Big Floating City

My First Helicopter Ride

November 15th, 2007

While on board the USS Forrestal during the 1982 Med cruise there were only two of us qualified to work on a particularly important system. We both worked 12 hours on and 12 hours off unless a problem arose which required both of us - we then worked as long as it took.

Our system required input from all the participating ships and aircraft in the battle group. On one occasion about four months into the deployment one of our cruisers wasn’t able to connect to the system and the only technician on-board the cruiser had used all his troubleshooting techniques to no avail.

I got the call to be on the flight deck to catch a helicopter to provide a tech assist, I was excited! I had never been on a helicopter before and my first one was going to be a CH-46 Sea Knight.

I got aboard the Sea Knight, helmet and vest on - I almost looked like an aviator… NOT! Anyway, we took off and headed over the horizon for the cruiser.

As the cruiser came into view I got a little worried about the landing in what was moderate seas on such a small flight deck. Small to me that is, I was on a carrier! When we came upon the cruiser one of the crew motioned for me to stand. It never donned on me that the copter wasn’t going to land on the ship until this moment. The crewman had a harness he wanted to put around my chest so they could lower me down to the pitching deck, I asked him if he was nuts.

After a few seconds of quick and pointed barbs back and forth I somehow ended up with the harness around my chest and a cable snapped to the harness.

The crewman yelled over the din of the engines, “Step out of the copter.”

I replied, “You sure?”

He then grabbed my arm and “assisted” me into the dangling position. I started a “what seemed like a life time” descent to the pitching deck.

One of the cruisers flight deck personnel was carrying a long pole and as I got closer to the ship he placed the pole on the deck and hit the cable I was being lowered with. Told later it was to release the static charge - one more danger people on the Forrestal neglected to inform me about!

I was now on board the cruiser and was able to get right to work - the repair took about 30 minutes. It would be another 4-6 hours before a return flight would happen so was able to enjoy the moderate seas on a much smaller ship than my own. I have never been sea sick but one thing I will remember is how much my legs hurt from trying to stand for so many hours on a ship that actually rocked.

Time to fly back! Two helicopter rides in one day!

I was standing by the flight deck and could see the SH-3 Sea King, a smaller aircraft than the Sea Knight (you would think a King would be larger than a Knight…go figure), approaching. I was happy, surely a smaller aircraft could land and I could step into the craft vice being reeled in like a fish - I was mistaken.

With helmet, vest and harness on I stood in the middle of the flight deck next to a crewman with a long pole and another to ensure the fish hook was properly secured.

I was now on my way up to the Sea King, I refused to look down and just kept an eye on the Sea King crewman who is wearing a helmet with a dark tinted face shield and a button box in his hand reeling in the catch of the day.

Finally! I am standing inside the Sea King and the crewman takes off the harness. He then places his hands on my shoulders and pushes me to a seat against the bulkhead. It hurt like hell! He then sat next to me and rams his elbow into my chest - took some of my breath away - I yelled, “That’s enough!”

The crewman then lifted the dark tinted face shield and to my surprise I saw Charlie Chalk. Charlie and I both graduated from Crystal River High School, he a year earlier than I. I knew he had joined the Navy but didn’t know where he was stationed. We had been on board the same ship and both on the O-3 level this entire time and didn’t know it. Amazing.