If anyone is interested in news from the front lines, I will say that not a whole lot of exciting stuff is going on. I will admit though that I have the dubious honor of being the first pilot ever to bang up a UH-60M Blackhawk during combat operations.
The other day I was out flying and we had some time, so we started practicing one wheel pinnacle landings on peak of a 7500' mountain. This maneuver is a little tougher than it sounds, since the wheels that I balance on the mountain top are a few feet behind me. The pilot can't see the point where he sets the helicopter wheel, so he counts on his crew chief to guide him in for the last few feet of the approach. I had a very experienced crew chief with me, but he wasn't very on point, and I am not a very experienced pilot. On one approach, I set the helicopter down a little to far forward of the exact spot that I should have landed on. The jagged mountain top rock that I was supposed to set the wheel on was behind me and I was off center anyway. When I set the helicopter down, I rocked it back just a little, and the helicopter squatted on the jagged rock. The rock punched a whole in the bottom of the helicopter, right through my ADF antenna. Post flight inspection, even revealed a small jagged rock sticking out of the antenna. So there you have it. The first combat zone UH-60M helicopter accident. Finally, I made a piece of aviation history. As it turns out, our parts guys keep ADF antennas on hand, and the Army employs sheet metal experts that can make my helicopter as good as new. Blackhawk #07-20054 was out of commission for one day for repairs.
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