OH-23G Hiller Raven in 1/48th scale scratchbuild

[BWDenver]

4 hours ago, Whirlybird said:

 

How did your progression from a TH-55 to the others go, or is it like - once you master a TH-55 the rest are like riding a bigger better bicycle?

 

Sorry I just realized there was a question in there.

 

The TH-55 is indeed a handful to fly.  We had several folks that just could not get the hang of it.  When you bounced out you ended up in 1 of 2 MOS's.  Airborne Sensor Speicalist in the OV-1, or an MP.  My roommate went the MP exit path.

 

Then at Rucker we flew the UH-1B for around 50 Hrs, (if memory serves).  We never got a UH-1B rating.  After instruments you transitioned into the UH-1H, I think it was around 12 hrs.  The transition was followed by Tactics.  Low level Nav, lots of formation work and lots of autorotation's.

 

After 200 hrs you went to a unit and started to really learn the craft of flying Army birds.  At the end of 1974 they started to form the 6th ACCB, and EVERYONE was going to get a Local Cobra Transition.  One W-1 asked the BN CDR if you didn't want to go cobras?  His reply was simple.  "turn in your wings".  It was rumored that more pilots got of the Army at Hood in late 1974 early 1975 than they put through flight school.

 

Be that as it may I asked for a transfer to the 218th.  I got it because I asked the 6th ACCB CDR directly for a transfer.  In front of my BN DCR.  I got the transfer.  4 more years flying UH-1H's 3 at Hood with 2 in Dustoff and Korea with the 317th Med Co.  That was a lot of fun.  When I got back to the states I got stationed at Carson and transitioned into the OH-58.   The Hight altitude checkout, and 2000 Hrs helped me get a civil job.  For the Mountain work the insurance company's would not cover you if you had less than 2000 Hrs.

 

The 58 was a bit trickier to fly as it had a manual tail rotor controls.  In '81 I decided I needed a break and left Active Duty for the Reserves.  Flying once a year for "currency on my Instrument ticket".  In civil life I spent 2 years flying in the Rocky's, mostly above 7,000', in either a 206 BIII or a 500D.  The 500D took a bit to get used to.  You had to lead all control movements with a cyclic trim.  You could fly it by hand, but the next day you could not move your right arm.  Don't ask me how I know, let's just say I heard it in a bar...  Spent a lot of time moving explosives and such at the end of a 100'-200' sling line.

 

Post Desert Storm they found they had a lack of CH-47 Drivers, that's how I ended up flying the Army's fastest helo.  There were fun moments, but at the end of the day, it's a bus.  Because of the twin rotors "peddle" turns got a bit interesting.

 

 

[Whirlybird]

•  

Posted 21 minutes ago

  5 hours ago, Whirlybird said:

 

How did your progression from a TH-55 to the others go, or is it like - once you master a TH-55 the rest are like riding a bigger better bicycle?

 

No problem...been offline and out and about running errands.

 

"After 200 hrs you went to a unit and started to really learn the craft of flying Army birds.  At the end of 1974 they started to form the 6th ACCB, and EVERYONE was going to get a Local Cobra Transition.  One W-1 asked the BN CDR if you didn't want to go cobras?  His reply was simple.  "turn in your wings".  It was rumored that more pilots got of the Army at Hood in late 1974 early 1975 than they put through flight school."

 

Would have thought everyone would want Cobras, since they are mean looking.

 

"When I got back to the states I got stationed at Carson and transitioned into the OH-58.   "The 58 was a bit trickier to fly as it had a manual tail rotor controls."

 

So, there are manual/-not automatic tail rotor controls? Knew the rudder pedals point you in the direction...(as little as I know about the concept) but the speed of the tail rotor and/or pitch of tail rotor blades are controlled?

 

"In civil life I spent 2 years flying in the Rocky's, mostly above 7,000', in either a 206 BIII or a 500D."  

I'll bet that was exciting ......and great scenery.

 

"The 500D took a bit to get used to.  You had to lead all control movements with a cyclic trim. 

You could fly it by hand, but the next day you could not move your right arm.  D

on't ask me how I know, let's just say I heard it in a bar... 

Spent a lot of time moving explosives and such at the end of a 100'-200' sling line."

 

I'll bet that was even MORE exciting.

 

"Post Desert Storm they found they had a lack of CH-47 Drivers, that's how I ended up flying the Army's fastest helo.'  

 

Didn't know that...the Chinook is faster than the other sleeker helos?

 

"There were fun moments, but at the end of the day, it's a bus.  Because of the twin rotors "peddle" turns got a bit interesting."

 

More on that......guessing the two main rotors have to do what a tail rotor equipped helo does.

Thank you for your service.

 

[BWDenver]

Yeah, I loved flying in the mountains.  But most of the time I was hanging out of the bird looking Stright down with one eye, and treetops with the other.

 

If you liked living in a tent and hovering and going to Germany to Hood to Korea to Campbell to Germany to Hood, you loved Cobras.  Some guys would rather get a social disease on their records than a Cobra Transition.  One guy went into the flight records section and gave the clerk a crisp $100 bill to lose the transition Paperwork.  He flew Cobras and then got assigned to a Dustoff unit. 

 

That was the driver for a LOT of pilots bailing from Hood.  If I had taken that transition, I likely would not have been able to get the civil job when I came off Active Duty.  I'm sure Floyd's head is exploding but to each his own...

 

In Iraq if you had an Apachi as an escort, it was not long before they were on the radio saying he could not keep up.  This really was an issue in Afghanistan as relayed by guys I flew with at Carson.  We had an 82nd Blackhawk tag onto us on a flight into Iraq, they were prohibited from flying alone.  We had to slow down for him, the side comments in the intercom was priceless..

[Floyd S. Werner, Jr.]

15 hours ago, BWDenver said:

If you liked living in a tent and hovering and going to Germany to Hood to Korea to Campbell to Germany to Hood, you loved Cobras. 

Yeah, it was flight school (84-85) TH-55 to UH-1H for instruments and finally scout track in the OH-58A/C with the Cobra transition immediately afterwards, then Germany (85-88) where I flew OH-58A/C because they needed scout pilots and not Cobra guys.  I flew scouts for two years, then finally got into Cobras.  Ft Hood (88-91), Desert Storm Maintenance Officer/Test Pilot and then Korea (92).  Mid-tour came back and took the wife to see the assignment manager.  I did not want to do Ft Hood and return to Korea.  Assignment manager wanted me to take the Apache transition, but said come back tomorrow and we'll see what we can do.  I resigned myself to fly Apaches, but I got lucky to get back to Germany (93-96) in Cobras and then flew the last Cobra out of Europe to England in 1996.  After that it was Ft Hood (96- July 2001) as a maintenance test pilot in OH-58D(R).  Retirement July 2001.

 

I enjoyed most of it.  LOL
Floyd

[Whirlybird]

8 hours ago, Floyd S. Werner, Jr. said:

Yeah, it was flight school (84-85) TH-55 to UH-1H for instruments and finally scout track in the OH-58A/C with the Cobra transition immediately afterwards, then Germany (85-88) where I flew OH-58A/C because they needed scout pilots and not Cobra guys.  I flew scouts for two years, then finally got into Cobras.  Ft Hood (88-91), Desert Storm Maintenance Officer/Test Pilot and then Korea (92).  Mid-tour came back and took the wife to see the assignment manager.  I did not want to do Ft Hood and return to Korea.  Assignment manager wanted me to take the Apache transition, but said come back tomorrow and we'll see what we can do.  I resigned myself to fly Apaches, but I got lucky to get back to Germany (93-96) in Cobras and then flew the last Cobra out of Europe to England in 1996.  After that it was Ft Hood (96- July 2001) as a maintenance test pilot in OH-58D(R).  Retirement July 2001.

 

I enjoyed most of it.  LOL
Floyd

Impressive mix of rotary rides.

 

I often wonder, after all the excitement, when you are retired, do you ever get to fly again?

Must be a difficult adjustment if you aren't able to.

Edited September 4, 2025 by Whirlybird

[Floyd S. Werner, Jr.]

On 9/4/2025 at 2:11 PM, Whirlybird said:

I often wonder, after all the excitement, when you are retired, do you ever get to fly again?

Oh yes I fly a lot.  Cobras and Hueys for the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation (AAHF). This is me flying the Cobra onto the Mall in DC for the 250th birthday of the US Army. So yeah I still have fun flying.

Floyd

[JohnEB]

Wow, a Huey, Cobra and OH-58 in DC. Looks like fun.

In the late '90s I trained in a Bell 47 in the area.

[BWDenver]

On 9/4/2025 at 10:01 AM, Floyd S. Werner, Jr. said:

Yeah, it was flight school (84-85) TH-55 to UH-1H for instruments and finally scout track in the OH-58A/C with the Cobra transition immediately afterwards, then Germany (85-88) where I flew OH-58A/C because they needed scout pilots and not Cobra guys.  I flew scouts for two years, then finally got into Cobras.  Ft Hood (88-91), Desert Storm Maintenance Officer/Test Pilot and then Korea (92).  Mid-tour came back and took the wife to see the assignment manager.  I did not want to do Ft Hood and return to Korea.  Assignment manager wanted me to take the Apache transition, but said come back tomorrow and we'll see what we can do.  I resigned myself to fly Apaches, but I got lucky to get back to Germany (93-96) in Cobras and then flew the last Cobra out of Europe to England in 1996.  After that it was Ft Hood (96- July 2001) as a maintenance test pilot in OH-58D(R).  Retirement July 2001.

 

I enjoyed most of it.  LOL
Floyd

If I had the opportunity fly Cobra's in Viet Nam, (missed that by 6 months) I likely would have loved to fly the AH-1G.  The thought of cruising several thousand feet up and rolling into a dive to fire 2.75" FFAR's, who would not love that.  I have a few hours in the AH-1G, and the one memorable view was when I got to roll into a steep diving firing run, watching the airspeed accelerate as the tail vertical fin came online.  That was pure adrenalin pumping fun.

 

But there was a sea change in 1974 regarding tactics and the AH-1Q and AH-1S armed with TOW Missles.  In a Mid-Intensity environment you could no longer fly above contour heights.  More importantly tactics dictated NOE heights.  Essentially you likely would find yourself in some form of hover flight most of the time. 

 

That's what the pilots objected to, along with the Hood, Germany, Bragg, Korea etc etc circuit.

[Floyd S. Werner, Jr.]

20 hours ago, BWDenver said:

But there was a sea change in 1974 regarding tactics and the AH-1Q and AH-1S armed with TOW Missles.  In a Mid-Intensity environment you could no longer fly above contour heights.  More importantly tactics dictated NOE heights.  Essentially you likely would find yourself in some form of hover flight most of the time. 

That's why I love flying for the AAHF.  I get to fly Cobras like Vietnam, okay not exactly, but we do get to do diving flight and wing overs.  So much more fun than sneeking around in the trees and hovering

Floyd

Edited September 12, 2025 by Floyd S. Werner, Jr.

[Whirlybird]

"So much more fun than sneeking around in the trees and hovering"

Floyd

 

Ooooh ....Hugh Mills,  - DONT read this. LOL

 

Take it from a non-rotary landlubber....its all gotta be good. LOL

[ArmtDawg]

The photo of the AH-58D on the flight deck is from the Persian Gulf.  That’s an actual Prime Chance AH-58D, black arrow on the tail covering the US Army writing.  The picture was taken during Operation Desert Storm, Rocket pod was painted by SSG Delgado (armament).  I can also identify SSG Bankhead Jr. on the standing next to the tail.  Should be aboard the USS Jarrett.  Would love to see what other pictures you have.  Look up “Operation Prime Chance” on Facebook, you’ll fine the unit page.