Originally Posted by
Otterotor
Howdy Sultan,
Was Mr. G. Colvin the pilot on that AH-1W?
Otter
Hello Otto,
It was John Honaker. Not a scratch. Jerry Carter has just run up the ship for initial flight. Had a Vibrex problem and shutdown I fixed it and John hopped in. Fifteen minutes later and we would have lost him for sure.
Gene Colvin told me when he was testing the HH-43 Huskie at extreme c.g. while an Air Force test pilot he got a blade into the airframe in flight. As the ship was coming apart he couldn't get the door open. The front bubble imploded and he bailed out through the opening.