Black Hawk: Dawn to Dusk With the Aviators of Alpha Company

Story by Pfc. J.P. Lawrence
Date: 01.07.2010
Posted: 01.07.2010 01:14

Editor’s note: all photos are high resolution - click twice to maximize size.

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA – Dawn breaks over Contingency Operating Base Basra, and the pilots and crew members of “A” Company, 1st Battalion, 189th Regiment are already getting their birds ready for the day. The UH-60 Black Hawk, a signature of the Army since 1987, is a finicky machine, and a lot of work must be done before it can fly.

Chief Warrant Officer Mathew Rowley, describes a typical day in the life of a Black Hawk crew, and it’s going to be a long day.

Even though the UH-60 Black Hawk was specifically built for ruggedness, a Black Hawk’s crew chiefs are constantly busy. “I have utmost respect for my crew chiefs,” said Chief Warrant Office Mathew Rowley, a pilot with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 189th Regiment (General Support). “We go through very rigorous checks as soon as they’re done performing maintenance on top of the aircraft to make sure they have all their tools.” (U.S. Army Photo by Pfc. J. Princeville Lawrence)

Rowley wakes up by 4 a.m. Half an hour later, after a shave and a shower, it’s time to take the bus to the flight line.

By 4:45 a.m., the crew is getting the bird ready. The lead pilot plans out the day’s route, while the copilot and crewmembers double-check that none the helicopter’s thousands of moving parts have moved in the night.

“Maintenance is always an ongoing thing,” said Rowley, a pilot with “A” Company, 1st General Support Aviation Battalion, 189th Regiment. “We go through very rigorous checks.”

Next, it’s time for the briefing; time to take notes. The crew gets their mission for the day: what they have to look forward to and what they have to look out for.

Army aviators wear a special uniform to provide comfort and flash-fire protection during flights. This uniform, the A2CU, can be worn with a Microclimate Cooling Vest. (U.S. Army Photo by Pfc. J. Princeville Lawrence)

After both the aircraft and the gear are ready, it’s time for another briefing at 6:30 a. m., this time amongst each crew to discuss any possible issues with the bird.

“We talk about the aircraft,” said Rowley, a native of Helena, Mont. “If there are any discrepancies, issues with radios, issues with fluid levels,”

Showtime is 7:45 a.m. Once the briefing is done and the aircraft is ready, the crew piles into the aircraft, starts the engines and hops onto the tarmac. It’s simply a matter of waiting for passengers now.

“We’ll sit there on the radio and wait for our customers,” said Rowley. “Once they come in, we start the engines and go through all our checks and take off.”

“Right at the 3-hour mark we should be taking off,” Rowley said. “Our take-off times are always rigid. We have very specific itinerary. We try very hard to be early.”

A UH-60 Black Hawk pilot checks the tail rotor of his bird before flying. “Maintenance is always an ongoing thing,” says Chief Warrant Officer Mathew Rowley, a pilot with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 189th Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion). ” We go through very rigorous checks.” (U.S. Army Photo by Pfc. J. Princeville Lawrence)

The rest of the day is spent picking-up, dropping-off and waiting for passengers. It’s typical, Rowley said, for a crew to fly up to Talil Air Force Base, west to Contingency Operating Site Endeavor, north to COS Echo, back to Endeavor, back to Echo, back to Endeavor, back to Talil and then finally back to Basra.

Flights are usually brief between bases, Rowley said. However, flights can occasionally last up to seven and a half hours, and a full shift can go twice that. Despite this, he said they can always find something to do.

“We don’t get bored,” said Rowley. “A lot of times we’ll just have conversations with each other - a lot of teasing.”

After the crew is home and the flight is over, it’s time for them to check the aircraft one more time, wash the windows, attach the nose cover, clean off the struts and tie down the blades.

The life of a UH-60 Black Hawk aviator is a transitory one. Crewmembers spend their days flying from base to base, delivered passengers and cargo throughout the country. (U.S. Army Photo by Pfc. J. Princeville Lawrence)

Once that’s done, the lead pilot enters the flight into the logbook, and it’s time to rest and recover, for tomorrow will be another day.

Before flying, UH-60 Black Hawk crewmembers must check each of the aircraft’s three engines. Crewmembers inspect their machine many times a day to ensure the maintenance of their $14 million machines. (U.S. Army Photo by Pfc. J. Princeville Lawrence)

A gunner of a UH-60 Black Hawk scans the horizon while flying from base to base around southern Iraq. A crew of four mans each helicopter. (U.S. Army Photo by Pfc. J. Princeville Lawrence)