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Inside Combat Rescue Question

2K views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  vince 
#1 ·
I was in the Navy and just watched the Hueys fly overhead with feet,legs hanging out.
My cousin was a medic on Hueys during Vietnam.He said they were strapped in to the bench seat, then closed the doors.
My other cousin was infantry and said they just sat on the deck, or on the edge and never fell out.
A fellow worker said he fell out at low altitude on a turn,losing his M-16 and helmet in the bush.
Watching Inside Combat Rescue, the medics seem not to be belted or harnessed in the chopper.
They close the doors as they carry wounded.
How do they not fall out in a turn or in case the helo has to do an evasive action?
Are they hooked somehow to the chopper?:think
 
#2 ·
I can't say whether or not they're hooked in, as I haven't seen the show but cetrifigul (or is it centripitul?) force will hold you in place during maneuvers while sitting on the edge of the open helo door. Of course a strap across the opening provides additional security, and was always the minimum used whenever I sat in that position.
 
#3 ·
There was at least one scene where a PJ unhooked his tether as the helo was about to touch down. It looked like one of those fall-arresting types, a number of which have been included in boxed figures.
 
#4 ·
Spending quite a bit of time in both Hueys and Jolly Greens I can tell you that yes you hooked on once you got in but because of the constant movement within the bird you just unstrapped.Within the aircraft we had different points of hooking in.When you done it for a long time staying unhooked became the norm.While manning my weapon I always stayed hooked on.
 
#6 ·
Don't underestimate centrifugal force. A popular trick that South Vietnamese pilots liked to pull on newly arrived Green Berets was to "tilt" the helicopter on its side when they approached a base. New recon men were scared to death by this maneuver, but centrifugal force kept them in the Kingbee.
 
#7 ·
Wow, thanks for the info, fellows.
I remember once I rode a Nasty Class P.T. boat in Subic Bay P.I.
It was a shake down run at full speed.
Everything was fine till we hit a dip in the water, the deck dropped below me, then came back up causing me to actually land on my a--s. almost bit my tounge off.
That's when I really started wondering about how those guys stay in those choppers.
 
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