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Post by obiwan27 on Oct 31, 2009 6:56:47 GMT 12
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Oct 31, 2009 13:27:46 GMT 12
Iroquois to the rescue as era endsBy MICHAEL FIELD - The Dominion Post | 5:00AM - Saturday, 31 October 2009 HELP FLIES: New Zealand Iroquois are back in the air over Samoa.
— JOHN SELKIRK/The Dominion Post.Samoa woke to a disaster.
During the night a plane from American Samoa had smashed into Upolu's highest mountain, Fito, killing all 10 aboard.
Officials wanted to retrieve the bodies quickly, including two deported New Zealand overstayers, a year-old baby and four family members, but the area was almost inaccessible by foot.
A phone call was made from the Prime Minister's Department to diplomats in Wellington. Soon the sky filled with the distinctive sound of a Royal New Zealand Air Force UH-1H Iroquois helicopter.
It was April 1978 and the men flying them were older than the aircraft. The RNZAF's first six Iroquois were built by US Bell Helicopters and delivered in 1965. Nine more followed in 1970.
More than three decades later, a 3Squadron Iroquois was back in Samoa's skies — after a devastating tsunami hit after a massive earthquake, killing 143.
It is likely to be the last big Pacific humanitarian mission for the Iroquois. From early next year, the air force's 14 Iroquois are to be replaced with eight NH90 utility helicopters. The French-made choppers will begin arriving next year and be will be fully commissioned by 2013 as part of a $771 million deal.
"It would be hard to quantify what the Iroquois have done, but I'm certain the aircraft have made an enormous difference to the lives of thousands of people in the Pacific over the decades, sometimes without us even knowing at the time," said Robin Klitscher, national president of the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association.
Among aviators, Mr Klitscher is "Mr Helicopter" — few have the kind of hours and range of experiences on Iroquois that he has.
In the Vietnam War he flew 3248 sorties on Australian Iroquois — known to pilots as Hueys — and for years he headed No.3 Squadron RNZAF.
He is not sentimental about the Iroquois but said no other helicopter would match it.
"It is among the classic flying machines, the DC3, the Hercules and the Huey. The design is almost perfect. It's a basic form and is hugely practical and that has been its success. It's a very capable aeroplane."
In March 1979, Cyclone Meli hit Kadavu, Fiji, killing 49 people, including 23 in one village, killed when their church collapsed.
Mr Klitscher got to Suva and decided the team would fly to Kadavu each day. "If we stayed, they would have killed a pig and dug up taro every day and given us everything, and they had nothing."
Ad Feedback Making the passage was a risk; Kadavu was 111 kilometres of open ocean from Suva. "Flying a single-engine helicopter over open water for so long was a big issue and we were very conscious of flying long distances like that."
One night the weather kept them on Kadavu and, as expected, the villagers honoured the crews with a feast.
Although New Zealand Iroquois flew in combat conditions in East Timor and the Solomons, most of their work has been humanitarian in the Pacific. Mr Klitscher said there was a "sense of personal reward" in what the crews did, no matter what they were carrying – battered human remains from a plane crash or badly injured tsunami victims.
THE UH-1H IROQUOIS:
• Engine: One Lycoming T53-L13B.
• Length: 17.27m Rotors width: 2.8m.
• Height: 4.4m.
• Basic weight: 2600kg.
• Cruising speed: 195km/h.
• Maximum range: 370km, or 682km with auxiliary fuel tank.
• Crew: Two pilots, one helicopter crewman.
• Capacity: Nine passengers, or five troops with full packs, or seven troops in light order.
The RNZAF has lost two Iroquois to crashes, in April 1972 and March 1995.
Iroquois Pacific missions have included:
• April 1979: Sent to Fiji after Cyclone Meli, which claimed more than 70 lives.
• April-July 1980: In Fiji to help with aftermath of Cyclone Wally, which killed 13.
• March 1982: Two Iroquois dispatched to Tonga after Cyclone Isaac killed 12 and left thousands homeless.
• March 1983: Back to Fiji when Hurricane Oscar struck, killing seven.
• November 1997-April 1998: Iroquois used on truce supervision in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea.
• September 1999-November 2002 and April 07-October 08: Peacekeeping in East Timor.
• May 2003-May 2004: Solomon Islands regional intervention force after ethnic tensions. The Iroquois were also used in Sinai on border monitoring between 1981 and 1985.
Source: No.3 Squadron RNZAF.www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/national/3016845/Iroquois-to-the-rescue-as-era-ends
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