Unusual find...
Marc Tower
played and held up an object for me to identify. Small heavy green box with
a wire hood and short bungee cords attached...remember making those?
I was the best NVG counter weight I ever made. Cut down match kitchen match
box, melted fishing weights, bent coat hangers, lots of OD duct tape and a
bungee cord. I can't tell you how many memories flooded back. This was
back when there were no moon illumination % or angle above the horizon
requirements and you would get sent out with "If you come back, tell us what
you learned " : )...
-Marc-
Mountain Mike^^
"Marc Tower" <ma...@wittwerconstruction.com> wrote in message news:MFvT6.20>
I was the best NVG counter weight I ever made.
I saw a 60 minute special about those days awhile back. I immediately
thought the Army was CRAZY to try that crap......., but what did I know? In
VN, we had a similar problem. While dumping 50 gal containers from the ramp
of a CH-47 on over-run Firebases, we had to wear their *special* gas masks
while night flying in IFR weather. Naturally, we couldn't see shit, and
naturally we didn't know *exactly* what toxic goop was being handled. After
a few close mid-airs with a bunch of C and C type rubber neckers from
Division, I threw the damn mask out the window, turned on my lights, and
said "I'd rather take a bullet." I figured some idiot thought maybe we could
fly, dump goo, shoot out the window, fly IFR with no nav aids, Hit the top
of a mountain, AND sing the National Anthem at the same time WITH OUR EYES
CLOSED. Was your experience similar? Mike
Marc Tower
> of a mountain, AND sing the National Anthem at the same time WITH OUR
EYES
> CLOSED. Was your experience similar? Mike
Yes, except nobody was shooting at us. Huge difference.
We were flying with the first generation NVG's designed for the 11B. If I
remember the specs correctly, 40 degree field of view, 20/200 visual acuity
and no depth perception. Parallax is your friend....One night during an
exercise and Ft. Campbell, with a standards pilot on in the back seat
(OH-58C), it was so dark with no moon and an overcast, when we lifted off we
only could see video snow. We ripped off the goggles, landed and my genius
partner taped two red-lens elbow flashlights to the cross-tubes. IR
headlights! Of course if the 'bad guys' had goggles or a starlight scope
they would have seen us about 20 miles out. It worked great though and the
standards guy from Ft. Rucker never said a word.
-Marc-
Slowboy
Marc,
Oh my - memories! In '71-'72, while employed by Air America in Laos, a few
helicopter crews were "trained" in the use of NVGs. We used them in actual
operations on quite a few "special project" missions. It seems that we were a
little better equipped than you were because we had infrared filters on the
hover and landing lights. It looked like green daylight when we landed. Good
thing the bad guys didn't have much IR equipment! I wish I had thought about a
counter weight. I can remember the sore neck from wearing the damned things in
addition to the ballistic helmet on long missions. I was always amazed at how
many people were down there in the blackness. With the NVGs you could see the
campfires - lots of them, and if you were low enough you could see cigarettes
glowing. Scary.
Slowboy