Office of a CH-53E

Miss the days of the wind in my face, but never flew in anything that big. Like you photo's please keep posting them

QUOTE: Originally posted by Dragonfire Thought this would make a nice ref pic...

I had a chance to crew a -53 once back around 1987 or 1988 during one of the "Bear Hunt" operations where a HMM out of Okinawa deployed to Korea. It was real interesting.

First, when they fired up the APU, I noticed that the slip-ring started pissing 83282 all over the bare spot in the non-skid on the floor.

"Hey, uh, we've got a leak in the cabin.."

Crewchief looks in. "Nah, no factor."

I'm quite dubious at this point. Mind you, I was a Chinook CE at the time. I know that stuff leaks on helicopters, sure, and a few drops of 83282 here or there ain't no thang. (You Delta Model boys with your swaged fittings just sit down. This was on Super-Cs, wayyyy back when we had men of steel and rotor blades of wood, not the other way around...)

So now its time to fire up the engines. OK, cool. Except when they do, and the transmission, blades and that bloody slip-ring in the bottom of the main transmission started turning, the little pissy leak turned into a torrential downpour.

Me, on the intercom: "Holy crap! Major cabin leak!"

Crewchief, on the intercom: "Nah, no factor."

I unplugged my comm cord, coiled it up nicely where it was stowed originally and walked away. My platoon sergeant looked at me funny when I walked into the office.

"Aren't you supposed to be crewing one of those -53s?"

"Emphasis on the past tense part of that, sarge. You can gimme an Article 15, but I ain't flying on THAT thing.."

Nothing more was ever said. We took a lot of Marine crewchiefs on flights, but our "crewchief exchange" with them wound up awfully one-sided.

(Mind you, when they arrived we all swarmed over their aircraft with professional interest. These Marines looked shocked when we just bounded up the sides of the -53 and the -46 they'd pulled into our hangar without cranials on. Marines were required to wear cranials when they went up on the aircraft at all. We had no such requirement and thought it funny when they did. I got a close look at the tunnel covers, flight controls and aft transmission areas of a CH-46 that day. Close enough to feign violent motion sickness when asked if I wanted to crew one of our Boeing brethern..)

The first time on a CH-46, I noticed some leaking and I said something to the crew chief. He said "Leaking on a 46 is ok, if it's not leaking, don't fly on it". So I asked why. He said "Because if it's not leaking, then the hydralics are bone dry".

Personally, I would rather fly on 53's

QUOTE: Originally posted by jmorgan_11 The first time on a CH-46, I noticed some leaking and I said something to the crew chief. He said "Leaking on a 46 is ok, if it's not leaking, don't fly on it". So I asked why. He said "Because if it's not leaking, then the hydralics are bone dry". Personally, I would rather fly on 53's

Come on man 53's leak more, than a Phrog. That is why we call them Shitter's, Phrog's Rule!!!!!!!!! 10+ yrs and Phrog's, have not had one crash, do to a Mechanical.