'You don’t want a new aviator’s first experience to be a brown out'
SOMEWHERE IN NEW MEXICO -- Concrete pads and runways are now common Iraq, but difficult and dusty landing spots still remain.
To prepare to deploy to Iraq, a group of Oregon Army National Guard soldiers in green and khaki flight suits gathered to practice dirt landings in New Mexico.
“This is practice for point of injury landings, which could be on any surface,” says Captain Adam Lulay, who practiced flying into dust clouds stateside to prepare to fly medical evacuations in Iraq over the next year.
Dust landings are performed in open desert areas. Pilots practice landing multiple times in a dusty area that creates the often unavoidable encapsulating cloud of dust around the Blackhawk.
Limited visibility requires pilots to rely on instruments to guide them out of the dust.
The pilot isn't alone in making a safe dust landing. The crew of four on the aircraft help determine the intensity of the dust, the visibility levels and relationship of the dust to the aircraft.
In an ideal situation, the aircraft will become engulfed by dust when it is fully on the ground opposed to being engulfed by dust while still in the air.
While practicing landings and takeoffs, the pilots also practice "go arounds."
“Any member of the crew can initiate or call for a go around,” says Chief Warrant Officer 4 Gregg Schroeder, a senior instructor pilot in the unit. “It's usually when continuing the approach would be unsafe.”
Safety can be in jeopardy when pilots are still fairly high but cannot see through the dust or if pilots have lost the point that planned to land on. If pilots are flying the second or third helicopter in the area they, may call a go around because they are unsure of the position of other aircrafts.
The helicopter lands just as the sun begins to set. For Schroeder, the day was a success.
“You don’t want to have a new aviator’s first experience to be that complete brown out. You want to be able to talk about things like maintaining references whether it be out on the visible horizon… or whatever the case may be,” said Schroeder. “For that reason it was a good training experience.”
Cali Bagby is embedded with the Oregon Army National Guard from Charlie Company, 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation, a Medevac Unit based out of Salem, Ore., for KVAL.com. Her work has been published in the Washington Post and the Eugene Weekly.
COMING TO KVAL.COM TUESDAY MORNING, MAY 12: How do you keep a helicopter clean in the desert? Giant toothbrushes.
