GOLD EAGLE 4's AERIE

 

AN ARMY AVIATOR'S SCRAPBOOK

MILITARY HISTORY & CURRENT EVENTS

"OLD GLORY" LINKS....

PRELUDE TO WAR.... WORLD WAR THREE ....

A "PEACETIME" EVENT IN NEW YORK CITY....9-11-2001....THE DAY "WORLD WAR THREE" STARTED.

LEST WE FORGET - Seven Years Later....

WTC 9-11-2005

COL, Retired, Rick Rescola, a Scotsman who came to the USA as an immagrant, was employed as a Security Advisor to a business in WTC Tower 2, when the 1st plane hit Tower 1. He supervised the evacuation of all the employees, and was going back up for one last check, when Tower 2 collapsed upon him. The US Navy is bulding a destroyer.... USS New York
City, her motto will be "Never Forget". The Infantry Hall of Fame at Fort Benning, GA has inducted Rick recenly.

Rick, in a "Combat Pose" is the cover photo, by Peter Arnett, on the book, "We Were Soldiers.... Once And Young", written by LTG "Hal" Moore and combat reporter, Joe Galloway. Mel Gibson portrayed LTG Moore in the movie version of the Ia Drang battle, "We were Soldiers".

NEW YORK CITY - HEROES - 9/11/2001

THE CAPTURE OF SADDAM HUSSEIN....

A TEXAS FUNERAL FOR A US ARMY IRAQ KIA....

"ON A ROCK IN RURAL IOWA"

US ARMY'S DESERT "SECRET WEAPON"....

"41-Year Old Chinooks" easily made the transition from Vietnam's jungle to Iraq and Afghan-Land sand. The "Fat Lady" is still singing.... "One and Two to Flight"

*******************************************
NOW - "WELCOME HOME"....To "The Aerie"....A Nest Where Eagles Live And Fly....Today....And In The Past.

THE ARMY WARRANT OFFICER CORPS INSIGNIA

After Graduating from WOC Flight School at Camp Rucker, AL on 30 April 1955, we wore the WOJG (Warrant Officer, Junior Grade) Bar, the insignia with the oval shape and the horizontal gold stripe. The only other rank was CWO (Chief Warrant Officer), the bar with the vertical gold stripe. Time in grade usually was 36 months from WOJG to CWO. The change to the next four ranks, WO, W-1; CWO, W-2; CWO, W3 and CWO, W-4 took place in 1956.

ACHPC 55-FOX "CAMP" RUCKER'S 1ST WOC CLASS

Graduating as Army Aviators - 30 April 1955

CW4, Retired, Donald R. Joyce
Master Army Aviator

ACHPC 55-Fox, "Camp" Rucker's 1st WOC Class - Graduated 30 Apr 55

No Site "Guestbook", but you can
E-Mail Your Comments to:

GoldEagle4@WebTV.net

MASTER ARMY AVIATOR BADGE

Awarded on 30 April 1970. Requirements then were: 15 years as an Army Aviator, 3000 flying hours and a Special Instrument Card.

"SKY CAV" - EXERCISE "SAGEBRUSH" - LOUISIANA - NOV '55

WOJG Don Joyce and WOJG Rex Flohr (Rex died early in 2007) Classmates 55-Fox, "in the field", with the 8th Trans Co (H-21), Ft Bragg, (TDY to 82nd Airborne Division, "Recon Company") camped-out near DeRidder, LA. We flew H-13's as "Aggressor Force" pilots. (photo by: Jack Phillabaum)

THE BELL OH-13 "SIOUX"

OUR "TRUSTY" CAMP RUCKER TRAINER & "SAGEBRUSH" STEED

MY RUCKER TRAINING AIRCRAFT NOW IN ARMY AVIATION MUSEUM

The H-25 "Army Mule" #616, in the foreground,
was flown by GoldEagle4 during the final month of WOC training, April '55. The CH-21C "Shawnee" #2040, in the background was flown during HIFC training in '59. It was fully instrumented and carried 2 external fuel drop tanks, for flights in IMC conditions throughout Alabama and Florida. Parachutes were worn by the crew as altitudes of over 5000 ft were common. Photo: Don Joyce

PIASECKI H-25A "ARMY MULE"

First flown by the US Navy as the HUP-2 "Retriever", the H-25 had a single Continental R-975 radial engine. Service use began in February 1949.... 339 HUPs were built, including those sold to the Royal Canadian and French Navies. 70 H-25s were built and flown by the US Army until 1955 when they were replaced by CH-21s. A "fun-helicopter" to fly, especially doing "running take-offs" on the two main wheels, and "touch-down" autorotations on the tail-wheel.

PIASECKI CH-21C "SHAWNEE"

Developed for the US Navy as the HRP-2, the first flight was 10 November 1949. The Navy only bought four HRPs, but the USAF ordered 214, designated the H-21B "Workhorse" and 334 went to the US Army as the H-21C "Shawnee". Powered by a Wright R-1820-103 radial engine, the H-21C set a world speed record of 146.7 mph in 1953 and an altitude record of 22,110 feet. The H-21 also made the first non-stop helicopter flight across the US in 37 hours, by in-flight refueling from a U-1A Otter. The CH-21C was the initial Army helicopter in Vietnam, the first Transportation Companies arriving in late 1961, and served until late 1963, when the UH-1s arrived. Total production was 557 for the US services and 150 for foreign use.... the French Army and Navy used their H-21s in Algeria against the rebels. German Army Aviation also flew H-21s in it's formative years. In the above photo, the pair of 150-gallon "drop-tanks" gave extended range for long instrument flights. Several VH-21Cs, with full radio and nav-aid equipment plus airline-seats, were assigned to the 3rd TC at Davison AAF, Ft Belvoir, VA, for government VIP travel. This aircraft, #2040 was flown by me in 1959 when I attended the Helicopter Instrument Flight Course at Ft Rucker, AL. It is now displayed in the Rucker Museum.

CH-47 "CHINOOK" HISTORY

TANDEM-ROTOR "FAMILY" PORTRAIT

An Historic Aviation-Rotorcraft event took place at the Hiller Aviation Museum, Vertical Challange, in San Carlos, CA on 22 June 2002. At 2:42PM, Joe Pike lifted the completely restored, only flying, ex-USN HUP-1 (US Army H-25A) to a hover. Then Classic Rotors (The Rare & Vintage Rotorcraft Museum) funished the only flyable, ex-USAF CH-21B (US Army CH-21C) that thundered
straight up. Next, a US Navy CH-46 Sea Knight, from NAS North Island, San Diego, climbed into the sky, followed by the assent of a massive US Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook from Stockton, CA.

These giants, supended in the air, capped-off a year-long effort to complete a first-time hover and flight of four generations of tandem-rotor helicopters (Piasecki, Vertol, Boeing-Vertol & Boeing Helicopters - 1940s to Present).

This historic event, was a special "Tribute to Frank Piasecki", the father of the tandem-rotor helicopter. The flight was captured on film by the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum.

Frank Piasecki died of a stroke at age 81 on 11 Feb 08.

PIASECKI YH-16A "TURBO-TRANSPORTER"

The H-16 "Transporter" was developed in response to a USAF requirement for a long-range helicopter to rescue downed aircraft crews. At the time, it was the largest helicopter in the world. The rotor-disk was 82 ft in diameter, the fuselage was 134 ft long, and the gross weight was 32,000 lbs. The first prototype, the XH-16 had two 1,650 hp P&W R-2180 radial engines, one in front and one in the rear, and first flew on 23 October 1953. The second prototype, the YH-16A, had two Allison YT-38 turboshaft engines of 1,800 hp each. The YH-16A set a world speed record of 166 mph in early Jan 1956. Later that month, after matching the world altitude record of 24,500 ft, while in descent, a failure in some component of the temporary flight-test equipment in the tail pylon, caused the helicopter to break-up in flight, killing the two Piasecki test pilots. The YH-16 program was cancelled in April 1956.

LOCKHEED AH-56 "CHEYENNE"

UH-1 WITH TWO JET ENGINES

On 15 April 1969, this experimental UH-1 set an unofficial helicopter speed record of 274.4 mph.

Now displayed in front of AVLABS Hq building, Fort Eustis, VA. Photo: Don Joyce

Powered by MSN TV
next page