Kids get to explore helicopter

[cosine]

http://www.yorkdispatch.com/local/ci_4866653

Military choppers touch down outside York Haven Elementary School:

When the huge black helicopter made a precautionary landing next to York Haven Elementary School yesterday morning, a second Black Hawk was dispatched, carrying a repair crew, an Army official said.

In the meantime, the downed Black Hawk was swarmed by a couple of hundred excited first- to fourth-grade students.

The commander and two-man crew of the 12th Battalion's Charlie Company "let the kids do whatever they wanted," according to first-grade teacher Jeff Ketterman.

"They let all the children climb all over it," he said. "The kids were sitting in the cockpit, pushing all the buttons. ... The children were so excited -- it was a great learning opportunity for them."

[Fly320s]

Good for the crew.  It's nice to see the kids get an up close experience like that, rather than be required to stay behind a rope.

[280plus]

I remember something similar at a "Life Star" demonstration. There were kids all OVER that chopper. The crew looked a little peaked over the whole thing though. Like maybe they needed a few Rolaids or something. 

[Chris]

Those kids will never forget that day, or those soldiers.  Nice to see something we paid for with our tax dollars being used so well.   

[Eleven Mike]

More children seduced into America's violent helicopter culture.   

[Ben]

The crew looked a little peaked over the whole thing though.

I can relate. We do a local airshow every year and are one of the few aircraft that let the kids sit in the cockpit. It's way fun for the kids, and most of them are great, but every once in a while you get some from Destructo Inc. This year we had a kid around 10 or so that looked like he was 15, climb in and start smacking the console with his feet while he was yanking the yoke back and forth as hard as he could. When we very nicely asked him not to smash the neat little lights on the console, his parents (standing right there) got all huffy with us and said he was, "just having a little fun". 

But as said, most of the kids have the biggest grin you've ever seen as they work the yoke and "talk" on the headsets. I do have to admit I get a little nervous our first flight after 100 or so kids have been in the cockpit switching switches... 

[280plus]

Yea, who knows where a lollipop might end up. 

[Leatherneck]

I think after the bird was fixed, I'd do the most thorough preflight inspection of my life!

Great experience for the kids though...

TC

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

How do they ensure that none of the kids manage to power anything up?  If you get enough excited kids pushing and pulling on every control in the cockpit, wouldn't it be probably that one of 'em eventually manages to switch something on? 

[BobR]

How do they ensure that none of the kids manage to power anything up?

There are a couple of ways.

Pull circuit breakers to all the equipment you don't want actuated....or....disconnect the battery. When we did airshows with the P3 we would do both if we let people onboard.

bob

[crt360]

http://www.yorkdispatch.com/local/ci_4866653

When the huge black helicopter made a precautionary landing next to York Haven Elementary School yesterday morning, . .

That's just the black helicopter people lulling the next generation into a sense of comfort and complacency.  You know they secretly put chips on those kids.  I hope their next class project is constructing foil hats.  They will need them.

[Gewehr98]

We disconnected battery power, pulled master breakers, and did the most thorough preflight that would make Stan/Eval proud!

BTW, a Blackhawk's "huge"?   

[French G.]

Rhetorical question. Is there anything in the cockpit that a 10 year old could activate that would be more hazardous to the aircrew than any of the items that countless Ltjg's accidentally activate?