Helicopter Missions in the Air Force

[Ragansundowner]

What are some of the roles of the helicopter in the Air Force? Special Forces, SAR, medivac, etc? Where do most rotor pilots end up after completion of training?

-R.S.

 

[Chunk]

SAR...CSAR...red headed step child....yeah, they have lots of roles in the air farce.

Wanna fly helos? Navy or Army is the best way to go.

 

[talondriver]

SAR...CSAR...red headed step child....yeah, they have lots of roles in the air farce.

Yeah...I'm sure the F-14 pilot who was rescued by an Air FOrce CSAR team during Desert Storm agrees with your comment...NOT!

 

[Chunk]

The point is that the helo community in the Chair Force (sorry...you're right, not farce) isn't given much in the way of emphasis.

 

[talondriver]

The point is that the helo community in the Chair Force (sorry...you're right, not farce) isn't given much in the way of emphasis.

the point of the post was not to compare the different services either. He wanted info about Air Force helos not navy or army or backseaters.

You also left out the Corps. I imagine helos are more important to them since a majority of their "pilots" go to that community.

 

[46Driver]

Oh Good Grief,
The Air Force isn't big on helos - its not their primary mission but the guys who do it are specialized and very good. (They also receive that same whopping $25k a year bonus that Marines drool over....) I think they still receive some initial fixed wing training but then the Army does their helo training at Fort Rucker. There is substantial speculation that they will switch to helo training with the Navy at NAS Whiting (Pensacola) once the NVG training begins. And they are stationed in quite a few places - Aviano, Italy I believe - and certainly at Hurlburt Field, Florida (between Pensacola and Panama City). In Gulf War I, the Air Force Pavelows were the first ones in leading Army Apaches to destroy Iraqi radar sites. Finally, the Air Force is supposed to get the special ops version of the MV-22 (called the CV-22) with longer range tanks and terrain following radar. The Marine in charge of the program just retired and now an Air Force officer is in charge - probably means more money now... Hope this helps.

 

[JJG]

The Air Force flies CH-53's, HH-60's, and UH-1N's. Some pilots go straight to Fort Rucker for helo training, while others have completed flight school in fixed wing aircraft and are sent to Rucker for a short helicopter course. Most pilots out of flight school are sent to UH-1N's to fly logistics for a few years and then are sent to Kirtland Air Force base in New Mexico for transitions into 60's or 53's. UH-1's fly mostly general support (Ass and Trash) and range support. The bulk of HH-60's are for CSAR while 53's are Special OPS. Big HH-60 base at Nellis, big CH-53 bases in England and at Hurlburt. Helicopter pilots have a career progression pyramid just like every other pilot group, they don't stamp your wings with a big "H" or anything like that, and if you want to get ahead in Air Force Special Operations Command, its good to be a helicopter pilot. The Air Force has more helicopters than the Coast Guard, so while helicopters make up a small percentage of the Air Force's fleet, there are still a large number of helicopters in the Air Force.

 

[ktulu34535]

why is it so bad?

To be a helo pilot? I get the idea that they don't get a lot of respect for some reason, I mean if the AF offered me the opportunity to go to UPT knowing that I would be flying helo's I'd jump at the chance. I would think it would be pretty fun. Do the airlines just not care about RW time?

I wouldn't know I'm pretty ignorant on the subject...

 

[46Driver]

Quite a few of the airlines (FedEx, Southwest, JetBlue) don't even have a space on your resume to put helo time - they don't consider it flying.

 

[JJG]

Every military pilot thinks what he is flying is better than what the other guy is flying. Fighter jocks think transport guys are bus drivers, helicopter pilots think fighter jocks are lame because they drop their bombs from 30,000 feet and cry like babies for the helicopter pilots to come rescue them when they get shot down. The only pilot that ridicules a helicopter pilot is the pilot who has never needed a helicopter to come get him. I have received many thank you from veterans who have said on numerous occasions "you helicopter boys really saved my bacon in Viet Nam, Iraq, etc." and on the same token I have gotten my share of cold shoulders from fixed wing guys who did not know any better, including one who said "gee, I didn't know you guys had all those flight instruments too." If you want to become an airline pilot, helicopters are not the way to go. But that discussion is ignorant, and assumes the goal of every pilot is to become an airline pilot. Would you tell Sean Tucker, "gee Sean you should get more multiengine time if you want to fly for the airlines" Not comparing myself to Sean Tucker mind you, just illustrating that Sean Tucker is a pilot who does not want to be an airline pilot, just like many helicopter pilots do not want to be airline pilots. Right now heliocpter pilots are way better off than airline pilots anyway. Most helicopter companies are hiring, starting pay is more than double what you would make at Comair, AE, or many other regionals, and you will likely work a much better schedule, plus the flying can't be beat. I love airplanes and helicopters. I think a P-51, Corsair, or a Boeing 707 are about the coolest things that ever flew, but when it comes to a carreer, I will stick with helicopters for job satisfaction, and let the comments of those more ignorant than myself, those who pesume success in aviation only can only be found in the cockpit of an airliner, to roll of my back.

 

[HueyPilot]

Back in the day...

When I flew Hueys for the Army Guard, I had a friend of mine who was applying with several regional air carriers. Mind you, this guy had a couple thousand hours in UH-60 Black Hawks (22,500 lb twin-turbine helo, full IFR cockpit) and UH-1 Hueys, as well as a couple hundred hours in the C-12F (King Air 200).

I remember him showing me one that had a block for "Other" flying time....it looked like this:

OTHER (BALLOON/GLIDER/HELICOPTER):

Pretty sad when flying a 22,500 lb turbine helicopter that goes almost as fast as the King Air is grouped as time just as worthless as glider or balloon.

 

[BeechScrub]

AF Helo's landing on carriers?

I came across a picture of a USAF HH-60 on a Navy helocopter carrier. Is this very rare or do the AF helo guys get to land on carriers every once in a while?

Also, can AF helo pilots get an assignment instructing in the T-37/T-6 since they used to fly it?

 

[talondriver]

Re: AF Helo's landing on carriers?

I came across a picture of a USAF HH-60 on a Navy helocopter carrier. Is this very rare or do the AF helo guys get to land on carriers every once in a while?

Also, can AF helo pilots get an assignment instructing in the T-37/T-6 since they used to fly it?

Yes, helo guys can come back to tweets (don't know about T-6s). It all depends on the operational manning requirements.

 

[scattergun]

Yes we return to the T-37 and the T-6. I am a MH-53 driver and now a T-37 IP.

Just to clear up some things. The Air Force has: UH-1 DV and missile support, HH-60's CSAR, and MH-53 Special Operations. All MH-53 and a good portion of 60 pilots are Shipboard qualified and remain current as much as possible. The 53 mission is in my opinion one of the best in the military. We have a large number of Army converts and one or two Navy guys also. Among other places we have pilots who returned to fixed wing in the A-10 (guard), T-38, F-15 (fighter X-flow), AC-130 and the U-2. Although it is rare to X-flow there have been a number of openings due to the V-22 coming online.

Although there are those who view helo pilots as red headed step children you are going to get that sort of thing no mater what you fly.

 

[BeechScrub]

I would imagine that you deploy a lot less in the UH-1, compared to the HH-60 or MH-53. Is this true? How easy is it to switch to a different helocopter?

 

[scattergun]

Correct. The UH-1 bubbas don't deploy much but the 60 and 53 crews can be gone a lot. If you take a UH-1 you are almost expected to transition to a 60 or 53 however once in 60's or 53's you will probably not move again. There are those who refuse to leave the UH-1 community because the flying and the home life are good.

In my opinion AFSOC is the best place to be, fixed wing or helo.

 

[bigred]

Disclaimer: I am not now, nor have I ever been, a helicopter pilot.

No one has mentioned the best part about flying helos in the Air Force, it's a kick @ss mission. Most of the flying is done very low, and relatively fast, at night. You also have a better chance of doing real world stuff flying helos.

There's always going to be some kidding between folks who fly different aircraft but most of it is good natured. The folks who take it too far usually do so because they have really small wee wee's.