Thanks man, it is cool that we all get to share experiences and points of view on sites like this! If you’re ever in San Diego, let me know, and I’ll see if I can give you a tour!

Can’t do that, you’re not in international waters in the strait, plus you’re surrounded by civilian traffic. That’s part of the whole reason we sail through there, to ensure Iran can’t close the strait off to shipping traffic, stranding all the nations that have ports in the AG.

jztemple is totally right. I’ve flown several escort missions for Carriers going in and out of the Strait of Hormuz, and the list of what we can do is a mile long. There are many layers of missiles, rockets and guns, not to mention a vast array of non-lethal force escalation measures that we use dozens of times a…

Where does this argument even come from? Who is pushing for a female CJCS?

How is enlarging the pool of potential applicants weakening the force? There is no mention of quotas, no mention of changing standards, no intention to “lower the bar” for anyone. Tyler is absolutely correct stating that this will make our armed forces stronger. I’ve seen the military make some really stupid choices…

Haha no problem, happy to help!

Gravit8, in an emergent situation like the one here, there would be none. The decision here not to land was made from a safety standpoint, not “we better follow the rules or else.” Thats why the standardized qualifications and certifications exist, so the ship commanding officer and aircraft commander can confidently…

No worries, glad to help!

Navy helo pilot here:

Its a very complex answer to a simple question, but actually pretty quickly, considering the work involved. Aircraft are kept in various states of alert, as well as airborne constantly for training sorties while underway. Alert status can range from 90 minutes all the way down to 5, which means that aircraft will be…

Diana,

This comment is not necessarily directed to Tyler, but there are tons of misconceptions getting thrown around in this Kinja, and in discussions about the A-10, close air support, and air power and general. There are lots of knowledgable people, and this is not meant as a slight against them, but there are plenty of…

Totally, I know there are lots of people on this site who are very interested but don’t have much first hand knowledge on the topic, I just wanted to elaborate on your already very thorough comments. The Hind is a pretty rad aircraft, and I’d definitely hate to be facing one down on the battlefield.

The ridiculous armor means next to nothing when the guys shooting at you have any sort of heavy weaponry, an RPG, MANPAD 0r dedicated ADA will ruin your day no matter how many bulletproof glass windows and titanium bathtubs you have. As long as the guys they are shooting at are using light infantry weapons, the Hinds…

@RidgeR5 and @Jake Kirn, you guys are totally right. The rockets are an inaccurate weapon to begin with, they have an estimated miss distance measured in the tens of meters, and when shot at a shallow AoA you can only guarantee that they land in an area around the size of a city block. Great for causing fear and…

@EvilFD: you’re totally right. Your “drunk clown on a pogo stick” comment is hilarious, but what’s important to note is that outside of video games, nobody actually uses a helicopter like that. A helicopter in a hover is a sitting duck, no matter how much armor or defensive systems it has. An RPG-7 can punch through…

Can’t speak to traditional HUDs as my aircraft doesn’t have them, but my helicopter has an NVD mounted HUD monocle with basic flight instrumentation (attitude, airspeed, altitude, etc.) and it has definite advantages as well as drawbacks. A quick reference to flight parameters while doing visual intensive flying…

Awesome advice, skeffles! In my line of work, when faced with a life threatening emergency, the first step to dealing with any problem is always “wind the clock.” Acting rashly while you are panicking can lead to you causing more problems, or missing a critical lifesaving detail!

You’re absolutely right. Landing to rescue someone is a thousand times easier than hovering to rescue. Sending down a harness means you have to hover, which takes a lot more energy than it does to land. It also means the person on the ground needs to be conscious and able enough to put the harness on, which certainly…

I disagree that a light rescue helicopter would not benefit from this technology. It specifically addresses expanding the ability to land, vs execute a hoist recovery. Giving an aircraft the ability to execute a landing, which requires less power, fuel and coordination than a hovering hoist or even a one wheel/skid…