30 October 1991: USAF/Sikorsky HH-60G Pave Hawk 88-26110, call sign “Jolly 110″, assigned to the 106th Rescue Wing, New York Air National Guard, headed out into a hurricane that would become known as “The Perfect Storm”, to attempt a rescue 250 miles (400 kilometers) out to sea. Aboard were Major C. David Ruvola, pilot; Captain Graham Buschor, co-pilot; SSgt Jim Mioli, flight engineer; and pararescue jumpers TSgt John Spillane and TSgt Arden Rick Smith. Due to the severity of the storm (a weather buoy located 264 miles (425 kilometers) south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, reported a wave height of 100.7 feet (30.7 meters) on 30 October—the highest ever recorded in that part of the Atlantic Ocean), the Pave Hawk crew was unable to make the rescue and had to return to their base. Having already refueled from the Lockheed C-130 tanker three times during the mission, with low fuel, a fourth refueling was needed for the helicopter to make it back to shore. Because of the the to extreme turbulence and lack of visibility, Jolly 110 could not make contact with the refueling drogue trailing behind the airplane. Major Ruvola made more that 30 attempts, but finally both drogues had been damaged by the severe conditions. Finally, the crew of the Hercules tanker had to shut down one engine because of low oil pressure. Then suddenly, the airplane and helicopter were separated. It was impossible to see more that a few feet. With just twenty minutes of fuel remaining, Jolly 110 would have to ditch in the middle of “The Perfect Storm”. Unable to refuel, Major Ruvola made the decision to ditch the helicopter into the sea while the engines were still running. Finally, at 9:30 p.m. the number one engine flamed out from fuel starvation. Ruvola held the Pave Hawk in a hover over the raging ocean while Buschor, Mioli, Spillane and Smith jumped. When the number two engine flamed out, Ruvola put the Pave Hawk into a hovering autorotation, its blades coming to a sudden stop when they hit the face of the oncoming wave. Ruvola was about 15 feet under water by the time he was ableeto escape from the sinking Jolly 110. The Pave Hawk had gone down 90 miles (145 kilometers) south of Montauk Point, in 100-knot (185 kilometers per hour) winds and 80-foot (130 meter) waves. After five hours in the water, four airmen were rescued by USCGC Tamaroa (WMEC-166), a 48-year-old former U.S. Navy fleet tug, operated by the Coast Guard since the end of World War II as a medium endurance cutter. The search for Rick Smith continued for a week. He was never found. The U.S. Air Force HH-60H Pave Hawk is medium-sized twin-engine combat search-and-rescue (CSAR) helicopter, developed from the Army UH-60A Blackhawk transport. These helicopters were upgraded with an extendable probe for air-to-air refueling and additional fuel tanks in the cabin and given the project name Credible Hawk. These were further upgraded to the MH-60G Pave Hawk standard, which incorporated a system of inertial navigation, GPS and Doppler radar for precision navigation. Low-light television, forward-looking infrared cameras and night vision systems allowed the MH-60G to operate at night and very low altitude. The Pave Hawk is equipped with an Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS), a very sophisticated autopilot which incorporates automatic hover capability. Some of the MH-60G Pave Hawks received further upgrades for the special operations mission. Helicopters dedicated to CSAR were redesignated HH-60G. A rescue hoist capable of lifting 600 pounds ( kilograms) from a 200-foot ( meter) hover is incorporated on the upper right side. The HH-60G is operated by a crew of two pilots, a flight engineer and gunner. For rescue operations, pararescue jumpers, the famous PJs, are added to the crew. The helicopter is 64 feet, 10 inches (19.76 meters) long and has a rotor diameter of 53 feet, 8 inches (16.36 meters). The helicopter has a overall height of 16 feet, 8 inches (5.01 meters). The empty weight is approximately 16,000 pounds 7,260 kilograms), depending on equipment installations of individual aircraft. The maximum takeoff weight is 22,000 pounds (9,900 kilograms). The helicopter is powered by two General Electric T-700-GE-700 turboshaft engines mounted on top of the fuselage on either side of the transmission and main rotor mast. These engines are rated at 1,630 shaft horsepower, each. The HH-60G has a cruise speed of 184 miles per hour (296 kilometers per hour, and its maximum speed is 224 miles per hour (361 kilometers per hour). The service ceiling is 14,000 feet (4,267 meters) and maximum range is 373 miles (600 kilometers). The hover ceiling, in ground effect (HIGE) is approximately 10,000 feet (3,048 meters), and out of ground effect (HOGE) is about 6,000 feet (1,830 meters). Defensive armament consists of two .50-caliber machine guns. The U.S. Air Force initially purchaesd 112 HH-60G and MH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters, though 93 remain. Most of these are approaching the designed operation lifetime limits and several have surpassed that by as much as 3,000 flight hours. There are plans to replace them with a new “CRH-60″, a combat rescue helicopter based on the Sikorsky MH-60M. r/max
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 23:00:01 +0000
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