Blackhawk Crewchief question

[AiRegency]

So I work with this guy that likes to talk about having been an Army blackhawk crewchief. He never talks about any specifics of his job, mostly about all the guns he would shoot. The problem is, in all other aspects of our current job he has proven himself to me to be a chronic exagerator and at times an outright liar. Now I'm beginning to suspect the crewchief thing is bogus too. I believe that he was army but the fact that he has nearly zero systems knowledge of the aircraft we fly now (he's been here a number of years) let alone any real sign of mechanical aptitude is what makes me strongly suspect he's not the crewchief type but might instead be riding the coat tails of those that actually did the job. Oh yeah, another one of our guys (who was also Army) thought that this guy told him that he was an 88M but his recollection is a bit hazy. Another detail, I know he was a specialist. Is that a common rank for a blackhawk crewchief? So tell me. Is this guy a poser or could he be telling the truth?

Before I go. Big thanks and big props to all you military guys. You make our nation proud.

 

[Traderd]

So I work with this guy that likes to talk about having been an Army blackhawk crewchief. He never talks about any specifics of his job, mostly about all the guns he would shoot. The problem is, in all other aspects of our current job he has proven himself to me to be a chronic exagerator and at times an outright liar. Now I'm beginning to suspect the crewchief thing is bogus too. I believe that he was army but the fact that he has nearly zero systems knowledge of the aircraft we fly now (he's been here a number of years) let alone any real sign of mechanical aptitude is what makes me strongly suspect he's not the crewchief type but might instead be riding the coat tails of those that actually did the job. Oh yeah, another one of our guys (who was also Army) thought that this guy told him that he was an 88M but his recollection is a bit hazy. Another detail, I know he was a specialist. Is that a common rank for a blackhawk crewchief? So tell me. Is this guy a poser or could he be telling the truth?

Before I go. Big thanks and big props to all you military guys. You make our nation proud.

He could be telling the truth. SP4's were common for me in both the Hawk and Cobra. I had some experiences with less than compentent crews, but they were few and far between.

Ask him how he handled an APU accumulator dump. If he says he did anything other than jerk a short stubby pump handle for twenty minutes, he might not have any real experience on the Hawk.

Now, he may tell you he saw the pilot jerk the short stubby pump handle instead. That would be a different scenario altogether and might indicate he has spent some time in the field with one of my old units.

 

[JungleJett]

Or ask him where the APU accum gauge is and its minimum pressure for start...we look for around 2800 psi. If the pump handle is in the same place as our HH60G's, it is left cabin wall just aft of the door frame.

Ask him what gun he shot...if it is a "slick" Hawk, they used/use primarily M60 (old school) and the M240 (current)..I think only SOF bubba's are packing bigger...M2 or M134 (GAU-18/GAU-2 for us AF types.)

 

[jetjock6]

Or ask him where the APU accum gauge is and its minimum pressure for start...we look for around 2800 psi. If the pump handle is in the same place as our HH60G's, it is left cabin wall just aft of the door frame.

Ask him what gun he shot...if it is a "slick" Hawk, they used/use primarily M60 (old school) and the M240 (current)..I think only SOF bubba's are packing bigger...M2 or M134 (GAU-18/GAU-2 for us AF types.)

We swapped out the M60 for the MK19 grenade launcher on the Hawk back before I got out in 2002.

 

[AiRegency]

From old conversations I remember him claiming to have experience with the M240, .50 cal, gau minigun, m-4/m-16, and m-9.

By the way, what does your APU need an accumulator for anyway? Any APU I've ever had provided electrical and pneumatic only. Does your's tie into a hydraulic system?

 

[jetjock6]

From old conversations I remember him claiming to have experience with the M240, .50 cal, gau minigun, m-4/m-16, and m-9.

By the way, what does your APU need an accumulator for anyway? Any APU I've ever had provided electrical and pneumatic only. Does your's tie into a hydraulic system?

It's used to start the APU using hydraulic pressure. As I recall the accumulator is normally pressurized by a backup hydraulic pump. The hand pump is used if the pressure falls below min pressure (2800 psi sounds about right) or the APU fail to start.

What it really does is earn the crew chief's free beers!

 

[MGlobemaster]

Any knob can look up generic stuff about what types of guns are used on a hawk. You gotta get some good questions that aren't as easy. What model hawk did he fly on? Should be an alpha or lima model. How often would you have to do blade pin inspections? Every 10 hrs. What parameters do you need to perform a HIT check? Temp, press alt, table TGT and indicated TGT. If he gets those right, he just might have been a hawker. A sour apple or two are bound to slip through.