Fly the Crescent Two Approach
One of the challenges in flying is the weather that can be encountered. There are parts of the world that offer more challenges than others and there are different flying conditions that add to that challenge. Weather can change quickly and put a pilot in great jeopardy.
One of the flight modes that have had a great deal of risk has been the military’s use of night vision goggles. Many accidents happened in the early years of flying with night vision goggles in the Army. There are some special limitations when flying with goggles that make the challenge of weather an even greater risk.
Night vision goggles are designed for flying at night under dark conditions. They take a very small amount of light and magnify it three to five thousand times. That is the good part. Everything appears green when looking through them and it is difficult to judge distance and what objects are. But the biggest challenge may be that the only clue the pilot has that there is moisture in the air such as clouds, rain or snow, is that lights have a halo around them. When a pilot is flying in an area where there aren’t lights he may never even know he is going into a cloud or snow until he is well into it.
Sometimes when a pilot enters these conditions he suddenly looses all references and can become disoriented or run into a mountain. Snow adds another problem in that the helicopter can start to build up on the helicopter and rotor blades. When the snow builds on the rotor blades it reduces the lift capability and at the same time the helicopter is becoming heavier due to the snow build up on the fuselage. It can be a deadly combination.
I had a few close calls while flying with night vision goggles. I took off from the airport one winter night and headed out for the training areas. The weather was forecast to have some snowstorms around so I kept an eye out for any in the area. I didn’t see any storms in the training area so I proceeded with the training.
At the end of the flight period, which concluded at about midnight, I headed for the airport. We operated out of a good-sized international civilian airport. As I headed south towards the airport I could see the weather was getting worse and worse. A good-sized snowstorm had come into the area and had brought the ceiling and visibility down.
There was an interstate highway going from the area I was in right down towards the airport. I carefully worked my way over to the interstate and started following the highway home. We were easing along over top of the highway at about forty knots. We were carefully picking our way home.
Except in emergencies, we were supposed to not fly below five hundred feet in these areas and I was down to about two hundred in order to see the cars on the interstate. I also knew that in order to enter the airport traffic area and land, the regulations required the airport to have a ceiling of one thousand feet and visibility of three miles.
When I was ten miles from the airport I tuned the radio so I could listen to the weather and landing information at the airport. The tape recording said that the airport was reporting weather of heavy snow, a ceiling of three hundred feet and visibility of one mile. The weather was about one third of what I needed to get into the airport. Snow was building up on my helicopter and I needed a place to land pretty soon and I didn’t want to spend the night in a snow bank some place.
I tuned the radio over to the airport approach control frequency and gave them a call to report my desire to land there. The folks at the airport knew us pretty well because we flew in and out of there every day. And approach control knew that in order for me to legally land there the weather had to be at or better than one thousand and three. There was a hesitation before he answered my call but a moment later he responded and told me to continue towards the airport, report the bridges that were about four miles out and expect the crescent two approach.
His radio call couldn’t have been better but I wondered how we were going to get around the thousand and three requirement. Both he and I could be in trouble if anything went wrong with this. I also knew that all radio calls going in and out of approach control and the tower were recorded so there wouldn’t be any hiding what we were doing.
As I reached the bridges I made the call and reported my position. Approach control responded with a new weather report. They said the current weather was one thousand foot ceiling and three miles visibility. The field was now under visual flight rules (VFR) and I could land. Approach control said I was cleared to fly the Crescent Two Approach and land.
When I touched down on the helipad the tower made an announcement over the radio. They reported the weather was now three hundred feet ceiling and one-mile visibility. The field was again under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) and only those who met those conditions could operate there. The tower operator had announced the weather to be VFR so I could land and then immediately reported the true weather after I had made it safely to the ground. Because he knew me and knew what I needed he had faked the weather for me for just five minutes.
How many times has our bacon been saved by a friend? That night I went home to my family because of a friend in the tower. Actually, there have been many times in my life that a friend has come to my rescue or helped me avoid a disaster. Friends are worth more than all the riches of the earth! Be a friend and take care of your friends!
One of the flight modes that have had a great deal of risk has been the military’s use of night vision goggles. Many accidents happened in the early years of flying with night vision goggles in the Army. There are some special limitations when flying with goggles that make the challenge of weather an even greater risk.
Night vision goggles are designed for flying at night under dark conditions. They take a very small amount of light and magnify it three to five thousand times. That is the good part. Everything appears green when looking through them and it is difficult to judge distance and what objects are. But the biggest challenge may be that the only clue the pilot has that there is moisture in the air such as clouds, rain or snow, is that lights have a halo around them. When a pilot is flying in an area where there aren’t lights he may never even know he is going into a cloud or snow until he is well into it.
Sometimes when a pilot enters these conditions he suddenly looses all references and can become disoriented or run into a mountain. Snow adds another problem in that the helicopter can start to build up on the helicopter and rotor blades. When the snow builds on the rotor blades it reduces the lift capability and at the same time the helicopter is becoming heavier due to the snow build up on the fuselage. It can be a deadly combination.
I had a few close calls while flying with night vision goggles. I took off from the airport one winter night and headed out for the training areas. The weather was forecast to have some snowstorms around so I kept an eye out for any in the area. I didn’t see any storms in the training area so I proceeded with the training.
At the end of the flight period, which concluded at about midnight, I headed for the airport. We operated out of a good-sized international civilian airport. As I headed south towards the airport I could see the weather was getting worse and worse. A good-sized snowstorm had come into the area and had brought the ceiling and visibility down.
There was an interstate highway going from the area I was in right down towards the airport. I carefully worked my way over to the interstate and started following the highway home. We were easing along over top of the highway at about forty knots. We were carefully picking our way home.
Except in emergencies, we were supposed to not fly below five hundred feet in these areas and I was down to about two hundred in order to see the cars on the interstate. I also knew that in order to enter the airport traffic area and land, the regulations required the airport to have a ceiling of one thousand feet and visibility of three miles.
When I was ten miles from the airport I tuned the radio so I could listen to the weather and landing information at the airport. The tape recording said that the airport was reporting weather of heavy snow, a ceiling of three hundred feet and visibility of one mile. The weather was about one third of what I needed to get into the airport. Snow was building up on my helicopter and I needed a place to land pretty soon and I didn’t want to spend the night in a snow bank some place.
I tuned the radio over to the airport approach control frequency and gave them a call to report my desire to land there. The folks at the airport knew us pretty well because we flew in and out of there every day. And approach control knew that in order for me to legally land there the weather had to be at or better than one thousand and three. There was a hesitation before he answered my call but a moment later he responded and told me to continue towards the airport, report the bridges that were about four miles out and expect the crescent two approach.
His radio call couldn’t have been better but I wondered how we were going to get around the thousand and three requirement. Both he and I could be in trouble if anything went wrong with this. I also knew that all radio calls going in and out of approach control and the tower were recorded so there wouldn’t be any hiding what we were doing.
As I reached the bridges I made the call and reported my position. Approach control responded with a new weather report. They said the current weather was one thousand foot ceiling and three miles visibility. The field was now under visual flight rules (VFR) and I could land. Approach control said I was cleared to fly the Crescent Two Approach and land.
When I touched down on the helipad the tower made an announcement over the radio. They reported the weather was now three hundred feet ceiling and one-mile visibility. The field was again under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) and only those who met those conditions could operate there. The tower operator had announced the weather to be VFR so I could land and then immediately reported the true weather after I had made it safely to the ground. Because he knew me and knew what I needed he had faked the weather for me for just five minutes.
How many times has our bacon been saved by a friend? That night I went home to my family because of a friend in the tower. Actually, there have been many times in my life that a friend has come to my rescue or helped me avoid a disaster. Friends are worth more than all the riches of the earth! Be a friend and take care of your friends!
posted by Bruce | 11:53 AM
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