Flying high...
What a day, I'd forgotten how much fun it is flying in a Huey helicopter with the doors open. When no one is shooting at you of course. With your legs dangling out the door and being able to look straight down, it's the closest thing to being a bird that you can experience. With the slower speed of the chopper, if you are careful you can lean way out the door and take some pretty interesting pictures. Here's one shot as we approached the Midland Airport.
My friend Gregg Baiano owns his on helicopter fleet consisting of 4 Hueys and a newly purchased Cobra [recently seen in the film Mission Impossible III] and he invited us to go flying this morning. With my friend, author, Joe Galloway in town Gregg knew that we would enjoy a trip around town in the old Vietnam workhorse. Actually a trip above town. So Joe and I along with several other friends loaded up and pulled pitch this morning for an hour flight before we set down at the Permian Basin Vietnam Memorial where Joe made an appearance. It was a rather an emotional trip for a load of ex Vietnam Vets most of whom were ex Huey and Cobra pilots along with an ex infantry officer [me] and the most famous journalist of the Vietnam War. We all have so many memories of times good and bad flying into landing zones like we hit this morning.
But today we were greeted by people we know well.....brother veterans. As I said an emotional trip back in time.
What a day, I'd forgotten how much fun it is flying in a Huey helicopter with the doors open. When no one is shooting at you of course. With your legs dangling out the door and being able to look straight down, it's the closest thing to being a bird that you can experience. With the slower speed of the chopper, if you are careful you can lean way out the door and take some pretty interesting pictures. Here's one shot as we approached the Midland Airport.
My friend Gregg Baiano owns his on helicopter fleet consisting of 4 Hueys and a newly purchased Cobra [recently seen in the film Mission Impossible III] and he invited us to go flying this morning. With my friend, author, Joe Galloway in town Gregg knew that we would enjoy a trip around town in the old Vietnam workhorse. Actually a trip above town. So Joe and I along with several other friends loaded up and pulled pitch this morning for an hour flight before we set down at the Permian Basin Vietnam Memorial where Joe made an appearance. It was a rather an emotional trip for a load of ex Vietnam Vets most of whom were ex Huey and Cobra pilots along with an ex infantry officer [me] and the most famous journalist of the Vietnam War. We all have so many memories of times good and bad flying into landing zones like we hit this morning.
But today we were greeted by people we know well.....brother veterans. As I said an emotional trip back in time.
