Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Great Book, tells of the everyday life of a U.S. Navy Piasecki HUP-2 Retiever Helicopter pilot and his experiences flying this Helicopter. THe pilot of the HUP-2 Retiever Helicopter had to concentrate 100% of the time in flight to the sounds the helicopter was making, The attitude the helicopter was in and flying the breifed mission. No auto rotation or auto pilot like the Modern Day SH-60 Seahawks have, THe HUP-2 Was all sight, sound, and feel, The Pilot was flying the helicopter 100% of the time. With a regular crew of just two. THe pilot in the left seat and an officer or enlisted crew member in the right seat, The pilot had little time to make written notes on his kneeboard and often had the other crewman write the notes for him. If a rescue was being performed the other crew member has to fold the right seat out of the way, open the rescue hatch(below the right seat), and operate the rescue hoist located above the right seat and the rescue door. There was no rescue swimmer in those days if the person being rescued could not climb in to the rescue sling, rescuee was most likely left for dead and the pilot would continue his flight. NOTE: THe rotor blades are Spruce wood with aluminum leading edges.
While Reading this book, I gained first hand knowledge of the Piasecki HUP-2 Retiever Helicopter by being a volunteer at the USS Midway Aircraft Restoration Hanger at NAS North Island. THe Piasecki HUP-2 the Midway got came from Edwards Air Force Base in July of 2009, and the volunteer artisans performed extensive work to make the HUP-2 a show quality museum aircraft. THe Piasecki is due onboard Midway in April 2011.
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'Dan McKinnon, extraordinary helicopter pilot, brings alive the excitement and occasional terror of rescue at sea. An exciting hair raising and reverting tale of the largely untold story of helicopter resuces at sea' - Neil Armstrong, Astronaut. 'Just Great. It's going to be of tremendous interest to all naval helicopter pilots present and future and to the people who want to know more about this aspect of military flight. Boy, you've unleashed a flood of memories' - Bill Stuyvesant, legendary navy helo pilot. A daring Cold-War warrior recounts the thrills of high-sea helicopter rescue missions. Within the pages of "Rescue Pilot" distinguished naval aviator Dan McKinnon brings to life the dramatic at - sea helicopter rescues he participated in during his anything but peaceful 'peacetime service' in the United States Navy from 1956 to 1959.Helicopter flight itself, not to mention vertical-lift rescue and evacuation was in its infancy at that time, so pilots like Dan had to 'learn as they go', executing daring at-sea rescue missions from air carrier flight decks. Rough water, treacherous weather and risky cold-war conditions were all part of a day's work.Along with dramatic rescues, you'll participate in ship-to-ship replenishments, pick-ups and transfers, mine detection, and radar calibration operations. Dan also provides fascinating insider glimpses of peacetime naval life, long periods at sea, survival training, early helicopter technology, flight deck operation, and an incident-by-incident account of the U.S. Navy's involvement in the Formosa Straight crisis. In "Rescue Pilot" Dan McKinnon skillfully interweaves technical and historical information with his own thrilling real-life experiences ...and tells a story as only a man who has put his life on the line to save others can.
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