More Than A Dozen Aircraft Participated In The Four-Day Event

The week started wet and windy, but the weather didn't stop U.S. Navy and Marine Corps fleet helicopters from joining this year's Fleet Fly-In at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whiting Field.

Training Air Wing FIVE (TRAWING-5) and the Naval Helicopter Association (NHA) coordinate the Fleet Fly-In each year, with help from corporate sponsors and military contract personnel. Helicopter Training Squadron EIGHT (HT-8) hosts the event.

More than a dozen military helicopters settled onto NAS Whiting Field's South Field for the four-day event.

"I think the event was extremely successful," said HT-8 Commanding Officer Cmdr. John McBryde. "The most important part is that our student naval aviators got a chance to see what their future is going to hold. They got a chance to see what they are going to be doing; the aircraft that they're going to be flying; the type of people that they're going to be interacting with in the very near future."

One exciting component of the Fleet Fly-In was the opportunity for TRAWING-5 flight students to explore, ride in, and potentially fly Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard fleet helicopters. Large groups of future military helicopter pilots took advantage of this opportunity during the open flight periods.

Networking events held during Fleet Fly-In provided opportunities for students to talk to fleet helicopter pilots and senior leadership, to get answers to tactical questions, such as what it's like to use a specific weapons system.

Student naval aviators, air crewmen, and spouses also gained insight into how the lifestyle affects family members. Networking events included a welcome aboard barbecue, mixer, air crewman picnic luncheon, NHA golf tournament, spouse's orientation meeting, and fleet aircrew breakfast.

There was also time scheduled to encourage good-natured rivalry during the Fleet Fly-In. Each helicopter training squadron selected a team, consisting of an instructor pilot and air crewman, to participate in a skills competition event. Teams performed an autorotation (unpowered) landing, hover, and cargo drop. Squadron members came out in full force to cheer on their teams. A few even went that extra mile: decorating themselves with their squadron number to proudly, and memorably, show their support.

Although judging was tight, the team from HT-18, Lt. Brendan Roc and Chief Naval Air Crewman Jason Pulk, earned top honors for the second annual Helicopter Skills Competition.

"This event, designed to demonstrate the precision and teamwork of a helicopter crew, builds camaraderie and good-spirited rivalry across the squadrons - both essential parts of Naval aviation," said Col. Gary Kling, commodore of TRAWING-5 and one of the judges for the skills competition. "We definitely had a good time and certainly met all of the objectives."

Student aviators also heard from fleet helicopter pilots and industry professionals during a variety of informational sessions. Events included senior officer panel discussions on large-scale aviation issues, a future of vertical lift briefing, and detailer presentations on future assignments.

In addition, DART Aerospace, Airbus, Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, FLIR Systems, Inc., Bell Helicopter, L-3 Vertex Aerospace and AgustaWestland displayed booths and information showcasing the latest helicopter technologies.

"Everybody who's flying helicopters started here," McBryde said. "So everybody was a student here at one point in time. So, as a seasoned fleet pilot, it's neat to come back and remember your roots and where you learned."

(Source: U.S. Navy news release. Images from NAS Whiting Field Facebook page)

FMI: www.navy.mil/local/naswf