Maintenance crews keep helos flying over Iraq (Flying into Ground)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=20212

Black Hawk maintenance crews are feeling the stress of perilous flights by fewer birds, more flight hours and duct tape repairs.

“We’re literally flying them into the ground,” said Capt. Joe Sharrock of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment.

Soldiers said they are flying three times as many missions as normal, and with only half the fleet of Black Hawks they had during the first Gulf War. Sharrock said that shortage, combined with the challenge of scrounging parts, means that if all repairs were done by the book “all our aircraft would be grounded.”

Maj. Scot Arey, the operations officer for the battalion, said his Black Hawks would see 350 flight hours per month back home at Fort Hood, Texas. In their first month in the Middle East, they flew 1,500. That’s slowed, somewhat, to about 1,000 per month.

<snip>

The desert has not been kind.

“The first three months we were here, we went through an enormous amount of engines,” said Spc. Kenneth Back. Though the Black Hawk’s blower system works well, the sand was too much.

[alittlelark]

1. Stars and Stripes has more truth than CNN

Very sad commentary on our 'free press' when the non-skewed reporting comes out of the military paper and the intl. press.

This admin. does not support and has no respect for the troops........why do so few people know or care??

[jmowreader]

2. $1.6 billion is low

To get those helicopters back to where they need to be, the Army will have to replace both engines, the auxiliary power unit, the transmission, the tail rotor driveshaft, all four 45-degree gearboxes, both rotor hubs, all eight rotor blades, the entire landing gear subsystem, the avionics, the fuel system...and that's just the stuff I can think of.

They'd be money ahead to just call Sikorsky and order a new helicopter.

[Wickerman]

4. The sand just eats them up

My nephew was crew chief of a Blackhawk over there for a year. Right before combat started he "got lucky". Someone "parked" their bird on top of his so he got a brand new one. He sid it was well needed - 6 months of heavy training in the sand had mucked stuff up pretty well. I can't imagine what they are like now - nor do I want to with him facing another tour soon.

[drewb]

6. Amazing isn't it????

Fine particles of sand have detrimental effects on mechanical parts...


Go figure???

How many Jolly Greens did we lose during the attempted hostage rescue???

And the beat goes on, and the beat goes on...

:loveya:

[kalian]

3. Shows you the kind of crap that our military has to buy....

its not even field worthy...

[45th Med]

5. Ask me why I hate flying.....go ahead!

I spent 6 years flying in 60Q's. They're GREAT BIRDS! But, like all things mechanical.....they need parts and downtime to keep them in the air. The wrench monkey's aren't the ones paying the price for shoddy maintenence, the flight crews and passengers are the ones who go down with the ship. I was in a training accident in Kuwait, one of our engines ate a rock or something that chewed up the engine and set it afire. Thank god for 4 sets of cool hands on the controls or I wouldn't be here to post this.

I HATE FLYING NOW!

[Althion]

7. Glad you're still with us -- and here

A.

[Rebellious Republican]

8. I used to fly in the NAVY UH1N, SAR Choppers.........

Thank god for twin engines!
:toast:

[number6]

9. and meanwhile Haliburton is over charging for meals

:(