MCB Camp Pendleton

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Soaring in Safety

28 Apr 2005 | Sgt. Luis R. Agostini Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- When the pilots at Marine Helicopter Training Squadron 303, step into the cockpit of a UH-1N Huey helicopter or AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter, they know they're in good hands.

After all, the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing squadron has 175,000 mishap-free flight hours to prove it - with nothing more than a "fender bender" to report in 23 years of service.

The only Huey/Cobra training squadron in the Marine Corps recently marked its safety milestone - accumulated since the squadron's activation in 1982. Squadron representatives attribute the success to the level of trust between pilots and Marines turning wrenches, loading ordnance and cleaning engines.

"My life is in their hands," said 28-year-old 1st Lt. Jeff M. Speakman, a Cobra pilot from Coatesville, Penn. "If the aircraft doesn't work, we can't do our mission."

Speakman recently completed flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. he's now learning how to operate a Cobra in an operational environment, like many other helicopter pilots and crewmen at the squadron.

After their initial helicopter training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Huey and Cobra pilots and crewmen continue honing their craft here, but in a more mission-oriented, tactical setting, according to 30-year-old Staff Sgt. Alan W. Duncan, an ordnance technician from Panama City, Fla.

"We teach pilots how to fly Hueys and Cobras and then send them to the operational units," said Capt. Christopher M. Chown, 31, a Huey flight officer from Herndon, Va.

Although the pilots are credited with the 175,000 flight hours without serious accident - nothing involving loss of life, injury or major aircraft damage - there's an understanding among the pilots and crew that without crew chiefs in the rear of the bird, things can get dangerous quickly.

"We're the eyes behind the aircraft." Duncan said. "When you're in a dusty landing zone, and dust is kicking around, the crew chiefs are the ones who are driving the helicopter. The pilots are the ones who put it down."

The enlisted crew chiefs, mechanics and technicians who maintain more than 70 Hueys and Cobras here take great pride in keeping the "birds" safe to the point where they claim ownership of the helicopters.

"Everything that spins, we take care of," said Cpl. Steven M. Russ, 21, an ordnance technician from Boise, Idaho. "These are our aircraft. We just let the pilots fly them."

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Soaring in Safety

28 Apr 2005 | Sgt. Luis R. Agostini Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

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MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- When the pilots at Marine Helicopter Training Squadron 303, step into the cockpit of a UH-1N Huey helicopter or AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter, they know they're in good hands.

After all, the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing squadron has 175,000 mishap-free flight hours to prove it - with nothing more than a "fender bender" to report in 23 years of service.

The only Huey/Cobra training squadron in the Marine Corps recently marked its safety milestone - accumulated since the squadron's activation in 1982. Squadron representatives attribute the success to the level of trust between pilots and Marines turning wrenches, loading ordnance and cleaning engines.

"My life is in their hands," said 28-year-old 1st Lt. Jeff M. Speakman, a Cobra pilot from Coatesville, Penn. "If the aircraft doesn't work, we can't do our mission."

Speakman recently completed flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. he's now learning how to operate a Cobra in an operational environment, like many other helicopter pilots and crewmen at the squadron.

After their initial helicopter training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Huey and Cobra pilots and crewmen continue honing their craft here, but in a more mission-oriented, tactical setting, according to 30-year-old Staff Sgt. Alan W. Duncan, an ordnance technician from Panama City, Fla.

"We teach pilots how to fly Hueys and Cobras and then send them to the operational units," said Capt. Christopher M. Chown, 31, a Huey flight officer from Herndon, Va.

Although the pilots are credited with the 175,000 flight hours without serious accident - nothing involving loss of life, injury or major aircraft damage - there's an understanding among the pilots and crew that without crew chiefs in the rear of the bird, things can get dangerous quickly.

"We're the eyes behind the aircraft." Duncan said. "When you're in a dusty landing zone, and dust is kicking around, the crew chiefs are the ones who are driving the helicopter. The pilots are the ones who put it down."

The enlisted crew chiefs, mechanics and technicians who maintain more than 70 Hueys and Cobras here take great pride in keeping the "birds" safe to the point where they claim ownership of the helicopters.

"Everything that spins, we take care of," said Cpl. Steven M. Russ, 21, an ordnance technician from Boise, Idaho. "These are our aircraft. We just let the pilots fly them."