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Flight Pay.

By The Armorer on December 15, 2004 | | Comments (8)

Sometimes... SOMETIMES... they earn it.

OH-58s are useful little critters, and I flew in one as an Aerial Observer, but they ain't bullet-resistant. Though - to the credit of the bird and the crew - this one had a good landing, i.e., one you could walk away from.

Right-click the picture and 'Save Target As' for the whole pdf.


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8 Comments

By Jack on December 15, 2004 9:57 AM
Putting aside the fact that I think we underpay everyone in the military... "Sometimes they earn it"???? The number of times I've read about people getting killed in accidents involving some type of military aircraft tells me that flight pay is always earned, even if the vast majority of the time nothing untoward happens. There is always that higher risk of something unpleasant occuring when you leave the ground. (Yes, I know you're being facitious... :-P ) I do have a question though, do ground-pounders get "flight pay" when they ride a helicopter or some other flying vehicle?
 
By John of Argghhh! on December 15, 2004 10:07 AM
Nope - unless, like an Aerial Observer, you garner enough hours to qualify as Crew, not Cargo.
 
By Damian on December 15, 2004 10:42 AM
Jee. Zus. That is one seriously damaged bird. I hear an A-10 can fly on a wing and a half. Any photos like that? (Of course, I'm not interested in anything where the crew didn't walk away).
 
By Instapilot on December 15, 2004 11:36 AM
On the last day of the [first Gulf] war, an A-10 pilot from the 511th Tactical Fighter Squadron was awaiting his next mission. Instead of an attack on the enemy, however, his last mission of the war offered a sobering reminder of the cost of freedom. It is best told in his own words: "As we're on our way out the door [to his plane], I overhear that there's a hog [A-10 Warthog] coming in with battle damage. He's been hit by an infrared surface-to-air missile in the tail, and he's flying [with] no hydraulics. Tower asks if we would mind flying a CAP over the airfield while he comes in, [so] we take off. We are overhead when he comes across the threshold [the end of the runway]. He is lined up and everything looks good. All of a sudden the aircraft hits the threshold very hard, all three gear collapse and shear out from under him. The aircraft bounces about 40 to 50 feet into the air. It then rolls into the wind, to the right. The flight lead starts yelling into the radio, and someone on the ground yells for him to punch out. It is too late, though, he is probably unconscious from the hard landing. The aircraft rolls and hits nose first. He didn't have a chance - the aircraft instantly goes up into a ball of flame...We park our jets and go through debrief. Not more than two words are said. The next day the war is over, and we have won a big victory. Some have paid a higher price than others." - 511 Tactical Fighter Squadron, Unit History
 
By cw4billt on December 15, 2004 11:39 AM
Looks like the crew a. was checking out an IED a tad too close while the triggerman was in overwatch, or b. flew into a multiple-RPG-in-airburst-mode ambush, or c. got overly enthusiastic doing a BDA for some F/A guy. Based on the size, angle, dispersion and low--relatively speaking--velocity of the big-chunk impacts and the angle(s) of the bullet strikes (consistent with taking fire from the right-front, doing a left pedal-turn, nosing it over and hauling ass), my hunch is a. These are OH-58Ds, a bit tougher, heavier and more maneuverable than the OH-58 A/C (or C+) that you played AO in, John (poor guy--now I realize why you're so down on aviators). A plain-vanilla -58 in the same situation would likely be aluminum mulch. Jack: Thanks for the pat on the back; my rationale always was that if I didn't break the aircraft or hurt somebody, or brought a failed one back that should have crashed (but didn't), I earned the flight pay. I'm not up on the latest pay-qualification changes, but it used to (and may still) work this way: ground-pounders who volunteered to be gunners or observers and whose duties "require(d) frequent participation in aerial flight" are/were eligible for flight pay--the nut-drill resided in getting higher-headquarters to cut, approve and properly distribute the orders and then convincing Flight Ops to keep a record of the guy's flight time and turn in the monthly validation form. Ground commanders, aside from the field artillery, weren't usually keen on having their troops do aerial stuff on a regular basis because they invariably requested a transfer to an aviation unit; John is probably the historical exception). Pay issues aside, I've always insisted that anybody who flies in helicopters (or rides in armored vehicles) on a regular basis should be issued Nomex, a flight helmet and flight gloves, even if they don't have a cool cammie pattern...
 
By Justthisguy on December 15, 2004 9:07 PM
Flying is an unnatural act, for humans. You can break your neck doing that stuff on a beautiful severe clear day, in a perfectly-inspected airplane, while being cool and prudent, even if nobody is shooting at you. It is fun, though.
 
By cw4billt on December 16, 2004 6:29 AM
You buoyant, clear-eyed extrovert... =]
 
By John Alexander on January 7, 2005 7:51 PM
Fellow AO just wanting to say hello I was in Ft. Rucker in 1990 for AIT and then 25th ID HAWAII for four years. Logged 300 hrs. in oh-58 A/C and luckily only a few close calls.