Download - Army Aviation Digest - Aug 1958

7/27/2019 Army Aviation Digest - Aug 1958

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IMI UNITID STAllSARMY AVIATION SCHOOL.ORT RUCKII L B M


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Volume 4

UNITED ST TESRMY VI TION

DIGESTAugust, 1958

RTICLES

Is This Your Airfield?

Number 7

4The Numbers Racket . 10Lt Colonel Richard A Hansen TC

Overwater Helicopter Pathfinder Operations. 18CWO Robert P. Henderson TCArmy Aviation s New ADF 21A W. Parkes Jr.

Why Torque? 25MjSgt Raymond A Dix

DEP RTMENTSNotes from the Pentagon 2Brigadier General Ernest F. Easterbrook USABooks for the Army Aviator 15Memo from Flight Surgeon 16

Puzzler 27

Master Army Aviator. 28Gray Hair Department 29


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heArmy Aviator s Crov nBrigad ier Genera l Ernest F. sterbrook USDirector of Army Aviation ODCSOPS

To MANY YOUNG Army Avia-tors the awarding of theAviator's badge is a symbol ofrelease from t h e restrictionswhich bind ordinary earthlings.t is considered closely akin tothe garland of victory whichwas placed on the head of the

successful gladiator.only after long experience osome aviators realize that thiscrown of glory also containssome hidden thoms-that thereare important responsibilities aswell as privileges in being anaviator. With this realizationthe aviator can properly fulfillhis duty to the Armv. to hiscountry, and to himself.There are two limits withinwhich the young aviator mustchart his career. On one extreme, some aviators confinetheir interest or activities solelyto occupying the pilot s seatwithout concern for developmentas an Army officer in the generalsense, that is, as a commanderor manager. Aviators on theother extreme, perhaps in theabsence of any real love for flying, use aviation opportunistically onlv for career advancement and enhancement of personal prestige. Between thesetwo extremes, the successful2

Army Aviator must try to steera middle course - one whichproperly balances developmentof flying skill with developmentof military command and management ability.Helping aviators to select theproper course is sometimes difficult. t is not always easy toinfluence the young pilot, formost aviators are individualists;they would not be aviators ifthey were not. But we can provide a climate which is favorableto proper career development.So let us see what can be doneto provide such a favorable environment.

There are several policieswhich should be do p t e dthroughout Army Aviation toencourage and guide the youngaviator. First. we must establish an appreciation by all pilotsfor the true mission of ArmyAviation and cherish it as ourcommon goal. Next, we must reorient our training objectives toaccomplish that mission. Andfinally, senior aviators must setthe example and be guides forthese youngsters.The mission of Army A viation as defined in the textbookis well known to all as:a. Expedite and facilitate the


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conduct of operations on land.b. Improve mobility, commandcontrol, and logistic support ofArmy forces.

c Provide greater battlefielddispersion and maneuverabilityunder conditions of atomic warfare.But is it understood? The keyhere is that Army Aviation is apart of an arm or service forsupport of the Army and not anend in itself. When we as aviators use it primarily to our ownends without giving a fair return to the Army on its investment, we are inhibiting thefurther growth of Army A i ~tion. It must be our constantaim to spare no effort to meetthe needs of the user - ourArmy Whenever possible everyflight should have a purposefulobjective.Reorientation of our trainingobjectives also involves consideration of providing a reasonable return on the Army s investment. School requirementsfor branch qualification and foraviation training (includinghelicopter and instrument qualification) already total approximately 3 years. Rotation toground duty may take another3-4 years during the first 10years of an aviator s career. Anassignment to an aviator staffposition where flying is not aprimary duty may use up another 2-3 years. t is possiblefor the aviator to end up hisfirst 10 years of service havingonly 2-3 years of operational flying. It therefore appears desirable to minimize the detachingof aviators from operational assignments for the purpose oftransition training into new aircraft types. Instead, emphasis

NOTES FROM THE PENTAGON

should be placed on local transition training insofar as practicable.One means of accomplishingthis is to conduct advanced individual training in the aviationunit, assuming that the U. S.Army Aviation School has graduated a well qualified Bird Dogpilot. Selected aviators may besent to the Aviation School forinstruction and standardizationas Instructor Pilots if required.These instructors can then conduct appropriate training in thefield for transition into new aircraft types, twin-engine qualification, and refresher training invarious types of aircraft. Bythis means the aviator can improve his individual proficiencywhile serving in a productiveposition in the unit. At the sametime appreciable savings can beachieved in TDY costs and inmaintenance of the larger training fleet which would otherwisebe required.

t is also important that transitiO n training be conducted tomeet actual requirements. Thisis particularly true for twinengine qualification, which hascome to assume a position ofprestige out of all relation to itsreal value to Army Aviation.For the most part. our twinengine training should be limitedto seasO ned company grade aviators who will actually serve asduty pilO ts in providing thispremium transportation to senior commanders.The last suggestion for improving guidance of the youngpilot is for the senior aviatorto set an example on which theyoung aviator can pattern hisown career. This will be the

Continued on page 27)

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~~ . j ~ \ S THIS YOURAIRFIELD

T HE POST THEATRE was darkand comfortably cool inside-cool, that is, to all except thelieutenant on the stage. He fidg-eted behind the lectern, standing first on one foot and thenthe other, mopping his foreheadoccasionally with a damp handkerchief, and read from a sheafof papers in his hand. The soundof deep breathing came from theaudience, with an audible gruntnow and then, as someone shifted his position.At the stroke of 1100 hours,Lieutenant Dullendry came tothe end of his lecture. relaxedvisibly, and walked to the wing.The audience stirred and shuffledtoward the exits, stretching andyawning. Among the commentswere:"Thank goodness that's overfor another month TheRe s ~ f t ylectures give me a pain "Aw. I don't know. You nevercan tell when all that dope about4

retreating blade stalls mightcome in handy.""Yeah Especially for a bunchor fixed wing pilots like us ""We've gone for six monthsnow without an accident, andthey show their appreciationwith something like this ""Let's get over to the PX. Iwant to get this dry taste out ofmy mouth "The aviators filed out of thetheatre to the parking lot. Soon,a line of cars rolled through themain gate toward the airfieldwhere many Army aircraft wereparked. There were 15 Bird Dogsparked in the grass before asmall building; 10 Beavers and2 Seminoles were on the ramp infront of operations; a line ofSioux were under the controltower; the large rotors of 15Shawnees could be seen acrossthe field. Two large hangarsstood beside one of the twopaved runways. A tire truck and


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ambulance were parked beforethe fire station. Their crews layin the tall grass, their shirts off.The control tower operatorwas alone in the tower. Heslumped back, idly watchingthree Beavers in the traffic pattern."Rubble tower, six-eight-twoturning base. Request touch andgo." ."Eight-two is cleared touchand go.""Eight-two.""Rub - t ow s e - s e v e n - r e t roo-ulp-grsse ""Aircraft calling Rub b 1etower, you're garbled. Sayagain."Rub- t ow-a i r c r a -n i ng awrk-ove ""Aircraft calling Rub b 1etower, unable to read. Checkyour microphone.""Rubble tower, this is helicopter seven-eight-nine-two. There'sa fire off the end of two-seven."

IS THIS YOUR AIRFIELD?

"Don't know. I'll advise soonas I find out."The tower operator watchedthe fire and ambulance crewsscramble around, pull on theirshirts, then race for the vehicles. His mouth dropped openas the fire truck, leading theway, sped toward the wrong endof the runway."Rubble tower, this is eightnine-two. We caught our aft

rotor in a tree and we're still ahalf-mile from the crash. Getsomebody out here ""Roger, nine-two "The operator picked up thephone and dialed rapidly."This is the tower. We havea crashed aircraft off the endof two-seven. One of your Shawnees hit a tree with his rotor,trying to reach the crash site.Can you get someone to go outand check?"He slammed the phone downand jumped to the intercom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l I J I tI

This story is fiction. However, these same cause factors andothers, equally bad or worse, are apparent in many aircraftaccident investigation reports in the files of the U. S. ArmyBoard for Aviation Accident Research ' ,/I,"Roger, nine-two. Check on itand give me a call, please.Probably a brush fire.""Rubble tower, this is ninetwo. It's an aircraft. We're goingdown to check."The tower operator droppedhis mike and grabbed for theintercom switch."Operations from t ower .There's been a crash. Get thatfire truck and ambulance on theway. It's off the end of twoseven.""Roger. What type aircraft isit ?"

"Operations, the crash crew isgoing to the wrong end of therunway Get somebody to chase'em down, quick "The phone rang and the operator picked up the receiver."Tower, Sergeant Tense.""This is M a j r HairsplitThis article was prepared by theU. S. rmy Board for viation cci-dent Research staff with informationfrom its files. Views expressed in thisarticle are not necessarily those ofthe Department of the rmy or of theU. S. rmy viation School.

The Editor5


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AUGUST 1958

What's going on up there?""We have a crashed aircraftoff the end of two-seven, sir,and a Shawnee has hit a treetrying to get to it "The sergeant heard an explosion of profanity roar throughthe receiver before the majorhung up. A short time later,sirens wailed from the post andseveral ambulances nd firetrucks raced toward the airfield.Two weeks later, four officerswith heavy manila folders sat inthe anteroom of the general's office. The door opened and a colonel entered. The four officersstraightened to their feet as hespoke.Gentlemen, the general isready to see you.The colonel ushered the fourofficers into the general's officeand closed the door. The officerssaluted the general and stood atattention.General Wiser was a tall thinman in his fifties. He looked upas the officers entered and re-turned their salutes."At ease, gentlemen. Supposewe sit around the conferencetable. I believe we'll be morecomfortable there, and this islikely to take some time. MajorSeekmore, you were in chargeof investigations. Are your findings complete?"Major Seekmore looked toward the general and opened hisfolder."Sir, we have concluded theinvestigations. In view of ourfindings, I have recommendedthis conference.The general drew up his chairand motioned the other officerstoward their seats."Carryon. Major Seekmore.I'd like a thorough briefing.6

"Yes sir. At 1230 hours, 16September, a Beaver crashedone mile west of runway twoseven at Rubble Field. The air-craft burned and the pilot received fatal injuries. Shortlyafter, a Shawnee attempted toland and render assistance. At apoint one-half mile east of thescene of the crash, the Shawneestruck a tree with its aft rotorblades. The aircraft dropped 20feet to the ground, buckling thefuselage and flexing the forwardrotor blades downward into thefuselage and ground. There wereno injuries to the crew of two.That's a brief description ofwhat happened."The maj or turned to the backof his folder and removed athick packet of photographs. Hepassed them to the general."Here are the pictures. TheBeaver crashed into a denselywooded area. From the angle ofthe flight path through thetrees, measured as , it isevident that the aircraft stalledand went into an extreme noselow attitude prior to contactingthe trees."The fuel cells ruptured onimpact and the aircraft burned.As you can see from the pictures, there was very little physical evidence remaining."We have one witness reportthat the aircraft engine stoppedsoon after the Beaver began itsclimb-out from a touch and go

landing. If you will examine thefourth picture, you can see bothpropeller blades bent back overthe cowling at impact. An engine teardown inspection showedno internal damage from suddenengine stoppage. It's evidenttha no power was being developed at the time of impact.


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Fire destruction rendered determination of control action orplacement impossible. The tear-down inspection revealed nocause for engine failure.Captain English took a sample of fuel from the truck thatrefueled the Beaver at 1130hours on the day of the crash.Do you have that report, Captain ?The captain removed a paperfrom his folder and stood.Chemical analysis of thesample showed positive indications of excessive residue andgum. t was found that an underground storage tank was thecause. When the fuel leveldropped below 1,500 gallons, thesediment in the tank w spumped into the fuel truck. Inspection of the other aircraftfueled by this truck revealedsimilar contamination.Major Seekmore nodded.Thank you, Captain. The evidence indicates that engine failure was very likely a result offuel contamination.

The pilot of the Shawnee sawand reported the crashed air-craft. ;He then attempted toland and render assistance. Theonly available landing site wasa small confined area one-halfmile from the scene of the crash.In his hurry to get down, thepilot failed to note a dead treein his approach path. The air-craft passed over the tree, butthe trailing arc of the aft rotorcaught the top of the tree andthe rotor blades disintegrated.The aft end of the fuselagedropped to the ground and thefuselage section buckled. Theforward rotor b a des flexeddownward and contacted t h efuselage and ground.

IS THIS YOUR AIRFIE:LD?The medical report on theBeaver pilot gives the cause of

death as crushing chest injur-ies received from impact. It'sunlikely that rescue or medicalaid would have helped this pilot,even had he been reached immediately following the crash.However, some very importantfactors concerning crash rescuewere brought out by the investigation.The crash alarm system wasout at the time of the accident,due to relocation of the telephones. No alternate plan hadbeen provided. The control towerhad no contact with the firetruck or ambulance, exceptt h r 0 ugh intercommunicationwith operations. As a result, thecrash crews drove around thefield without direction. Also, thecrews of the ambulance and firetruck were away from the vehicles with their shirts off atthe time of the accident. Firetrucks and ambulances from themain post reached the scene ofthe accident ten minutes beforethe crash crew from RubbleField. The hospital was not notified of the crash until the bodyof the Beaver pilot arrived there.Investigation revealed thatthe Beaver pilot graduated fromthe Army Avia ion School sixmonths prior to the accident.After graduation, he was assigned to this post and given adesk job in supply. During the

six months' period, the pilot hada total of 27 hours of flyingtime. He was given a checkoutin the Beaver four months ago.Since that time, he has accumulated 14 hours of Beaver time.He had flown an average of 4.5hours per month since gradua-tion. This is not considered7


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AUGUST 1958

enough flying time to maintainproficiency and must be considered a contributory cause of theaccident.The Shawnee pilot's reactionto the accident, according to histestimony, was to get on theground and help in the rescue.If the crash crews had beenequipped with two-way radios,he could have helped far moreby remaining in the air and directing them to the scene. Heshould have attempted to leadthem, even without communication. The only possible landing site was one-half mile fromthe crash. The Shawnee pilotfailed to look over this veryconfined area prior to makinghis approach. He stated that hehas not been given any instructions about his responsibilitiesin the event of an accident sincearriving at this post. He furtherstates that he knows of no SOPconcerning the subject.The control tower opera orwas alone in the tower at thetime of the accident. He statesthat this is usually the case atRubble Field, due to the shortage of qualified personnel. Hestates that he was observing thebase leg and final approach atthe time of the accident, andknew nothing of the accidentuntil it was reported by theShawnee pilot. He says that hereceived two garbled transmissions just prior to the accident.The board was unable to findthe person who made thesetransmissions.

The underground fuel storage tanks are the responsibilityof the Quartermaster. Periodicchecks are made for water contamination, but no checks havebeen made for other contamina-8

tion. An investigaticn by PostEngineers shows that contamination couldn't have bee ncaused by seepage and musthave been in the fuel at thetime it was placed in the tanks.The only checks made on fuelcarriers re quantity checksmade at the time of delivery.The source of contamination wasfound to be the storage tanksat the contractor's refinery.

Although not considered acontributory cause in these accidents, it was found that fivedifferent aviation sections operate from Rubble Field. Eachsection has a different set ofSOPs and no two are alike. Theoperations officer has made norecommendations to correct thissituation. It was brought to theattention of the airfield commander on 15 July, this year, atthe time when a near midair collision occurred between two aircraft of separate sections.General Wiser's complexiondarkened while the major spoke.He moved forward and rested aclenched fist on the table.I think you've made yourpoint, Major Seekmore. It's obvious that supervisory errorplayed a large part in these accidents. The complacency we'vedeveloped from six months ofaccident-free aircraft operationsmay have cost that young man'slife.Colonel Rich, have ColonelBushlip and Major Hairsplit report here immediately. And cancel my appointments for the re-mainder of the day. ,The general walked to hisdesk and sat down. He watchedthe four officers leave.Rich, I'd like for you to talkwith Major Hairsplit. Find out


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IS THIS YOUR AIRFIE-LD?

why that crash alarm and crashrescue system is so fouled up.If he can't give you a satisfac-tory answer, get in touch withTransportation and Signal. Seeif you can find out why those vehicles don't have radios."

The general leaned forward."I'll speak to the aviation officer myself. I'd like ColonelBushlip to explain why we don't

have SOPs for that airfield.Let's not forget to check withthe Quartermaster about thatfuel. Those people must be slipping up somewhere. Call G-1 andsee if they can give you a reasonfor not having qualified person-nel available for airfield operations. And, Rich, let's give thistop priority. From this investi-gation, it's evident that we vebeen lucky for a long time "

UTOPSY GUIDE V IL BLEAn autopsy guide for aircraft accident fatalities, publishedby the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, is now availableon request.The need for carrying out a full autopsy on all aircrew andpassengers killed as a result of aircraft accidents is clearlyindicated by past deficient aircraft accident reports. Onlythrough such study can fatal injury prevention be advanced.The U. S. Army Board for Aviation Accident Researchrecommends that all aircraft accident investigation boards secure a copy of this guide to be used by medical members.Write to: Joint Committee on Aviation PathologyArmed Forces Institute of PathologyWashington 25, D. C

rmy ircraft MaintenanceTips eatured in S

Beginnin.g with the lead position in Issue 64, 1958 Series,a section on Army air,craft is featured in each edition of PS,The Preventive Maintenance Monthly.This official Departm-ent of the Army publication s wellknown to most maintenance personnel. With a regular sectionon Army aircraft now included, this colorful magazine -comes "must" reading for all Army aircraft maintenance personnel. Check with your local pUblications man to make surethat you receive this magazine regularly.9


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The umbers Rackett Colonel Richard A Hansen T

THE DEVELOPMENT OF ELEC-TRONIC D a t a Processing(EDP) equipment is introducing a new way of doing business in the logistical management field. t is the shot-in-thearm needed to give proper reflex to a system now musclebound with papers and numbers.Herein lies the promise of acure I i k e that afforded themanufacturing industry wi t hthe introduction of productionline techniques.Application of this equipmentwithin the Transportation Corpswill have an impact throughoutArmy Aviation and will affectthe entire system of supply andmaintenance sup p r t. Fieldmaintenance activities are an integral part of the system beingdesigned. In the following paragraphs a brief outline of thissystem is presented to acquaint

-everyone with the planned application and its effect uponu operation.Since 5 March 1956. the Transportation Supply and Maintenance Command TSMC), St.Louis, Missouri, has been investigating, developing, and planning for the application of EDPin support of its mission. Itsoon became apparent that primary consideration must begiven to air commodities, forthey require a more responsivesupport system and representthe maj or TC troop support program.The aircraft commodity, beingin a state of continuous development, demands frequent changesin configuration nd design.Such changes must be effectedin a timely manner to assure themaximum combat effectivenessconsistent with such engineer-

Elements of TSM System

PRODUCER CONSUMeRPROCUREMENT DISTRI UTOR

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ing advances. Further it mustbe recognized t h t 'economiclimitations are (in effect) thecounterbalance for applied judgment when considering what en-gineering or design changes canbe reasonably introduced andat what time. 'h i ~ determines three primeobjectIves established for oursystem which EDP can makepossible.1. Reflect an immediate pic-ture of the stock position of allunconsumed items within thesystem which may be affectedby the change.2. Control and regulate thesystem to provide effective andefficient support with a mini-mum number of line items.3. Provide positive information regarding the end item dis-tribution programmed modifica-tion, and design change to ef-fect proper and timely controlof replenishment, procurementand distribution of the requiredspare parts to properly supportall levels of maintenance.These objectives fix the limits

of the system and those majoroperational areas that must beconsidered as a part of the over-all program. The elements ofsuch a system and their relatedfunctions are as follows:TSMC: Management.Air Force and Navy: Procure-ment.Industry: Production.Depot Section: Distribution.Field Maintenance Activity:Consumption.N ow let us examine the in-ternal workings of each maj orarea ?f h ~ system and study itsrelatIonshIp to the entire sys-tem.

THE NUMBERS RACKET

M N GEMENTTSMC the management ele-ment is engaged in a mass pro-curement program of a repetitive nature; its products are de-cisions which regulate the suc-

c e s ~ or failure of the supply andmaIntenance mission. To illus-trate this consider the morethan 55,000 line items controlledby one segment. To determinewhat and how many of the moretha l.3.5 million items to buy, adecIsIOn must be made duringeach complete review c y c e.Furthermore TSMC must de-velop, assemble, disseminateand maintain historical data regarding these items. The problem of item description n didentification alone requires afile of 386 million digits of in-formation.The problem then is to de-velop systems and procedureswhich will regulate the flow ofinformation within TSMC toprovide the best possible intelli-gence to those areas affected bydecisions. However, systems de-signed must be geared to pro-duction planning.The EDP system may be com-pared to a gear box, with eachmajor operational area a gearmeshing with the other. Todaythe volume of data to be proc-essed has forced an increase inthe operating speed of thesegea.rs. r ~ i s causes difficulty inmaIntaInIng the required close

Lt Colonel Hansen was AssistantDirector, Au.tomatic Data Processing ,Transportatwn Supply and Mainte-nance. Comml 'nd, s. t. Louis, Mo., atth.e ttme thts arttcle was written.Vtews expressed in this article are theauthor s and are not necessarily those01 the Department 01 the Army or 01the U. S. Army Aviation School.The Edito'r


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AUGUST 1958

mesh, and the EDP system mustprovide .the idler gear in thesystem.The ir Force and Navy under single-service procurement,serve as the contract agency forcertain air items. TSMC's position must be geared to their systems for machine processing, iftimely reporting and control areto be achieved.Industry the producer, mustprovide certain static or histor-ical data regarding the bits andpieces which, when assembled,represent the end item to beprocured. Today, the averageprovisioning parts breakdownfor each end item contains approximately 100,000 individualitems.During the initial provisioning conference, the total bitsand pieces of the aircraft arereviewed to determine whichitems are to be selected to support the maintenance programfor a particular aircraft. Thoseitems selected usually numberabout 10,000. These parts mustbe coded and fitted into the support program, including the initial spares support (Table II)requirements.Today this mass of informa-tion is developed and processed

Uro ~ I I C S C ~t t ~ I ~

2

manually. Plans are underwayto devise a machine record cardwhich will bring into TSMC thetotal provisioning parts break-down through a medium utilizing EDPS*. This action will provide immediate intelligence forthose items common to the system within the support program.TSMC is developing a program to mechanize the provisioning procedure so that themany decisions affecting the selected items can be integratedinto a master record without delay. Once introduced into EDPthis information will materiallyreduce the present time re-quired to collate the requiredmanuals.Depot Section operations andits relationship to the inventorymanagement function are wellknown. In this area, administra-tive lag is further reduced byutilizing the Army Communications Administration Networkto transmit shipping documents,receiving reports, and inventory control data.The Field Maintenance ctiv-ity generates the demands forthe items in management of itsstocks and provides for the reg-ulation and application of themaintenance concepts applied togear the supply support systemto that plan developed duringthe provisioning action. A studyof these field demands reflectsthe intelligence needed to reviewthe maintenance concepts andits attendant supply support program and to eff ect changeswhere required.

OW T WORKSWe have discussed the objectives of our system, the ele-::Electronic Data Processing System


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ments and their relationship, sonow look behind the paper barrier at the numbers game itrepresents. The game beginswhen the man in the field selectsa number which represents apart required for aircraft maintenance. It terminates w h nTS MC can match that numberagainst the stock balance (orits technical record) and knowexactly what action is required.

The problem, in magnitude,can be represented in this manner. Today we have more than210,000 line items in our supplysystem stocked and controlledusing the Federal or AF StockNumber (or TC number if notconverted to a Federal number) .The man in the field has a selection of numbers to work from,such as the Federal, AF, ArmyNavy, and Manufacturer's stockor part number. With a minimum of five numbers to be crossreferenced for each line item, wenow have a requirement tomaintain four combinations pernumber, or more than 4.2 million numbers. This means thata request could carry anyone offive numbers to represent onepart. If the number used in thefield is different from that usedto control the stock balance,then a technical edit must beperformed to match the requestagainst the balance (or knownintelligence). In addition, these4.2 million numbers w ll ot include the parts (approximately90 ) not selected for support,and the numbers are subject tochange by engineering improvements.The solution of this problemis a system designed to establish a usable record for propernumber identification of re-

THE NUMBERS RACKETquired parts and to control itsperpetuation by mechanical orelectrical means. To that end, aMaster Control Record must bebuilt which will serve this purpose.Such a record must actuallyserve two purposes. First, itmust regulate the flow of information required for the internal operation of TSMC. Inthis capacity it must serve as ascreen to permit accurate information to pass, while rejectinginaccurate information, or itmust convert the incorrect datato correct information to permitprocessing. Such a record isbeing built at TSMC and willultimately be maintained withtechnical data direct from themanufacturer. Second, this record must be extended to thefield. This extension would assure the availability of theproper parts identification foruse by the field when needed.

ONTROLLED T STTSMC is conducting a controlled test of an extension ofits Master Record at Fort Eustis' Model Maintenance Shop instation supply management andstock accounting. The systemdesigned for station level hasmechanized that operation to amaximum degree consistentwith equipment presently available. This operation meets all therequirements of AR 711-16 andis designed to provide the following:1 Automatic preparation ofthe issue slip or requisition withcontrol of a good number (assured by its source from theMaster Record) for electronictransmission and computer processing at TSMC. The mechan-

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AUGUST 1958ical perpetuation of the numberreduces the chance of human error.

2. Control of t h e StationStockage List within the limitsof TC maintenance concepts andautomatic computation of thestation requisitioning objectivefor each part as it is processed.3. Relief of the manual maintenance of stock records and allied accounting reports by effecting automation whereverpossible.4 The production of suitableautomated media as by-productsof the mechanical system of required management data atTSMC.This test system, establishedin Januartv 1957, is showinggood results; it will permit thefurther development of the program for general application.he introduction of EDPequipment will cause a completereview and overhaul of all existing systems. Action has beenunder way in this area sinceMarch 1956. However, total systems development cannot be accomplished concurrently in allareas. A logical progression forthe total system has been established in a three-phase programto provide for orderly development.Phase I. The design, establishment, and regulation of anElectronic Data Processing System in support of the internaloperation.Phase II. The design, establishment, and regulation of anextension of the EDPS in support of the supply managementfunctions to the field maintenance activities CONUS-wide,and to .the depot structure insupport of the distribution mission.

Phase 111 'rile design, establishment, and regulation of anEDPS to provide a suitable automatic means to collect fromindustry and introduce i n t 0TSMC for evaluation all technical data concerning secondaryitems required to support TCend items.Phase I is under way. PhaseII is being tested and will require approval by the Department of the Army prior tofurther development. Phase IIIis under active development.These areas of application arebeing rapidly accelerated andthe effects of the EDPS equipment will soon be evident. Thespeed with which the systemwill develop is dependent uponour own ability to learn how touse these new tools togetherwith our capacity to teach theelectronic brain those things itmust know to provide the correct answer.In the meantime, we continueto play the numbers game thehard way. The field can provideassistance during this period oftransition by researching thenumber used to identify stocksrequisitioned. First determinewhether there is a Federal stocknumber for the item; second ifno Federal stock number isavailable, determine the mostcurrent AF number for the part.Using either of these numberswill reduce the time TSMC nowspends performing a technicaledit.

Proper development and application of electronic equipmentwill permit the integration of allsystems of supply managementinto a common channel with theinherent advantages of a reduced administrative burden atall levels.


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RADIO AIDS TO AIR NAVIGATION - J. H. H. Grover, Philosophical Library, Inc., 15 E 40thSt., New York 16, N. Y. 6.00)The author stresses the perform-

ance, capabilities, and methods ofoperation of the different types ofnavigational radio equipment, in-cluding the minimum of technical de-scription nece sary for their under-standing.

Navigational radio equipment hasimproved since the earliest days ofsimple transmitting and receiving setsused purely for communications pur-poses. Much more is now required ofthe student taking his civil licenseexamination. This volume provideshim with all the basic knowledge re-quired regarding radio aids to airnavigation.

For the qualified pilot, it will serveas a ready reference guide to refreshhi s memory on systems other thanthe one he is operating.AIRCRAFT MATERIALS ANDPROCESSES, Fifth i t ion-George F Titterton (Pitman Publishing Corp., 2 W. 45th St., NewYork 36, N. Y. 6.00)

This is the fifth edition of a highlypopular text. The author's originalpurpose in writing the 'book was topresent in one coordinated volume theessential information on materialsand processes used in the construc-tion of aircraft. How well he suc-ceeded is indicated by the text's con-tinuing popularity.

n this latest edition the authortakes note of the rapid advancementsthat have been made in aircraft per-formance, structural materials, and

processes. Advances in the quality ofnew materials such as titanium, high-temperature materials, plastics andsuperstrength steels indicate thatthese new materials should find wideuse in the aircraft industries in thenear future. The author has includedall the latest processes, materials, andspecifica tions.JEEPS IN THE SKY-Lt Col AndrewTen Eyck (Commonwealth BooksInc., New York, N. Y.)

Reviewed byDario PolitellaAssociate Editor, FLYINGMagazineAlthough this volume is out of print

after enjoying a sellout edition of5,000, it is available in the largerlibraries.

Jeeps was intended as a historyof the light plane in World War IIand was written by an Air Forceofficer assigned to the historicalbranch. t is an extensive coverage ofthe subject, including anecdotes ofexperiences of light plane pilots,culled from the files of the Pentagon.

This is the only book extant whichdeals in any detail with Army airobservation operations during WorldWar II.

The book is valuable to Army Avia-tors because it presents a fairly ex-tensive discourse on the early historyand development of the use of lightplanes by the Artillery.

Book reviews appearing in this de-partment o not necessarily reflect theopinion8l of the Department of theArmy or of the U S Army AviationSchool. The Editor5


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he wit Iqround them i?hey w t t not qe+ their flqing pay

...- ne)(+ monfh and -f-here qoes thoto;r-condTtToned

with push buiton windows I

~ h e . {),nance @fficeric to blame /o

\\f he would pay f l ~ t n 9 pay for~ m o n ~ \ ~ even Tf the ogre. ( ~ ~ )

qrounded on avta+or-+he aviator would fhTnk~ o O O O

~ ~ {} O ~ qe+ well in ~ monthsA \ ~ 5 ~ OC3 we II +-Ornl ~ to see '\ )oc and qet frxed.

\i hen when ~ e was flyfnq,hewou ld be ha p ~ and no worry

whefher or not


19/36

he had cancer Qr ~ . o r s o m e ~ t n 9and he wou Ie no+ forqef 0 puf down

. his gear r switch tan-kg. efc

~ u the \Jrnance


20/36

Overwater Helicoptf trPathfinder Operations

CWO Robert P Henderson TC

RMY PATHFINDE.RS AIDIN THE navigation and control of Army transport aircraft.Ordinarily they precede an as-sault echelon to establish navigation aids and communicationnets or for reconnaissance missions. In practicing pathfindermissions I became interested inthe use of the helicopter asa pathfinder in operations overwater. Was this possible? Whatdifficulties would be met thatwere different from a land operation? Some of the differencescan be easily seen but somecame as a surprise.In 1953 while stationed in theHawaiian islands I became acquainted with a ieu tenantErickson of the Infantry. He wasas interested in helicopters as Iand not being a pilot he badg-ered me at every opportunity tofly in the helicopter. In talkingover some of the helicopter path-finder possibilities in amphibious operations I discovered hewas an excellent swimmer wholong had nursed a desire eitherto jump or dive from a slowly

CWO Rober t P. Henderson s aflight instructor in the Department ofRotary Wing Training, U. S. ArmyA viation School Fort Rucker. Aformer Marine aviator he has loggedmore than 3 400 hours in bath fixedand rotary wing aircraft. Views ex-pressed in this article are the author sand are not necessarily those of theDepartment of the Army or of theU. S. Army Aviation School.

The Editor8

moving helicopter. Why not wethought? And why not put together a full set of plans combining both swimmers and helicopters in an overwater operation?We got approval for the experiment and began to screenvolunteers. At the outset I wasable to get an H-19 in good mechanical condition along with anervy little crew chief weighingabout 100 pounds. We decided torun the first test in a protectedlagoon where the water was deepbut not too rough.FIRST TEST

For this first test we stationeda motor launch in the lagooncontaining three good swimmersand a doctor in case of emergency. Lieutenant Erickson madethe first three jumps and whenwe met only minor difficultieswe continued working with therest of the swimmers. Besidesdropping the men it was necessary to return to the same spotto pick them up.I expected little difficulty insetting the men up for theirjumps. Before takeoff I had figured the maximum fuel I shouldcarry for a load of four men andcrew chief. On the first approachto the drop area I found that byheading directly into the wind Iwas also heading into verybright sun and the reflectionfrom the water made it difficult


21/36

OVERWATER HELICOPTER PATHFINDER OPERATIONS

to judge my height above thewater. On the fol lowing ap-proaches I corrected my head-ing. The approaches were madeat different altitudes above thewater starting at 10 feet andgoing as high as 35 feet whichwas found to be the maximumheight for safe jumps.I used varying airspeeds upto 30 knots but the most im-portant consideration was thegroundspeed, which we foundshould be held below 20 knots.Beyond that speed, the swim-mer had difficulty m a kin g aclean entry into the water. Wedecided all jumps should bemade feet first and facing for-ward on contact with the water.Care had to be taken to jumpforward from the cabin to avoidhitting the rear wheel. Anotherconsideration was spacing thedropped men; they could not betoo close for the pickup.

PI KUPWhen all the men w rdropped, I returned to pick themup from the water. This was themost difficult part of the opera-

tion. I found you had to fly thehelicopter at an altitude highenough to clear the water butat a speed slow enough to pickup the men. We tried severalmethods for pickup. Finally,a rope ladder about 30 feetlong proved to be most suc-cessful. The hoist was satisfac-tory if only one man was to bepicked up; but if more than oneman had to be raised to thecabin, it became more difficultbecause the helicopter wouldhave to come almost to a hoverover the water. Ground cushionwas lost while hovering abovethe water and more power was

needed.We found that pickups couldbe made at a groundspeed up to2 knots. It was relatively easyfor the men in the water to fol-low the ladder as it trailed inthe water. After we made con-tact with the man he was im-mediately lifted clear of the wa-ter. This allowed him to hangalmost straight below the cabinof the helicopter as it continuedto fly at the same airspeed. Aft-er he reached the cabin entrancewe gained additional speed, andat once another approach wasmade to recover each swimmerstill in the water.

OPEN W TER OPER TIONThe first of the tests was suc-cessful and we were given ap-

proval for add i t i n a I tests.These were made in open wateralong a stretch of coastline ap-proximately five miles long.Operating in the ocean pre-sented new problems. First itwas f u n d unsatisfactory todrop men where the ocean swellswere too large or heavy break-ers covered much of the shoreline. Next it was difficult to de-termine the depth of the waternear the shallow beaches. Andthird it was a problem for thepilot to regulate his heightabove the water when therewere large ocean swells. Severaltimes I found my wheels gettingwet on a pickup.About 60 men took part inthe ocean operation, and theonly casualty in the tests wasa man who sprained his back at-tempting to dive head first. Wefound that a great amount ofcooperation was needed betweenthe pilot anq the crew chief, whoalso acted s jump master. By

19


22/36

AUGUST 1958

use of the intercom the pilotcould tell the crew chief theproper time to jump the menand the crew chief could helpguide the pilot so the ladderwould be at the right positionand altitude for pickup.

PR TI E MISSIONSLater we flew two actualpractice missions using t h eswimmers as a ground recon

naissance party. In one wemoved the party from a shipto a designated beach area andin the other from a land area toanother beach area.In both missions the helicopters were given a definite courseto follow out to sea which wouldeventually bring them back tothe beach designated as the landing area. As they approached thecoastline they would fly parallelto the beach and discharge theirmen into water as was practicedon the earlier tests. Gear takenw s waterproofed packagedand dropped along with the men.The helicopters returned to theiroriginal point of takeoff and theground reconnaissance p r t ycontinued on to the beach. At apredetermined time the helicopters returned to the same areato pick up the men.

f the reconnaissance partywere successful it was to display panels on the ground inviting the assault force to land.The party would later establishlanding areas for the helicoptersand assist in bringing them intothose areas. However if the operation we r e not successfulpanels would not be displayedand the ground reconnaissanceparty would meet the helicoptersat the predetermined time abouta half mile off shore.At the predetermined time wereturned with the helicopters topick up the reconnaissance partyand found panels displayed. Ourhelicopters relayed this condition to the assault commanderand the troop - carrying helicopters were immediately sentout to the beach area. The maneuver was a complete success.In later maneuvers we provedthat a smoke screen could bevery beneficial to pathfinder air-craft without hinderance totheir operation. The swimmersused we r e v e r y enthusiasticabout the part they played inthis operation.I believe these parties can betrained whenever needed andused under actual wartime conditions.

Conversion to Greenwich ean Time

2

Greenwich Mean Time has been used on all CAA Air Traffic Controlfacilities since 15 June 1958. To enable aviators to become accustomedto the use of GMT control personnel will give the GMT first followedby the corresponding local standard time.Conversion from local time t Greenwich IMean Time 18 accomplishedas follows:To convert from to Greenwich Mean TimeEastern Standard Time Add 5 hoursCentral Standard Time Add 6 hoursMountain Standard Time Add 7 hoursPacific Standard Time Add 8 hours


23/36

rmyAviation s

RADIO DIRECTION IN DIN GEQUIPMENT on aircraft datesback to before World War I andmany types have been used inthe succeeding 40 years. Duringthe past 20 years continuallyimproved versions of the automatic direction finder (ADF)

have appeared. The AN/ARN-59has now been officially standardized as Army Aviation s primary navigation aid until suchtime as self-contained navigation systems are ready for issue.The AN/ARN-59 ADF operates in the band of 190 to 1750kilocycles. t can be used to getautomatic bearings to any clearchannel r a d i transmitter,whether it be a 5-watt transpo r t ab I e ground transmitterwhich can be put on the air in afew moments or a 50 000-wattbroadcast station. There areabout 25 000 such ground radiotransmitters in this frequency

New DFA W Parkes Jr .

band located worldwide. Thisnew ADF can operate with stations located far beyond t h ehorizon. Reception at altitudesof a few hundred feet above theterrain, from stations considerably beyond the horizon may bevery important in sparsely settled areas or in tactical applications.The AN ARN-59 replaces afamily of heavier and otherwiseless suitable ADFs. This replacement was made after determining that the operational requirement existed for a directionfinder on aircraft in the 190 to1750 kc band. Advances in design made it possible to reducethe weight over the heaviestprevious standard ADF by afactor of 3 to 1 (from over 60pounds to under 20 pounds),with an even greater ratio ofvolume reduction.Although previous standard

21


24/36

AUGUST 1958

automatic direction finders wereadequate they were much tooheavy and large and otherwiseoperationally unsuitable f o rArmy aircraft. The AN ARN-59 is lighter and has less aerodynamic drag than the oldermodels. This has been accomplished with no s c r i f i ~ e in reliability by a mechanIcal andelectrical design expected to simplify maintenance in the field.For example a shielded room isno longer necessary for maintenance tests because of a part ofthe bench test equipment a device resembling a dishpan intowhich the loop fits snugly electrically simulates a large shielded room. Additional featureswhich insure reliability includeuse of a ferrite core loop ferritecores in r.f. and Lf. coils indicators and high value capacitorsall hermetically sealed.

RELI BILITYReliability for operation in allkinds of military aircraft andin all climatic conditions was theprimary requirement; an unreliable radio direction finder isexpensive at any price. If anADF cannot be relied upon forcontinuous operation in the highhumidity of the tropics the extreme cold of the Arctic the dustand heat of the desert and under severe shock and vibrationit is definitely not suitable forpresent day military use. The

AN ARN-59 was adopted asstandard after more than a yearof engineering and suitabilitytests by Army laboratories andfield agencies.After an additional year ofoperational experience its reliability factor is one of the bestin the airborne electronic field.

Requiring less space and wiring this new set can be installedin existing aircraft as part of aretrofit program as well as asingle or dual installation in newaircraft.

By operating the subminiature tubes well below their continuous ratings lower bulb temperatures and considerably longer life are realized. Sudden failure of these tubes plus othercomponents are minimized by aneight-hour bench run-in prior tofinal inspection.Design specifications have increased in keeping with the needfor more elaborate electronicsystems required as additionalequipment is installed and operated simultaneously in an aircraft.R a d i frequency radiationcaused by poor dynamotor commutation improper filtering oflow voltage ripple or circuitswhich allow signals to reach thereceiver through the powerlineshad to be eliminated. Receivershave been damaged by transmissions from equipment withinthe same aircraft even with thetransmitter 0 p e r a t i n g t afrequency well separated fromthat of the receiver. Radiationfrom an r.f. oscillator can alsostray through the antenna to another receiver in the aircraft.Recognition of these problemsand proper design and testinghave eliminated these defects.

Mr. Parkes is vice-president of theAircraft Radio Corporation BoontonN. J. which manufactures theAN IARN-59. Views expressed in thisarticle are the author s and are notnecessarily those of the Departmentof the Army or of the [[. S. ArmyAviation School.-The Edttor


25/36

Dual installation nd du l indicator of new DF in Beaver

USEFUL NYWHEREThe AN ARN-59 is usefulanywhere in the world on almost

any clear-channel signal withinits band. Although the receiver is basically an automaticdirection finder (ADF), it is alsodesigned to meet all of the electrical and operational require-ments for receiving on a fixedantenna, the 4-course low-frequency radio ranges still in greatuse in many parts of the world.A receiver designed for use asa flight instrument for Armyaircraft, particularly at night,must have selectivity which candifferentiate between stationsonly 3 kc. apart. The receivermust be mechanically and electrically stable so that when thestation is tuned in and identified the aviator can assume thatit will remain there while he at-tends to other duties.A receiver incapable of detecting stations 3 kc. apart orwhich does not remain tuned tothe desired station can get theaviator into a dangerous situa-tion particularly while flying at

night or when adjacent channelstations hundreds of miles awaymay easily be heard. Partialremedy on any airborne radio iscareful station identification.This receiver was designed tooperate with radio stationsthroughout the broadcast bandeven though they may not be ona clear channel. Obviously if anairplane is flying in an areawhere signals from two or morestations on the s me frequencyare heard, the receiver can makeno distinction and the indicatorcannot select the direction ofthe desired station. The abilityof the AN/ ARN-59 on ADF todifferentiate between stationsthat are nearly the s m efrequency is excellent depending on the stations relative powers and distances.

CCUR CYAccuracy of bearing indication is assured by a simple compensator. The indicator is compensated to read the true bear-ing of the station to an accuracyof better than two degrees eventhough the apparent direction3


26/36

AUGUST 1958of the radio wave may be distorted by the position of the aircraft.

The low power input to theANI ARN-59 of 2.8 amperes at28 volts DC helps to minimizethe drain on the aircraft's generator system. The size of thegenerator, as well as its weight,goes up fast as the power requirements increase.T ST QUIPM NTTest equipment suitable foruse in the field was made available simultaneously with the

ANIARN 59 and installed atseveral Army agencies and ataircraft manufacturing plants.The test equipment made benchtesting very simple prior to installation of the AN / ARN 59.BTK-21/ARN-59 nomenclaturehas been assigned for the benchtest kit required for maintenance. The only additional equipment necessary is a signal generator and a voltohmmeter. Instructional literature on operation and maintenance of the testequipment completes the requirements for doing a goodday-to-day maintenance jobTraining of personnel for thisjob is only slightly more extensive than for the MOS of RadioRepairman.Mechanical remote control oftuning on the ANI ARN 59 ispreferred to digital presentation.The mechanical system permitssimplicity and red uction inweight and size and requires lesstime to tune. It is quicker andeasier for the aviator to crankto a station than set three separate knobs in a digital-type tun-

24

ing device.One AN / ARN 59 may be installed for dual control and dualmonitoring for student trainingpurposes. In this arrangement,identical control units and indicators, along with a "push-tocontrol and indicator light, areinstalled in each cockpit. Completely dual ADF installationsare being placed where requiredfor either tactical or navigational requirements.A number of V S. Army aircraft flew the North Atlanticduring 1957 'using the AN / ARN59 as the primary radio navigation aid. Distances bet wee nradio checkpoints on such tripswere as much as 1,000 miles.Thus reliability, sensitivity, andaccuracy became matters of thedifference between a very wetand a very dry trip. The tripproved to be dry

S NSITIVITYThe ANI ARN-59 is so sensitive that even with the aircrafton the ground a standard lowfrequency airways radio stationof the "RA" class can be heard

and tracked as far as 100 milesaway, depending on weather andintervening terrain. Normally,one can expect reception ranges,in flight, of 200 miles over landfrom this class of station. Overwater, the dis tance is oftengreater.These flights seemed to showthat this ADF is one of the bestobtainable. Army Aviation hasa useful navigational tool in thisnew standard ADF. In the coming years, VERs from users (orthe lack thereof) should confirmits value and weaknesses.


27/36

I I M d41et 4. d.ake luted u e4e Q H4welltl.to that Co HiuuuJ ~ e d ; , o , 0 /

WH I TORQUE/5gt Raymond A Dix

EVERY MECHANIC WOULD ,torquehis neck to get a look atMARILYN in her famous calendar pose. And chances are, he'dtorque it at pay call and messcall, or just standing in front ofthe drug store. Fortunately, hedoesn't have to worry aboutovertorquing or undertorquingin these cases. Nature gave himsome darn good stops and warn-ings to keep him from twistinghis head off. But, put a wrenchin his hand, give him a bolt toturn, and it's a different storyThe accident files of the U. S.Army Board for Aviation Accident Research contain m n ycases that resulted from the improper torquing of some nut orbolt. It doesn't seem to matterwhether they were overtorquedor undertorqued. Both have beenfatalRaise the tail of a Bird Dogand place it firmly on a jackpoint. Grab the tailwheel yokewith both hands and try movingit in all directions. Chances are,you'll get looseness in all directions. This is an undertorquedcondition. Imagine the terriblevibration that must take placein that tail assembly duringlanding and takeoff. With thevibration and knocking togetherof those loose metal surfaces,crystalization of the metal isfollowed by fatigue, cracks, and

failure. It's a rare case wheredamage is limited to the tail as-sembly. Normally, this is followed by rudder and elevatordamage - sometimes eve nworse There are many cases onfile of so-called accidents due toundertorquing.SHEAR POINT

Some mechanics make surethey won't have any loose, vibrating metal knocking together. They tighten everythingdown, then get a pipe or longbar for leverage so they can takeone more turn. This doesn't always strip threads. Mostly, itjust stretches and strains thebolt almost to the shear point.With the jolt of a landing or thevibration of normal flight, thebolt breaks off and there's an-other accident. In these cases,overtorquing is the cause.Even where the proper torqueis indicated on a part by themanufacturer, it doesn't guar-antee that proper torque will beused. There are cases where thisinformation was totally disregarded.An a c c i de n t investigationboard has a tough job tracingdown the cause of those accidents resulting from impropertorquing. But, in most instances,they will find it When the nutor bolt that failed is found, it

25


28/36

AUGUST 1958

will be sent to a laboratory foranalysis. The analysis will prove,beyond all doubt, whether or notthe failed part was improperlytorqued.H LPFUL INTS

If you the mechanic, don'twant an accident of this type onyour conscience, follow thesehelpful hints on torquing:Torque Wrench. Make sureyou have a torque wrench availa-ble in your aviation unit. Don'tjust say it's unauthorized byyour T jO&E. Order one Andsubmit a UER on your T jO E.Use and Care. Make certainthat you, and any other personlikely to use the torque wrench,entirely understand its proper

use. Give it maintenance care,handle it gently, and store itneatly and carefully. It's a pre-cision instrument; have it cali-brated and tested at a reliabledepot at the regular intervalsrecommended by t h e manu-facturer, or more often if youbelieve it's required.Dash Two. Refer to the dashtwo maintenance handbook forthe prescribed torque to be ap-plied to the job you're doing. Ifyou have to fall back on theS.A.E'. chart, make certainyou're not working with aspecial material. he S.A.E:.chart is only valid for standardnuts and bolts. If the dash twohandbook gives you two dif-ferent readings, get the correctone from the manufacturer'stechnical representative, andsubmit a UER on the dash two.Never try to remember thetorque values throughout youraircraft. There are just too manyto remember If you feel capableof remembering all the torque6

Results of improp r torquevalues of one aircraft, you belongon a quiz show Maintenancehandbooks are always being re-vised and this includes torquevalues. Make sure you get theright one.Loosen it First. Never try tocheck the torque on a nut orbolt just by applying the torquewrench. It won't work If youwant to prove it to yourself, at-tach a light coil spring to aweight and pull it. You'll seethat the spring stretches fartherto get the weight moving thanit does to pull the weight afterit's moving. The reason is staticfriction, which must be over-come before you can get a trueindication of the pull necessaryto move the weight. The same istrue of the torque necessary toturn a nut or bolt. Get the indi-cation of torque while the nut orbolt is turning. This means thatyou must first loosen the nut orbolt; then use the torque wrenchto set the correct torque whileth nut or bolt is turning

M /Sgt Dix is Air Safety TechnicalAdvisor for the U. S. Army Boord forA viation Accident Research FortRucker, Alabama. The views ex-pressed in this article are the author sand are not necessarily those of theDepartment of the Army or of theU. S. Army Aviation School.The Editor


29/36

you ARE ON an instrument flight plan flying at 6 000 feet. Theminimum en route altitude is 2 000 feet. The procedure turnaltitude at your destination is 1 500 feet. After contacting ATCSand making a position report, you receive clearance to continueyour flight. ATC clears you to cruise at 6 000 feet to your destination airport.Indicate by a y the solution or solutions which you think would

best fit the situation.This clearance authorizes you to:o Make an immediate approach 0 Make any amount of descentupon arrival at your destina- you desire but do not go be-tion. low the minimum en routeo Cruise 6 000 feet to your altitude before reaching yourdestination. destination.o Make an immediate descentto any altitude and continueto your destination.

Maintain any altitude between 6 000 feet and theminimum en route altitudeso long as you notify A pproach Control when passingthrough each thousand.o Make an immediate descentto procedure turn altitudeand continue to your destination.

The recommended solution to the PUZZLER may be found onpage 32.

Con tinued from page 9most challenging part of thisproposed program to implementas it requires an unselfish devotion to duty by the senior aviator. It involves such actions as:a. Foregoing habitual travelin command aircraft to allowyounger aviators an opportunity to obtain experience as service pilots in such aircraft.b. Conducting twin - enginetransition training on the basisof military requirement ratherthan individual desires.

c Emphasizing in daily con-

tact with subordinates the importance of command and management experience in the Armyas well as development of pilotproficiency.The foregoing proposals maybe distasteful to some aviatorswho may have lost their gladiator spirit. However withoutsuch firm determination to provide a real service to the Army,we may restrict the p r o p rgrowth of Army Aviation. Ourcrown may grow additionalthorns and become really uncomfortable.

27


30/36

M STERRMY

VI TOR

MAJOR WILLIAM G. KILMER the Master Army Aviator above, isan Industrial Mobilization Trainee at Hiller Helicopters, PaloAlto, Calif. As of 15 September 1958, he will be assigned to theTraining and Organization Division, Transportation Section, Hqs,USCONARC.Holder of a private pilot s license prior to entering the service,Major Kilmer graduated in 1942 from the Liaison Pilots CourseP-9 at the Artillery School, Fort Sill. From 1942 to 1945, he servedas a Liaison Pilot with the 90th Infantry Division, took part in theNormandy invasion, and received the Silver Star.He was the first Army Aviator to be assigned to the Office ofthe Chief of Information Department of the Army serving in thatcapacity from 1951 to 1952. Other major military assignmentsinclude command of the 506th Helicopter Company at Fort Benningin 1953 and command of the 6th Helicopter Company in Japan andKorea from 1954 to 1955. He was assigned to Fort Rucker in 1956as Transportation Corps Liaison Officer, and became the first officer to hold this position.He majored in Education at Drake- University, Des Moines,Iowa, graduating in 1939. His service schooling includes the Associate Course at Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth (1952), and Helicopter School (1954).Major Kilmer is the second Army Aviator to receive an AirlineTransport Rating. which he was awarded in 1950. Instrument ratedand dual qualified, he has logged more than 3,200 hours of firstpilot time in Army aircraft.28


31/36

"I was fifteen feet off theground. I was in a right turn.Yet I was holding full left rudder and full left aileron. Myright propeller was feathered.The stall warning horn w sblowing i ke mad. Straightahead the top of a palm treestuck up above the horizon. Beyond it lay the Florida swamps.The roof of my mouth was dry.Beads of sweat became rivulets.I was scared. In fact I had neverbeen so scared in the nineteenyears I had been flying."Later I realized that I hadwitnessed a similar harrowingexperience nearly ten years before without being aware of itat the time. You see, at thattime, as a strictly single-enginepilot, I had never heard ofMINIMUM SINGLE' - ENGINECONTROL SPEED Pardon thecapitals. I have since seen thiswritten as V1, Vse, Vmc, etc.,but it is my firm conviction thatthis all-important speed cannotbe spelled out too plainly.

The above quotes are from anarticle entitled "The Big Scare"which appear in the July, 1957,issue of the UNITED STATESARMY AVIATION DIG EST.This article presented a dramatic and lucid account of theauthor's introduction to mini-

mum single-engine con t r 0speed. One month after it waspublished, two Army Aviatorslost their lives in an attemptedsingle-engine go-around.The Seminole was making aright hand traffic pattern approach to runway 7, with theleft engine shut down and itspropeller feathered. This runway was 2,230 feet long withoverruns of 500 feet on each end.The weather was VFR. As faras can be ascertained, the aircraft was in good mechanicalcondition. Occupying the leftseat was a Senior Army Aviator (2,666 hours total; 108 hoursin the Seminole) who was receiving dual instruction. The instructor pilot in the right seatwas also a Senior Army Aviator(3,603 hours total; 625 hours inthe Seminole). The flight wasproperly authorized and clearedfor training purposes. The aircraft had made several landingsprior to the accident. On thelast approach, a touchdown (ornear touchdown) was made at

The Gray Hair Department is pre-pared by the U S. Army Board forAviation Accident Research with in -formation from its files Views ex-pressed in this department are notnecessarily those of the Depar tmentof the Army or of the U S. ArmyAviation School. The Editor.9


32/36

fltr ling Q 1 1 a i l i ~ r - I IAND IT HAPPENED that inancient days, there chancedto be a young page who wasconsidered the most normal manin the kingdom. All manner of~ folk gainsayedhim thus. Andit came to passthat when hehad met th et e s t and hadrisen to knight

hood, he wascalled Sir Normal. For such wasthe way in that day.Sir Normal was assigned tothe Bird Dog Brigade of HisMajesty s Flying Artillery. Heapplied himself diligently andearnestly strove to become proficient in the ways of his craft.And it came to pass that whenhe had mastered the maneuversof the beast and was filled withthe confidence of his youth, hedescended from the heights,having it in mind to return theBird Dog to the stables.

The confident knight made anormal approach on a left baseleg for alighting to the north.t chanced tha the wind wascalm on that day and he lowered45 degrees of flaps, the betterto lower the alighting speed ofthe craft.The Bird Dog lit in a normalmanner, with the knight incomplete command. It traveledstraight down the alighting pathfor the distance of a strong arrow shot 400 feet). After traveling three-quarters of this distance, the knight noticed thatall was not well with the tail ofthe craft; it seemed suddenlylight. He pulled aft on the controlling stick and the Bird Dogbegan to turn to the starboard.Sir Normal engaged full leftstirrup, but the craft continuedto turn and began to skip lightlyover the sod. The left wingdipped to the surface and scrapeditself thereon, while the rightforeleg broke at the hip. The

~

approximately the h a f w ypoint of the runway.Simultaneous with t 0 u c hdown (or near touchdown), fullpower was applied to the operating (right) engine. TheSeminole yawed to the left on aheading approximately 30 fromthe runway. t passed over ahangar near the runway, clearing it by 5 to 10 feet, and continued across an open area in a

left wing-low attitude. The landing gear was down and flapswere fully extended. Beyond theopen area stood two smokestacks 125 feet high), at a distance of 1,300 feet from therunway. To the left of thesmokestacks was a line of fac-30

tory buildings 40 feet high).These were the obstacles confronting the pilots as the aircraft passed over the hangarbuilding and open area.The Seminole continued in aleft wing-low yawing attitude.A greater degree of bank causedit to miss the smokestacks andpass over the first factory building. After clearing this building, the aircraft rolled to theleft, crashed into the factorycourtyard and burst into flameson impact. This accident wasnonsurvivable; death for bothpilots was instantaneous.

WRECK GE EX MINEDExamination of the wreckage


33/36

Bird Dog stumbled to a swirling stop.And the gray beards came in amournful fashion to examinethe broken craft and read thesigns on the turf. And whenthey had finished, they calledupon the knight and spake inthis manner:"Whyfore didst thou not havethe controlling stick back to prevent the lightness of thy tail

from the moment of alighting?""What caused thee to fail inthe use of the brake ?""Why didst thou not use thepower, for such is the way oftorque that it will aid in thestopping of a starboard turn?""Why didst thou not use ameasure of down aileron on the

outside of this turn, for surelydrag was sorely needed in thatplace ?""All these things have weasked thee, to no avail Thescribe has written for all to read

revealed the following:a. Landing gear down andlocked.b. Flaps fully down.

c Left propeller feathered.d. Right propeller pitch changetransmission cam in full highposition.There was no known materielfailure which may have contributed to this accident. A technical team examined the wreckage and could find no evidenceof mechanical failure. Both eyewitness reports and mechanicalevidence indicated that t:R e rightng i n e was developing ful]power and the left engine propeller remained feathered untilimpact.

GRAY HAIR DEPARTMENT

and his scrolls prove that thelast portion of the alighting rollis no place to relax thy command of the craft."

"As sure as the horse needethreins, thy Bird Dog needeth fulldirectional control even untilthou art ready to dismount ""Let not the norm l approachnor the normal alighting lullthy senses. For it is written:'Thy flight continues until the

engine is silenced'.""Go and tell thy children, andthy children's children, lest theyalso stumble on this path."And the gray beards raisedtheir cups in unison. For theywere very wise, and such wasthe custom in those days.

BIRD DOG RATE SOARSDuring the three year period,1955-1957, the Bird Dog accidentrate has grown from 34 per100,000 Hying hours to 58 per100,000 Hying hours. This repre-sents an increase of 70.6 %.

The application of full powerto attempt a single-engine goaround in landing configuration,at low altitude and low airspeedis every bit as lethal as pullingthe pin from a live grenade ina sealed room. The odds areoverwhelmingly against you

inal resting place or Seminole~ . . . . . . . .~ A /

~ l ~ H I \ I N I '

III i m m IE l III III1II1I1ff11I11E1E1E1Ilffi


34/36

AUGUST 1958

Flames destroyed most of this SeminoleThe Operating Handbook tellsthe story. TO 1L-23A-1, page36, contains this note:"With full flaps and geardown, level flight cannot bemaintained on one engine; un-less you have a safe margin of

airspeed and altitude you arecommitted to the landing. DONOT ATTEMPT TO GOAROUND.C UTION

The single-engine go-aroundprocedures on page 38 of thissame publication contain thiscaution:"Elevator control forces atthe start of a go-around are notexcessive; however, extreme

rudder control will be require.dat low airspeeds and if insuf-ficient or applied too slow, theairplane can go into an uncontrolled roll.Altitude and particularly airspeed are the two margins thatmust be maintained to safelypr a cti c e single-engine goarounds. Although the Operat-ing Handbook says to maintainat least 85 mph at the beginning of a go-around, rememberthat 85 mph is the bedrock bottom for maintaining controlt is re-emphasized that 100mph is the minimum safe single

engine airspeed in the L-23type aircraft when practicingsingle-engine operation in thetraffic pattern.

~ 8 PUZZL ROn the basis of the factual information contained in the PUZ

ZLER on page 27, the recommended solutions are as follows:Make an immediate approach upon arrival at your destination.Cruise 6,000 feet to your destination.Make any amount of descent you desire, but do not go below theminimum en route altitude before reaching your destination.NOTE: You are encouraged to submit comments to the Editor-inChief of the U S. ARMY AVIATION DIGEST on the contents ofthe problem or on any of the material appearing in the magazine.3


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.m

Above is the front view of the new rotary wing hangar ofthe 3rd Trans Co Hel) and 153rd Trans Det CHFM), new towerand new fire station. Below the Headquarters building is seen

t the left while the rear of the rotary wing hangar is t theright.


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In addition to serving FortBelvoir and the U.S. Army En-gineer School Davison ArmyAirfield is the home of a fleetof aircraft used by Department of the Army officials.Army air traffic destined forthe Washington D C. areaalso uses this field and a totalof 385 transient flights wererecorded in May 1958.

A single 3 000-foot runwayhandles the entire traffic loada t present. Completion thissummer of a new heliportparallel to the main runwaywill ease some of this trafficcongestion.The recent t ransat lant ichops of Seminole Deltas toEurope and the Far East owedmuch of their success to theDavison facilities which provided the final stop for maintenance checking of equipment and other necessary essentials preceding these ferryflights.Davison has standard radiofacilities as well as a GCA fortraining purposes. Growingpains continue and FY 59 construction calls for completionof another hangar and a rotating beacon with new runway lights.

Download - Army Aviation Digest - Aug 1958

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