Flying in Iraqi sandstorms

[moki]

Got this picture and letter from a friend of mine who is an Apache pilot currently stationed in Iraq. Amazing that they can fly at all in hellish sandstorms like this.

.....

Hello, all.

Sorry for the massive size of this file, but i thought
you would all enjoy it. It's a photo of me and my
front seater on our flight today. Fortunately I had
my anti-front seater device on my knee today (magellan
gps) otherwise we would have been temporarily lost.
If you look real close, zoom in, etc, you will
eventually break the ground out from the sky.

It was "interesting" to say the least.

Thanks to all of you (family and friends alike) who
are making life more liveable daily through email,
letters and stacked care packages. You have exceed
any reasonable man's expectations. To the point that
I am actually feeling guilty.

Love,

Scott

.....

If you want a hires version, I uploaded it for you here:

http://people.ambrosiasw.com/~andrew/misc/...andstorm_lg.jpg

Also, so you can see where the ground really is, here's a version with a Photoshop-tweaked gamma:

 

[gkpk]

WOW :0

 

[PuroBrat]

Dang, anybody who will fly into that to fight, this country's battles, has my Respect and then some. :thumbs:

 

[emodx]

Last year we had a Coast Guard HH-65 make a forced landing in the middle of one of those sand storms. They were able to put down rather hard on flat land. Ended up having a cracked canopy and some damage to the struts.

Emo

 

[golfgar]

I love pictures of aircraft and I suppose they have resolved all of the sand issues. Technology is good to have on our side.

 

[Lumberg]

I'm fascinated by mechanical things. I'd like to see what the rotors look like after a few flights in one of those. And how the air filter and engine oil hold up.

 

[emodx]

I'm fascinated by mechanical things. I'd like to see what the rotors look like after a few flights in one of those. And how the air filter and engine oil hold up.

The rotors look like they are sand blasted. All the paint is blasted off down to the composite material. Helicopters dont have regular engines. I am pretty sure most Military helos are running turbines. I can't imagine what the sand is doing to the turbines though. There aren't any air filters for turbines on CG helos. They have a mesch screen that prevents gossly large objects from entering the chamber. I am just guessing, but anything small enough to get through the screen will just be chruned up in the compression process.

Emo

 

[wam79]

Wow
In an environment like that the mechanics are as indispensable as the pilots


Bill

 

[Kryo]

I remember reading somewhere during the first Gulf War it took a good 2 or 3 months out in the desert to come up with methods of protecting from the sand and dust. M1s also have turbine engines and I think they developed some sort of double screen system that can keep out the dust while keeping enough air flowing in the intake.

Cant believe when I saw that un-edited photo the horizon poped out at me and thought I was nuts that it was tilted..... I think i need to go have my vison checked again.

 

[Josh]

I leave this August to do exactly that. :thumbs: