army aviation digest - mar 1974
TRANSCRIPT
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UNITE
DIRECTO R OF ARMY AV IATION, ACSFOR
DEPARTMENT O F THE ARM Y
BG J a m e s H. Me rry m a n
COMMANDANT U. S. ARMY AVIATION
SCHOOLMG W illi am J . Maddox Jr.
ASST COMDT U. S. ARMY AV IATION
SCHOOL
BG ames M. Leslie
EDITOR U. S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST
Richard K. Tierney
ABOUT THE COVER
Owl Team members share their
night na p-of-the-ea rth (N 0 E)flight experiences. See pages 2and 3
MARCH 1974 VOLUME20 NUM
NOE At Night .. .
6Getting Started, CW2 Ralph S. Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
TheArm y TestPilot LTC Roger W. Waddell
AWindy Reminder, I lT Jon P. Kahler, USAF . .
10I Learned From That Flight, CPT louis E. Fausak . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Aeromedic-Night Train, MAJ Rush R. Wcker •
Getting That University Degree Donald J Nolan . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Views Fom Readers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Instrument Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Light Of My Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
USAASO Sez . . The mission of the U S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST Is to provide information of an oper
tional or functional nature concerning safety and aircraft accident prevention, traininmaintenance, operations, research and development, aviation medicine and other rlated data.
The DIGEST is an official Department of the Army periodical published monthly undthe supervision of the Commandant, U.S. Army Aviation School. Views expressed hereare not necessarily those of the Department of the Army or the U.S. Army AviatioSchool. Photos are U.S. Army unless otherwise specified. Material may be reprinted prvided credit is given to the DIGEST and to the author, unless otherwise indicated.
Articles, photos, and items of interest on Army aviation are invited. Direct communiction is authorized to: Editor, U S. Army Aviation Digest, Fort Rucker, AL 36360.
This publication has been approved by Headquarters Department of the Army,September 1973.
Active Army units receive distribution under the pinpoint distribution system as oulined in AR 310-1. Complete DA Form 12-5 and send directly to CO AG Publications Ceter, 2800 Eastern Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21220. For any change in distribution requirments, initiate a revised DA Form 12-5.
National Guard and Army Reserve units under pinpoint distribution also should submDA Form 12-5. Other National Guard units should submit requests through their stat
adjutants general.Those not eligible for official distribution or who desire personal copies of the DIGES
can order the magazine from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government PrintinOffice Washington, D C 20402. Annual subscription rates are 13.40 domestic and 16.7overseas. Single copies are 1.20.
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Orval talks with members of
th 155th Aviation Company < t ~ ~Owl Team about flying U S V S
NOE AT NIGHTORVAL RIGHT CHIEF ADVISOR ON MATTERS
OF AVIATION U. S ARMY AGENCY FOR AVIA-
TION SAFETY: Recently, a group of 12 Arm y aviators from the 155th Aviation Company attached to
the U S Army Combat Developments Experimenta
tion Command (CDEC) adopted my nocturnal habits
for a night aviation training experiment and nick
named themselves the Owl Team. It was reported
that the HOwl Team had flown 1,800 accident-free
hours at nap-of-the-earth (NOE) and low-level alti
tudes at night at Hunter Liggett Military Reservation,
CA. This was especially interesting because of the
terrain at Hunter Liggett. There the trees reach outand grab anything flying 150 to 200 feet off the deck,
often leaving an actual clearance of only 50 feet or
less between the vegetation and helicopter. The ter
rain also varies from gently rolling valleys to rugged,
mountainous terrain. Because of the Owl Team's
unique work, I made a special trip to Hunter Liggett
to interview the remaining team personnel who had
participated in the experiment to learn how they
safely accomplished their night NOE flying. Personnel
interviewed were Major Richard L. Cox, Major
Frederick A. Isgrig, and CW2s Robert L. Wolff,
Donald L. Choura, Joe L. Jackson, John B. Cole
and Craig W. Stiff. Because of other duties, Colonel
Billy L. Odneal, the team chief, was not available
to participate in this interview. Comments of theparticipants are personal opinions and do not neces
sarily reflect official CDEC conclusions or Depart
ment of the Army doctrine.ORVAL: I understand that the Owl Team aviatorsvolunteered for the Attack Helicopter Clear NightDefense Experiment and that they had the optionof withdrawing from the training at any time. Werethere any specific requirements or qualifications theyhad to meet?CHOURA: There were no specific requirements .Aviator flight experience ranged from 400 to 500 to
several thousand flight hours. With the exception ofone aviator who had flown with the Night Hawksoverseas, none of us had any specific night training.However, our eyes were examined thoroughly forany serious defects in night vision.ISGRIG: To amplify Mr. Choura's statement, a testwas given for night myopia [nearsightedness] and anattempt was made to get special lenses prescribed tocorrect any special refractive problems [visual dis-tortion] that occurred during scotopic [dim light]
Continued on page 31
U.S RMY VI TION
DIGES
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MARCH 1974
G TTING
STARTED
CW2 Ralph S ark
This night antiarmor program vias exploratory innature and although the Owl Team used standard Army aviators, it is not implied that . thiscapability exists within o p e r ~ i o n l units. Usersof these findings are CAUTIONED that in order
to attain these capabilities deliberate, step-bystep procedures must be instituted to ensure thesafe progression to the desired baseline. Unitsmust be willing to dedicate p.ersonnel and equipment to assure this safe progression.
The author was awarded the 1973 James H.McClellan Aviation Safety Award for his development and initiation of the Owl Team's compre
~ e n s i v e tra.ning program into the . realm of thenight nap-of-the-earth to expand Army aviation scapabilities into areas which were previously considered only marginally safe but into which weMUST .operate in the mid-intensity tactical en
vironment.
[Editor s note: it is imperative that prior to nightflight the .crew ensures that canopies on AH ,laircraft and windshields on utility anti observation aircraft be checked for cleanliness.]
IN JUNE 1972 the 155ih Aviation Company
(Attack Helicopter) conducted exploratory train
ing for the Combat Developments Experimentation
Command (CDEC), specifically Experiment 43.7
entitled The Attack Helicopter in the Clear Night
Defense. The purpose was to determine capabilities
of the present attack helicopter team (AHT) concept
in a night antiarmor role. The unit had recently com
pleted a series of experiments which clearly demon
strated the importance of the AHT in the daylight
mid-intensity warfare environment.
Although nap-of-the-earth (NOE) techniques had
been well established for daylight operations,
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it was difficult to visualize theirnight application on the terrain atHunter Liggett Military Reservation, CA. Located in the SantaLucia mountain range, the terrainvaries from flat to rolling to ruggedly mountainous and is heavilyvegetated with trees as tall as 175feet. The concept, however, wasintriguing. The training plan em-
phasized safety and control and theunit would be in effect developingits own training program thatwould progress only as the necessary skills were gained.
Army-wide research proved thatexcept for some work done by Project MASSTER Modern ArmySelected Systems Test Evaluationand Review) at Ft. Hood, TX, little
was known about night nap-of-theearth flying A visit to the 1sSquadron, 9th Cavalry providedvaluable background informationfrom which the training programwas developed.
Twelve aviators, commissionedand warrant officers, were selectedfrom within the unit. Their nighproficiency was representative of
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Figure 3: typical f l ight route. Startpoints, air control points, releasepoints and the actual in tendedf l ight path are depicted on the mapbefore the night mi 5sion begins
TO units
These aviators, dubbed the Owl, were truly volunteers and
stigma attached.
The training program began with
we methodi
er altitudes. Concurrently, about
NO flying, mission
A training matrix was developeda means to record the date pro
.
We arbitrarily defined low lightas being less than 2.5 times
e attempted to avoid undertaking
at theexisting light
When we were able to demon-
strate an acceptable degree of proficiency in a given altitude band, acheckride was administered with ado not ex eed altitude restrictionby cadre control personnel employing both visual observation and theM-33 surveillance radar to precisely measure navigational accuracy Three months after initiating theprogram we were routinely operating with the unaided eye at ourbaseline altitudes. [Editor'S note:CDEC's report states that about 80
hours of flight training are requiredto attain this degree of proficiency.]
Figure 1 depicts the responsesreceived when the team was asked:What is the minimum safe operating altitude for single and multipleaircraft operations over flat terrain?The length of the line representsthe range of altitudes the teammembers stated were the minimumsafe operating levels. The dot onthe line presents the median re-
Continued on page 2
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T HERE ARE MANY decisions or events that play im-
portant parts in deciding the coursea person s military career will follow. But, how many of these decisions are made and how many ofthese events are actually influenced
, or caused by the individual whose
career is developing? All too oftenit seems we are like leaves being ·blown by the winds of chance withlittle or no control over our own
destinies. People are continuallysearching for ways to move theircareers in the direCtion they wantto go.
Not long ago I sat at my deskthjiIking about my career in theArmy. More specifically, I 190kedback over my career iri Atmy avia
tion arid wondered if I Would doanything different if I h.ad a chanceto start over. Perhaps I would justiike to be able to reenter my careerat some particular point right heretoday. After some thought I decided the only major decision that
I had made to influence my aviation career was to apply for theU. S. Nav31 Test Pilot School
(USNTPS) over 5 years ago. Whydid I choose that course of action?Would do it again? What motivates a person to get into the ArmyA viation Engineering and FlightTesting Program or, as i will call it,the test pilot program?
was motivated by the sanie
factors that motivate most peoplewho want to be test pilots. Primarily, thought that it would beinteresting and challenging to havea part in the development andacquisition of new aircraft. alsofelt that being a test pilot wouldprovide a background that woUld
be useful in the research arid development field and I was interestedin entering that .career specialty. Iwanted to move my career in the
direction of the more · technicalaspects of aviation. Also, I knew Icould learn a lot just by attendingthe test pilot school for I knew theschool haa a challenging curriculum in both flying and academics.That the school is not a breeze issubstantiated by the fact that sincethe first two Army aviators enteredUSNTPS in J 960 approximately
29 percent failed to complete it.
After pondering over these mo
tivating factors for a few momentsdecided that they were all stil
valid reasons for entering the tespilot program and that my decisionto do so was a good one. juswished that instead of being a guy
who had been rated for more than14 years and had started test piloschool 5 years ago that was ayoung captairi or CW2 rated juslong enough to have 1,500 hours oflight time with at least 500 hoursin both rotary wing and fixed wingaircraft. Then, i had extensiveexperience in the UH 1, AH 1CH-47 or CH-54 and had a goodbackground in engineering and
mathematics, I would be applying
for entrance to the test pilot schooat a much better time in my career
Opportunity is knocking righnow for an aviator with the qualifications I just mentioned to play
an important part in the testing othe utility tactical transpo aircrafsystem UTIAS), the advancedattack helicopter AAH), and theheavy lift helicopter HLH). Test
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hecourse at USNTPS ;s 1 year ong with tw c asses per y-ear and .
the next c ass starts in July. Additiona information may be obtained
from the Specia ty Management Branch of the Office of the Deputy
for Professional Development and Plans in the Officer. PersonnelDirectorate and from your career branch. The mailing address and
telephone numbers for the Specialty Management Branch are:
Commander, Military Personnel Center
ATTN DAPC·OPD-PD-SM
200 Stovall Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22332
AUTOVON 221·02501025110252
Commercial 202·325·XXXX
You may also contact the Army liaison officer at USNTPS at Pa·
tuxent River, MD or the Director of flight rest at USAASTA. Or, if youhappen to be traveling in the i i n i ~ of Edwards AfB stop by USAASTA
and see for yourself what type work is going on h r ~
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Army aviation test pilots on a
given week might find them-
selves flying a seaplane or as
seen on the bottom of page ...
ing of these aircraft will begin inthe summer of 1975 and will continue for more than 3 years. BUT
WAIT Before you throw thismagazine aside and start filling outyour application for the test pilot
school there is a little more youshould know. I have more to sayabout the business of flight testing,the organization which is responsible for the engineering flight testof Army aircraft and some of thepersonal challenges in the test pilot
program.First, let us take a brief look at
the organization which performs
the engineering flight tests of Armyaircraft. The U.S. Army AviationSystems Test Activity (USAASTA)is located at Edwards Air ForceBase, CA, and is a subordinateactivity of the U.S. Army Aviation
Systems Command AVSCOM).
The activity was organized at Ed-
wards AFB as the Aviation TestOffice under the U.S. Army Transportation Materiel Command inMarch 1960. At that time the or
ganization consisted of 4 officersand 28 civilians; currently, theactivity is authorized 26 officers, 1warrant officer, 33 enlisted menand 104 civilians. The mission ofUSAASTA is to:
8
Plan and conduct airworthiness qualification flight testsof air vehicles developed
and/or procured as integratedsystems; airworthiness evaluations of those vehicles proposed or considered for Armyapplication or incorporatingadvanced concepts having potential military application.
Produce quantitative test dataon aircraft performance, stability and control, maintainability and reliability.
Conduct an Army Test PilotOrientation Course.
Extensive test facilities andequipment and many test supportfunctions are required to fulfill thatmission. The Air Force Flight TestCenter AFFTC) provides manytest facilities and considerable ad
ministrative and logistical supportfor USAAST A. In addition to Ed-
wards AFB, testing is conducted atseveral remote sites. These includetwo airports- Shafter-Kern andMeadows ( elevations under 500
feet MSL) near Bakersfield, CA ,
and the airport at Bishop, CA
(elevation 4,112 feet), as well asother test sites near Bishop withelevations up to 11 ,400 feet. Testing also is accomplished at Yuma
Proving Ground, AZ, and Alamosa, CO , and at contractor facilities.
Tests at remote sites may be supported by local agencies or byUSAASTA and AFFTC , depending on location. Much of the special equipment required for flighttesting is that which is used to record and process dat a Modernization of USAASTA equipment hasincluded the development of an advanced instrumentation and dataanalysis system AIDAS) whichincludes an airborne data package,a central computer complex andthree self-contained mobile vanswith computer systems similar tothe central but with less storage
capability and less extensive peripheral equipment. This equipmentwill permit either onboard magnetic tape recording or real time
telemetry transmission of data. TheAlDAS ground station equipmentprovides automatic data handlingand processing capabilities to include preparation of data plotssuitable for final reports. This is but
one example of the changes in instrumentation and equipment thathave taken place over the years tobetter equip USAASTA to ac
complish its mission.
Although USAASTA does mostof the engineering flight testing ofArmy aircraft and is the best placefor a new test pilot to be assigned,it should be pointed out that testpilots are also authorized in otherorganizations: the U.S. Army Air
Mobility Research and Development Laboratory at the Ames , Eustis and Langley Directorates, aswell as in some of the AMC project managers' offices. There also is
one Army test pilot on the staff of
th e U.S. Naval Test Pilot School.
Now, how about this business offlight testing? Well, it has certainlychanged from what it was in Octo
ber 1903 when test pilot CharlesM Manly hoped to demonstratethe world's first sustained airplaneflight in a craft which had beeninvented by Dr. Samuel PierpontLangley. According to the accountin Sherwood Harris' The First
To Fly viation s Pioneer Days,
Dr. Langley's airplane was to belaunched in the Potomac Riverfrom what "resembled a warehousefloating on a barge." In preparationfor the flight, Test Pilot Manly even
U. S ARMY AVIATION DIGEST
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strapped a compass to his leg so he
could find his way back to the boatif his flight was so long that he gotlost. Unfortunately, the attempt tofly was unsuccessful. The Washing-ton Post s description of the flightwas: There was a roaring, grind
ing noise and the Langley airshiptumbled over the edge of the houseboat and disappeared into the river16 feet below. I t simply slid intothe water like a handful of mortar.Today, military test pilots may encounter some strange things but
usually nothing like this. Army testpilots fly a new aircraft early inits development, perhaps 6 to 8months after the first flight, but notbefore it has been adequatelydemonstrated by the contractor.
Tests which are performed are generally made within a flight envelopewhich has already been explored.
Flight testing also is quite unlikethat which took place in the U.S.Air Fo·rce early in the jet age or
that involving the X-IS when thenames of many of the test pilotsand their exploits were well known.Today, there is little glamour in thetasks of the test pilot. However, onesimilarity between flight testing
then and now is that there is a lot ofhard work involved.
Much of the testing requirestakeoff shortly after sunrise to havesmooth, stable air aloft or windsless than 3 knots on the surface.There is very little wringing outof the aircraft. Instead, most testsrequire long periods of holdingsteady, stabilized flight conditions.And because of the nature of flighttesting, most test pilots do not do
a lot of flying. Much more time is
spent in planning and data analysisthan in flying. Finally, the productof the entire test team's efforts isthe written technical test reportwhich is the result of hours of writ-
the next week the Army s test
pilots could well be flying a UH-1
Huey with a spraying device
MARCH 1974
ing, review and revision. With allthis drudgery what are the rewardsof being a test pilot?
There is considerable variationin what people consider to be rewards so it is hard to generalize,but I will name some things which
most people consider to be rewarding. First, a test pilot can see tangible results of his efforts and knowthat he is making a contribution tothe Army's materiel acquisitionprocess. As a minimum he produces a written report that bearshis name and is going to be readby people who must make decisions based, in part, on the testpilot's findings. Also, he has theopportunity to expand his technicalknowledge of aircraft and related
systems. A test pilot's time is prettywell occupied when he is involvedin a project but by taking the timeto find out what other people aredoing there is an opportunity togain a wealth of knowledge fromthe experience of others as well asfrom his own projects. Finally, atest pilot can expect the challengeof performing a variety of tasks andworking with a wide range ofequipment.
It does not take too muchknowledge of the Army's aviationresources to know that only a smallportion of the engineering flighttest workload over the past severalyears has been testing of new aircraft. That is one reason why somany new aircraft are just over thehorizon. Most of the flight testingof recent years has been directed
toward evaluating modifications of
existing aircraft, determining thecapability of these aircraft to perform new missions with the installation of new equipment and
determining the affect of new subsystems and equipment on the
handling qualities and performanceof existing aircraft. Often thesetests are made to determine the airworthiness of the test item and toestablish a flight envelope in whichsome other test agency can performuser tests. Occasionally, the testpilot will monitor contractor testsinstead of actually performing thetests.
Recent engineering flight testsconducted by USAAST A havecovered a wide range of flight andcalendar time and complexity. At
one extreme is an OV 1 C test supporting a National Aeronautics andSpace Administration accident in-
vestigation. It consisted of oneflight of 1.4 hours. At the otherextreme is the testing of the AH
t TOW Cobra. These tests consisted of the Army preliminaryevaluation APE) and the airworthiness and flight characteristics(A FC) evaluation which together
required a total of 64 flights with55.7 productive flight hours. The
APE took about 1 month in September and October 1972 and theA FC evaluation took 2 monthsbetween April and June 1973. Although I mention the TOW Cobratests there have been others whichhave taken considerably more
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AL TERNATE
INTMEO STOP
INTMEO STOP
v
A BOVE IS A FORECASTthat was entered in section IV
of a DD Form 175-1: The forecastsurface winds could be strong
to exceed the maximumr o ~ ~ w l i n d component of most fixed
Army aircraft depending onrunway direction.
Gray Army Airfield, Ft. Lewis,
WA, has runways 5-23 and 14-32.For the purpose of illustration, let 's.assume that runway 5-23 is closedfor repairs and the pilot filing toGray AAF is required to use runway 32. The angular differencebetween the 320-degree runwaybeading and the 2.80-de,gree windforecast is 40 degrees. This converts to approximately 13 knots ofcrosswind using the maximumforecast wind of 20 knots. f theairplane is a T -42, this is within
OCNt
the 15-knot maximum crosswindallowed. Right? . . . Wrong
In this particular case there isa 24-degree easterly magnetic
variaii for the destination. Sinceforee inds are true and run-way 'ngs are magnetic, the
ngular difference be''ay heading and wind
j :t. The forecast trueust first be converted into
·c . Remember from flighte saying when changing
from magnetic: east is least(subtract) and west is best add)?
The forecast true wind of 280 degrees becomes 258 degrees magnetic and the angular differenceformerly computed to be 40 degrees would, in fact, be 62 degrees . .Using a 62-degree angular
.difference and a maximum forecast
INS Z TO
INS Z TO
wind of 20 knots, the conversionfor crosswind component now results in about 17 knots, which exceeds the 15-knot limit for the T-
42.As you can see from this illustra
tion, knowing that a wind forecaston the DD Form 175-1 is reportedas true and being aware of the
magnetic deviations in the areaswhere you fly, there can sometimesbe a significant difference in whatmay be expected when you land-':and how you land.
Magnetic variations occur almost everywhere to ,some degree sobe certain to check ~ h e Flight .Information Publication ,(pJ;I r highand low altitude and the 'opera :tional navigation,charts (ONC) to
. determine the ,vanation x i s t s', whehever ,you *fly lniliar
ILT JonP.Kahler,USAF
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areas. The probability that there isa significant variation at any givenplace is quite high.
The following rules should clearup most doubts concerning true ormagnetic with respect to any windsyo u may be given:
• Winds given by M E T ~ O(pilot to military weather voicecall) will be magnetic when reporting local surface condition, buttrue winds will be given when relaying surface observations fromother installations and winds aloft;however, magnetic winds will begiven and so identified only whenthere is a reportable difference between the magnetic and true head
ings.• Local surface winds dis semi- '
nated with the ,local observationover close'd ~ i r u j t t ~ l ~ v i s i o n orelectrowriter "llrtd local surfacewinds c o m ~ W 1 i c a t ~ d by tower orapproach control,are magnetic .
• All ,winds entered onJhe ' DDorm 175-1 are true; TWis includes
flight level winds and surface windsfor destin at on, alternate and intermediate stops.
• Winds" whether forecast oro b s e ~ v e d are always true on all information disseminated over teletype.' Some stations having significant magnetic 'variation also willgive the magnetic wind direction inthe remarks section of their teletypesequence report.
• Any time you get forecast orobserved winds for a station otherthan the one at which you are, Y0' l
will get true winds regardless ofwho provides the information.
To put it s i ~ p l y magnetic windsare given only for observed surfacewinds at the local station. f youare ever in doubt as to whether thewinds Y9U have been 'provideq aretrue or magnetic, by all meansask t c o u l d ~ e n the differencebetweep. e x c e e d ~ g or not exceeding your aircraft's maximum c r o s s ~wind component. '
on DD Form 175-1 wind forecast. arereported as nle and magnetic deviatio nsc.nsometi ..es create a significant differ
~ n c i n ~ h a t y umay expecton o u c h d ~ ~ n
f you do most or all of yourflying in an area where there islittle or no magnetic variation from
true north, there is no need to be,particularly or immediately concerned about true versus magnetic;however, you should be aware ofthe importance of this anomaly ~ l lthe same. After all, who can say forcertain that he won't s o m ~ y bes<;heduleq for an e x t e n ~ e d crosscountry flight into an area wherethere is 'a variation? f y ~ u are
scheduled for such a flight youwouldn't want to begin your approach only tq ,find that yoli?ve
figured your crosswind componentusing a t r u ~ wind direction andthen ' determine that you ' cannot
land because your maximum crosswind is exceeded On ' the otherhand; if yoli foqtinely fly in an areawhere there is a significant varhlti9n, you should already be ' distinctly of ' tpe problem ofmagnetic ,versus ,true. 4 t t I
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~ h : v h ~The OnlyWay To row
Learned rom That light
aptain Louis E Fausak
It is often said that the day a pilot doesn t learnsomething new is the day he should quit flying
Captain Fausak discusses some of the lessons
he learned from a night flight in the mountains
T HE RETURN FLIGHT from. Ft. Huachuca, AZ, to Ft Car
son, CO, promised to be a pleasantuneventful experience similar tothe trip down. The Ft. Carson Flying Club's Bonanza functioned perfectly on the way down to Arizonaand the weatherman had just promised a CAVU (ceiling and visibility unlimited) flight back to
Colorado. .The Flying Club's maintenancesupervisor was my copilot for thetrip and was quite adept at plottingcourses and getting VOR fixes eventhough he was not a pilot. For experience we filed an IFR flight planat Ft. Huachuca to the muni atColorado Springs: Peterson Field.We planned to leave about 1 hourafter nightfall with a 3 ~ h o u rflight to the Springs. Normal procedure was to file for Colorado
Springs, and then cancel IFR whenButts Army Airfield at Ft. Carsonwas in sight. .
We filed for 11,000 feet and began the long flight home. When wereached altitude we leveled off andlet the Bonanza accelerate to its 75percent cruise speed-about 180miles per hour. Our transponderwas talking to everyone loud and
12
clear because Albuquerque Centeranswered our initial call-up withthe controller's security-blankettransmission, Radar contact.
We drove up V -202 to Truth orConsequences, NM, and thenstarted north along V -19. Thecheckpoints were hitting right onour estimates, and I decided thatthe slight tailwind which had been
forecast had materialized.As the Bonanza banked to theright over the AlbuquerqueVORTAC (VOR and TACANnavigational facilities--collocated)to track out on V -190 toward LasVegas, NM (not Nevada), a feeling of something isn't rightstarted making itself known somewhere way down in the graymatter. A quick scan of the engineinstruments failed to reveal anyproblems, and I returned to the
attitude portion of the panel.My copilot asked, Wasn't that
Albuquerque we just went over?Roger that, I replied. We
have about 40 miles to go and weshould be able to see the rotatingbeacon at Las Vegas.
I didn't even see the lights ofAlbuquerque, my staunch copilotanswered.
hat was the problem. I hadgotten up on top of a layer andhad not realized it. The lack ofground lights in that part of thecountry had not bothered me untilI found out that we had just passedover a major city without any visualrecognition.
I asked Center to leave the frequency for a few minutes ( the
second communications radio wasin the shop) and dialed in 122.1while turning up the volume onthe VOR.
Albuquerque Radio, this isBeechcraft 7095N, listening 113.-2.
Beech 7095N, AlbuquerqueRadio, go ahead.
Beech 7095N is on an IFR
flight plan from Libby Army Airfield to Colorado Springs; estimating Colorado Springs at 0600 zulu.
Requesting current and forecastColorado Springs weather.
Roger, Beech 7095N. ColoradoSprings is reporting 7,000 scatteredvariable broken, 100 miles visibility. Its forecast indicates that itwill stay about the same until wellafter your arrival.
Colorado Springs is about 6,000feet mean sea level and I remember
U. S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST
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thinking that the reported 7,000-
foot layer would be at about 13,000feet mean sea level.
I settled back slightly, knowingthat I would not be making an instrument approach into the Springs,and that we would be able to land
at Ft. Carson. A major consideration--our cars were parked at theFlying Club on Butts Field.
We crossed the Las VegasVORTAC and received the following cail from Albuquerque Center:"Beech N7095N, 'climb and maintain one-three thousand. Contactthe Denver Center, one-two-sixpoint-one, at zero-five-two-zerozulu."
"This is Beech 7095N. Out ofone-two thousand. Denver Center,
one-twenty-six-one at two-zeropast. Goodnight, sir."
We continued up V-Sl, crossedthe Cimarron VORTAC and at 20miputes after 10 called DenverCenter.
"Denver Center, Bonanza N7-095N, one-three thousand."
No answer.No problem, either. We would
be in range of the remote site in afew more minutes and would be
able to talk with Denver.The weather was getting a little
worse at our altitude and our Bonanza was ducking in and out ofthe lower level of a cloud layerwhich had formed above us. Probably, I thought, the same layerColorado Springs was reportingwhen we t ~ l k e d with AlbuquerqueFlight Service Station (FSS).
We tried a few ~ o r e calls andas we crossed Gordon intersection,still without contact, I realized we
had a minor problem.I would have felt a lot more
comfortable if we could get belowthe clouds. The outside air temperature ~ u g e was right on the 0
Fort Rucker Flying Club
eechcralt Sundowner
MARCH 1974
degree C. mark, and we both knewthat there was water in thoseclouds. (Like, how does one seeice at night, looking through someclouds at a white-winged airplanewith a flashlight?)
W( were too far away from
Albuquerque to attempt a contactwith them by this time, so I did notfollow the procedure of trying togain contact with the last station.A look at the chart told us that wewere almost directly over Trinidadand I decided to contact TrinidadFSS and tell them our problem
and have the FSS ask Denver Center for a lower altitude for us.
"Trinidad Radio, Beechcraft7095N, 123.6, over."
Nothing.
"Trinidad Radio, Beechcraft7095N, 122.6, over."
Nothing."Trinidad Radio, Beechcraft
7095N, 122.2, over."Nothing. We dialed in 122.1
and turned up the sound on theADF.
"Trinidad Radio, Beechcraft7095N, listening Trinidad nondirectional beacon, 329 kilohertz,over."
Well, since all else had failedwe tried 121.5.
"Any station, Beechcraft 7095Non guard. Listening 121.5, PuebloVOR, and 329 kilohertz, over."
Still nothingO. K., we are neither transmit
ting nor receiving. The next step is
to turn up the volume on the navigation radios, put the lost commocode-7600-in the transponderand wait for someone to talk to us .
We were getting more "in" than
"out" of the clouds, so based onnormal procedures the next timewe were "out" we descended tomaintain VFR.
Even though both our navigationradios (the VOR and an ADF
were emitting a steady stream of
dots and dashes and now and thensome weather information, we didnot hear a friendly voice from anyof the stations acknowledging thatwe had a problem. After SO nautical miles with 7600 in the transponder, and within range of twonavaids, we made the slight courseadjustment as we crossed the Pueblo VORTAC for the final 40 milesto Colorado Springs.
About halfway to the Springs Ituned the Colorado Springs VOR
with the hope that we could getsome indication of the active run",:
way there. No luckWe were down to 9,500 feet at
this point, and I could see the approach and visual approach slopeindicator lights for runway 35 atPeterson Field.
I tuned the localizer frequencyfor runway 35, and identified thelocator outer marker on the ADF.My plan was to intercept the local
izer and then land on runway 35regardless of the wind. I knew that35 was over 11,000 feet long, andeven a direct tailwind woulcl not be
a major problem.I told my copilot, who was just
as interested in the situation as Iwas by this time, to watch the localizer needle and when it centeredto put 77'00 in the transponder. ' Ihad a gnawing thought that if wewere landing in the wrong directiona 707 or some equally unfriendly
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bird might be coming up to meet us.The localizer needle started off
full-scale deflection and we committed to the approach. Out of t h ~corner of my eye I saw my copilot'shand move toward the transponder.At that moment the loudest trans
mission I have ever heard over anaircraft radio bounced around thecockpit, Beech 709SN, if you arereceiving Colorado Springs Approach Control ident.
We both jumped at the identbutton on the transponder and wereoverjoyed to hear, Roger yourident, Beech 9 5N You are clearedto land, r u n w ~ y 35. Winds 340degrees at 6, altimeter 3007.
The remainder of the flight andthe landing w ~ n t without incident.
However, on the drive home from
the airport some q u e s t i o ~ s keptrunning through my mind:
• Why did I waste time tryingto contact Trinidad FSS when wewere obviously (to anyone who wasnot in the cockpit at that time)
lost commo ? '• Why did I maintaip my altitude in an in and out conditionwhen icing could have been a problem-and when the regs say, ineffect, if you're VFR, st y VFR ?
• Why was there no attempt tore-contact Albuquerque Center? Asit turned out later (though I cannotexplain why) the radio was ableto transmit on the frequency wewere using for Albuquerque Center.
• And, finally, w ~ a t was I doingin the mountains, night IFR, in asingle-engine airplane with only oneradio? For instance, what 'kind of
trouble would I have been in ifboth the communications and navigatiCln sections of the radio went
apoof while we were going throughthose mountains just east of Albuquerque?
I learned from that flight. Mymountain flying is now ' strictlyday-VFR and those optional
courses of action take most of thetime ~ p e n t in preflight planningrather than just a small portion ofthe time.
I learned from that . . . and Ihope that you will use my experience to help stay out of trouble.
The DIGEST welcomes this contribution from Captain Fau-sak and would like to hear from other members of ArmyFlying Clubs. Below is a list of many Army Flying Clubs
Ft Rucker Aying ClubCairns AAF ( Q ~ r k ) , AL. . .Ft. Greely Aying C , u ~
~ ~ I e n ~ ~ , AI( .
Ft Huachuca Aero ClubTucson; AZ ' . . .
Ft Ord Flying Club~ a l i n a sFt Carson Aying ClubButts AAF . . .
O I O ~ ~ S p g ~
Fl teayenworthArmy Bjing 'Clubfl. t , ~ v ~ n , c n 1 h K S
, Ft. R i I ~ Y 'Flying'ClubMarshall·AAF .junction C 1 t y ~ KS .
Ft Knox Aero ClubFt. ~ o ~ , KY .,
Ft Poik Army Flying ClubF t ~ o l ~ , LA , ,
100/13Q115/145
8 0 / ~ 7 ,
(205) 255-6228Ay 5 ~ 8 ; . 6 2 2 8 . .
ft. Meade Flying Club, Ft. M e a ~ e , ~
(907) 872·1138 Ft. Leonard WoodAy 7 · 8 7 2 ~ l l ~ 8 Aero Club
, . Way'nesville
80 (301) ~ 7 7 - 3 6 6 3
80 87
1 0 / 1 3 0 (314) 368-6968
80 87 (602) 5 ~ 8 · 5 9 9 31 00/130 1 1 5 1 1 4 ~ AV 8 7 9 - 5 ~ 9 , ; J . ft. Monmouth Flying Club 80/87 (201) 938-5886M o n m o ~ t h County' Airport, NJ 1 00/130 '115/145 , ' .
80/871 1 5 1 1 4 ~11 ~ / 1 ~ 5
80
80 87
(408) 242-5451.AV 9 7 3 - 5 4 ~ 1 '
(502) 624-3189AV 6 4 ~ 3 1 &'9 "
( 3 ~ 8) 5 7 8 · ~ 6 5 9
West Point Flying Club
N e w b ~ r g h , NY ' .
Red Leg Flying ClubFt. Sill; OK .
HCAD Aero ClubHarrisburg t a t ~ AirportCCJrlis,ei PA . . ". .
Camp A. P:HiII e r o Club, CCJmp' A.P,. Hill VA ,
Flo Lee Aero ClubHopewell, VA '
~ t . Lewis Army Aero ClubTacoma, WA '
8 0 / 8 7 .
(914) 562-1324
(405) 5 1 - ~ 7 6 5V '639-4601 '
U. S. War Cl)llege (717)245-3305. ~ p n s '
1151145 (l03) '934-:3600Landing use for Ext 203 (after '
~ m e r g e n ~ y ~ n l Y ho ..rs Ext 201 )
Service from FBO
80/.87 (206)968-27
1 1 ' ~ / 1 4 5
It.enleen Proving Ground.Flying Club , '
A ~ r d ~ n " MD .
14
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MAN INVARIABLY fears the unknown •••hesitates in the face of uncertain.y. But,man , is adaptable ••• often flexible to then,&4ltCls of a given situation, particularly i fheJstrained to maximize his capabilitiesand 'minimize his , imitations. The use ofvision and e s t a ~ l i s h m e n t of visual scanning technique,, is ; amenable to training
••• also to continued research. 'Prior knowledge of visu. ' , scanningtechniques and their successful .pplica
~ n is likely buried in the archives andmemories o f p ~ s t armed conflict. Such isthe i m p l i ~ - . ~ i f n of older, operationalmedical l i t e , ~ t u r e . The t ime to unearthsuch seemingly unsophisJ'cated razzle isnow. No sense re .inventi' thewheel, butequally important no sen ,Iindlyaceep,ing them as valid either. ·Each oldconcept should be subjected to c a , , ~ f i j ll aborat " and field scnatiny and inv , .'ti-gation . ' ., '
One of ' the mor . ti l l le honored techniques of t r a i n i n g p ~ f , - , i n s to .dark adaptation and night se.ing". techniqueth Theemergence of NOE :'demands th hesebe r,examined and readapted. :r . S.ArlllY Aviation Center has provid spe-
cific visual training .il l the "N ght; VlslonOrientat ion" using a two-dh , ' ' onaltraining device for several year ... , 's '.of
J ~ , A v i a t i o n Center's students hagenowr e ~ e h t . d this .foundation to build ·upon Inthe ··'operatlf)""'yi,;, environment. That theaccompanying Icle is wrlJten by anaviator perhap , .; tests·th-.' . '0s program
has had a f v o r b l e l m p ~ memberof the aviation team must , pply hisnight vision training. Time tf) evelop dark;
t;,J,. adaptation -.nd utilization c)f proceclur,. :'. for protectif)" of dark adaptation must bel
consider. ' '''· .. maximal use of our full :capability,: . 0 ,be realized . for increaSed.'mission performance ~ , , ~ ,ffJclency. , ,;'
Even in ·the face of , '" stlcated elec-tronics and assisted . '... 'ry ,perc, ,nthese techniques are important. TIl,mate .cockpit system is man. Wh'ele,et, · ' nd photicsys,tems fall he st be p ~ d as the final backup system.
Night TrainMajor Rush R. Wicker
Doctrine DivisionDeputy for Developments
United States Army Aviation CenterFort Rucker, AI
IN 1492 CHRISTOPHER Columbus set sail fromSpain. His en route planning included only a direc
tion because he was uncertain how long his trip would
take. Many of his friends considered him insane forit was a common belief that the end of the world wasjust beyond the horizon.
Hesitancy on the part of early explorers to ventureoff into the unknown existed due to a lack of experience knowledge and equipment to accomplishthe voyage. Fortunately as the early explorers became more familiar with navigation techniques theirfear of the unknown was overcome. As a result theygained more confidence which led to more extensive
MARCH 1974
travel. This analogy describes the present thinkingof many of our Army aviators relating to nightnap-of-the-earth (NOE) flight.
The uncertainty which existed in the minds ofearly sea captains exists today in the minds of manyArmy aviators. In the past only limited night operations have been conducted; however changes intechnology and tactics require the ground commander to conduct extensive combat operations atnight. To support the maneuver forces the aviatormust possess the capability to effectively pilot hishelicopter at low altitudes during hours of darkness.
In July 1972 a group of 12 Army aviators par-
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ticipated in tests relating to night NOE. You mightsay these aviators were the Christopher Columbus'of night NOE. These tests were conducted by theCombat Developments Experimentation Commandat Hunter Liggett Military Reservation, Jolon, CAAlthough these aviators possessed a great deal ofexperience, they had to develop their own tech
niques and procedures. Extensive training was conducted at altitudes above 500 feet which allowed theindividual to develop confidence in himself beforeconducting missions at NOE altitudes.
As the training progressed these aviators began torealize that man does possess the capability to per
form missions at low altitudes even during the darkest
night. Although man's vision at night cannot com
pare with that of an owl, they began to develop tech
niques which would overcome their night vision
limitations (see Aeromedic, June 1970 DIGEST).
No longer was the term groping in the dark appli
cable to these aviators, for they had attained a degree
of proficiency which qualified them to navigate over
unfamiliar terrain during conditions at low illumina-
tion at altitudes from 50 to 125 feet above terrain
obstacles.How is it that these few aviators have achieved
success in conducting low level operations whileothers hesitate to participate in such a frightening experience? Basically, they have learned that they arenot s helpless in the dark s they thought. They haveattained flight proficiency in their new night environment by applying certain techniques and procedureswhich weren't applicable during the day.
Most aviators possess 20/20 vision and never experience any difficulty in seeing terrain features during the day. Have you ever considered what flying50 feet above the trees on a dark night would be like?How much could an aviator with 20/20 vision see?This question would have to be answered by the in-
.dividual aviator, for the technique that he employsdetermines how much he will see. An aviator who is
not familiar with the limitations of night vision willprobably see very little.
In order to perceive the terrain features whichmust be identified with the naked eye, the Armyaviator must learn to use his night vision capability.
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Getting That University egreeWITHOUT
Formal Studies
onald J. Nolan
Adapted from a speech made by Donald J
Nolan Director of Regents ExternalDegree Program the State Educational
GOING TO COLLEGE isn tthe only way to get a college
education. This statement is oftenheard and most people agree thatit is true. But, in a society wherediplomas are so important manyqualified people, including those inthe military, can t get ahead because they do not have college degrees. In response to this situationthe University of the State of NewYork is awarding degrees to anyonewho qualifies, without regard toage, place of residence or methodof preparation. This route to a degree emphasizes that what a personknows is more important than howhe learned it. This is known as the
Regents External Degree Program.As of 1 October 1973, 727
individuals-including 416 activeduty military personnel-had
earned associate in arts degrees(A. A.). They range in age from 19to 63 and are from all walks of
life-servicemen, homemakers,
teachers, peace officers, nurses,managers, technicians, secretaries
and sales clerks.
Of the military graduates, about
25 percent received degrees withoutformal college attendance. Instead,
they earned their degrees through
the College Level Examination Pro
gram CLEP), United States
Armed Forces Institute USAFI),
Department Albany New York
and Commission on Accreditationof Service Experience ( CASE)guide evaluations. Thus, the Regents External Degree Programmight be described as a new direction for education in the armedforces because it provides a focalpoint for all types of learning experiences. In addition to serviceschools, proficiency examinationsand correspondence courses, othermilitary graduates also acquiredsome regular college work to earntheir degrees. So far 30 percent ofall the credit earned toward theA A. degree has resulted from nontraditional study, thanks in largepart to the CLEP general exami
nations and the USAFI testingprogram.
The Regents External DegreeProgram was originated in 1960when the College Proficiency Examinations ( CPEs ) were established. At that time, tests wereprepared to enable qualified individuals to earn college credit or othereducational advantages, whether or
not they attended college classes.Most popular have been the ex
aminations in the nursing sciences,foreign languages, teacher education, the liberal arts and sciences,and accounting. Grading norms or
standards for the nonresidents aredetermined by administering thetests first to a sample of regular
college classes. Study guides andreading lists are available free ofcharge to assist candidates as theystudy on their own. The RegentsExternal Degree idea builds uponthe principles and experiences ofthe College Proficiency Examination Program, especially in its useof faculty, its reliance upon examinations that are first administeredto college students to make surethey are appropriate and its maintenance of high standards.
Professors, administrators, business and civic leaders, togetherwith higher education and testingspecialists of the New York StateEducation Department, currently
are working on these other externaldegrees: an associate in arts; anassociate in applied science innursing; a bachelor of science inbusiness administration; and a general baccalaureate degree. Whileeach degree program is different,there are some common elements.For example, there are no admissions or residence requirements;there is no age limit; the methodof preparation is not prescribed;
general education requirements canbe satisfied by passing courses ataccredited colleges; and classroomattendance is not required.
The Regents offer no instructional program. But, detailed examination descriptioqs and rather
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extensive bibliographies and suggested study guides are availableto assist degree candidates whoelect to study on their own.
The associate in arts external
degree requires 60 credits, 48 inthe arts and sciences and 12 in freeelectives, which may be chosenfrom all fields of collegiate study,including vocational and technicalsubjects. National tests like CLEP
or advanced placement examinations also may be used to earncredit toward the associate degree.Study through USAFI and militaryservice schools is evaluated in accordance with the recommenda-
tions of the Commission on Accreditation of Service Experiencesof the American Council on Edu
cation-the CASE guide. The nextedition of the guide is to includeevaluations of many additionaltechnical courses.
Eventually students also mayearn credit toward the associate inarts degree through special oral,written or performance examinations, i existing proficiency testsare not appropriate. In these instances faculty panels will be convened to evaluate the degree candidate. This special approach will beused to assess artistic, literary andmusical accomplishments, as welIs knowledge or skills gained on
the job. No credit will be given for"life experience" whether in government, industry, military or civilian jobs. But every reasonableattempt will be made to give creditfor college-level knowledge how
ever it has been acquired. To earnsuch credit the candidate must be
able to demonstrate his knowledgeof skills through a relevant examination form provided by this special approach.
The baccalaureate degree in business has both a general educationand a business component. Three
levels of examinations covering thefields of accounting, finance, management and marketing are to beready by 1974. Candidates for thebusiness degree will be required to
demonstrate basic competence ineach of these areas of study andspecialize in one. As the tests aredeveloped they are being evaluatedafter administration to graduatingseniors from New York and NewJersey schools of business.
The Regents B.A. degree is nowin the formulative stage. Plans areto:
• include "majors" in most traditional fields s well s in the field
of general or liberal studies;• make use of all available tests(CLEP, CPEs, UndergraduateProgram Field Tests, GraduateRecord Examinations, AmericanCollege Testing Program, USAFI,CASE guide evaluations, and Modern Language Associations' Advanced Language Tests);
• allow college credits earnedat a variety of institutions and appropriately distributed to satisfydegree requirements; and
• use the "special assessment"technique for all parts of the program and especially to provide forcapstone tests in a major field.
Of the programs under development only the associate in artsprogram has graduated studentsamong whom 416 are on activemilitary duty. They earned theircredit by passing proficiency examinations, especially CLEP tests,and by SUbmitting transcripts from
accredited colleges and universities,from USAF and through CASEguide evaluations.
Many of these have alreadyresumed their education s thirdyear students at colleges and universities. Others have decided topursue the Regents External Degree in business for which they
will prepare by taking some courseson campus, and some through homestudy. Many will use their veteran'seducational benefits to finance theseunique programs of study because
the Regents External Degree isapproved for that purpose.
There are several modest feesto cover partially at least, the administrative costs of the program.In addition to a $50.00 enrollmentcharge, students are required to payan annual records fee of $25.00and a diploma fee of $10.00. The
average cost of each test is $25.00,but many students will take examinations offered by other agencies
or study at colleges where theymust pay regular tuition fees. If,however, a student completes theassociate in arts program by proficiency examinations over a 4-yearperiod he will pay a total of approximately $400. This figure doesnot include the cost of any instructional materials, books, help fromtutors or formal college study.
How does the program work formilitary personnel? After examining the program literature, in par
ticular the published degree requirements, and discussing thesewith his local education centercounselor or educational advisor,the serviceman enrolls in the degree program of his choice. He coordinates with the advisor and arranges to have his official collegetranscripts, CLEP scores, USAFI
reports and records of militaryschools successfully completedDD Form 295) forwarded to
New York for evaluation. Allofficial records must come directlyfrom the issuing agency, educationcenter or college. A status reportis then sent to the candidate by theuniversity registrar. The majorityof the military personnel initiallyenrolIed had already met the requirements for the associate in arts
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degree without additional study.At present, 3,600 people includ-
ing civilians are enrolled in theassociate of arts, business andnursing degrees.
Advising the student is a difficultissue to resolve in the external
degree system. Military educationspecialists play an important rolein counseling students; others arereached through conferences andwork shops as was done in March1973 when two members of theuniversity staff visited more than adozen military installations in Germany and England to explain theRegents program. Similar sessionsare planned for posts in the United
States. A new comprehensive catalog which should greatly facilitatewritten communications and assistcounselors in evaluating studentswill be available shortly.
In order to earn either the business or nursing degrees, a candidate
must pass a number of examinations which were formally avail
able only at New York testing
centers. In May 1973, education
center officers administered tests
to service personnel at bases in
California, the District of Colum
bia, Massachusetts, North Caro
lina, Ohio and also in England and
Liberia. Consideration is being giv-
en to make examinations availableworldwide through the USAFI system on a regular basis.
A major objective of the NewYork Regents External Degree Program is to make higher educationmore accessible in the United
States. The extent to which thisobjective is achieved in future years
will be a measure of the program's
success.
The Regents look to the day
when this program will no longer
be needed because teaching institu
tions everywhere will recognize and
grant credit for learning, wherever
it takes place.
GETTING ST RTEDontinued from page
sponse of the team aviators.Figure 2 represents the re
sponses received when the teamwas asked about operations over
mountainous terrain. Based on thisinformation we determined that awell trained ART consisting of ascout and two attack helicopterscould routinely operate over avariety of terrain -at altitudes varying from 10 to 200 feet AGL, dependent on the ambient light level.During the course of these tests weused AH-1G, OH-58 and someUH 1M aircraft.
Initially, the only modification tothe aircraft was the installation ofa radar altimeter. As we becamemore sensitive to the night environment, we further modified the aircraft through
• Installation of tactile [touchsensitive] knobs on essential inflight switches.
• Ballast added to simulate arm-
20
ament to improve center of gravity.
• Modified internal and external
aircraft lighting.A typical training day for the
Owl Team began with a daylightpreflight inspection of the aircraft.These preflights were abnormallythorough, almost to the point ofperforming an aircraft technical inspection. We knew that the majorportion of the flight would be conducted at minimum altitude at reduced air speed, placing the aircraft in the deadman's zone of theheight-velocity curve over terrainunsuitable for emergency landings.Much of the flight would be conducted in narrow canyons belowthe surrounding treetop levels.
Upon completion of preflightand runup checks, we reported forthe mission briefing. A five paragraph field order prepared andissued by a member of the teamwas used. The navigation route
would have been reconned earlierin the day by controller personnel
to identify location of wire hazards.Following the briefing the crewswould study and plot the route tobe flown. Normally this planningrequired 1 hour.
Nightly assignments design-atedthe crews for each aircraft. Wefound that the conduct of nightlow altitude flying requires a definite division of duties between thepilot and copilot/gunner with agreat deal of intercockpit coordination. For example, the pilot
• Ensures that the aircraft is
mission ready to include a cleancanopy.
• Handles all radio communication.
• Is responsible for terrainavoidance.
• Must maintain air speed andaltitude as directed by the copilot/gunner who does the navigating.
U. S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST
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• Informs the copilot/gunner ofvisual cues as required.
The copilot/gunner-• Receives briefing and plans
plots and verifies the route to beflown.
• Briefs pilot on the route.• Advises pilot of approaching
terrain, terrain clearance altitudes,wire locations and available forcedlanding areas.
• Is responsible for positionkeeping at all times.
• Must, above all, not hesitate toreport to the pilot if he becomesdisoriented.
Figure 3 illustrates a typicalflight route. Start points, air controlpoints, release points and the actualintended flight path are shown. To
ensure adequate crash rescue support, we had ground rescue unitsprepositioned at specified locationsalong the flight route. Additionalcrash rescue was provided by stationing a rapid reaction, speciallyequipped UH-1H with a trainedcrew at the heliport.
The route was flown by onescout and two attack helicoptersusing a staggered trail formationwith about 10 seconds betweenaircraft. The two AH-lG Huey
Cobras were not simply followingthe leader; each aircraft was prepared to take the lead and complete the mission at any point inthe flight. A fourth aircraft mannedby control personnel maintained aposition well above the flight routeto provide additional safety andadministrative radio relay.
Sudden and unexpected changesin elevation during NOE flight hadto be anticipated. With the naviga
tion expertise developed by theOwls, they were capable of pre
dicting this situation even thoughforward visibility was sometimeslimited to about 75 meters.Through comprehensive map studythe crews knew exactly what theywere approaching. The air controlpoints were precisely reported asthe aircraft passed over them. The
MARCH 1974
copilot/gunner was able to reporthis position within 100 meters atany time between air controlpoints.
In the tactical scenario playedduring this training we divided thebattle area into brigade, battalionand company areas. During conductof the flight we were required toestablish communication with eachechelon of command as we progressed into each commander'sarea. Continuous clearance wasobtained from friendly air defenseartillery. This requirement for continuous and simultaneous communication greatly increased thecrews' workloads.
We made landings at a simulatedforward area rearm and refuel
point in the brigade area. Theselandings were made without the useof landing lights to a blacked outlanding zone. Due to the restrictiveline of sight communication capability, the scout was generally required to remain airborne to maintain contact with ground elements.Should the scout be directed forward to the forward edge of thebattle area (FEBA) for a reconnaissance mission, at least one ofthe attack helicopters had to beairborne to avoid losing contactwith the scout. At these low altitudes it was not uncommon to losecommunication at very short distances.
Additional landings in nondesignated holding areas were sometimes required by the attack helicopters for fuel conservation orwhile awaiting missions from theairborne scout. When the missionswere received, the attack helicopters
proceeded to predetermined firingpositions. There they entered andremained masked until given simulated target location information.We employed various types of illumination to light the threat side ofthe FEBA. Flash simulators wereused along the route and forwardof the FEBA to add realism to the
training.
The dazzle effect on the unaidedeye was detrimental to night vision,but thanks to training did not seriously degrade the crews' capabilities to complete their missions. Wefound that a night acquisition system is required to detect, recognizeand engage targets at standoffranges.
After each mission the OwlTeam would meet with controllersand debrief the flight in detail. Thesessions were recorded and provided the majority of input for implementation into the training program. These sessions were informaland designed for maximum participation. Constructive criticisms forthe flight to include individual performance, aircraft deficiencies and
training program shortcomingswere solicited.
After having completed thistraining program, we feel that wehave shown that there is a significant capability for the existingman/machine system. Through an
intensive, directed training program and minor modifications toexisting aircraft, we developed thecapability to safely conduct nightlow altitude tactical operations.
Again, it should be pointed outthat this was an exploratory program and, although standardArmy aviators participated, thisdoes not imply that this capabilityexists within operational aviationunits. Those who would use thesefindings are cautioned and shouldrealize that to attain these capabilities they must use deliberate, stepby-step procedures and be willingto dedicate personnel and equipment to assure the safe progression
to the established baselines.During the training program and
ensuing side experiments, we flewa total of 1,800 night low altitudeaccident-free flying hours. We attribute this record and our successto the outstanding field support wewere given and the timely and
realistic guidance and leadership
provided.
2
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NI HT·
BIBLIOGR PHY
The bibliography which follows contains information about those storiespreviously published in the DIGEST
related to night flight operatiDns. The
issue of November 1967 was devotedentirely to night operations. These articles are not discussed here. However, th eDIGEST has a considerable number of
surplus copies of the November 1967issue on hand and will be glad to makethem available upon request.
For the convenience of readers interested in a specific story listed in thisbibliography, the DIGEST will forwardthe issue if available Dr a copy of thearticle. Please indicate the article bythe number used belDw Dr by its fulltitle and publicatiDn date and address
YDur
letterDr
cardto
EditDrU. S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST
P. O. Drawer PFt. Rucker, AL 36360
1. April 1955 (page 9)Battlefield Illuminati on, Captain John
B Kusewitt, Jr
Use Df L-20s and L-19s fDr illumina
tion in KDrean War when most needed.Advantages Df aircraft and aircraftflares Dver other forms of illuminatiDn.
2. May 1955 (page 21)Army Aviation in the Dark, Captain
Weyman S. Carver
Nine vDlunteer pilDts and Dbserversfly 243 cDmbat missions at night,(KDrea) January to April 1953, andprove the value Df light Army aircraftin bridging the gap between the Infantryman in the foxhDle and the highperfDrmance aircraft of the Air Force.
22
3. May 1955 (page 25)H-13 Flight by Night, Owen Q. Nie
hausPilot techniques to emplDY for night
helicDpter flight. Local area Dperationtips. SensatiDns that will be experiencedby the nDvice.
4. July 1955 (page 13)Night Photography, Captain John
KusewittAdvantages Df night phDto missions
by Army aircraft timeliness fDr IDwerechelon cDmmanders; I W altitude flightaVDids radar detectiDn yet prDvides detailed infDrmation fDr immediate estimate of situatiDn.
5. September 1956 (page 5)Night Vision, Lieutenan t Colonel
RoWe M. HarrisonDark adaptation slowly acquired,
quickly IDst in presence Df light; blindspot need to look indirectly at Dbject;effects of hypoxia, fatigue, age, smDkingand drugs Dn night vision.
6. May 1958 (page 20)Flight Surgeon
Explains process of sight; pointersfDr night flying; rules for night DperatiDnby University Df Southern California.
7. April 1959 (page 24)Night Flying Hints for the Sioux,
Captain Wilford A. Baugh, Jr
Fixation vertigO at night, hDveringgeneral and in Sioux, approaches, autDrotatiDns and forced landings.
8. January 1960 (page 1)
Night Vision, CWO Clarence W. Tux-
bury
Explains eye nerve ends, hDW to keepeyes dark adapted, prDper eye move-
ments, need to have clean windshield,good physical condition and oxygenabove 5,000 feet.
9. January 1966 (page 26)Searchlight for Helicopters, Colonel
Ben F. Hardaway, USAF
Light sDurce lightning bug developed using seven C-123 landing lightssuitable for UH IB without additionalauxiliary power unit. PrDves value for
nighttime reconnaissance, area searchand as a new dimension to cDunterinsurgency at night.
10. April 1966 (page 2)Assault Helicopter Com pany and Night
Tactical Operations, Captain Robert
L. OliverLow level flight mandatory to escaperadar detection, night formatiDn lights,types Df fDrmation, protectiDn and feasibility of night tactical helicopter oper
atiDns.
11. January 1967 (page 35)Playboys and the Lightning Bug,
Major William W. FrakerHDW this searchlight was emplDyed
by the unit successfully against rivertraffic resupplying the Viet CDng andhDW it denied freedDm of night DperatiDns to the enemy.
12. May 1968 (page 26)
Night Airmobile Assaults, Major Vernon C Grigg, Jr
PrDblems and solutiDns fDr nightformation, navigation, weather requirements, training, planning the mission,variDUS means Df illumination for advantage, night airmDbile assault canreduce the mobility differential of theenemy and ensure our Dwn element of
surprise.
U. S. RMY VI TION DIGEST
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NIGHT
BIBLIOGR PHY
13. August 1968 (page 20)
Night Tactical Approaches and Forma-tion Flying, CW2 Barry R. Billman
How available lighting of the landingzone should be established, communication with the ground to ensure identityof landing area, use of aircraft lights.Formation requirements and techniqueswhile taking off, en route and landingin tactical environment.
14. September 1968 (page 8)Fatigue and Night Flying, Major IraL Hartwell
The aviator's mental alertness is critically reduced after flying the Old Man
to numerous sites. The pilot has had
only 3 hours sleep in 2 days, has flownmore than 12 hours half of it at nightand it is 0245; an inoperative homer in
Old Sioux and some distractions bringabout disorientation.
15. September 1968 (page 28)Let's Highlight Night Flight, Captain
Frank Gall
Thorough preflight, normal and emergency procedures, pilot-copilot teamwork and proficiency. All are even more
important in darkness and determinethe success of night flights.
16. October 1968 (page 18)
Mohawk Infrared Mission, Major
Donald I. Bernstien
Sequence of events for infrared mission, blackout takeoff to mission debriefings. Crews ly night both IFR and
VFR covering all suspected targets inthe corps area. Description of OV-1mission aircraft and equipment for IR
aerial surveillance.
MARCH 1974
17. October 1968 (page 27)
Night Thievery, Major Howard J
Stiles
Night combat assault mission. In
sertion of pathfinders, troop deliveryand extraction of pathfinders withouta hitch in the operation. The fruits of
precision teamwork in combat.
18. January 1969 (page 48)
Visibility Zero
Reconnaissance mission-airborne at
2400 and again at 0130 after refueling,weather deteriorates. The two UH-1Cs
and a UH-1D decide to return and land.They enter severe turbulence; the nightis extremely dark and visibility zero.One aircraft is destroyed.
19. February 1969 (page 14)Firefly Tactics and the Cardinal Rules,
Captain Glenn A. Smith 11
Mission profiles for armed helicoptersearch and attack operations. Determined can t stereotype-must changewith enemy's tactics. Rules that evolvedto 1966. Preference for armed light shipto continue attack when others haveexpended ammunition.
20. March 1969 (page 15)Dual Controls for Night Flying, CW2
Roy A. Johnsen
Requirement for dual light controlsfor landing particularly in student training since IP frequently has to reach
across the pedestal (in UH-1) to turn
on or reposition lights. Exposes him to
situation that may exceed capabilityto recover.
21. April 1969 (page 40)
Night Thunderstorm Vertigo
Both the AC and pilot of a UH-1D
experience vertigo. The entire crew of
four and five aviator passengers survive
the helicopter crash and give their
account of the final minutes of flight inblinding lightning.
22. May 1969 (page 6)
Reconnaissance Patrol, Captain R. J
Ronchetti
The mission begins according to plan:insert a six-man reconnaissance patrol
at last light but the patrol within minutes requests immediate evacuation.Darkness, weather, increasing enemy
automatic weapons fire and two gunships with only 20 minutes fuel leftwhen the last man is extracted add tothe stressful situation.
23. May 1969 (page 16)Night Hunter Operations, Captain
Richard C. Keehn
In November 1968 this conceptwas first used against the enemy in the
Mekong Delta. Task force includes amobile radar set, an air cavalry element,roving waterborne patrols, infantry
ambush sites and supporting artillery.Tactical flight operations are cited withreasons for specific procedures employed.
24. June 1969 (page 2)
Combat Night Air Assault, ColonelKenneth D. Mertel
First night combat air assault into
enemy held landing zone under fire by
A Company of 1st Bn, Abn 8th Cav.The article describes the Battle of Ia
Drang on 3-4 November 1965 and
Operation Lincoln (the second such assault) on 30 March 1966. Emphasizesimportance of the little things in nightoperation-the need for detailed planning.
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NIGHT
BIBLIOGR PHY
25. November 1969 (page 23)
Nighthawk, Captain Garrett C. Marc-
inkowski and CW2 Steven J. Zorger
Phenomenal success of the UH-IH
with xenon .searchlight and a night
observation device. Aircraft in this con
figuration with a minigun (1500 rounds
per minute) and three gunners with
M-60 machineguns prowl the skies individually in specific areas on search
and destroy missions. Light has both
infrared and white light modes.
26. November 1969 (page 30)The Tiger's Roar, Captain William
E. Walgren
Assault helicopters alerted at 0330
hours to repulse the enemy about tooverrun an outpost in Chau Doc sector.Flight of three UH-IBs and an AC-47flareship repel the attack. XM-3 rocket
ship has devastating effect. The 40 min
ute operation accounts for over 100
enemy dead.
27. December 1969 (page 7)
Exercise In Visual Purple, CaptainClark D. Hein
0-1 Bird Dogs airborne at last light
on mortar watch missions to detect firstsigns of enemy attack, conduct artilleryfire missions at night and support
special combat operations which are
widely varied. 0-1 often only linkbetween ground element and its headquarters.
28. January 1970 (page 2)Triple Nickel Winks at the World,
Captain Anton J. Skarich
Emergency resupply mission at night
into mountainous jungle terrain, unauthorized application of masking tape
covering Triple Nickel s landing lightand new copilot s first flight with the
unit combine to surprise and needlesslyendanger the crew.
29. February 1970 (page 25)
Night LRRP Extraction, Captain Rob-
ert C. Lentz
Tactics for inserting a long range
24
reconnaissance patrol (LRRP) team.
The team is engaged by a well organizedenemy unit within minutes and requestsextraction. During the pickup both
escorting Cobras' guns jam and the
pickup UH 1 takes a nose hit. On reaching 1,000 feet the engine fails.
30. April 1970 (page 10)Night Vertigo, Captain Terry P.
Gardner
Combat assault aviation unit andinfantry division units develop into awell coordinated team with such highregard and mutual respect for each
other that they give that little extra to
help the other guy. Elect to cover for
infantry though low on fuel. Weather
closes in and pilots experience vertigo.
31. November 1970 (page 1)Tactics, Major Jim H. Clary
1968, Vietnam, the Viet Cong (VC)launch a multi battalion attack begin
ning at 2200 hours. How Army aviatorssuccessfully developed and employed
a scheme of fire and maneuver whenartillery was unavailable and air strikeswere not always possible. At 0500 the
VC withdrew due to the grazing firesof the gunships.
32. May 1972 (page 10)Mission: Personal or Professional,
Captain Rudi Hamvai Jr.
Four Navy river patrol boats are
ambushed. Proud of a strong sense of
mission accomplishment and a burning
desire to help their embattled comrades,a light fire team and their secondaryteam (five UH-ICs) are scrambled at
0200 hours and remain on station toolong. Weather engulfs even the low ship
at 200 feet.
33. September 1972 (page 2)Mission: Nightmar e, Captain Steven
D. VermilliollTheir primary mission was to rescue
the injured and the crew felt theycouldn't turn this one down without
making an attempt. Called at night,the crew attempts a landing atop Giah
Key Mountain to rescue two mortarmen
who suffered amputations when a round
exploded in the tube.
34. November 1972 (page 12)
The Black Minute, Captain ClaudeT. Stanley
n assault helicopter company prepares for a practice night airmobile
assault mission. All aircraft that meetfull night flight requirements are
cranked and standing by at 2015. Theroutine practice expected turns out to
be the real thing as the C C aircraft
relays that an outpost near the LZ
has been attacked by the Viet Congo
35. May 1973 (page 2)Helicopter Low Level Night Opera-
tions, Lieutenant Colonel GeorgeW.
Moses
Night flying capability may be dra
matically enhanced by recent successesin research and development. Night
vision goggles are one of the approaches
tested to permit night nap-of-the-earthflights. Aircraft modifications desirableand data on 700 hours of successfulflight testing are revealed.
36. June 1973 (page 6)The 'Eyes' Have It, Captain Edward
I. CarrollJust after dusk the scramble hom
sounds and the UH 1 is airborne inless than a minute. At the pickup zonethe gunships finish prepping the area
and the recovery Huey descends. On
short final, the tail rotor is hit and acrash landing follows. Value of the
helmet visor.
37. November 1973 (page 4)
The Cav's STAR, CW2 Charles M.Tidey
The STAR (Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) Platoon
is representative of new looks and tactics in Army aviation. Tests during hours
of darkness at nap-of-the-earth to avoidradar detection.
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The rmy Test Pilot
ontinued from page
calendar time because of delaysdue to maintenance, instrumentation and higher priority projectsand there have been tests whichhave required many more peopleto perform and support the test.
No discussion of recentUSAAST A test programs would becomplete without m ~ n f u m i n g theattack helicopter requirementsevaluation which took place in thespring of 1972 at contractor facilities and at high altitude test sites.This evaluation required flight tests
of the Bell Model 309 KingCobra,the Lockheed AH-56A Cheyenneand the S-67 Sikorsky Blackhawk,and took nearly all the resources ofUSAASTA to accomplish. OtherUSAASTA programs have included tests of new tail rotors forthe AH-1G and OH-6A, heavyweight autorotation tests of theAH-1G, vibration and temperaturesurveys of all the firstline Armyhelicopters and evaluation of flight
director systems in the OH6A
andOH-58A. n addition, an evaluation of the Canadair CL-215 amphibious airplane was made forthe U.S. Forest Service in 1972 toassess its suitability for the airtanker mission. There also havebeen inflight icing tests which arestill in progress. The basic purposeof these tests is to determine thecapability of Army helicopters tooperate in icing conditions. Theairworthiness qualification of the
CH-47C installed icing spray system which was developed for thosetests was also accomplished byUSAASTA.
From these few examples onecan see that a test pilot can expectto be involved in a wide variety oftasks. This should give a good insight into what an engineering testpilot does. What are some of the
M RCH 1974
personal challenges that face atest pilot?
First, he must be able to achievethe proper mix between inquisitiveness and discipline in his work. He
needs to have the desire to get atthe reason an aircraft or piece ofequipment behaves the way that hehas observed, but this inquisitiveness must be tempered with discipline. His inquisitiveness or othermotivations must not lead him todeviate from his planned tests unless he and other members of the
test team are sure that it is logicaland safe to make that deviation.The equipment that is being testedmay be a prototype item; it willprobably be expensive and the testprogram cannot be placed injeopardy because of delays due todamaged or destroyed equipmentcaused by test pilot actions whichwere not adequately planned. But,the test pilot also must be adaptable to changing situations. In spiteof what may appear to be a conflict with the discussion justfinished, he must be prepared todeviate from his primary tests whenconditions such s weather or instrumentation failures dictate. The
difference is that this deviation is
preplanned. Flying time and calendar time are both critical so maximum benefit must be gained fromthe time available.
N ext, he must o n t i n u ~ y develop greater technical competence
to do the job. That is done bybuilding, with experience and further study, upon the foundationthat is laid in the test pilot school.The test pilot is challenged by agrea,t deal of responsibility in hisdaily work. Besides the responsibility for obtaining valid test data,he has ultimate responsibility forflight safety in a test program.
When there is any doubt, the testpilot always makes the final decision s to whether a portion of aparticular test can be conductedsafely. Beyond the requirements ofhis own job the test pilot will frequently be the project officer and assuch will be responsible for thework of the entire test team. In
either case much of the work hedoes is not under close scrutiny ofhis supervisor. Therefore, thesupervisor must have confidence inthe test pilot's ability and willingness to get the job done correctlyand on time.
Finally, there is constant challenging of the test pilot's integrity.Important decisions are based onthe results of his tests, therefore,
what the test pilot reports must becorrect. He cannot attempt to passoff bad data for good just to avoiddoing certain tests over admittingthat he erred in some way. Becausethe test pilot is nearly always evaluating something a contractor is
trying to sell to the Government,he must approach each test withimpartiality. His dealings with contractors must be business-like andimpartial so there can be no question s to his conduct and no ac
tions which could be interpreted asa conflict of interest.
Of course, there are other personal challenges that a test pilotmust face but I believe the ones Ihave mentioned convey the impression I want to make.
Being a test pilot today is an opportunity for you to take a stepwhich will certainly influence yourcareer in Army aviation. Prerequisites for and additional details
concerning the Army Aviation En-gineering and Flight Testing Pro-
gram will be published, perhaps inan Army regulation, sometime in
the spring. In the past that information has been in a D circular. Although there is no current circular,the latest one was D Circular 351-28, dated 16 August 1971. t may
still be used as a guide for applying.
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JEWS
RO
E DERS
Sir:
During the period of June 1972 to
May 1973, I served as project and safetyofficer of the 155th Aviation Company
(Attack Helicopter) Owl Team. Our
sole purpose for existence in the beginning was to develop a training programthat would prepare aviators to participate in CDEC Experiment 43.7 entitled The Attack Helicopter in theClear Night Defense. Not really knowing how to begin we researched Armywide for background info and found
not only an almost total lack of databut also a general feeling of disdain fornight operations. Putting our own fearsat least partially aside, we began . What
resulted is documented in the CDEC
Final Report for Phase 1, 43.7 and encapsulated in the inclosed article [seearticle beginning on page 3].
What we established was an unaidedeye baseline defining operating altitudesfor standard Army aircraft, with onlyminor modifications flown by welltrained standard Army aviators.
We recently trained three aviatorsfrom Ft. Rucker, AL, who will be thecornerstones for specialized night training to be conducted at the U. S. Army
Aviation Center at Ft. Rucker.
During the training program we madenumerous discoveries that are beingwritten about by other members of theOwl Team and will be submitted
shortly for your edification. . . .
CW2 Ralph S. Park
Safety Officer155th Avn Co (AH)Ft. r d ~ CA 93941
Sir:
Could you please inform me why theArmy thinks when you have 1500 hoursflight time and are commissioned that
you are not to fly? To me this is an injustice to professional aviators who are
commissioned. I, for one, have over2500 hours which I got in less than 5years because I wanted to fly.
I now sit behind a desk doing abranch job in a Field Artillery unit, of
which I have had a total of 4 monthstraining and no experience. On the
other hand, I have 5 years experience inaviation and my MOS could just as wellbe used in an aviation battalion.
Why is the warant officer the only one
that the Army feels is the only professional pilot? I'll put my knowledge and
skill up with the best of the warrantsand probably come out ahead.
I would like to get back into someform of aviation. I was enlisted andwanted to fly so I went to flight school.Now, after 5 years the Army has chosenfor me by branch a ground job. O.K.,but why not in aviation where I have agreat deal of experience instead of a
Field Artillery unit?I draw flight pay, but to heck with
the money. I want to do what I haveworked 5 years to become, a professional aviator. I would fly even if theydid not pay flight pay.
I know for a fact that there are plentyof pilots, not aviators, who do not want
to fly but most of these have less than
1500 hours and are flying mainly justfor the flight pay. Surely these peoplecannot be considered professional
pilots when they have no desire. to
fly or perform their duties properly. Isuggest a one for one exchange withthese type individuals and they can havemy flight pay if that is the reason theyare flying .
I just advised a young EM the otherday to go to OCS and then flight school.He came back to me and said that flightschool was closed. He will get commissioned and probably not flight school.I have tried to get fixed wing training,but to no avail. I have a CFI in both
fixed wing and rotor craft, instrument,multiengine and commercial license inboth types of aircraft.
t now appears that the only ones theArmy wants to fly are the warrants.O.K., who will take charge of companybattalion and brigade when the U. S.Army is in need of the Army aviationagain, like in the Republic of Vietnam.t will not be the warrants, but young
officers who are commissioned like myself, after the Army sees the need forus in aviation.
The Army makes the rules and Imust live with them to stay in the Army.But may I ask, why can't I sit behind a
desk in an aviation company around
what I know and like best, and not
around an 8-inch howitzer?I think highly of the warrant aviator
and feel that the flight pay should beequal, but I feel that aviation to thecommissioned and warrant pilot shouldbe the same also.
A grounded aviator,CPT Vaughan M. Smithwick1st Battalion, 36th FA
APO New York 09178
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• The DIGEST forwarded CPT Smith.wick's letter to the Director of ArmyAviation. His personal reply to theCaptain follows:
Dear Vaughan:
Your letter of 15 October 1973 to theeditor, U.S. ARMY AVIATION
DIGEST has been referred to my officefor reply. I have elected to personallyrespond because I understand and appreciate your point of view and consider your questions to be valid and important.
Vaughan, some 15 plus years ago asa lieutenant, I had the same desire toget in the air that you do. Fortunately,
a wise colonel provided me with somevery sound advice. He said Lieutenant,the Army has no place for a commissioned officer who only wants to flyThe only fulltime aviator in the Army
is the warrant officer. We do not have aseparate branch and do not propose to
form one. f you are to succeed as acommissioned officer in the Army youmust be qualified in your branch aswell as in aviation. You see, it is thiscombined qualification that makesArmy aviation so worthwhile.
Fortunately for me I listened to that
colonel and the wisdom of his wordssoon became apparent. It soon becameobvious that only by being qualified inmy branch could I really be fully qualified to lead any Army aviation unit.
The old colonel's philosophy stateswell the current Army position. In your
case this means that you are a SignalCorps officer first and your qualificationas an aviator is just an additional skillthat you possess. The Signal Corps
Branch provided ·you with your present
assignment to assist in achieving basic
branch qualification. While it is true
that you could be performing as the
Signal officer in an Aviation Battalion,
your current assignment as the Signal
officer in a Field Artillery Battalion
will make you a better qualified officer.
I urge you to dig in and make the most
of your assignment, learn all you can
about the ground soldier and your or
ganization's tactics. Charge in there
with a can do attitude like you have
always been trained to do as an aviator
and make all of the officers in your unit
admire how well you can accomplish
your current responsibilities. After do
ing so, watch how they look at your
wings with admiration.
The remainder of my letter addresses
your specific questions. As you will see,
some of the things we are doing are not
MARCH 1974
necessarily by choice but instead resultfrom monetary considerations and theenergy shortage.
In order to reduce expenditures forproficiency flying we are required bypublic law to establish a system that
limits the number of proficiency aviators. As a result of this congressionalaction, and the Army's analysis of
aviator requirements, we established1500 military flying hours as the cut-offpoint for active participation by our
aviators assigned in non operational fly-ing positions.
The Army does not consider thewarrant officer as the only professionalaviator. We want all of our aviators,commissioned and warrant, to be professionals. The reason why warrant
officers fly fulltime and commissionedaviators do not is a simple matter of
requirements. For example, the commissioned aviator must be branch qualified and must fill numerous staff assign
ments. We do not need a large numberof colonels, lieutenant colonels andmajors to fill cockpit slots; however, wedo need qualified aviators of these ranksto fill numerous other assignments.
Although I hope not, you are probably correct in your assertion that someof our commissioned aviators who haveless than 1500 hours want to fly onlyfor the pay. You offer to give themyour pay if you could assume theirflying responsibilities; however, I thinkyou will understand that this would not
be feasible in light of what I have said
earlier about your Army responsibili
ties.Your young enlisted friend was misin
formed by whoever told him flight
school was closed. We have cut back
in our training, but have not closed the
school-not by a long shot. I can, how
ever, understand your problem in try
ing to get fixed wing training because
we have reduced this to a minimum.
Look around for Army fixed wing air
craft and you will see why.
In wrapping this up, let me again say
that I can understand how you feel.
Being with aviation and doing your
thing as an aviator is fun. You will no
doubt have the opportunity to again
serve with an aviation unit. However,
there is just one thing that I request
that you keep in the back of your mind.
As you progress into field grade rank
most of your assignments will dictate
that you be qualified in far more than
pure flying skills. Don't blow the op
portunity to prepare for that day and
at the same time destroy the chances
for success as a commissioned officeraviator.
You have my best wishes for your
success.
Sir:
James H. Merryman
Brigadier General, GSDirector of Army Aviation
Recently, while flying an AH-IG the
environmental control unit (ECU) malfunctioned to the full on cold position.We tried, unsuccessfully, to tum off the
ECU through switches, circuit breakers,reostat and even cutting off all electricalpower in the aircraft, but to no avail.After approximately 15 minutes of flightthe cyclic began to stiffen in an everclosing circle. We made an immediatelanding from our altitude of about 500
feet and by the time we got to the
ground the cyc1ic was literally FROZEN
SOLID. Had we been at a higher altitude who knows what would have
happened.This is the second time I've come
across this problem. In Vietnam we had
an aircraft with the same problem whenthe ECU was kept on in the cold position for too long a period. Also, whiledoing some cold weather work on theCobra in 1970-71, the cyclic would beimmovable during a cold start until the
ECU had been operated in the warm
position for a few minutes. At the timeit was attributed to the hydraulics, but
since these last two instances I feel it
may be part of the same problem mentioned above.
What causes the problem? It seemsto be in the area of the bellcrank on
the bottom of the pilot's cyclic.
I was wondering if any informationhas been distributed on this or any
action taken. I would suggest the following if redesign is not feasible:
1. Ground any Cobra in freezingweather that has a malfunctioning ECU.
2. f ECU comes on and stays on inthe cold mode, land immediately or getdown to a low enough altitude wherean immediate landing may be accomplished.
CW2 E. Richard Ashton
Troop E (Air), 1st Cavalry172d Arctic Light Infantry BdeAPO Seattle 98731
• The DIGEST received an official re·
sponse to your letter . • . the answercomes in two parts: First, from the U. S.Army Aviation Systems Command
(AVSCOM); and, second, from A VS·COM's coordination with Bell Heli·
copter Company. Copies of both appear
below:
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•.• We contacted Bell HelicopterCompany regarding the ECU malfunc·tion. Their response is attached [seebelow].
We are entering the content of Serv.ice Engineering Memo AH·12·73-1 (seeNo.6, mel 1) in the Em Digest.
Since the above modification shall appear in the E m Digest, the two sug·
gestions in the letter received by theAVIATION DIGEST have been disapproved.
Thank you for the inquiry about theECU. We appreciate the interest of
CW2 Ashton in solving a problem he
found with the AH·1G. f we can be of
further assistance, please contact Jim
Kirkwood, AUTOVON 698·6516.Donald Macy
Chief, Attack HelicopterBranch
AVSCOM
The letter [above] stated the ECU on
an AH·1G helicopter had malfunctionedto the full on cold position. After 15minutes of flight the cyclic controls had
stiffened to a point that they were im·
movable after touchdown.
The contractor's Engineering Depart·
ment has reviewed the referenced letterand suspect the following condition may
have transpired:
f the ECU flow control valve shouldmalfunction, or i f the ECU cuts off andthe vent blower comes on along with theclosing of the outlet valves, an increaseof pressure in the duct system wouldoccur. This condition would cause a
swelling of the P N 209·070·433 ductassembly exerting pressure against thecyclic control rod assembly.
AH·1G helicopters SIN 70-15936 andsubsequent have valve assembly P N
209·072·401·5 installed. This assemblyhas washers and spacers attached to
eliminate. expansion of the duct in theevent of overpressurization. ReferenceTM 55·1520.221·35P, page 113, figure228, items 52, 54.
AH·1G helicopters prior to SIN 70·
15936 have duct assembly P N 2 9·
070·433·1 installed, which does not havethe spacers and washers installed. Refer
ence TM 55.1520.221.35P, page 1108,figure 237, item 45.
Service Engineering Memo AH·12·
73·1 has been prepared and will be re·
leased to permit field modification to
the 209·070·433·1 duct assembly.The contractor feels that the final
decisions regarding the conditions, asstated in items #1 and #2 of Mr. B.Richard Ashton's letter, should be madeby the using activity.
BELL HELICOPTER COMPANY
8
Sir:
Your Views From Readers column[November 1973] concerning the historyof the UTI [Utility Tactical TransportHelicopter CompanYJ and 334th Aviation Company still appears to containsubstantial errors of fact. Specifically,no mention is made of the 68th Aviation Company and 197th both of which
I believe were successors to UTI beforethe unit was redesignated the 334th.
I did not serve with the unit; however,I was a gunship pilot in the 114thAviation Company in 1965 and I knowat that time the unit was the 197thand their pocket patch had an acknowledgment of the 68th being a predecessor. In point of historical accuracy youare doing the former Raiders, Playboysand Dragons who served with the unitwhile under the above designations adisservice. I believe that the statementin your comments on page 1 November1973 issue, are grossly in error when
you state personnel expertise and hardware went over to the 334th. To the68th or 197th perhaps, but I believethese units passed on the above assetsto the 334th.
Normally your magazine is considered a highly reliable source for manyof us in Army aviation. For this reasonI point out what I feel is an error of
great magnitude.
Major Phillip V. BranstuderTrp B 1st Sqdn (Air), 17th Cav
82d Airborne DivisionFt. Bragg, NC 28307
• Past research and a limited inquiryspawned by receipt of your letter doesnot indicate that the DIGEST is inerror. However, inquiries such as yoursare what it takes to ''nail down our
Army aviation history accurately. Thus,I am taking another comprehensive lookinto the matter. The attached letter willgive you an idea of the approach [seeletter below to the Office of the Chief of
Military History].
Previous research indicates that any
exchanges, formal or informal, wouldbe between the UTT and the 334th. Iam looking into this again, too.
I do not feel that the DIGEST has
done a disservice to the 68th or 197th.On the contrary, the VFR is referringto an article that had stated (as you do)that the 68th and 197th were successors
to the UTT before it was redesignated
the 334th [ Armed Helicopters Around
The World, September 1971J. Our ref·
erences for this are probably the same
as yours. However, this lineage is not
accurate according to information re·
ceived previously from DA. I am pursuing this point again in light of your
comments.
Based on DA's information, and unofficial interviews, the DIGEST cannot
be grossly in error by saying, •• theexpertise and some of the personnel and
hardware did go over to the 334th.But, let's see what our latest efforts
turn up.Thank you for citing the DIGEST as
a highly reliable source of information•• I strongly feel that one main reasonit is can be traced to people such as
yourself who take the time to call mat·
ters to our attention when they feelthere is an error.
Editor
Below are excerpts of the DIGEST's
query to the Office of the Chief of
Military History in response to Major
Branstuder's letter:
The Adjutant General's Office confirms that the 68th Aviation Company,the 197th Aviation Company and the334th Aviation Company were TOE
units. TAGO also states that these companies could not have a common lineagewith the UTI because the UTI was aTDA outfit. However, TAGO did statethat this was possible only if the Chiefof Military History approved it. Thisbrings me to the questions I need your
help answering:
• Did the Chief of Military Historymake an exception to allow the UTI to
have a common lineage with any (or all)
of the mentioned companies (68th,197th and the 334th)?
• Do the 68th, the 197th and the334th have a consecutive, common lineage in this given sequence?
• What are the dates of deactivationor inactivation of the UTI; the 68thAviation Company; the 197th AviationCompany; and the 334th Aviation
Company?
Below is the reply from the Office of the
Chief of Military History:
Under the provisions of paragraph
10-4d, AR 870-5, lineage and honorsare determined only for TOE units
which are flag, color or guidon bearing
organizations. Since the Utility TacticaJ
Transport Helicopter Company was a
TDA organization no lineage and hon
ors will be determined for it. The Chief
of Military History has not made any
exception to this policy with respect to
the UTI and has not authorized a com
mon lineage for UTI with any other
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TOE organizations which have everexisted on the rolls of the U. S. Army.
The 68th, 197th and 334th AviationCompanies are separate and unrelatedorganizations with different histories.The 68th's lineage is as follows: constituted 7 March 1960 in the RegularArmy; activated 14 April 1960 at Ft.
Ord, CA, and inactivated there 6 De
cember 1962; activated 15 August 1964in the Pacific and inactivated there 1March 1965; activated 5 July 1965 at
Ft. Benning, GA, and inactivated there20 March 1972. The 68th remains inactive. The 197th's lineage is as follows:constituted 16 February 1965 in the
Regular Army; activated 1 March 1965in Vietnam; and inactivated 24 June
1972 at Ft. Benning. The 197th also remains inactive. The 334th was constituted 10 November 1966 and concurrently activated in Vietnam. t hasremained active and is presently stationed in Germany.
The limited personnel resources ofthis office preclude a search of microfilm records of the several thousandTDA organizations formed over the
years in order to cite the inactivationdate of the UTI. This inactivation datecould be more readily determined byThe Adjutant General's Office if the
unit identification code (UIC) number
for the UTI could be provided.
Some of your readers appear to beconfused by the fact that some personnel originally assigned to UTI werereassigned to the 68th after that unit
was activated 15 August 1964 in the
Pacific, that some personnel assigned tothe 68th were reassigned to the 197thwhen that unit was activated 1 March
1965 in Vietnam; and that still other
personnel assigned to the 197th were reassigned to the 334th when the 197thwas transferred 1 September 1966, lesspersonnel and equipment, to Ft. Benning and when the 334th was activated10 November 1966 in Vietnam. However, a transfer of personnel does not
itself carry the history of one unit to
another. A Unit History Report submitted to this office by the 197th Aviation Company in 1966 erroneously
claims that the 197th was previouslydesignated as the 68th Aviation Com-
pany. Such a redesignation never took
place. The 68th, the 197th and the334th have no lineal relationship whatsoever, and since TDA units such asthe UTI do not accrue history, none of
these three TOE companies is historically related to the UTI or to anyother organization which has everexisted on the rolls of the U. S Army.
In his letter to the editor publishedin your November (1973) issue, James
MARCH 1974
D. Sprinkle quotes from a history of the334th Aviation Company publishedby the sompany on 25 March 1971.We have in our files annual historicalsupplements submitted to this office bythe company for calendar years 1966,1967, 1969 and 1970. All except that
for 1969 refer to UTI with similarwording, and they are all equally er
roneouswhen they refer to the UTIbeing redesignated as the 68th, to the68th being redesignated as the 197th,and the 197th being redesignated as the334th.
We also have in our files a photograph clipped from the 16 June 1965issue of the Army Times announcingthe winning unit patch design for the
197th, the same insignia to which Major
Branstuder refers in his letter. The design shows Pegasus, the flying horse,
with a UTI brand and the number
68. We have been advised by The
Institute of Heraldry that they have no
record of a pocket patch having everbeen authorized for the 197th, or forthe 68th or 334th either. Therefore, thewearing of such an insignia by personnel of the 197th does not establish anylineal relationship of that unit with
either the UTI or the 68th AviationCompany. f your readers desire more
information about the design or wearof cloth shoulder-sleeve insignia, metallic distinctive insignia or pocketpatches, they should write to the Director, The Institute of Heraldry, U. S.Army, 5010 Duke Street, Cameron Station, Alexandria, VA 22314.
Walter L. McMahon
Colonel, Infantry
Chief, Historical Services Division
INSTRUMENT ORNER
Q. I understand there has been a change in theregulation about operating under a cruiseclearance. If there is a change would youplease explain it and its effect on a flightcleared with a cruise clearance.
A. The Federal Aviati dministration Advisory Circular,Nurpbe ~ ~ d a t e d 27 December 1973, states: A ise'clearance is anair traffic control clearance issued by air trafficcontrollers to pilots in order to reduce communication, workload,conserve fuel and afford
the pilot with flexibility in his operation. Be-cause questions have arisen as to controllerapplication and pilot action/responsibilitywhile operating on such clearances, the pro
~ e d u ~ ~ has been rewritten. The amended procedur,authorizes the pilot to climb and de
s c e n d a block of airspace but prohibits ac:limb ,back to the original altitude once the
R n o t ~ t r t s descent and reports leaving analtitude in the block. .
The following information will be included inthe Airman's Information Manual and the air
traffic control handbooks: Cruise - A wordused in an ATC clearance to authorize a pilotto conduct flight at any altitude from the MEA/MOCA up to and including the altitude specifiedin the clearance. The pi Qffm'ay level off at anyintermediary altitude w,thin this block of airspace. Climb/descent within the block is to bemade at the discretion of the pilot. Once thepilot starts descent,and 'reports ,leaving an altitude in the block, he 'may not return to thataltitude without additional ATe clearance.
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ontinuedfrom page 7
night vision the aviator must be aware of thephenomena and avoid viewing an object off-centerlonger than 2 or 3 seconds per scan. By shifting theeyes from one off-center point to another, the object of regard will continue to be acquired in the
peripheral field of vision.
The technique used by the aviator to view theterrain along the flight path becomes an importantconsideration if he is to perceive obstacles andidentify terrain features which will ensure safety offlight, accurate navigation and target acquisition. To
scan effectively the aviator must scan' from right toleft, top to bottom of the field of view in 10-degreeoverlapping movements (figure 4). While eye movements will be directed along the central visual axis,it is the peripheral field of vision that will permitdetection of an object coming into the field of view.The scanning technique can be compared to a series
of aerial photographs. The total of all the pictureswould compose a composite of the terrain beingviewed. Once the aviator has developed this scanningtechnique, he must incorporate one additional factor.This again involves the rate at which the aviator willscan.
Due to the inability of the cones to perceive imageswhile in motion, the aviator must develop a stopturn-stop-turn type motion. The time required in thestop portion of the scanning procedure is determinedby the degree of detail that is required but should beno longer than 2 to seconds. t is important thatas
the aviator scans his head and eyes are rotatedparallel to each other. Viewing the object out of thecorner of the eye further reduces visual acuity. It
should be remembered that head movements must be
limited during turning maneuvers to avoid vestibularillusions such as Coriolis; see Aeromedic, May1972 DIGEST.)
Reference has been made to the fact that visualacuity is significantly reduced at night. This is illustrated by tests which show that an aviator whopossesses 20/20 day vision can only see 20/200 at
night. In order to compensate for this limitation, theaviator must develop other means of identifying fea
tures at night.A technique which has proven to be effective is to
identify objects by their silhouettes. A church building which normally is structured with high roofs and asteeple forms a silhouette that is easily recognizableduring low light conditions. Farm buildings, bridgesand irregular structures are other examples that anaviator may be required to identify by their silhouettes to assure positive correlation between map andterrain features.
30
The factors which have been discussed relate primarily to the physical limitations of night vision.There are other limitations to night vision which areself-imposed by the aviator. An awareness of theseself-imposed restrictions are essential to ensure thateach is avoided before participating in night flight.Smoking has the same effect on the body as hypoxia.t
causes a loss of visual acuity, brightness, discrimination and dark adaptation. Smoking three cigarettesmay cause a carbon monoxide saturation as high as8 percent, with an effect of visual light sensitivityequal to that of an altitude in excess of 8,000 feet.
As previously stated, the visual acuity of an aviatorwith 20/20 vision is reduced to 20/200 at night. The
effects of smoking will further reduce this factor tothe point that flight becomes a safety hazard.
Alcohol tends to create laziness. As a result theaviator fails to apply all night vision techniques andprocedures. He begins to stare at objects, scanningtechniques become disorganized and visual sensitivity
is further reduced. The degree to which night visionis affected is determined by the amount of alcoholconsumed. Even one drink can cause a measurablereduction in night vision ability.
Fatigue is another factor which affects night vision.As the degree of aviator fatigue increases, the aviator'snight vision capability decreases. This is caused bythe aviator's inability to apply proper scanningtechniques. His physical limitations are very similarto the conditions associated with alcohol. The stressfactors which are caused by night NOE flight createsmore fatigue on the aviator than any other type of
flight. To overcome this limitation the aviator mustbe physically fit Active participation in a dailyphysical training program is necessary to developphysical endurance which will minimize aviator fa
tigue.The food that an aviator eats is an essential
element in achieving total night vision capability.Vitamin A which is found in green leafy foods such
as lettuce, celery and carrots strengthens the eyes.Normally, the American diet provides an adequatesupply of vitamin A. An excess of vitamin A servesno additional purpose and can cause toxicity. An
additional consideration relating to food is to ensure
that a meal has been eaten prior to conducting a nightflight. Hunger pains that occur under stress tend to
divide the aviator's attention and detract from hisability to apply the techniques of night vision.
The development of NOE night training closelyparallels space exploration n that the aviator has toadapt to his environment. Once his fear of theunknown is overcome and he believes that he is nothelpless in the dark, the Army aviator is ready to
further his training in night NOE training.
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viewing conditions. All aviators hadto be in good physical conditionand had to be qualified and currentin the type aircraft they were flying.
ORVAL Had the team membersbeen previously trained in daylightnap-of-the-earth operations?
STIFF The majority of team members had been previously involvedin daylight NOE operations, buttheir experience levels varied greatly. A few team members had approximately 2 years of day NOE
flight time, while the least experienced pilot had only a few hours.Three team members had neverflown NOE prior to the start of thenight experiment.
ORVAL Did any of the memberswithdraw from the training during
the test?
CHOURA No, our attrition wasdue to reassignments.
ORVAL I understand that personalliving habits had to be changedand restrictions imposed. Wouldyou tell us what was required?
ISGRIG To determine the bestperformance obtainable, it was decided early in the program to usea sample of aviators drawn from
Night NOE isn't the typeflying that any aviator cando for just a few hours a weekand maintain proficiency
MARCH 1974
NOE T NIGHT ontinued from page 2
a typical aviator population andalso to use unmodified standardA aircraft. To do this, the aviatorsphysical conditions had to be max
imized for night vision and darkadaptation. The aviators were put
on a reverse day and night schedule.Sleep and nutrition have an important impact on night vision capability, so the changes in the sleeping and eating schedules maximizedthe aviators performance. Specialefforts were made to ensure thatthe aviators had a reasonable opportunity to sleep during the morning and afternoon hours and thattheir living conditions were com
fortable. Efforts were also made tohave a full dinner-type meal aboutmidnight. The night training begana few hours after the aviators arosefor the day, shortly before nightfall.Training began with the dark adaptation period and continued through
two scheduled night periods. Therewas an attempt to institute physicaltraining, such s volleyball, at theend of the night flights. Aviatorswere also encouraged to restrict
the use of alcoholic beverages andtobacco products and to avoid exposure to bright sunlight. Theywere encouraged to use dark sunglasses during the daytime and touse red lighting or red gogglesduring the preliminary eveninghours at times before and duringflights.
COLE I was one of the team members with a family and the habitswhich had to be altered at home
were tremendous. In fact, it was acomplete l80-degree reversal. Iwould arrive home on Friday andit was virtually impossible to sleepduring the daytime when the familywas stirring about. Then when Iwanted to stay up, the rest of thefamily wanted to sleep.
CHOURA t was much easier onthe bachelors because they were
practically already on a reversedschedule.
ISGRIG There were also severalproblems due to the nonavailability
of various facilities such as theswimming pool and the theatre,which were closed during the earlymorning hours. Taking care of personal affairs was another problem.Aviators would have to arise duringtheir sleeping hours to handle theirbusiness affairs.
COLE The aviators were almostsocially isolated on this reversedschedule. The only things that wereopen or available were the PX
baseball diamond and tennis courts.
ORVAL Could you tell us whattype of physical fitness programwas employed?
COX We got the lights turned onat the athletic field so we couldplay touch football. People knowledgeable in physical training saythat volleyball, touch football andthis type exercise not only tends tobuild stamina, but also enables a
person to fight off fatigue. Physicalexercise also builds the cohesiveness and esprit de corps which areimportant in any type of trainingprogram.
COLE Many of us played tennisduring the day. Some of us droveto King City [California] daily and
played golf, which was not onlygood physically, but also mentally.Some of us needed to relax as webecame rather keyed up during
missions.
ISGRIG Physical fitness itself isimportant s far as ensuring thatthe aviators were in good physiological condition. This has to do tosome extent with the capacity foroxygen uptake which is related tothe regeneration of the visual purple [a photosensitive red or purplepigment in the retinal rods] for
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NOE AT NIGHT
dark adaptation. The physical
activity is, of course, important forthe release of tension. We were
successful in getting an organized
athletic program here; however, ef
forts had to be made to encourage
an individual to participate.COX: The athletic program wasnot a part of the nightly routine,because we only played volleyball
or basketball about two nights aweek after the flights.
We made regular recordings of
breathing, respiration and heart
rates and blood pressure before and
after flights. For a period of time
we made chemical analysis of urine
samples, etc., for stress hormones.With the exception of one indi
vidual, there were no long-termchanges that indicated any pro
gressive development of stress.Specific time-to-time changes might
have reflected specific stresses on
certain missions.
COLE: I think the Owl Team mem
bers were selected as a group of
people in the company that defi
nitely had no known personality
conflicts.
ORVAL: So then you couldn't saythere were any results that showed
an effect on the aviator's progressfrom one phase of training to the
other.
ISGRIG: We had debriefings inwhich we asked for comments con
cerning the degree of stress that an
individual felt. From these inputs,
I don t think there were any lon
gitudinal results in the sense that
they changed from phase to phase.But there was a very strong stress
ORVAL: Major Isgrig, would you
tell us what type and how oftenexaminations of personnel wereconducted?
ORVAL: Were the aviators givenprepsychological tests prior to the
experiment?
ISGRIG: There were no physical
examinations other than those thatwere part of the annual physicals.
During the first phase of training,we had a program of physiological
measurements that we took partly
as a data collection effort, but this
did not constitute a set of physicals.
ISGRIG: No effort was made toscreen the aviators in this manner
and we did not have personality
tests with which we did testing. Aspart of the program, we did .have
2-hour blocks of instruction on
visual and physiological factors af
feeting night vision, such as flashblindness. But there was no spe
cialized training or testing.
pattern with the changes in light
levels. There was a higher level of
apprehension and discomfort when
there was no moon. t was at low
altitudes on dark nights that the
aviators indicated they were con
siderably more nervous than they
Colonel Billy L. Odneal is a 1950 graduate of Montana State College and has also attended the ArmyCommand and General Staff College and the University
of Southern California. Colonel Odneal began his mili-tary career in the Navy from January 1944 to April 1946
and remained in the Naval Reserve until December 1948.In June 1950, he entered the Army as a second lieu
tenant and served as platoon leader with the 65th In-
fantry Regiment in Korea until he was wounded late in
1950. He was evacuated to the States where he later
served as platoon leader and gunnery officer with the30th Infantry Regiment. In May 1952, he received lightaviation pilot training at San Marcos, TX and since this
time has been intimately associated with Army aviation.He is a dual-rated fixed and rotary wing instrument examiner. His assignments include such aviation-orientedpositions as aviation instructor; project officer at the U. S.
Army Aviation Test Board; CO of Company A 15thAviation Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division in Korea; Deputy
Director of the Tri-Service V/STOL Test Force at Edwards
AFB CA; CO, 159th Aviation Battalion, 101 st AirborneDivision, RVN; Deputy CO of Army Lockheed Plant Ac-
tivity, Van Nuys, CA; CO/Director of Hq and InstallationSupport Activitv (AVSCOM); plus numerous other posi
tions. Since 1972, he has been charged with two majorexperiments as Chief of Project Team IV Deputy Chiefof Staff for Experimentation, USACDEC Ft. Ord, CA.
the Attack Helicopter Daylight Offense, in whkh tactics
32
and equipment evaluations are being performed to allow
for a force-on-force exercise to be conducted at a later
date, and the Attack Helicopter Clear Night Defense, in
which a baseline and training program for night nap-ofthe-earth (NOE) flight were determined, as discussed in
this interview.
Maior Richard L. Cox, a 1960 graduate of West
Point, attended the Officers' Fixed Wing Aviation Course
in 1963. He served two tours in RVN commanding the69th Aviation Co. (Corps) in 1967-1968 and the 74thReconnaissance Airplane Co. in 1968-1969. MAJ Cox
attended Command General Staff College in 1969,
obtained a masters degree in business administration
from the University of Tennessee in 1972, and attended
the Rotary Wing Qualification Course in 1973. Duringthe experiment conduorted by the Owl Team, he was
assioned as ooerations officer of Project Team IVUSACDEC Ft. Ord, CA.
Maior Frederick A. Isgrig received his PhD in Ex-
perimental Psychology from the University of Arkansas
in 1964 and then entered the Army. He has held assignments as research psychologist and human factors
specialist at the U. S. Army Natick Laboratories and the
USACDEC Ft. Ord, CA. During the experiments conducted by the Owl Team, he monitored the aviatorsto determine what effects night NOE had on them bothphysically and psychologically.
U. S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST
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were with a full moon at higher altitudes.
ORVAL During daytime NOE
training at Ft. Rucker, each aviatoris allowed to progress at his ownrate, because one aviator mightprogress from one phase of train
ing faster than another. Was thistrue during your program?
ISGRIG: Our experiment was conducted in much the same way, but
our progress was based on a group
consensus.
COX: We were more or less gearedto the progress of the most cautiousaviator, rather than to that of eachindividual. f a team member hadany reservations about his capa
bilities to perform a slightly moredemanding task, we did not perform the mission until all aviatorsagreed they were ready to proceed.I m not sure this would be feasiblein a training situation, because anindividual who fails to progress as
rapidly as others may have to beeliminated from the program. Asour experiment was unique, we relied on the group consensus to ensure that we built in every safetyfeature possible to eliminate theadded risk of the unknown.
ISGRIG: We had few preconceptions and standards to use, but wedid have a series of stages in mindas far as altitude was concerned.All the Owl Team members wereregarded as professional contributors and they were in the bestposition to judge their own skillsand levels of competence at a particular time. The most importantinstrument in determining this wasthe debriefing session which wasalmost a New England town meet
ing type of discussion. All members
enthusiastically participated and
very freely volunteered a lot of
their valuable opinions. There wasvery little hesitancy on their part
in expressing dissatisfaction or dis-
comfort, and this was encouraged.This was exploratory. These people were paving the way, at leaston the basis of our own knowledge.And if someone didn t like something he was encouraged to bringthis out and the group discussed it.
ORVAL In a strenuous trainingenvironment such as -his, I m surethere must have been some adversephysical and psychological effects.
CHOURA: One psychological effect unique to night NOE was thebowl-type effect in which the valleyseemed to wrap around us. We experienced this while flying low altitude in a large valley with a relatively high light level. Vertigo wasnever reported during the debrief
ings. Spatial disorientation, as faras finding yourself on a map, was aproblem in some cases. But thisworked itself out with experience.
WOLFF I don t think there wereany instances of true vertigo such
CW2 Robert L. Wolff joined the U. S. Air Force in
September 1959, serving for 8 years. In November 1967,he joined the U. S. Army and graduated from flight
school in December 1968. From March 1969 to March1970, he served with the 334th Aviation Co. (AttackHelicopter) in RVN. CW2 Wolff was then assigned tothe 3rd Aviation Co., Yuma Proving Ground, Al, and
then to the 155th Aviation Co. Detachment, Hunter Lig-
gett, CA. He participated as pilot during five of the
USACDEC experiments.
In May 1967, he graduated from flight school and served
two years in RVN. During his first tour he served with
the 195th Assault Helicopter Co. and the 240th Assault
Helicopter Co. During his second tour he was assignedJo the 25th Aviation Co. Corps, the 11 th Aviation Battalion, and Hq Co., 12th Aviation Group. He has been
assigned to the 155th Aviation Co., Ft. Ord, CA, sinceMarch 1972 as a rotary wing aviator.
CW2 John B. CO le graduated from the Rotary Wing
Aviation Course in April 1970. He was then assigned tothe 155th Aviation Co., Ft. Ord, CA, as a rotary wing
aviator where he has participated in Attack HelicopterDaylight Defense, Attack Helicopter Clear Night De
fense, and Attack Helicopter Daylight Offense experiments. Prior to entering the Army, CW2 Cole attended
Spokane Community College, Spokane, W A, for two
years.
CW2 Donald L. Choura entered the Army in November 1959 and received his basic training with the 2ndArmored Division, Ft. Hood, lX. Prior to graduation fromflight school in 1970, CW2 Choura was assigned as alight weapons infantryman and parachute rigger withthe 82nd Airborne Division, Ft. Bragg, NC; as a para-
chute rigger with the 109th Aerial Delivery Co., Ft. Lee,VA, and 383rd Aerial Delivery Detachment in RVN; and
as recruiter for three years in Los Angeles, CA. From
1970 to 1972, he served as an attack helicopter pilot
with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in RVN. He was
then assigned as an attack helicopter pilot with the 155th
Aviation Co. (Attack Helicopter), Ft. Ord, CA.
CW2 Joe L. Jackson entered the U. S. Army in Oc
tober 1956 and attended Basic Airborne School in 1958.
MARCH 1974
CW2 Craig W. Stiff entered the Army in April 1969and completed his basic training at Ft. Polk, LA. Heserved one tour in RVN with Battery B 2/20 ARA, lst
Cavalry Division, from which he was then assigned to
the 155th Aviation Co., Ft. Ord, CA, in July 1971, as
assistant operations officer and as an OH-58 SIP. He has
participated in the Attack Helicopter Daylight Defense,
Attack Helicopter Daylight Offense, and the Attack
Helicopter Clear Night Defense experiments.
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NOE AT NI HT
as we're concerned with in daylightfiying-going into clouds, aircraftbecoming attitude unknown, orthings of this nature. As the training progressed, we did run intosome problems in maintaining firing positions and hovering out of
ground effect. To maintain a stationary point at night without outside visual references is almost impossible. We became disoriented tothe point that we didn't knowwhether the aircraft was movinglaterally or vertically through spaceuntil these movements were greatlyincreased. Small movements, descent rates, outside rates, lateralmovements and drift were virtuallyunnoticeable.
COLE During the initial portionof the experiment everyone experienced fixation during approacheson low-light-level nights. We hada tendency to search for the groundand not see it until we were almoston top of it. Early in the programwe also had a tendency to stare atone navigation light looking for theground and sometimes did notrealize how fast we were approaching the ground. t was very difficult
to determine the rate of descent orclosure. One of the hardest thingswas to convince ourselves that on alow-light-Ievel night it was easierto see close to the ground than athigher altitudes.
COX All aviators reported that itwas difficult to descend from ahigher to a lower altitude at night.t was far superior to remain low
level throughout the mission profile than to try to descend from al
titude into a dark Valley
CHOURA We made a specific effort to avoid actions which inducevertigo or spatial disorientation,such as rapid movements of thehead from side to side. Throughoutthe entire program we forced ourselves to move our eyes back andforth during approaches to keep
34
from gravitating to a light sourceor to a navigation light.
COX This reminds me of one instance of disorientation where wehad somebody joining up on thelight in a bam door. They wereexpecting to see a very dim naviga
tion light or station-keeping light onthe aircraft that was supposed tobe ahead of them. They saw a lightsource and were fiying directlytoward it, and it turned out to be abam that had a light inside. Fortunately, they recognized it was abam early enough to terminate thejoin-up procedure.
WOLFF I don't think these effectscan be attributed only to a trainingenvironment. All aviators should
be aware that these effects mUltiplywhen fiying close to the groundduring any type of night fiying.
COX We found that 1 hour ofnight NOE may be equivalent to5 or 6 hours of normal daytimepoint A to point B high altitudetype work. We felt that 3 hours ofnight NOE were probably thelimit that should be required of anyaviator.
ORVAL What safety measureswere emphasized during the pretraining phase?
WOLFF Basically, we tried to basethe entire program on safety. Weknew we were doing something thatwas completely unprecedented andin a completely unexplored area. Alot of people have flown low level atnight, but to actually try and navigate NOE at night, especially inmountainous terrain such as we
have out here and on a large scale,was completely unprecedented. Weknew that the slightest incidentwould cancel the entire programand the environment in which wewere flying would probably alsocancel the pilot. We were cautiousenough and actually scared enoughthat safety was the byword the
watchword of the entire experi-
ment. We established SOPs tocover in-flight emergencies such asaircraft mechanical malfunctions,avionics malfunctions, inadvertentIFR and things of this nature. Wedidn't have to be told that there wasno being the hero type if we had anaircraft malfunction. We didn't tryto fly the aircraft home; we made aprecautionary landing. Our debriefings at the end of each flight,our openmindedness and the openmindedness of our supervisors inletting us do things our own wayadded tremendously to the program. We sat around and hashed itout about what would happen ifthis happened or what we woulddo if that happened and drew ourown conclusions. Nobody was
afraid to say, Well, I don't reallycare for your idea so much. I thinkit would be better this way. Theaviator always had the option tocancel the mission if safety wascompromised. The safety measureswere just too numerous to reallymention. Safety was actually thekey to the whole program.
CHOURA Any aircraft malfunction experienced during any partof the experiment was considered
a major malfunction. A malfunction that you would normally fly
with during the day, such as an inoperative fuel boost pump, wastreated as a major malfunction.The aviator would make a precautionary landing and would not continue with the mission until theproblem was resolved. As a matterof fact, the team members considered it rather idiotic to fly an
aircraft back with any kind of a
systems malfunction.ISGRIG Mr. Wolff stated that
many aviators have flown low level
in many other areas at night. Per
sonnel from other military installa
tions who observed our flying con
sidered the altitudes at which the
Owl Team was fiying were, in some
instances, actually rather high, and
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Original 12 Owl Team members are (left to right, front row): CW2 Randy Dyer, PT Robert Barthelmess, CW2 Ralph Park, CW2 Russell
Carmody; (left to right, back row): CW2 John Cole, CW2 Joe Jackson, CW2 Douglas Workings, PT Edward Foster Jr. CW2 Craig Stiff,
PT Alfred Lopez, CW2 Donald Choura and CW2 Robert Wolff .
that perhaps the team was not actually flying NOE. After they becamefamiliar with the terrain at HunterLiggett, however, they realizedwhy the aviators were flying higherat times. The reservation has 200-foot isolated trees and very steepsided razorback hills which couldbe right over the next rise. Afterali, this wasn t a pool table theywere flying on. Extensive navigation and pilotage are required to
thread through this rugged terrainat night. .
WOLFF Prior to the experiment,we decided that a radar altimeterwas a must. Any time the altimetermalfunctioned during training, we
imme4iately aborted the mission.
We used the radar altimeter to give
us a trend indication of what the
MARCH 1974
terrain was doing underneath us,rather than using it for a hard andfast altitude. For instance, we mightfly over hardwood trees and thenover pine trees or vice versa whichmayor may not give an indication
of rising or falling terrain eventhough the treetops were at thesame elevation. However, the radaraltimeter would otherwise give afairly reliable indication if theterrain was falling or rising under
neath us. We relied on the radaraltimeter quite heavily for safetypurposes. In fact, we just didn t flywithout it.
ORVAL Is it correct to say tpatduring the higher light-level conditions the aviators flew lower?
cox Yes, that s generally correct.
COLE As far as the light levels,
altitude was not as much a factoras airspeed. The higher the lightlevel, the faster I could fly and themore comfortable I felt. But whenit was very dark, I actually hoveredat times.
ISGRIG To maintain ground contact, the aviators sometimes flew
lower during the lower light levelsthan during the higher light levels:
WOLFF We reached a tradeoff
point where we could physically
make out what was around us. This
is why it is difficult to descend to a
lower altitude and to that black
hole on the ground. We didn t have
this positive ground contact and,
during the low light levels, we
sometimes actually found ourselves
at lower altitudes hugging a lateral
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NOE AT NI HT
bearing more closely. This was particularly true during hovering. Theonly way we could hold a positiveposition under extremely low lightlevels was to snuggle up against atree and maintain a visual fix on thetree. We would move 50 to 70 feetaway from a tree during higherlight levels and could still use it fora reference point.
ORVAL Could you differentiatebetween your NOB and low-levelflying at night?
COX I don't think we can differentiate between the two as we perfOlmed them, except that we tendto define night NOB flight in relationship to the light level and to the
enemy threat. We saw no reason tose e how low we could fly on anextremely darlc night or any othernight for that matter. You cansafely operate lower under thehigher light levels than under t te
lower light levels, but we think thatNOB should be tied in with thethreat. That is, if you can avoidenemy detection by flying at 250feet then there doesn't seem to beany requirement to fly at 5 or 10
feet.
W O ~ F F Regard1ess of the altitudeswe flew, the NOE flight techniqueswe employed were in accordancewith TC 1-15 which stipulates thatNOE is flown as close to the terrainas obstacles will permit. But whenvisibility is reduced, you must allowfor a higher margin of safety, suchas flying higher. The actual flightroutes were still devious routes and
we used masking terrain as much
as possible. We did not fly straightlines; we flew contour and NOE
and followed the ups and downs of
the terrain. Our actual techniques
of flight did not vary greatly from
those employeq. for a highly moon
lit night where we have almost day
light type night conditions to those
used for a fully dark night. The
36
Actual NOE flight at night in rugged mountainous terrain like that at Hunter Liggett wascompletely unprecedented
only thing that did change was ouraltitude.
ISGRIG You could be flying at200 feet through the canyons atHunter Liggett and still have someof the terrain above you.
CHOURA There were times wheneven at 200 feet you could watchthe top of the trees go by and yet
200 feet through a particular corridor was considered a safe operating altitude. e were technicallybelow the surrounding terrain, butthere were still hazards.
WOLFF Some people thought thatall we had to do was to fly astraight line up the middle of thevalley and things of this nature.But many times we actually hadless lateral clearance on the aircraft than we had vertical clearance
with the ground because of the typeof terrain. So we had to follow avery strictly defined path.
ORVAL Were there any flighttechniques or safety measures employed during night NOE trainingthat differed from those of daylightNOE?
COLE The most important thing
was the extensive daylight preflightperformed before each ight's mission. In fact, the Owl Team hadquite a reputation for groundingaircraft.
CHOURA A constant line of communication was developed betweenthe pilot and navigator and theirterminology was refined. In otherwords, you couldn't just say there's
a tree on the left, because the treecould be 40 meters away or couldbe close enough that you could clipit. Just knowing that tbere is aS,OOO-foot mountain in front of youis absolutely worthless. e had toknow what was in front of us by40 or 50 feet. This was accomplished by a constant interplay between pilot and navigator.
WOLFF Another safety measurementioned previously was the SOP
we developed. An administrativeC C [command and control] ir-
craft was airborne at all times tokeep all aircraft in sight. We didnot fly the same routes every night,so one aviator was selected fromthe team to preplan a route, usingonly map reconnaissance. Prior todarkness, he would fly and recotithe route for wires and other ob-
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stades. He then flew the C C aircraft that night and if any aviatorgot lost or disoriented the C C
would have the crewmemberscheck their maps, return to theirlast checkpoint and start ~ g a i nC C aircraft are employed during
daytime NOE, but to a very limiteddegree compared with that duringnight operations.
COX The C&C aviator also accomplished the radio relay in theevent there was an accident andwe needed to call for crash rescue.
CHOURA There were times when500 meters separation put us out ofradio communication between thetwo aircraft, such as when we were
hiding on different sides of ahill. We didn't have radios thatwere capable of transmitting forextended distances-I m talkingabout anywhere from 500 to ,000meters-because of the terrain atHunter Liggett. The C C aviatorprovided coordination between theaircraft when this occurred.
WOLFF One thing we had to overcome was the syndrome of whathad been common to all Army
aviators-that the aircraft commander was God. This was especially true when flying in the backseat of the Cobra [AH 1]. But inNOE, the pilot and navigator mustwork together. Without a navigator the pilot isn't going anywhere,except into a mountain'side. And,of course, the navigator is not goinganywhere without the pilot, otherthan the flightline.
COX We definitely feel that both
crewmembers should be ratedaviators.
CHOURA Not just rated aviators,but night qualified rated aviators.
ORVAL What would be requiredof operational units as far as theircapabilities to conduct night NOE
training?
WOLFF The prime factor is com-
MARCH 1974
mand emphasis on safety which ourentire program was based on. Someunits talk and preach safety but donot go to great lengths to enforceit. We were very fortunate in thatCDEC personnel as well as ourunit personnel strongly emphasized
safety. Whenever we needed anything in the realm of safety therewere never any questions asked. Idare say that there are very fewunits anywhere in the world thatcan bounce a crash rescue helicopter out to areas where their aircraft are flying within a period of5 minutes. And I m speaking ofhaving the injured parties on boardand en route back to the heliportwithin 10 minutes. We did havethis capability and it had a tre
mendous psychological effect onus. There were many problemswith the inverted schedule whichcould not be rectified because asmall team of personnel just doesn'tchange the outlook of an entirepost as far as operating procedures,operating hours, etc. However,CDEC personnel bent over backwards to provide us with physicalexercise and eating facilities.
ISGRIG Night NOE isn't the typeflying that any aviator can do forjust a few hours a week and maintain proficiency. The Owl Teammembers were completely immersed into night NOE but, whenthere was a break in the program,they lost a great deal of their proficiency which took some time torecover. To undertake night NOE,aviators must commit themselvesfor a steady period of time. A unitwould probably have to set aside
aviators for this type of flying andthey would have to be placed on an
inverted living schedule.
CHOURA We had a 2-week break
for the Christq:las holidays and,
when we returned, it was almost 4
weeks before we were as proficient
as we were prior to the break. Ithink it was also the consensus of
the team members that to train anaviator for nightNOE and to maintain any type of proficiency thetraining must be conducted on aseparate unit-type basis. Near theend of the program, Mr. Stiff, Mr.Wolff and I were working a split
schedule--checkrides, minimums,instrument training and so forth.After about two weeks of flyingfrom 1Y to hours during the dayand then going right into the nightschedule, we were dragging. I feltthat I was bordering on the area ofbecoming unsafe.
COLE One of the ideal solutionsfor converting a unit into a nightNOE outfit would be to put alloperations on a night schedule.
This sounds impossible, but theunit would have to be isolated in aremote site similar to that ofHunter Liggett.
STIFF I do not feel that all operational units should be required tobe night NOE qualified. NightNOE operations require continuous training and practice. For aunit to be proficient, personnelmust always work at night. f theArmy wants night NOB pilots or
units, it should designate what unitsshould be night units. The primary purpose of these units shouldbe to stay proficient. I feel that theArmy will lose more aircraft andpilots through fatigue and loss ofconcentration than to enemy fire,if it assumes that pil()ts and unitscan perform daylight missions inconjunction with combat nightNOE missions. Most units simplywill not be able to maintain the
level of proficiency to enable itspilots to safely perform night NOB.
ORVAL Can you really foreseethis, though?
COLE Yes, I do. t seems feasible
to me to remote the 155th some
where on the Hunter Liggett res
ervation and operate completely
on a night schedule. f a unit had to
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NOE AT NI HT
become trained in two or three
months, think it's possible.
WOLFF Allowances could be
made. Even if you didn't go into it
on a unit basis, if one platoon wasdesignated as a night platoon, you
would have to maintain your proficiency. You can't fly one or twonights a week and be on a daylightschedule the rest of the time. Manythings could be done on a unit basissuch as having recreational facilities, craft shops, 'special servicesand things of this nature available.Or just something where the guysaren't going crazy looking forthings to do. A night NOE programis feasible if you have cooperationfrom all post personnel. The keyto the whole thing is to get all personnel thinking along the samelines, and not that this is somewierd type of outfit doing somestrange stuff at night. Every timethe working group saw us we wereeither in civilian clothes or weresleeping. When they were havinga good time, nobody realized whatwe were doing. The psychologicalinput we got from that was unbelievable. You guys never work
and things of this 'nature when, infact, we were putting ill between10 and 12 hours a day.
ORVAL I think strict commandsupervision is a must if we shoqldhave platoons that are just nightNOE qualified, don't you?
CHOURA I think the biggest problem wIll be command support.Commanders must be made awareof the specific problems during
night operati'ons that you don'tfind, particularly say, with aground unit operating at night.Aviation at night has its own particular set of problems and commanders must know that these arevery real problems. Probably the
biggest drawback in getting an operational unit trained at night is toconvince the command structure
38
that there is a definite problem that
has to be coped with before thetraining can be effective.
ORVAL Should all aviators receive night nap-of-the-earth training?
COX Icertainly don't think thatthey should. agree there should
be units identified that have a requirement to possess a nig9.t capability and night NOE trainingshould be limited to these units.For one reason, aircraft may be
configured differently for nightthan for daytime operations. Presently, we do not have a night target
acquisition system. We can o v ~from point A to point B NOE but,
when we reach our destination, our
capacity to acquire, detect oridentify our target and destroy itat night is very limited. Night NOE
training, like the instrument training program, involves a considerable expenditure of resources. t
would be quite expensive to provide everyone with this capabilityjust as it's quite expensive to haveeverybody instrument qualified.While it is desirable that every
aviator be capable of performing
night NOB operations, don'tthink Uncle Sam can afford it. I'm
not convinced that every aviator
needs to have an instrument ticketfrom a combat readiness standpoint. As far as know, there's norequirement to fly instruments in ahelicopter in the immediate battlearea in a mid-intensity situation.You're vulnerable to being shotdown by anti-aircraft because ofthe altitudes required to fly instruments, to 'receive radio signals and
to maintain clearance from obstructions. do not think all avia
tors are capable of responding to
this type training and think that
an all-out night program would be
extremely wasteful. So, thinkprime consideration should be
given to aviation units Which have
a requirement for this type flying.
CHOURA Physiological restrictions of some aviators will precludethem from flying low level at nightand some do not have the capability to see at night. As far as thepsychological effect, I'll be the firstto admit that night NOE is sometimes scary. never got as nervousoverseas as did sometimes whenflying NOE at night. There is definitely a physiological and psychological restriction that's going topop up if you try to train everyonein night NOE.
STIFF The night NOE environment is much more dangerous thanthe daytime environment. Manytimes the only way this danger canbe mastered is through a verynebulous thing called feel oraircraft sense. This instinct for
what the aircraft is doing comesafter a certain exposure time to theaircraft. Exposure time varies withindividuals but each individual encounters a certain easiness or intimacy with the aircraft that onlycomes with exposure through flighttime. don 't feel new aviators havehad enough exposure or possessenough aircraft feel to realize apotentially dangerous situation ap
proaching through a particular aircraft shudder or shake. FlyingNOE at night is a two-man operation. Both individuals must be comfortable and place the utmost trustin each other's ability to handle
his portion of the task. We also discovered that everyone is not suitedfor night operations. Many peoplewith totally acceptable day visionsuffer problems at night that lead topotentially hazardous situations.Depth perception at night is per
haps one of the biggest problemsencountered, especially during ap
proaches. We noticed also thatsome people cannot emotionallyadjust to night NOE.
ORVAL How were the low, midand high light levels computed?
COX We used three more or less
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arbitrary light levels which hadbeen used in previous experiments.Low light level was 2.5 times 10 tothe minus 4 footcandles whichreally doesn't mean much to theaverage individual. This type measurement has more meaning to the
scientific-oriented personnel than tothe more pragmatic infantry officeror infantry aviator. The mid lightwas from 2.5 times 10 to the minus4 footcandles to 3.0 times 10 to theminus 3 footcandles, and high wasanything above this. For our purposes, I think that probably twodivisions would be more meaningful, that is, it was either twilight ordark. The break point is probablyany time you have any fraction ofthe moon high enough above thehorizon to improve night vision.
ISGRIG: The low light level corresponds similarly to no moon, midlight to a partial moon rising, andhigh light level to a quarter moonat zenith or a full moon after it
has risen over the horizon.
COLE In a practical sense, it wasdark, darker and oh, my God
CHOURA f a requirement is ever
levied on operational units to become qualified, the moon phaseswill have to be considered. Thiscould extend the training over alonger period of time.
ORVAL Were any training missions delayed to wait for betterambient light conditions?
COX Missions were never postponed because of light levels. Amission might be postponed or cancelled due to very low freezingtemperatures, precipitation, fog,haze or other obstructions to visibility. When we began originally toinvestigate the clear night defense,we thought that with an overcastthe light would be so low that wecouldn't operate. But as the training progressed, we found that wenever really encountered a sky condition which prohibited us from
M RCH 1974
operating under extremely low lightlevels. The lowest light level recorded was .6 times 10 to the minus4 which is quite dark. We did adjust tasks to permit some trainingactivity during the low light levels.
ISGRIG: Altitudes were progressively lowered. That is, the firstdescent was made under high lightso that the first flights at a newlower altitude under high lightwould progressively be picked upduring mid and low light periodsbefore moving the ship further.
ORVAL f you had problems whenlanding at simulated rearming orrefueling areas without artificiallighting, how did you overcomethem?
WOLFF We did have problems atfirst. We always had problems; theheck with at first. Any time wewere shooting an approach andcouldn't see what we were shootingto, we had problems. The key tothis was constant practice andfamiliarization with procedures andlearning new procedures. We foundthat the navigators could GCA[ground controlled approach] us
into these types of areas very well.There were a few areas where a
"I feel that the Army willlose more aircraft and pilotsthrough fatigue and loss ofconcentration than to enemyfire if it assumes that pilotsand units can performdaylight missions in conjunction with combat nightNOE missions"
small amount of artificial lightinghad to be induced. f we were goinginto an abandoned airfield orfamiliar terrain, we could completethe landing without artificial lighting But to go into a completelyunimproved area required sometype of lighting due to the manyvariables of the terrain. n area
could look perfectly smooth rightdown to 3 inches off the groundand then you would find yourselfsitting on top of a rock or someother obstacle.
COX t is not unrealistic to havesome very dim, well-shielded lightsource in a refueling area or anytype of landing area, because, untilwe solve the problem of aircraftnoise, the enemy can detect us froma certain minimum distance anyway. f you have a light that can beseen from only 50 or 100 metersaway, yet the aircraft can be heardfrom 500 meters away, you reallyhaven't sacrificed security of safety.
CHOURA We have an old drone
airstrip which is a large circle ofwhite-colored concrete. I t is probably one ,of the easiest things inthe world to land to, light or nolight. We tried using this sameconcept by painting our PSP[pierced steel planking] panelswhite, but we didn't get the sameeffect. There are just some areasthat are more conducive to nightlanding without lights of any type.
WOLFF I think that the circular
shape of this area afforded the mostaccepted landing site, because wewere best able to judge airspeeds,altitudes and things of this naturethroughout our approaches. Wetried a lot of different setups usingartificial lights as well as just lightpainted objects, reflective objectsand things like this, but noneworked as well as a circular landingarray.
ORVAL Tell us how you adaptedyourself to a nighttime environment.
COLE We wore sunglasses anytimewe were around lights or out in thesunlight. When possible, lights werealways red everywhere we wentand we tried to avoid lights priorto the mission. Before each mission, we flew as low as possible and
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NOE AT NI HT
orbited until we were acclimated tothe darkness. When the team members felt they could see as well aspossible, we started the mission.
CHOURA The window shades inour billets were always down toprevent the sunlight from streaming in. Actually, bright sunlightbecame physically painful after aperiod of time. A very short exposure, such as 3 to 4 hours, tounshaded light or direct sunlightaffected our night vision as muchas a week until the visual purplechemical in our eyes could regenerate itself. Some people adaptmore quickly to the lower lightlevels than others, and are more
physically capable of operatingunder reduced light levels. Tryingto maintain an inverted or as closeto an inverted schedule as possibleon the weekends was much easierfor the bachelors. We saw manylate movies and became reacquainted with W. C. Fields, ShirleyTemple and so forth.
ORVAL Were the aircraft modified in any way for night operations?
WOLFF Yes. As previously mentioned, we added the radar altimeter which we would not fly without. We also made many changesas far as external lighting, so thatwhen we flew mUltiple aircraft missions we were better able to seethe other aircraft and yet the enemywas less able to see our aircraft.t was supposed to be a passive
type of lighting system. The OH
58s were configured with the elec
troluminescent panels which gaveoff a very soft glowing light fromthe upper surfaces of the aircraftand made the aircraft distinguishable from above. t also gave anexcellent reference as to our exactposition in space. We modified theAH lOs with the soft white landinglight which was nothing more thana taillight with a slightly opaque
40
lightbulb mounted on the bottom ofthe turret. In lieu of the electroluminescent panels, we mountedtaillights inside the skid tubes looking aft only and placed cones overthe taillights so they could be seento the aft only. We separated the
wiring of the navigation lights sothat the red and green lights couldbe turned completely off on theAH lO. We installed rheostats andwe had one rheostat which dimmedonly the white lights on the skidtube and taillights. We found onthe bright and dim settings thatstation keeping was completely unfeasible. There were times whenbright was too bright and dim wastoo dim, so we had to fully controlthe lights. Internal aircraft lighting
created a constant problem, such asglare off the canopy on both typesof aircraft and instruments not being illuminated to the same degree.The gray-painted aircraft interiorpresented a reflection problem, sowe painted some of the aircraftwith a flat, black paint which reduced glare at least 60 to 75 percent.
tlefield illumination did not posethe problem that had been expected, because the eye is veryadaptable. When we became awarethat illumination was to occur atrandom times, there was no problem.
ISGRIG During the early trainingphases, streetlights and .automobileheadlights were tremendously upsetting to some of the aviators.
CHOURA Certain techniques weredeveloped to cope with the problems of artificial lighting. For example, a flare burns for about 21hor 3 minutes before it starts toflicker, dim and go out. When wereceived the first indication thatthe flare was going out, we eitherslowed our airspeed or came to ahover. Again, the time it takes toregain vision is dependent on theindividual. Our eyes were automatically drawn to any type of lightand this was something we constantly had to fight against.
COLE A hazardous situation I encountered was during a simulatedbattlefield operation. I was masked
ORVAL What effect did artificial behind a mountain and was hover-battlefield lighting have on night ing under a flare on a low-lightvision and what measures were level night. I knew the flare was
taken to correct this? going to burn out but I didn t move
away from it. It s a real hairy feelCOLE There were actually two ing to be down there in that hoversources of artificial lighting used hole and have the flare go out andartillery simulators and flares. The it s pitch black.simulators presented no real prob-
lem unless they were directly in ORVAL What measures were emfront of us or we were looking ployed for mission readiness anddirectly at them. In this situation, what crew duties were expected ofwe would have momentary night you?blindness. When we were under a
. h h b WOLFF All team members exceptflare It was sevent eaven, e-one were qualified in the OH-58
cause we could see tremendously. and AH lO aircraft, and were inBut when the flares burned out, we
, terchanged between both types ofwere in trouble, because it was ··aircraft and crew positions. Howhard to see even on a light night.
I don t think that battlefield lights ever, at the end of the programmost of us agreed that night NOB
will present much of a problem, is such taxing work that you can-unless you have to fly through not be fully confident and fully with
many flares. the program when you are con
COX We found that artificial bat- cerned about flying two different
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types of aircraft as well as the mission. As far as interchangeabilityof crew positions, the navigator hasto know what the pilot is thinking.You can t be just a navigator andforget about the pilot. So you haveto be pilot and navigator both. As
faras
interchangeability betweenaircraft, all of us agreed that youmust be proficient in only one typeof aircraft. When switching fromone aircraft to another, some proficiency is sacrificed.
CHOURA First, night NOE oreven night low-level flying is basically a seat-of-the-pants proposition. You have to be able to feelthe aircraft and know what it is
doing. The worst thing in the world
is to get into a situation, such assettling with power, when youaren t familiar with what the aircraft will feel like and how it willreact during a certain situation.The only instruments we had timeto look at at night were power, airspeed and the radar altimeter. Having to hunt for an instrument whenoperating close to the terraincreates a definite hazard. Secondly,
an extensive amount of map reading and map interpretation is required by the pilot and navigatorprior to the mission. For instance,you may spend an hour going overthe map prior to a 45-minute flightbecause of the lighting configura
tion of the aircraft. Also, the mapswe presently have are not suitablefor night operations, so we ·had tomemorize or refresh our memorywith just a glance. The pilot andnavigator had to be aware of theother s problems as well as his ownfor his particular crew station.
ORVAL What psychological effectdid the crash rescue backup haveon the aviators?
CHOURA Any time an aircraftwas airborne, the crash rescue crewwas on standby near a radio. At thefirst sign that something was wrongwith an aircraft, the alarm wassounded. m-mediately, the crashrescue aircraft was off the grounden route to the site. You didn thave time for radios to warm upand you didn t have time to callthe tower. t was a blind takeoff.
AH-l G flying at NOE altitude through canyon. Treacherous terrain made safety the watchwordfor the entire night NOE experiment
M RCH 1974
By the time the radios warmed up,the crash rescue was usually off theground and moving. Coordinationcame in a blind transmission fromour operations section which wouldkeep transmitting the location overand over again until he finally re
ceived a reply. Knowing you wereno more than 5 minutes away fromhelp on the route or the reservationwas a tremendous psychologicalboost and allayed our fears. f anaircraft went down in an area inwhich the rescue aircraft could notland, rappelling facilities andtrained crash rescue specialists andmedics were available.
COX From 1 z to 2 minutes is
probably an accurate average figure
for the rescue aircraft to becomeairborne. t would normally take20 to 25 seconds to get to the aircraft, and about 45 seconds to getuntied and power up for takeoff.We tried to get at least one exercise per week with the crash rescueteam. I don t think many weekswent by that we didn t exercise therescue team.
WOLFF Members of the Owl
Team rotated in manning the crash
rescue aircraft. We felt that it wasunsafe to use personnel who werenot familiar with the terrain wewere flying over. The aircraft wasmanned by two aviators, accompanied by one medic and crashrescue specialists who were trainedstrictly in aviation crash rescuework, such as getting the crew outof the aircraft, turning off the engines and fighting limited fires.
CHOURA There was always a
doctor on call at the installation.f an individual was critically -
jured, the doctor could be waitingon the pad and there was no needto even change aircraft. f an -dividual was not critically injured,he could be taken off the crashrescue aircraft and transferred tomedevac or to the hospital facility.
COLE Any time the crash rescue
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NOE AT NIGHT
aircraft was down, the mission wasscrubbed.
ORVAL Were all aircraft capableof similarly performing night operations?
COLE No, there was a definite difference between all three aircraft.The best aircraft for night NOE
was the LOR with the doors off. In
the LOR you re looking outside theaircraft all the time. The Cobrawas capable for low-level nightflying, but it wasn t good. You reright next to the canopy where youcan see down and out. And theRuey was really incapable, basically, because the crew is too farremoved from the windows to seedirectly below them.
CHOURA I flew the UR-1M
model in the Rave Course at theNight Vision Laboratory in Maryland. The aircraft can be flownunder high light conditions with awell-trained crew. But, again, it snot good by any stretch of theimagination. You have to see andyou have to be able to feel wherethe tips of the blades are, as blade
strikes are the greatest hazard during low-level flight. Rowever, in aside-by-side seating position, visibility is restricted to one side. Whenyou turn you have to look out theside closest to you in the UH-1and OR-58 and you invariably runinto an air vent, seam or a handle.In other aircraft, window frameworks are a problem because theycreate a blockage at one of yourkey points. Even when flying
straight ahead, you are more con
cerned with what is slightly off to
one side rather than what is im
mediately in front of you. At night
your peripheral vision is extremely
important and any time there is a
blockage or partial blockage of
peripheral vision, you re again op
erating at reduced capability. At
some point in any crew station in
42
all three helicopters, we had anobstruction to vision.
ORVAL What problems were encountered during multiple aircraftoperations that differed from singleaircraft operations and how werethey coped with?
JACKSON Our initial problemwas the selection of a formationthat would allow ease of join-up,breakup, emergency aircraft breakup procedures and/or control. Asemistaggered trail formation witha 10- to 15-second separation between aircraft was the most applicable. Aircraft exterior lighting wasanother problem in that the presentaircraft lighting configuration isinadequate for night NOE. For
example, the OR-58 has a twoposition switch for exterior lights
bright and dim. Bright is too brightand dim is too dim for NOE flight.The same holds true with the AR-
1G with the exception that it hasa steady bright and flashing capability. These light settings are unusable for a 10- to 15-second NOE
separation between aircraft. Theundesirable hypnotic effect of therotating beacon was another prob
lem. We tried taping the rotationbeacon, but the beacon bulbs keptburning out because of the heating.We did successfully disconnect thelower rotation light on the OR-58.We feel that a variable intensityswitch for the exterior light on bothaircraft would solve the problem.We modified an OR-58 with fourelectroluminescent panels for station-keeping with favorable results.
CHOURA Once a formation was
formed, our basic problem was todetermine what the other aircraftwere doing. This problem wassolved by modifying the aircraftwith four electroluminescent panelswhich provided a dish effect whenseen from a following aircraft. Thisdish effect indicated whether theaircraft to your front was in pitchor roll attitude, or sliding to the
right or left. Our formation separations were based on a time spacingrather than a physical distancespacing. We allowed 5 to 10 seconds spacing which usually turnedout to be five rotor discs. To maintain this relationship to an aircraftin front of you without being ableto see small movements of eitherdeceleration or acceleration madeit extremely difficult.
ISGRIG You never actually flewformation, did you?
WOLFF Yes, we did. We actuallytried to fly formation on four or
five occasions. We attempted tofly the good old school category Atype formation, B formations, echelon left and echelon right, but theywere completely unsuitable. For
instance, when flying up a canyon,we suddenly found that we had tomake a 180. Based on our experience and information from otherauthorities, there is absolutely noneed for a nice tight formation,especially at night, because if oneaircraft gets nailed with a missilein a mid-intensity environment,this might set up a chain reaction.Also, if the pilot of the lead aircraft
stacks his aircraft up against a treeor a blind canyon wall, the rest ofthe flight would pile up behindhim. This is one reason why weturned to multiple aircraft operations rather than formation flying.Formation flying as we think of itin daytime at altitude, is completelyunfeasible during night NOE.
ORVAL What airspeeds were considered to be the best for safe flightat the different altitudes flown?
CHOURA Generally speaking
about 30 to 40 knots was our maximum airspeed unless it was an extremely light night. When we wereworking on a phase of the experiment or trying to accomplish amission, I do not believe 40 knotsairspeed was ever exceeded. It sagain a tradeoff; the slower the air
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speed, the closer we could get to
the terrain.
WOLFF We always tend to comment on our airspeeds as 20 to 30or 30 to 4 knots and our altitudeas 250 feet AGL [above groundlevel]. But 250 feet AGL is actually about 50 feet above obstacleclearance at Hunter Liggett because of the terrain. On matiynights, we were flying at 50 to 100feet AGL and batting along at 70,80 and even 90 knots. The aviatorsbecame so ingrained in the program that a bright moonlit nightpresented no challenge to them. So,we have a tendency to base ouraverage altitude and airspeed on
those flown on the darkest nights.
ORVAL Would you say the loweryou got the slower you went?
WOLFF Yes, but our airspeedsand altitudes varied according tothe amount of light.
ORVAL Tell us what you thoughtof the PVS-5 goggles.
WOLFF In today's modem advanced technology, the PVS-5goggles would be outstanding ifcompressed to the size of a pair ofspectacles, and we are holding outfor contact lenses. The idea and theconcept behind the PVS-5 gogglesare great; however, they are uncomfortable and have a very limited field of view. The goggles arenot the answer to night flying intheir present state [see HelicopterLow Level Night Operations andHow Night Becomes Day, May
1973 DIGEST].
COX The Owl Team learned tofly without the goggles, so they haddifficulty in convincing themselvesthe goggles were of any value.
CHOURA Why restrict ourselveswith the limitations the goggles imposed for a very minimal advantage? Under low-light levels theydid not work well and under bigh-
MARCH 1974
light levels we didn't need them.The problem existed as to whatwould happen if the goggles failed,as they are subject to failure just asanything else. The ability to reada map with the goggles on is nonexistent. f you are navigating a
long route, you either have to memorize the map which is physicallyimpossible or you have to keepputting the goggles on or takingthem off
ORVAL To what do you attributeyour record of 1,800 accident-freeflying hours?
WOLFF One thing was the pilots'attitudes toward the entire program. We did not do anything
which we thought was unsafe, because we were already jeopardizingourselves by flying night low levelover strange terrain and doingstrange things. The cooperationfrom the immediate supervisorypersonnel on Team IV was tremendous. We were never pushedor rushed to accomplish tasks andwe didn't have a set goal to meetby a certain time. Our higher headquarters and command personnelbacked us all the way. When we
set up a hue and cry for certainitems which we felt were definitelynecessary, we received completecooperation.
CHOURA We always had the
option to say no to any requestswe deemed were beyond our or theaircraft's capability.
WOLFF Command had to be attuned to what we were doing.
COXSolutions to problems wereusually proposed by the aviators
themselves.
COLE The Owl Team memberswere not trying to see how low theycould fly During the first 3 or 4months, they tried to see how lowthey could get with the naked eye.Quite frankly, I think all this wasmade possible by command em-
phasis. think the key to our successful program can be attributedto supervisory personnel such asCOL Odneal and MAJ Cox wholet the team conduct the trainingas they saw fit
COX t was really COL Odnealwho was the prime supervisorymember behind our success. He
gave us the guidance which permitted the freedom we possessed.Certainly, the overall credit shouldgo to the Owl Team.
WOLFF The Owl Team came to
a common agreement that, for somereason, when a new program comesinto being, it seems that everyonein Army aviation wants to get into
the act. But, we, the Owl Team,feel that an aviator should have aminimum number of flight hoursbefore being trained in night NOE.An aviator has to be dedicated andprofessional as well as experienced.An aviator recently graduated fromflight school cannot be put througha course such as this and expectedto be fully proficient, because basictime in the aircraft is one of theprime factors. Night NOE is afulltime job and the U. S Army
A viation School cannot just touchon this subject and tum out a nightNOB trained aviator.
CHOURA Our recommendationfor flight experience prior to nightNOE training is a thousand hours.minimum aircraft time. t can pos-sibly be done at a 500-hour level,but we feel this is the minimumrequirement. Air sense cannot besubstituted and an individual hasto acquire this before he can learnto do something as strenuous asnight NOE.
ORVAL Gentlemen, I thank youfor your time. USAAAVS congratulates you on your display of professionalism, enthusiasm and positive attitude toward safety whichmade your night NOB experimenta success.
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aiorJohn K CrosleyDirector Physiological Optics DivisionU.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory
The light distribution 0
A ircra/t AnticollisionBeacon System, High In-
tensity Light (A A BSHIL)is almost three timesgreater than standard
anticollison lights
WAS NEW at the post. My commander had
designated me as the safety officer, and I assumedthis responsibility with pride. I've been around longenough to realize that safety is a continuing processand we all need to be reminded of that fact. Today,I wanted to become better acquainted with the countryside and work off some deficiencies in my record.
As I walked around the small observation helicopterand went through the routine preflight, I noticed thescud. The weather-watchers had told me there wasnothing unusual, other than thislight haze that floatedby on occasion. There really wasn't enough haze foran instrument flight rule IFR) designation, but it
was obvious that horizontal visibility was nothingoutstanding. I thought to myself, Atmospheric smogand haze are certainly a real problem these .Qays.
As Paul, my copilot, approached I couldn't helpbut be pleased. We had been together in 'Nam for acouple of months, and I had learned to respect his
capabiiity and judgment during that time. Seeing me,he yelled, John, as safety officer, don't you justkick-the-tire-and-light-the-fire? Paul loved to kidme, and I good-naturedly retorted with a select comment of my own. We worked well together.
As he came closer he pointed to the anticollisionlight and asked me about it. I had assumed it was thesame as always, but upon closer inspection, saw thatit was something different. It actually appeared to betwo lights in one--a clear one and a red one. Another
44
one of these lights was located in the belly betweenthe skids. Since neither of us had seen anything quitelike this and were both curious, I asked Paul toactivate the beacon to see what happened. He holleredthat the beacon switch had two positions--day andnight. I asked him to hit day. Since I was standing
As I watched the instruments I suddenlyfelt a hard tug at both the cyclic andcollective and heard Paul shout HI haveit "
very close to the upper lamp when it activated, thething really surprised me. t was bright and white, andhad a sharp rapid flash. He then hit night, and thered came on. t was considerably dimmer, but theflash rate and sharpness seemed about the same. t
was certainly different from anything either of us hadseen before, but now it was getting late and we hadthings to do.
I've completed the preflight, Paul , I yelled. Henodded and began putting on his helmet. I climbedin beside ru and put on my helmet. After the usualcheckout procedures, I started the engine and clearedthe instrument panel.
Everything looked good, so after receiving clearance from the tower we began to hover on out. Once
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AIRCRAFT ANTICOLLISION BEACON SYSTEM, HIGH INTENSITY LIGHT
(AABSHI L)
ZONE.OF
_NOAABSH I L
COVERAGEAABSHIL DAY
NIGHT COVERAGE
t t t t t ROTATING BEACON: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : NIGH T OVERA GE
COMPARATIVE VERTICAL LIGHT DISTRIBUTION
REMAINING EFFECTIVE CANDELAS APPROXIMATE)
ROTATINGVERTICAL BEACON EFF I , AABSHIL
ANGLE PERCENTAGE CANDELAS': ': EFF CANDELAS .
DAY & NIGHT DAY NIGHT
900 0 0 0 0
+800 0-10 0-10 r0-350 0-20
±45° 10-25 10-25 ft: 350-875 20-50~ ~ ; : :
±20° 25-50 25-50 t 875- 1750 50-100
50-100±10° 50-100 1750-3500 100-200
±5-oo 100 100 3500 200
MARCH 1974
AABSHIL typical one
half mile peripheral
con spi cu i ty non- sunny
day or si m ilor contra s t
rotating beacon provides
no daylight conspicuity)
NOTE: (+) is consid
ered to be outward
from base of light
installed on aircraft.
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LIGHT OF Y LIFairborne, I automatically began scanning my airspace.
Pure force of habit, but a good one-personal ex-
perience had taught me that. My thoughts went back
to that first close call while still in basic flight training
at Ft. Wolters, TX. It was after I had soloed and was
trying to build my air time. I was shooting a few
landings at a stagefield along with, I thought, sixother guys. After making a touchdown, I checked to
see where the others were and began my climb out.
e had barely averted
a midair
Suddenly, a guy descended from above. We missed
by only inches as he went down just ahead of me. Myhands were shaking so badly I could hardly hold the
controls long enough to make another pattern and
land. As it turned out, the other guy had never seen
my ship at all When we sat in the break room later
and discussed what had happened, there were the
usual statements: It was a freak thing," "Never
happen again," Gotta keep those eyes open," etc.
But I had learned a lesson, and since that time I
keep my head on a swivel. It's paid off many times.
Our schedule today called for some hood time,
so after giving the controls to Paul, I reached down
and got out the blinkers. Quite frankly, I hated to
wear the thing, but local policy required it.
After taking the controls back, I began to fly our
prescribed route. Things were uneventful for a period
of time, and I was thinking about calling my wife,Jane, when we got back. Following a small spat that
morning, I had said a few things I now regretted. No
sweat, a phone call would patch things up againPerhaps we could take the sailboat out to the lake
this weekend. No, that's what the words were about.
I wanted a new boat and she wanted some newfurniture.
Even with the hood on, it's possible to see out
of the aircraft, and I couldn't help noticing that ourforward visibility was poor. I mentioned this to Paul,and he said he could barely see the ground. '
As I watched the mstruments, I suddenly felt a
46
hard tug at both the cyclic and collective. Simultan-
eously, I heard Paul shout, I have it " I released
the controls and looked up while pulling the hood
off. We had started a sharp right descent, and now
we were again stabilizing. I could see nothing unusual.
Then Paul explained what had happened.
While making an outside scan, he had picked up
a white light in his left periphery. Turning left to
identify it, he definitely saw the sharply flashing light,and only the faint outline of another helicopter on
a direct collison course with us at about 270 degrees
He had taken the controls as he did because theresimply was not time to db anything else. He said itappeared as though the other guy had seen us about
the same time, since he had moved smartly to the left.
We had barely averted a midair
We had completed our flight, so we proceeded to
return to the airfield. Neither of us said much during
the trip back. After shutdown, I realized how tense
I was. It doesn't take mariy instances like that to
make an old man out of you.
The first thirig Paul did was to again apologize for
the way he took the controls. I told him I was glad
e would have never seen the other air-craft had it been equipped with only thestandard rotating beacon
he had Then he looked at the new anticollision
beacon and stated that if the other aircraft had had
only the standard rotating beacon he would never
have seen it.
Since that time, I have been a real believer that
the "see and be seen" concept is still very valid. Insubsequent safety classes, I have stressed the valueof the new lighting system.
Since only a few of our aircraft are equipped withthe new system, I decided to conduct a little research
of my own. have asked our pilots to report to mehow many times they could see the standard rotating
anticollision beacon before they saw the aircraft andsilhouette during various daylight hours. The study
has been going on for several months now, and they
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(nor I) have n v r seen the light first If you don'tsee the light first, it is of no value and during daylighthours it might just as well be turned off
n the other hand, the new strobe light has beenseen several times during the day before the aircraftwas sighted (especially on one occasion which Iremember quite well), even though we only have afew systems installed so far. I m mighty glad theresearch people are still interested in my kind ofsafety.
The above story generally depicts a true situationthat occurred at Ft. Rucker, AL, while research wasbeing conducted on an improved anticollision beacon.The test item was mounted on a TH-13T and,although the pilot who saw the light did not knowabout the program nor the light, the flash attractedhis attention and possibly saved his life. He statedthat he never did see an aircraft, and was convincedthey would have collided had that light not been seen.
Research on an improved anticollision beaconwas begun in 1967 by the U. S. Army AeromedicalResearch Laboratory (USAARL), Ft. Rucker, AL.An in-flight study was conducted at Ft. Wolters, TX,in 1969. In 1970, a materiel need MN) documentwas written by the then Combat Development Command (Aviation) in conjunction with USAARL, andAABSHIL (aircraft anticollision beacon system, highintensity light) was born. Personnel from the U. S.
Army Aviation Systems Command, St. Louis, MO,have been instrumental in formulating and implementing the MN. The U. S. Army Agency for AviationSafety, Pt. Rucker, AL, has been interested in thisprogram for several years, and has been a majorfactor in the success attained to date.
Presently, plans call for procurement of the newlighting system (AABSHIL) in 1974, with fleet retrofit starting the same year. Hopefully, this significant safety advancement will have been installed onall Army aircraft by 1976.
Briefly, the new system will include two individualbeacons, each beacon having separate day and nightmodes. The source of light is a xenon gas-filled discharge tube (so-called strobe). The day mode willbe white light with a minimum initial output level
MARCH 1974
of 3500 effective candelas, while the night mode willbe red with an output of 150 (minimum) to 200(maximum) effective candelas. The light sources foreither day or night modes are phased to flash alternately with a combined flash rate of 90 to 110 cyclesper minute. The system weight and power drain aredesigned to be compatible with the smaller armyaircraft capabilities. The remainder of the system iscomprised of aircraft wiring, a power supply and amode selector switch.
The new anticollision beacon system is an improve
ment over the present rotating beacon in the following ways:
• The day mode provides a significant amount ofconspicuous information during daylight hours whenapproximately 90 percent of midair collisions occur.Essentially no daylight information is available fromthe old system. (The old system also generally consistsof only one light source, either top r bottommounted.)
• The flash characteristic is sharp (approximatelyone millisecond duration) and very conspicuous.
• The beam spread or vertical light distribution
is almost tripled over the old system. Thus, a bankingaircraft or one viewed from above or below thehorizontal plane is more readily seen.
• The system is solid-state, thus eliminating moving parts and improving the reliability in high vibration environments such as found on aircraft.
• The intensity levels have been increased to 3500effective candelas (white) for day and 150 to 200candelas (red) for night. The present rotating beacon
is required to have only a minimum of 100 effective
candelas output.
• The system is noncooperative. Other aircraft can
see the light without having a system of their own.
• In combat, the daytime light can be used when
over friendly terrain, and extinguished in enemy
territory.
• Efforts are presently being made to obtain tri
service agreement to standardize this system on all
rotary and subsonic fixed wing aircraft where possible.
Routine maintenance and replacement parts would
thereby be available at any military airfield.
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**
; S S O S e z* ::: :: :: :: ::I : ::I::I:: :t:: :: :: : :: :: : :: :::t: : :: : ::::r;I::: ::: : :: ::: :: :::: :: I::r.: :: :. t. :: :: : ::I : :: ::I:: :: :: :: : :::: :: *******
***
48
SITTING AROUND WITH the boys at the Flying Round House the other day, one of the
local squares just couldn't make the ends meet on circling approaches. He flitted around all
the quadrants bu t couldn't seem to put all the pieces in a box. Gone are the days when boxing
field meant aligning with a runway during low visibility and flying a I-minute 90 degree box
pattern of left turns to place yourself in a position to land. The box you'd get now might be the
box you wish to avoid for many years.
t takes only a few moments to straighten out both squares. First, a 1-minute leg box pattern
would most likely take you out of the TERPs circling area for which obstruction protection isprovided. Stay in the circling area provided and avoid boxes with antique handles.
Second, a circling approach is a maneuver often conducted in weather conditions below VFR
minimums in visual contact conditions. t is an extension of the IFR operation and traffic
patterns should be left turns unless otherwise directed or restricted. Tower will normally provide
the directions at controlled airfields and the controller really means, make a left tum to final
when he speaks left traffic or left base to runway so and so. Comply with this. f in doubt get
with the controller and follow instructions to the letter. Also, comply with restrictions which may
be found on the approach chart or in the remarks section of the IFR Supplement when doing
your thing at an uncontrolled airfield. At uncontrolled locations, do your planning thing and
also check the wind T for valuable clues which may not be published.
Third dimension is how high? Well, why low? Fly published traffic pattern altitudes when
possible. Never fly below minimum descent altitude (MDA) until turning to final for landing
on the assigned or proper runway-unless you are interested in a stopping over at Never,
Never Land. Go full circle only i necessary and legal. The circling MDA and weather minima
to use in planning and operations are those in the procedure associated with the published
final approach to a runway or airport.
Pilot judgment is the most critical element in the successful accomplishment of a circling
operation. Consult notes that may tell you of obstructions that exist in certain quadrants or
directions and that lighting may not exist on some runways. See and be seen rules exist.USAASO SEZ every clue and judgment used helps avoid buying the farm.
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St Jnd Jrdiz Jtion ConferenceThe Department of the rmy FI ight Standardization Policy Board
Conference hosted by the Headquarters First U. S Army was to be
held on the 18th and 19th of thi s month in Washington DC.
The agenda for the conference is shown below and was formulated
on the basis of recommended items submitted by policy board mem-
bers. Proponents of each item were to provide a brief presentation
to develop the full scope and ramifications of the topic.
TOPIC
Keynote Address
Moderator's Overview
Department of the Army Standardi.
zation Comments
Army Aircrctft Operator's Manuals
and Checkl ists
Discussion
Instructor Pi lot/Standardization
Instructor Pilot Written Examination
Discussion
Standardizati on Eva luation of Instru·
ment Flight Examiners
Discussion
Flight Standardization Training Packets
Discussion
Multitrack Instructor Pilot Course
Concept
Discussion
In structor Pilot/Standard ization
Instructor Pi lot Training
Discussion
Next Month:
TOPIC
Open Discussion
Crew Chief Standardization
Discussion
Frequency of Standardization Board
Meetings
Discussion
Latitude of U. S. Army Aviation
School Standardi zation Instructor Pi lots
Discussion
Accidents Occurring DuringStandardization Rides
Di scussion
Paragraph 4.23(1 ) b)
Discussion
Paragraph 1·12 and 1.18, AR 95.63
Discussion
Why Train For Accidents?
Discussion
Open Di scussion
Closing Remarks
The IGEST Will Take A Comprehensive Look
At The Army s Flight Standardization Program.
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20 mm Fuze Test ired At RuckerDuring late January this year, an AH·lJ Sea
Cobra was flown on the Ft. Rucker, AL, ranges to
evaluate M 56 20 mm fuze sensitivity using the
XM 97 turret and XM 197 gun. An improved sight
was insta lied on the ai rcraft wh i ch had been
provided by the Bell Helicopter Company, as were
the pi lot and techn ica I personnel for thi s test.
Brigadier General James M Leslie, Assistant
Commandant of the U S Army Aviation Center
top photo), climbs aboard prior to his flight down
range as gunner on the initial day of testing.
Mr Ward Carstenson, Bell Project Director right),
checks the aircraft prior to the flight. The photo
below captures one of the runs during which
General Leslie fired the system.
Numerous evaluations were mode at ranges
from 1,000 to 2,500 meters and altitudes of 0, 50,
100 and 200 feet. At this writing comprehensive
results were not available from Bell. However,
those participating in the test were enthusiastic.The DIGEST plans a feature on the M·56 20 mm
fuze in a future issue.