All-American pilots see Pikes Peak from cockpit

By Sgt. April Campbell
82nd CAB, PAO

April 28, 2011

	Photos by Sgt. April Campbell/82nd CAB PAO Staff Sgt. Aaron Burrows, gathers the hoist line from an HH-60M MEDEVAC Blackhawk helicopter at Fort Carson, Colo., April 13, as his MEDEVAC crew responds to a simulated medical evacuation scenario.

The view of Cheyenne Mountain and snow-capped Pikes Peak sits in stark contrast to the relatively flat tree lines at Fort Bragg for the All-American helicopter pilots and crewmembers taking off from Butts Army Airfield at Fort Carson, Colo.

“You’re at 10,000 feet and the ground is right out your door, and in some cases above you,” said Chief Warrant Officer Carlos Acevedo, a UH-60 Blackhawk instructor pilot and the standardization officer with Task Force Talon, 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade.

The 82nd CAB continues to prepare for the unit’s upcoming deployment to Afghanistan late this summer with high altitude mountain environmental training which began in early April at Fort Carson, and will continue until mid June.

As many of the pilots learned during the classroom academics portion of the training conducted at Fort Bragg, prior to leaving for Fort Carson, flying at higher altitudes, such as those in eastern Afghanistan, can limit the maximum power available to the helicopters.

“It’s a challenge enough to do it at sea level, but to do it in this environment with the thinner air, wind, and altitudes and temperatures, makes it an extra challenge. We crawl, walk, run and we have a great opportunity with this mountainous terrain where we can incrementally go to higher elevation,” said Col. T.J. Jamison, the 82nd CAB commander.

Each pilot is required to fly four hours during the day and four at night with an instructor pilot.

Acevedo, a Palm Bay, Fla., native, began his HAMET rotation April 1 with the brigade’s instructor pilots and remains at Fort Carson as he and the other TF Talon IPs continue to help train the unit’s pilots in the high altitude and mountainous terrain. Taking a part in providing the instruction has enabled the task force to gear the training toward its future deployment.

“Here, we get to provide the instruction to focus on our areas of concern,” Acevedo said. “We get to focus on the tactics that we will need in Afghanistan.”

	All-American UH-60L Blackhawk helicopter flies toward snow-capped Pikes Peak after taking off from a landing zone approximately 12,200 feet above sea level in the mountains just west of Fort Carson, Colo., April 12.

One technique the Blackhawk pilots have been practicing is the two-wheeled landing on top of a rock formation. Pilots may need to use this landing when there is not a large enough landing zone in an area where they are inserting ground troops in Afghanistan.

“These landings require more precision at higher altitudes due to the reduced weight capabilities at higher altitudes and the wind conditions in mountainous terrain,” Acevedo said.

Aside from the added limitations higher altitudes will place on the aircraft itself, the pilots and crewmembers are also at risk in these environments due to the thinner air with less oxygen.

“Flying at this altitude helps us realize how much the higher elevation does affect your body and your ability to do your job,” said Spc. Richard Washington, a Blackhawk crew chief with Co. A, 3-82 GSAB. “I have to concentrate more on keeping track of my own abilities and paying attention to the other crewmembers and passengers.”

Pilots and crew are using the portable helicopter oxygen delivery system to combat the thinner air and effects it could have on their physical and mental abilities. The PHODS blows a steady stream of oxygen into the crewmembers nose throughout their flight.

	n All-American CH-47 Chinook helicopter sits at a landing zone approximately 14,000 feet above sea level in the mountains just west of Fort Carson, Colo., April 12.

“It’s a little less comfortable, but I definitely notice a difference with the PHODS,” Washington, a Fayetteville native, said.

As the Task Force Talon pilots complete their training, they will be followed by the Pegasus Brigade’s Task Forces Saber, Corsair and Wolfpack.

In all, nearly 400 82nd CAB aviators will complete the altitude training on five different types of rotary wing aircraft, including the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter, the AH-64D Apache helicopter, the CH-47F Chinook helicopter and the UH-60L and the UH-60M versions of the Blackhawk helicopter.

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