Blackhawks - North Sydney

[tartare]

About once every few months - 2 army Blackhawks arrive and hover about 100 feet above our high-rise and the building adjacent in North Sydney.
Roughly same time of day - hold the hover in formation at around 100 - 200 feet across from each other for approx 30 secs to a minute, and then depart.
They're back today - great show.
Anyone know what they're doing?
Practising for fast roping on to top of buildings?
No sign of guys with black overalls, guns etc... just crew as far as I can see.

[Epiphany]

Probably Special Ops from Holsworthy training in the urban environment. You don't actually need to deploy troops to practice basic fast roping flying training for aircrews.

[ShyTorque]

Do you remember anything else after these events?
Such as bright lights, loss of memory? Does your bottom hurt?

If not, I'd agree with Epiphany. :ok:

[buggame]

I counted four Blackhawks in North Sydney today, at times just three were visible. Aircrew training exercises in the urban environment. The army conducted the same exercise August and March last year. They also conduct night ops as well on the same day, but the weather might be dampening their fun with heavy rain right now falling in Sydney town.

[tartare]

No - botty not sore afterwards - memory pretty good too.
Eyesight obviously needs improving though - I could only see two from where I was.
Little Tartare's eyesight is pretty good though - the little tyke plays Modern Warfare 3, knows his guns better than his Dad, and swears blue that a crewman sitting behind a mini-gun :eek:waved at him as they flew over Northbridge Primary...
Looked like they were pretty active on the pedals yesterday to hold that hover - windy and rainy.

[Arm out the window]

Those guys don't have pedals, they have footrests!

[SuperF]

what do they instead of pedals? Turning hand controls or something?

[tartare]

Yes - true.
No hard pedal in the turn please - just a nudge of cyclic...

[Arm out the window]

The footrest comment was tongue in cheek; their pedals do work, but as I understand it the AFCS or whatever it's called in a Blackhawk will allow the aircraft to sort itself out as far as pedal inputs go so you don't necessarily have to do too much in that regard.

I haven't flown them so I don't know the full ins and outs of it.

[rjtjrt]

InTheWeeds

The AFCS thingy.
Tell me more.
In a spot turn in a strong wind how much does it do?
Still have to be fast on the pedals as the tail comes around up wind or does AFCS do a lot of the work for you?
John

[Trojan1981]

You mean it actually managed to hover at that alt!? Were you travelling light?

[Trojan1981]

Nice! Wouldn't want to try that in a Seahawk! :}