Random Griz Aviation Musings

[Gatordev]

Did the -60 have an HF radio?

The Bravo did. I did my first two cruises with the same aircraft (first cruise we had the one bird, second cruise we had two) and that one aircraft had an issue with it so you couldn't ever receive. But I have used the HF in the other aircraft or on other deployments to try and talk to my dad on my parents' sail boat or someone else would use it to make a phone call back home.

We actually could have used it for a SAR/Rescue we did on my first deployment as it would have made finding them significantly faster (thanks, Shoes). Fortunately we were able to still use our Datalink WAY out there after we climbed a lot and got updated coords.

 

[ChuckMK23]

Deployed twice with HF radio equipped aircraft - never found an operational use case other than listening to BBC at night from Red Sea. Why put an HF radio in a helicopter? What was the requirement that drives the installation?

In other news, current situation:

 

[ChuckMK23]

 

[ChuckMK23]

@Griz882 This is on my list of things to see at OSH...

Cicaré 8 Kit Helicopter Debuts at AirVenture - KITPLANES

It’s new, it's beautiful, and, as it turns out, it is a kit which can be completed in 200 hours, or even faster at a Cicaré builder assist facility.

www.kitplanes.com

 

[GroundPounder]

@Griz882 This is on my list of things to see at OSH...

Cicaré 8 Kit Helicopter Debuts at AirVenture - KITPLANES

It’s new, it's beautiful, and, as it turns out, it is a kit which can be completed in 200 hours, or even faster at a Cicaré builder assist facility.

www.kitplanes.com

200 hours is a quick build. That being said, I would never get more than 5 ft off the ground in anything I constructed.

 

[ChuckMK23]

Some beautiful arrival shots at OSH are hitting my phone - the A-10 Demo Team is especially impressive.

 

[IKE]

Wish I could be there. Say "hi" to the USNTPS crews and recent grads. We should have a T-38 in the fancy parking area.

 

[IKE]

Deployed twice with HF radio equipped aircraft - never found an operational use case other than listening to BBC at night from Red Sea. Why put an HF radio in a helicopter? What was the requirement that drives the installation?

In other news, current situation:

View attachment 40906

1. It's painful to see a Dell monitor pumping MacOS X, but that's just because I've been a nerd for MS & Dell products for decades.

2. 60F had, and some FMS 60Rs have, an HF radio. Super handy when doing missions requiring comms to Mom while in a low hover beyond LOS.

 

[ChuckMK23]

1. It's painful to see a Dell monitor pumping MacOS X, but that's just because I've been a nerd for MS & Dell products for decades.

2. 60F had, and some FMS 60Rs have, an HF radio. Super handy when doing missions requiring comms to Mom while in a low hover beyond LOS.

I love this Monitor - it is paired with a M1 MacMini. I get 2+ telework days per week + MaxiFlex which means I do quite a bit of work in the home office. DAF has configured MS O365 with full web app access via CAC- and while I cant download files from OneDrive, SharePoint, or Teams, I can download email attachments and I can upload to all the repositories. Which means I can use my CAC to sign docs and send to my boss or HQ, The DAF laptop is the standard crappy HP boat anchor - which as long as I VPN or plug in the office once per month, the cyber folks dont bug me! We unofficially use Slack to communicate with Reservists and thats how I schedule their drill periods and AT. Best of both worlds.

 

[hscs]

We may see a resurgence of HF - SATCOM replaced HF radios/radio requirement in the H/S/R. Kinda hard to do SATCOM if satellites aren't available.....

 

[JTS11]

The Bravo did. I did my first two cruises with the same aircraft (first cruise we had the one bird, second cruise we had two) and that one aircraft had an issue with it so you couldn't ever receive. But I have used the HF in the other aircraft or on other deployments to try and talk to my dad on my parents' sail boat or someone else would use it to make a phone call back home.

We actually could have used it for a SAR/Rescue we did on my first deployment as it would have made finding them significantly faster (thanks, Shoes). Fortunately we were able to still use our Datalink WAY out there after we climbed a lot and got updated coords.

Yeah, I'm not sure why the use of an HF radio died in the -53E. Seems like a useful capability in certain situations. Instead, it became a big vestigial organ of a big antenna on the fuselage, and hogging space on the lower console.

Seeing as how none of them worked. I guess there wasn't a requirement anymore. It was never a huge issue, just never heard why.

 

[JTS11]

It was very common to have to giggle the PCL while holding down the starter button to get it to stay on, though.

Well, that's all we were doing with a pen,.just getting it to laugh enough to start. 😁

 

[JTS11]

I only use things that really happened when doing boards - even to this day.

That's funny bc I remember going into my HAC board feeling well prepared, and the opening question from the squadron XO (HMM-REIN) asked me about a hypothetical about somehow when I was returning over the hill to SD, I got raised on the radio to come and help CALFIRE with a forest fire...I think I said well I'd try to get LOS comms with base, and get CO's approval (I even asked you're asking me on my first HAC flight?)

He proceeded to lecture everyone on Well Actually parts of the 3710


Next, he asked a question about what if some hypothetical LE org had raised me on comms about a prison break, and whether I could help (he brings up Posse Comitatus)...the 10 person board, at that poimt, was sighing, and he looked liked a dick.

You're point is very well taken..😆

 

[Gatordev]

Why put an HF radio in a helicopter? What was the requirement that drives the installation?

SAR can be one, like in my situation. We weren't able to talk to the vessel that needed help because our radio was broken, but the ship was talking to them, so which helped with the updated coords. It would have been much faster if we could have just habla'ed with them.

At the time (and something still relevant with the FMS cases like INN), L16 wasn't a thing and the helicopters didn't have L11. The B/R has a very specific DL system that gives OTH-targeting capability but only works with one ship at a time and in the '80's a lot of Navy ships didn't even have the capability (basically everything that wasn't a FFG-Perry, DD-Spruance, or CG-Tico). Add to that our NATO allies in the North Atlantic who wouldn't have that capability. So having the ability to communicate with something else (and the ability to do it encrypted) over the horizon was a requirement (in the acquisition sense).

Next, he asked a question about what if some hypothetical LE org had raised me on comms about a prison break, and whether I could help (he brings up Posse Comitatus)...the 10 person board, at that poimt, was sighing, and he looked liked a dick.

At my first squadron, our TO was flying one night and supposedly "the FBI" (I'm guessing it was local LE) was asking Tower if the helicopter nearby could come ove hover over some house in Kaneohe and tell them what they saw. He obliged, but there were probably numerous reasons he shouldn't have been where he was doing what he was doing beyond just Posse Comitatus, like not blowing someone's roof off.

Nothing came of it other than the CO at the AOM saying to not do that again.

 

[JTS11]

Nothing came of it other than the CO at the AOM saying to not do that again

Solid leadership from the CO....I always wondered if I violated some weird R&I board about overflying a grid coordinate in the Riverside Valley, enroute to the Shangri-La. of 29 Palms. Nobody knew, but the squadron legend was that it was an old-school porn film location...or just basic Scientologists...Nobody knew or really cared TBH. The R&I's were woefully outdated.

It was probably Scientologists though..