover off the side of the ship, then slide in to the right, just above the flight deck. Stop the slide over the landing spot, then an easy vertical landing as directed. Now, to be completely honest, these photos were taken during a similar flight a couple of days prior to mine. I'll add two more photos from my flight that I just got today. They show the right slide, and they also show that those blue shirts are just chillin' out on the flight deck. Perhaps a little too much sherry with breakfast. -S.
Post a Comment