Attack Helicopter Operations in Afghanistan

Noah Body · Mar 16, 2011

Should anyone crave more knowledge on what attack helicopter operations entail for any of their WIPs, I offer the following:

Played their cards and now they're dead.

There's a series of videos there that cover pretty much the entire spectrum of US Army helicopter operations, including air assault, scout, and heavy lift.

I can tell from the soda cans behind the AH-64A CPG's head that these are working gunnies.

Hallen · Mar 16, 2011

Cool, I'll have to watch those after work.

Just for reference, the guy in the back is the pilot, the guy in the front is the gunner. Yes, they're both pilots, yes you can fly from the front, but primarily the guy in the back flies. It's a bit backwards from what most people would think.

And, this was shot with film so the rotor system looks like it's spinning really slow. That's not the case in reality. You would just see the blur of the blades even when it's taxiing on the ground.

Noah Body · Mar 16, 2011

Yeah... I know the guy in the front is the CP/G, if your comment was directed to me.

Same in the old AH-1 series as well.

And actually, video has a higher "frame" rate than film cameras, so in a great many circumstances, you actualy can make out individual blades in the disk. Plenty of other videos out there beyond this one that reveal that, including some where the speed is so high that it almost looks like the blades aren't moving at all, which is totally freaky.

Hallen · Mar 16, 2011

No, no, not directed at you. You know the deal. I'm a utility guy so I'm not as familiar with what you gun bunnies do, but I expect others seeing that video wouldn't understand.

Noah Body · Mar 16, 2011

Then in the words of Emily Litella: "Never mind."

Chase · Mar 16, 2011

Thanks for the videos. They're wearing the patch of my original unit, 101st Squawkin' Hawks.

By the way, I'm deeply in love with Captain Donna Duono. Deeply.

Hallen · Mar 16, 2011

Chase said:
Thanks for the videos. They're wearing the patch of my original unit, 101st Squawkin' Hawks.

By the way, I'm deeply in love with Captain Donna Duono. Deeply.

ROFL, yeah, I'm thinking if I weren't so darned old...

Anyway, formerly with the pukin' buzzards myself.

mscelina · Mar 16, 2011

Chase said:
Thanks for the videos. They're wearing the patch of my original unit, 101st Squawkin' Hawks.

By the way, I'm deeply in love with Captain Donna Duono. Deeply.

Hallen said:
ROFL, yeah, I'm thinking if I weren't so darned old...

Anyway, formerly with the pukin' buzzards myself.

Grew up outside Ft. Campbell in Clarksville. Actually, the part of the base where the Riding Gun Club is used to be my family's farm before the Army took the land in 1941. Dad's a former 101st man.

My SIL is deployed to Iraq and runs an attack helicopter maintenance squad there.

Noah Body · Mar 18, 2011

Give your SIL a great big hooah from me! (And ask her if the flex chute redesigns on the Apache's 30mm actually do anything, or if all the gunnies are flying with 600 or less rounds in the bay.)

JayMan · Mar 30, 2011

Not a service member here, just somebody who's fascinated by the military and has a lot of respect for the men and women in uniform and what they do. Anyway, this is an amazing series of videos. Very informative and extremely interesting to watch, not to mention the excellent shots and video editing.

I actually just wrote a short story involving Army operations in the Mideast, and I can definitely incorporate some of this stuff into my second draft. Thanks for the link!

Noah Body · Apr 1, 2011

Free of charge!

Attack Helicopter Operations in Afghanistan

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