[Vhfcn-l] Fancy Toys

Mon Apr 20 14:56:44 EDT 2020

Hey Chris,
It sounds like comparing the 21 to the 47 is a little like the 37 to the
54, at least as to power plants.  I had the CH-37 class at Ft. Eustis as a
primer to the factory class on the CH-54, as the Army had not developed
it's own 54 class yet.  I never saw a CH-37 fly, although they ran one up
for us, outside the hanger, enough to extend the landing gear a little.
Very impressive!  As were those R-2800s, even on an engine stand!  I don't
remember if he crewed on one, but one of our instructors told us that those
engines worked so hard in that ship that a "tight" engine used four and a
half gallons of motor oil an hour!  And on  long flights the crew chief
needed to pump oil to the engine oil tanks from a 55 gal drum!  The oil
tanks on the JFTD 12 engines on the Crane held about a gallon and didn't
use any!  Quite a contrast eh?
Ralph

On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 2:22 PM Arnold B Christensen via Vhfcn-l <
vhfcn-l at lists.vhfcn.org> wrote:

> Fancy only because they are newer and look cool.
>
> Crew Chief Nightmare?  A helicopter is just another helicopter and if
> a crew chief is really interested learning his trade he will learn
> his helicopter and what is different and actually easier to maintain
> than his old helicopter. No more taking a gunner and giving him a
> Crewchief MOS with no schooling in that MOS and giving him a
> helicopter to maintain. I did not accept that idea after Vietnam and
> you cannot convince me that it is a good idea. Proven to me with time
> as The Chief Tech Inspector in a Direct Support Aircraft Company in
> Germany and the same position in a General Support Chief TI at Ft
> Campbell. I started out in Army Aviation in a Aviation Section as the
> Aircraft Parts Supply guy.  We only had 2 H-21C's and 3 different
> models of H-13's.  When I had time from the supply business I would
> roam the hangar and assist the crew chiefs on their brand of
> helicopter.  I learned what their jobs entailed. I had several great
> instructors that never signed up for that job to teach me but even if
> they did not know it they did it. One day one of the H-21s asked me
> if I would take his place flying on missions and I jumped at it. Had
> to go on several flights to learn what he did during flight. After my
> first re-up in 61 I asked for H-21 school but the Army had decided to
> no longer accept and school request at Ft Rucker as the aircraft was
> going to be phased out. The Officers and NCO's offered me a chance to
> do OJT and maintain one of our 21's for 90 days and if they thought I
> knew what was what I was made a H-21 Crewchief  and had my very own
> Tandem Rotor, powered by a large round engine and 6 blades,
> 3transmissions and 2 rotor head to fly. By the way all of our
> helicopters were equipped with always fully inflated floats because
> just about every flight was over stretches of water, sometimes for
> long distances. And...we were usually hauling VIPs. Flights over the
> Atlantic along the south side of Long Island NY and down the coast of NJ.
>
> Got transferred to Germany to another small Aviation Section and Army
> had not 21's in country but the Germans had some. The Aviation
> officer was not about to loan me to the Germans so he said that since
> I could maintain an H-21 I ought to be able to handle the units 55 yr
> model OH-13H.  Little did he know about assisting guys to maintain
> the 3 different models we had. The one in Germany didn't have any
> floats so that was one less thing to maintain. We also had a L-20A
> Airplane which some of you called a U6A. We also had a L-19D which
> some of you again may recognize as the O-1. But we were like a family
> in that Aviation Section just as it had been in the Original Aviation
> Section on Staten Island. After 3 yrs in Germany I return stateside
> and was assigned to attend the CH47A Chinook course.  Holy Chit this
> thing was big and had stuff I never saw beforE. Talk about ease of
> maintenance this thing did not have cables from one end to the other
> that had to be adjusted for tension due to changes in Temp. It had
> solid controls with rod end bearings that needed nothing but a look
> see. It did not have 6 wooden blades that soaked up water of any kind
> if left parked on the ramp. Weird rotor vibrations told you what had
> happened when you leave your lady outside and a front full of thunder
> storms come thru. Two big Turbine engine that start every time you
> hit the engine start. Small APU in the tail that could be turned on
> and provide all the hydraulic and electrical power you could ask for.
> Boy it had a lot of stuff that my old 56 year model 21 had but better
> and more room to work on it too.
>
> There has to be adequate testing of anything toted as New and
> Improved.  People who will take care of and operate it by listening
> closely to their instructors.
>
> I will add that it is just that easy. ;-)
> Da Foot
>
>
> At 08:02 PM 4/18/2020, Bruce Hendrickson via Vhfcn-l wrote:
> >Awesomeness, crew chief nightmare
> >
> >On Sat, Apr 18, 2020 at 8:29 PM Bruce E. Carlson via Vhfcn-l <
> >vhfcn-l at lists.vhfcn.org> wrote:
> >
> > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4wmTaHr05M
> > >
> > > Respects -- Bruce
> > >
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