OCR Text |
Show Chinook helicopter splashes down in Steinaker Reservoir The Army's Chinook helicopters have attracted at-tracted a lot of attention around Vernal but the biggest splash occured when one landed in Steinaker Reservoir north of town. Aviators from the Weteye Emergency Response Team at Vernal airport obtained permission per-mission and set the big helicopter down in the reservoir and practiced flotation maneuvers as part of a training exercise last week. The 84-foot long aircraft air-craft weighing more than 21,000 lbs. is designed so that it can be landed in water. The water landings were performed under the supervision of Chief Warrant Officer Charles Ellis, a U.S. Army Instructor In-structor Pilot, by Capt. Walter Schumacher and CWO Eton White. Schumacher, senior aviator for the response team at Vernal, said the aircraft's flotation capability enables it to make emergency landings lan-dings in water and to be used for water rescue. A combat application is to drop and pick up underwater un-derwater demolition teams. If the engines are not disabled the aircraft can be kept waterborne for long periods by lifting it every hour or two for drainage. The aviators made several practice landings and take-offs from Steinaker Reservoir but were not in the water for more than a few minutes at any one time. Schumacher said they stayed well clear of boaters and did not cut their engines. "But we were actually floating. The rotors were turning but providing no lift," the 32 year old pilot said. Flotation capability is just one small aspect of the big helicopter's versatility. "It's almost as versatile ver-satile as your imagination. It can lift 10 tons. Some airplanes have trouble lifting themselves off the ground," Schumacher observed. Its cargo capacity, reliability, speed, power, and capability to fly at high altitudes made it well-suited for the Weteye emergency response mission assigned to teams at Vernal and five other locations on' the route flown by transport planes carrying Weteye bombs containing nerve agent from Rocky Mountain Arsenal near Denver to Dugway Proving Ground. At their home station, the 179th Aviation Company at Fort Carson, Colo., the Vernal response team aviators support an Army infantry division. They also assist civilian authorities in firefighting, high altitude rescue and mass casualty evacuation, in cases where the Chinook's capabilities and the aviators' unique skills are required. Five of the six res'onse team pilots at Vernal flew combat missions in Vietnam. Schumacher is typical. He flew a Cobra gunship and was shot down three times. The 179th Aviation Company was formed during the Vietnam era and has been awarded many decorations and battle streamers. The pilots are sometimes called upon to perform some unusual missions. In military exercises they carry things like big guns and pontoon bridges. Recently Schumacher flew 30 miles across Colorado Springs from the Air Force Academy to Peterson Air Force Base with an airplane slung to his cargo hook. The airplane was 20 feet i-igor and coasidirably wider than the Chinook. "As the Chinook gains speed, the airplane on the hook tries to fly, and sways and oscillates," said Schumacher. "It taxes a pilot's ability to the limit," he added. The airplane was a display model being taken, to the air force base for a new coat of paint. Schumacher's unit assists civilian authorities in firefighting and mass casualty evacuation in the six state are of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming and Idaho. For firefighting they employ a 1,000 gallon bucket that hangs from the cargo hook and can be opened and closed from the bottom like a clam shell. "It looks like a big teacup without a handle," said Schumacher. "To fill it we just dip it in a pond like a ladle." He said water is released from the bucket in a fine spray that is very effective in putting out fires. The aviators fight forest and grass fires almost every week during summer. In cooperation with Civil Defense officials in Denver and other cities, the aviators take part in mass casualty evacuation training. Schumacher explained, "They stage a flood, tornado, airliner crash or other disaster. We come in with stretchers stret-chers on board already set wp and evacuate 'victims' to the nearest hospital." He said the Chinook carries 24 stretchers at all times and is especially useful if a disaster occurs in remote, inaccesible country. " They assisted in the , emergency . relief ' effort. ' " during the Big Thompson tragdey when raging flood waters caused heavy property damage and injury and death northwest of Denver in 1979. "We also do a lot of high-altitude rescue, with all the mountains and remote areas around here mainly in summer, mainly sick and injured hikers. There are some lost people too. "Also, once every couple of days there's a small plane crash. That's because of the high altitude and turbulence. 'They call on us for two reasons," Schumacher continued. "First, at 8,000 feet or above our helicopters operate better than most others. Most won't perform at that altitude. "The second reason is that we have oxygen on board. At altitudes over 10,000 feet lack of oxygen causes hypoxia - lack of oxygen to the brain. "We had a rescue right on top of Pike's Peak a month and a half ago. That was 12,000 feet. "We can hover at 14,000 feet. No other helicopter around can do that," Schumacher noted. "We can go to 14,000 feet for 30 minutes. So we can stay up and work a long time without impairing im-pairing our ability to operate.. .incidently, they believe that hypoxia is the cause of a lot of those small plane crashes." Schumacher said mountain climbing and medical personnel accompany ac-company them during high-altitude rescue missions. He said that often the people to be rescued are inaccessible places and injured. "We can set down in a small place and we try to do that, rather than hover and winch the victim up into the aircraft on a cable," Schumacher Raid. He said the 179th Aviation Company keeps two pilots and two crew chiefs with paging beepers on 24 hour standby to assist in emergencies. Crew chiefs are enlisted soldiers who fly with the helicopter at all times. They operate the firefighting bucket and assist the pilots in many other ways. They watch the rear of the aircraft where pilots can't see, load and unload cargo, prepare the aircraft for - flight and shut it down when the flight is over. "They have a tough job. ' They're with the aircraft 30-45 minutes before the pilots arrive and an hour or two after they leave," Schumacher said. |