so you wanna fly in the gulf eh??????

[412driver]

this is straight from the source:

my two buddies had just taken off from the "north field" headed back to Doha. bell 412 climbing for altitude when a missile..ya that''s right MISSILE, screams past 100 meters in front and just below them. no idea where it came from.

all flights to the north field now suspended until further notice. since kyle is monitoring i won''t type my initial reaction

412driver

 

[Heli Ops]

Lucky it was probably a GPS guided toy and not a heat seeker

If it was your friends might have been enjoying a nice swim in the Persian Gulf. Glad they made it home OK.

Heli Ops

 

[RDM]

Incomming missle....................DOHHHHH....AAAAAAAAAA (sweating bullets icon missimg)

 

[CTD]

 

[4961]

"So you want to fly in the Gulf eh?????"...........NO.

 

[412driver]

i''m still waiting for a follow up. it was small like a shoulder launch. now i know that coming off that field at that time of day puts you straight into the sun going home so if someone took a shot at them from behind it may have zeroed in on the sun thus the miss???

looking out my window this morning at the rain in BC and it is looking pretty *&%$ nice!

 

[mediumman]

That is twisted little R, but I like twisted.

 

[RDM]

So lets get this right.......hmmmmmmm

You are doing your intial ride in the Gulf and really want to impress your examiner......

Size
Shape
Surrounding
Slope
Sun
Surface... to air missile.........

 

[LongRanger]

Hey RDM, remember these...

during my Goose Bay days. As poor as it is, if my memory serves me correct, wasn''t Surface... to air missile on our confined areas list up there as well!!

 

[Winnie]

One wonders why no fighterpilot is ever called SAM!!

By the way, wasssuuup all of you, no posts today?
I thought everybody was going for the free subscription of Vertical!!!

Anywho, have a goo weekend, and don''t get too wasted at the HAC!

 

[412driver]

here's the latest from the gulf regarding that missile:


"the missile.. Turns out it was a Tomahawk cruise missile fired from further down the gulf. They follow a narrow corridor just west of the Iranian waters (which just happens to be about where our north field is...). There's a notam out advising of a 'reserved area' between sealevel and 15 000 feet. This notam was never received here though, and they have fired 300 missiles so far! So, we are back flying up there - 500 feet mainly. We should probably leave the sliding doors open, so the things can fly straight through!"

those words from an e-mail received from the gulf!

boy, i feel much better now....

 

[RotorPilot]

From the Tomahawk cruise missile fact sheet:

Quote
The missile moves at about 550 miles per hour, and can make twists and turns like a radar-evading fighter plane all the while skimming over the land at 100 feet to 300 feet.
Unquote

Better check those altitudes...

 

[RotorPilot]

----------------
On 4/5/2003 9:58:48 AM 412driver wrote:

There''s a notam out advising of a ''reserved area'' between sealevel and 15 000 feet.
----------------​

between sealevel and 15,000... and you are flying 500 feet and feel much better now...!!!???

 

[412driver]

i edited the above post to make my post a little clearer to understand. sorry, i forgot that it's saturday morning....

i guess i should have mentioned that i "cut and pasted" a letter from my friend in the gulf. those were his words not mine. i have my butt safely planted in canada for the time being.

and don't be surprised to hear that they have resumed flights. go and experience work in the middle east and witness their culture and mentality first hand before dropping down the judgement hammer. those that have been there will understand....

 

Heads UP!

Hi boys, I just came back from the Gulf flying Sea Kings. We were in airframe 12426, call sign STRIDER, in the Gulf from Oct 02 until 2 Apr 03.

I was airborne at dawn on the morning the war started, 20 Mar 03, or Tomahawk Thursday as we called it. We were in the southern Persian Gulf area and our air controller who was on an aircraft carrier barred us from operating above 250 feet due to numerous Tomahawk launches. Our normal overwater altitudes are 150 to 200 feet anyhow but this limited us somewhat because we often had to climb up to 1500 feet to get UHF comms with our ship if we were sent too far from her.

When we returned on that morning one of the first questions we asked was, "has anyone issued a notam for these Tomahawks". We had seen several overfly us at 500 feet on the first day. Turns out no notam had been issued because "no civilians are out there over the Gulf unless they are on IFR airways". We were stunned, we immediately informed our Air Officer and the message was passed that several helos were probably operating to all those oil fields all around us but we were not sure of your altitudes, obviously higher than us because we never saw you day or night.

The notam was issued later that day but I always wondered how many Tomahawks might have come close to guys, now I know.

PS: If it was a SAM, you wouldn''t have written that email my friend. Whether you are driving a medium Bell or a Sikorky, you''d be dead. I cannot believe you guys were still operating during this time. We had full self defence flare and chaff and would not launch without it. Never afraid of enemy fire, but friendly fire from a Yank, whoa baby.........