Good morning
 

I was just amazed by this story:

How can you become a major or a captain with 1200hrs TT and 500TT,what the heck?
Anyone???
Date:05-NOV-2008Time:20:11Type:Boeing AH-64A ApacheOperator:Aeroporia Stratou (Hellenic Army Aviation)Registration:C/n / msn:Fatalities:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2Airplane damage:Written off (damaged beyond repair)Location:Northern of Kymi Evoia - http://aviation-safety.net/database/...lags_15/SX.gif Greece Phase:Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)Nature:MilitaryDeparture airport:TanagraDestination airport:Narrative:
Crashed and caught fire
The Hellenic Army Aviation Boeing AH-64A Apache attack helicopter was engaged in simulated low-level attacks during night time against a Hellenic Army HAWK missile air-defense battery in mountainous terrain with a companion AH-64A. It is theorized that either the tail or the main rotor of the helicopter touched the ground. The crew radioed a message that they had hit the ground. The companion AH-64A alerted search and rescue and detected the flaming wreckage of the crashed Apache. Rescue efforts were hampered by exploding ammunition of the crashed Apache's 30 mm gun. This is the first AH-64A fatal accident in Hellenic Army Aviation after 25,000 hours of accident-free flights. Both members of the deceased Apache Hellenic Army Aviation, a major and a captain, were experienced with more than 1,200 and 500 hours of flight duty respectively.

Sources:

It is either hydraulics is leaking or your brain is leaking.

This is military ops. Very much different from civil. A fighter pilot might just be doing 200hrs or less per year.Chopper pilots just 100-120 per year.

Military Operations
 

You are very right.

A airforce pilot does not care about hours.
The important part is missions.

A "day at the office" could be two missions, resulting in only 60 min. in your log.

But it gives you more experience than logging 13 hrs from LHR to LAX in an airliner

RIP fellow airmen.

...and in the military you log airborne time, not block time.

Well prepare for your cigarette to fall from your lips......I have a friend who was Captain of a Mach 2+ aeroplane, charged with intercepting Russian bombers carrying out practice attacks on the UK. He used to enjoy afterburner vertical climbs to maximum altitude, having to watch his fuel situation very closely. Landing on tyres that could only do 3 landings.......he was 19 years old! He didn't have 1200 hours, OR ANYWHERE NEAR IT!

Wake up man! And try and post in the right place!

...and I have friends that flew supersonic before they where legal to buy alcohol!

Rainboe, Impossible!

You join the RAF at 18, spend 4 months in Officer training, 3 years in flying training, not sure the routine theses days but I did Jet Provost Mk3 0 13 months, JP Mk5 4 months, Hawk AFS and TWU, 15 months, OCU 4 months and then Ops training on squadron, 3 months, Add in holding time, combat survival, Avmed etc etc and you can just do it before your 22nd birthday - if you are lucky!

Rainboe - Impossible. You don't have any friends.

kick the tyres
 

Must admit it sounds unlikely, but perhaps not impossible - if he joined at 16 with the 5 "O"'s levels that used to be the minimum entry qualification, and didn't hold at any point through training.

He's refering to the splendid EE Lightning in his post, which came into service in 1747. Things were much different then and if you consider that at age 19, he could be 19 years and 364 days, it is probably quite feasible. I bet he was a Pilot Officer with 'wings' as well, something you see very rarely today.

I thought Leonardo designed the helicopter, not the jet fighter.

RB - Was his name 'NightMahr' perchance?

BOAC

I believe that the person to whom you refer went on to join the Red Arrows :rolleyes:

Dave

Indeed - and we flew very close together - line astern, I recall:)

Belgian AF
 

In the Belgian AF, early-mid 1960s, pilots flew F-104G at Mach 2.3 and FL 550 with 250 Hrs TT.
Typical F-104 pilots flew 25 to 50 hrs yearly. Each mission around 30 minutes.
Once-a-week mission at times.
And some pilots were even NCOs, if you say only officers are pilots.
And in the "all-jet" training scheme, did their first solo in a... CM-170 jet.
xxx
:D
Happy contrails

Lightning @ 19
 

Maybe this was BH (a Rhod) who later went on to fly for BEA/BEA Airtours etc:ok:

Rainboe.

Who are you??

You talk absolute codswallop!!

Someone get rid of him please

I'm me! Who else? Accept no substitutions!

Keep your hats on chaps! We were talking in't pub about how young we were when we got into flying the other day, and I obviously picked up the wrong end of the stick. But he was ridiculously young to have been allowed to give a Lightning full welly at that age, as was I to be on a 4 engined jet on my 21st. birthday. I guess we were just plain......aces.

I remember (another) 19 year-old Lightning pilot on my squadron. He didn't have a driving licence and had to wait at Binbrook on a Friday night for his girlfriend to arrive to pick him up...

:rolleyes:

- DL or no, you and I recall that driving home on a Friday from the Mess at Binbrook was not a good idea:O