Crank Up and Pull Pitch

Saturday, July 11, 2015, 6:02 pm. Battle Ground, WA For those of you who lack patience.. Jump ahead to 3:15. Otherwise, read the full description. They were heading to the Columbia River Gorge in order to get photos of the two helicopters in flight. The delay in taking off was due to the two pilots discussing the route they were going to fly. I was standing there holding my camera and I confess to growing a bit impatient myself. ;-) These two helicopters are David Statham’s beautifully restored Vietnam Era OH-6 LOH and UH-1H Huey... with markings identifying them both as C Troop 7/17th Air Cavalry aircraft. A small group of us former Army Pilots and Aircrewmen were invited by our host to come to his place for a weekend of ’Lyin’ & Flyin’. As for myself, a former member of C Troop, serving as a Cobra pilot in 1972, seeing and hearing these two aircraft operate sent chills down my spine. Although period correct, the Huey, built in 1971, never actually flew in Vietnam, so I’d guess you could call it a ’tribute’ bird. The LOH is the real deal... flown in combat in Vietnam, and it actually was a C Troop LOH (Light Observation Helicopter). Some of my Vietnam photos shot while serving with C Troop 7/17th Air Cavalry:  .