22 Navy 2 – Helicopters, Church 4

Navy 2 Helicopters, Church 4

After carrier qualification and receiving my wings, I returned to HT-8 at Ellyson Field to learn the Bell H-13 “Sioux”, the simplest and smallest of all helicopters.  This and all my subsequent helos had the two pilots side-by-side in front, with the plane commander (usually the senior) at the left.

Next we learned the Sikorsky H-34 “Sea Horse” there, a much larger plane with the much more powerful Wright radial engine, same as the T-28; it was so big and heavy, it had a hydraulic “automatic stabilization equipment” (ASE) system to help in hovering.

Finally we began to fly the even larger Sikorsky H-3 “Sea King”, the helicopter then used for active duty in the fleet.  Also with an ASE, this plane had dual GE T58 turboprop engines and five bladed main and tail rotors, with a folding tail section to allow more compact storage aboard ship.

For the H-3 helicopter, we went to Key West FL, where after a short ground school we began a series of hops in this plane.  Here, I had an actual engine failure twice, even though each plane had a pre-flight inspection that included a review of its history.  The first failure was aloft near the airport, and the second was on a training mission over the gulf.  With one engine the plane will fly but hasn’t strength to hover, so the first time we simply flew it back home and made a slow rolling landing.  The second time we were in a 40’ hover when the engine quit, and the plane fell into the water like a rock.  Fortunately with the remaining engine the rotor kept turning, or the plane would have flipped upside down (it’s top-heavy) and sunk, but the hull and wheel sponsons are boat-shaped, so we taxied the plane forward to reach flying speed, flew out and back home.

In the Navy at Key West I affiliated with the Key West Baptist Temple, where after making friends with the pastor, I took part in work days cleaning up, taught adult Sunday School, and went on evangelistic visitation and to fellowship times.  The church especially catered to the (mostly transient) Navy community and had potluck dinners for the fliers.

While there I was welcomed in the home of an older man and his wife in the church; he was a commercial fisherman and had a boat; after leaving the dock where I saw native “stone crabs” he took me deep-water fishing for yellow perch, and to the “turtle kraals” where I saw gigantic Sea Turtles, and heard tales of the neighboring Dry Tortugas (a beautiful group of seven islands 70 miles west), that old-time pirates used to frequent.  In their home I learned skills and tools of making nets, and was coached as I made a hammock from nylon cord and wood poles, and steel “D’s” from the ship’s parachute loft, where I was friendly.  They treated me to meals, and made me a pie from real Key Limes (smaller, brownish yellow).

I went to a weekly mid-week prayer service of the “Free-will Pentecostal Baptist Church” downtown, where all prayed at once, and they spoke in tongues – interesting, but I was uncomfortable.

I was also a welcome guest in the home of one of my helicopter instructors, and was enabled to use the tools in his well-equipped basement to build a plywood bookrack (they had two teen-age daughters, and as it turned out, my younger CTI friend had dated one of them while they were stationed at Quonset Point).

At that time, I drove with a few of my buddies up the Florida keys to Boca Raton, a Christian Mecca north of Miami; there we saw a special patriotic musical show, including fireworks that depicted a US flag.

From Key West I drove the long run back up the coast to Norfolk VA, where we learned nuclear weapons and their delivery, especially as it relates to the H-3; this was all classroom instruction and took a few weeks.

In Norfolk I affiliated with another suburban Baptist church, where I made friends with the pastor, taught on “salt and light” in the adult Sunday School, and sang “Heaven Came Down” in an impromptu choral ensemble.  Here I was welcomed in another home – the man as a hobby was a steam train engineer, and his wife was lame; I took them to a fireworks show on the Naval base.  They both loved the Lord, and were very hospitable – my new wife Ginny and I were overnight guests in their home on a later visit.

After that we joined our assigned fleet squadrons; I drove on to HS-11 at Quonset Point RI, along US Highway 1 (that was before the Interstate highway system), arriving well after midnight.