Instructor Pilot duty

After about six months in Nam I became an IP or instructor pilot. I gave "In country" familiarization flights to new pilots, checked out experienced pilots as AC’s (or aircraft commanders) and gave post accident check rides to pilots that had been involved in accidents. Occasionally, I would ride with a pilot that made too many mistakes or exhibited poor judgment. I really enjoyed being an IP as it honed my skills and kept me on top of emergency procedures. It also enhanced my communication skills. On a couple occasions, I flew with guys that had such traumatic experiences that they were like new students at Fort Wolters. One relatively new pilot was so scrambled when his Huey crashed exiting a revetment that he never went back on flight status again and just hung out in the Company area. He was eventually shipped back home.

I also did post maintenance aircraft check outs of Hueys that had engine replacements performed, main or tail rotor blades replaced or just about anything else that created a “Red X” or non-flyable aircraft status. I never left the traffic pattern during maintenance check outs because of the possibility of an engine failure or other mechanical malfunction. Sometimes the bird would take hits in the main or tail rotor blades or other parts of the aircraft and there would be concealed damage somewhere else that in the haste of getting the aircraft back up would be missed. I had several engine and other mechanical failures hovering out to the active runway or in the pattern that were a genuine embarrassment to the maintenance guys. I told them honestly that it was a lot better for me to discover it flying solo than with a full crew and a load of grunts in a combat assault. Newly released Hueys were always assigned to very experienced AC’s or the unit IP. Only after 10 or 20 hours were the aircraft placed on the completely flyable list for missions.