Blackhawk

Following my ride in a Chinook Helicopter a year and a half ago, there have been numerous times during which I was supposed to finally get to ride in a Blackhawk, but each time weather or other circumstances kept me from my ride. Finally, on Wednesday, the chance arrived.

Filling in for a Horn player on leave, I have been an acting member of the Brass Quintet for a couple of weeks. The week prior we were told the rumor by the Operations NCO that aerial transport was in the works for a mission at Camp Humphreys, which would turn a 2.5 hour bus ride into a 45 minute ride in a Blackhawk, and a few days after we heard the rumor, it was confirmed.

To really get a feel for the excitement I had, you have to understand the difference between a Chinook and a Blackhawk. Riding in the Chinook was like riding in a flying school bus with some pretty serious horsepower. It was cool to fly, but apart from the view, it was very non-lavish. While the Chinook was a school bus, the Blackhawk was a Porsche. In the noisy Chinook we were reduced to hand signals, and we had a view only because the crew chief lowered the back door during the flight. In the Blackhawk, we had windows next to our seats, headsets with microphones, and since we had some interaction with the pilots and the crew chief before take-off, it almost even felt like our own private limousine service.

In the morning, we did have the disappointment of a bus-ride due to a haze in the air keeping the bird out of the air because of visibility, but the ride home was cleared as the early-morning haze cleared. On the way home we passed over a couple of Army camps, and the view over Seoul was amazing. I also noticed Korean burial mounds all over the place.

With my fun afternoon on Wednesday, I can now add "flew over Seoul in a Blackhawk Helicopter" to my "cool" list alongside "threw a live grenade" and "performed live music to a crowd of over 10,000." I would say my time in the Army has had some really fun moments...

More pictures can be found in the "Army Stuff" folder in my Photobucket account (link located to the right on this blog).