I was asked (told) to fly to Owego, NY, pick up a brand new MH-60R from the Lockheed Martin factory, and fly it back to San Diego. Sikorsky, which is located in Stratford, CT, builds the body up, installs the engines, and flies the gutted helos to Owego. Lockheed Martin has the duty of installing all the mission systems (ESM, Radar, Acoustic suite, IFF, etc) before they are ready to go. There was 8 of us that made the trip to pick up two brand new helos. 2 pilots, 1 aircrewman, and 1 maintainer for each helo.
The first day was a full tour of the factory. They test every mission system component on site and write the codes for all the programs. We were able to speak to some of the engineers who designed the 60R on why things work the way they do. A lot of it was us just pushing the "I believe" button and moving on. They had a really nice cafeteria on campus so we ate lunch before starting looking through all the paperwork. They had boxes of paperwork for us to look through that verified they gave us everything as well as making sure all maintenance was up to speed. After looking through the paperwork we called it a day and headed back to the hotel. The weather in NY was quite cold. I think it hovered around 10-15 degrees F for both days. We were a little worried about the weather and not being able to get out the next day due to clouds and icing. We went to bed hoping the weather would clear.
The next morning we got up and the weather was still holding; cold, but no snow or low clouds. They had the helos out on the pads all ready to go. We loaded them up and went inside to sign the final paperwork stating we were taking custody of the $36 million bird. Crazy to think that we were essentially buying and accepting $72 million dollars worth of equipment for the Navy. A tradition they have at the factory is for the crews to go down and talk to the workers on the line who all had gathered to see us. They like to see who their product is going to and find out what the helos will be doing in the fleet. After some words to the workers we were invited to sign the patches. They have patches from each squadron on the fatcory wall and they ask you to sign your patch when you pick up a bird. We all signed our respected patches and off we went to get our box of paperwork. After the transfer of all the paperwork and aircraft discrepancy books, we briefed up the flight, checked the weather, preflighted (in the freezing cold), strapped on the helos, and off we went. They asked us to do a little fly by for everyone at the factory. We took off, formed up, did a little fly by and off we went to Maryland.
Our first stop was at Andrews Air Force Base in the DC area. We got out of NY a little late so landed in time to get a hotel, get some dinner, go to bed to wake up and do it again the next day.
The next day we were able to get all the way down to Charleston, SC. We stopped at the Air Force base and parked for the night. We try to stay at as many AF bases and possible because they have better customer service then anybody else. At a Navy base you are on your own to park, find rides, hotel accommodations, and all all the logistics required to get to sleep. At AF bases, there are people where their jobs are to assist you with your logistics. The next day we left in the morning and made it all the way to New Orleans. It brought back memories because the last time I flew into New Orleans in a Navy helo was to assist during the Hurricane Katrina evac. We stayed on Canal St in downtown NO and was able to get some good food before calling it a night. The next morning it was off to San Antonio. We stayed at another AF base and was able to enjoy a nice meal of food on the famous River Walk. This was my first time in the city of San Antonio. The next day we left for Tucson, AZ. We remained overnight at Davis Mothan AF base and stayed on the University of AZ campus. Not too shabby. The next day it was off to San Diego.
It was a looooong trip, especially for a helicopter. We would fly around 5-6 hours a day but stop at numerous places to refuel before shutting down for the night. We were very lucky with the maintenance as well. We didnt have any problems with either bird and they all performed great. Usually something breaks and you have to stay put for a day or two before a part or something arrives. The weather was also superb. It was severe clear for most of the trip which allowed us to fly in formation for most flights. It was a good trip and I was able to learn more about this helo. It was also good to be on the road and see different things. Flying around San Diego gets boring at times. Here are some photos of the trip:
This is a hangar they have that is all padded with these foam spikes. They zap the helo with electromagnetic radiation and see if any of the components react negatively to it. If they do, it is back to the drawing board.
This is the factory where they install all the missions systems. I think they had around 8-10 birds that week.
This was one of the helos we were flying home. It was in a special hangar getting all cleaned and prepped.
Here are the patches of the squadrons they are building for.
Me signed the HSM-78 "Blue Hawks" patch.
The Skipper and our Maintenance officer picked a bird of a few days before me so they had already signed.
This is 442 and 443 on the line ready for us to take.
Signing the paperwork to accept the helos.
This was my crew that flew 443 home.
This was the heloport from the air.
This was in Pennsylvania.
Baltimore, MD
This G5 was waiting for the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO). He was traveling with the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) to AUTEC in the Bahamas. I've met MCPON before so I was able to talk to him for a bit before he left. The CNO's entourage came later on and off he went.
The mighty MH-60R's cockpit
I was able to catch up with Shannon's cousin Brandon in Charleston, SC.
Houston, TX
Somewhere over western TX.
El Paso, TX for gas
Glass cockpit
Somewhere in AZ
Davis-Mothan AF Base. This is the boneyard where the US military mothballs their aircraft. They have over 4,300 aircraft on site preserved.
Tucson, AZ
Home! This is us flying over the Coronado bay bridge.
Downtown SD
