Heli Simulator fun

[Tom Evans]

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to try out a Military Helicopter simulator. Son works for the simualtor company. Old helicopter, new sim. (OH58 Kiawa Warrior) We have been waiting for it to be operational enough to fly prior to it being shipped out to the Army base. Quite a thrill to play with a such a high dollar toy.

I managed to get it off the ground quite nicely, followed a country road for a ways, started to feel green around the gils, turned around and came back. By the time I started to land I was starting to feel really bad, got in a bit of a hurry to set it down and crashed. Oh well, I've had no prior helicopter experience, so I felt really good and sick at the same time!

Oh, adding to the excitement was one of the guys adding realism by shooting at me with tanks as I was leaving the field. Sure does make a guy feel good about American technology though, this sim was a thing of beauty in every respect. maybe I'll get another chance to make friends with it.

[Timchick]

Sounds like you had a blast. I was working for a contractor installing video projectors and remote controls in the Apache simulator building at Ft Rucker, AL a few years ago. I wanted to get in the Apache simulator real bad but the chance never materialized. Back when I was in the Air Force I worked on phone systems. We'd go over to fix something at the simulator bldg and we'd get to play with the F-4 and F-16 simulators. Very cool. The simulator operators would put clouds in so we'd have to do instrament approaches and they'd put other planes in so we could try shooting them down using the guns. It was a blast.

[Tom Evans]

Interestingly Tim, Ft Rucker is where this simulator is headed!

Tom

[Timchick]

Ft Rucker is the Army's primary helicopter training school. They train for several types of helos and they train a lot of pilots for our allies. I used to work up around there often and I always enjoyed being anywhere near there because there were always plenty of hueys, Apaches, Blackhawks, and OH58's flying around. They were suppose to get the now cancelled Comanches also. Ft Rucker also has a large helicopter museum open to the public. Anyone driving through the area going down to Bensen Days ought to swing over and check out the museum.

Ft Rucker is located between Dothan, AL and Enterprise, AL. To get to the Museum from Hwy 84, turn North onto SR 85 (go through Daleville). Once you go past the entrance gates the museum is on the Left (if I remember right). It's got a big prototype attack helicopter out front. You can also get to it from the Ozark, AL side by going South on SR 249 off US 231.

[Cobra Doc]

The Apache sims have (had?) two scenarios where you had to avoid an MU-2 or an Aerostar in head-on situations. the MU-2 wasn't too hard: hazy sky, hight altitude, see and avoid. You just don't have a lot of time to react. With the Aerostar it was come around a hill top and there he is. On my 5th try at getting around the Aerostar I came around the hill with the 20mm blazing. The sim operator about died laughing, but it worked. Fred (the sim operator) said it brought new meaning to a controller clearing the airspace.
I was also at Rucker when the CH-$& brought the XCH-62(?) airframe up from Mobile. Very impressive to see a big helicopter carrying an even bigger helicopter! Any aviation buff that doesn't visit the US Army Aviation Museum when they have a chance needs to have their posterior focefully pedially impacted several times in succession. ( I learn't that in Basic NCO Course...at Ft. Rucker!)

[CLS447]

I got to try 3 different simulators at Ft. Indiantown gap here in PA. I know a girl that works for a subcontractor that takes care of them.

She worked there for 9 yrs & I only took advantage of this once.

They shipped her to Hawaii now where she does the same thing. She could fly the sim blinfolded but never been up in a real chopper.

On my first try on the Blackhawk sim, I took off & landed on an aircraft carrier without crashing, but conditions were perfect!