by uscgairdale » Fri Sep 23, 2005 7:04 am
As you may have guessed by my user name, I fly for the US Coast Guard. Despite what the media has been reporting, I think that we did a great job in hoisting all of those people. At any given time we could get about a dozen or so people in the helo before running out of space or becoming torque limited. I was there for a week and we (H60 crews) averaged about 50-60 lives saved a day. It's important to note that the CG almost excusively hoisted all of the people that we rescued, instead of just transporting them from one dry location to the next.
When I left, the air station based in Mobile, AL alone had saved over 4500 people. This is a photo of me and my crew hoisting from the top of a school house. It was taken from another helo in the area.
I love flying the H-60 Jayhawk, but it's not a Lazair........
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