Rajesh Isser - Id Rather Fly a Chopper: An IAF Helicopter Pilot Remembers

To Godavari and Vagmi.

And the many generations of storytellers and listeners

CONTENTS

U BIQUITY, OR THE ability to be present anywhere, is an apt description for a helicopter, colloquially known as a chopper in the Indian military. Most people are amazed that it can fly at allbut it does and like none other. The following stories and anecdotes bring out its uniqueness as a machine and also the many misfortunes awaiting a pilot who is not serious or focused on flying it!

While humour is in the mind of the beholder, these tales, like the rest of the book, bring out the funny part behind a serious job! They bring out the fun of being a chopper pilot while undertaking risky work. The aerodynamics of helicopter-flying and the accidents waiting to happen are difficult subjects even for experienced pilots. However, these stories break them down into simple and understandable stuff for all readers.

Why These Stories?

I have been a helicopter pilot in the Indian Air Force (IAF) since January 1983. The first chopper I flew was a French Alouette III (Chetak) at the Helicopter Training School (HTS), Hyderabad. At the end of basic training at the Air Force Academy, Hyderabad, I had fought my way to choose helicopter-flying over the more sought-after fighter-plane-flying despite scoring high in overall merit in the course. At that time, my motivation was to join the future of combat, namely, attack helicopters. It came from reading about the West (NATO) versus Soviet (Warsaw)-projected conflicts, which were so popular at that point of time.

Ironically, despite a reasonable professional record and preference expressed every year, I did not get posted to an attack-helicopter squadron. So, do I regret my choice to swim against the tide at the beginning of my career? Never! I have had the privilege and God-sent opportunity to serve and interact with citizens of India in virtually every state of this nation in very special ways. I have had opportunities to experience combat multiple times, and a lifelong window to do my bit towards nation-building. All because of a ubiquitous and versatile aviation marvela helicopter, or chopper.

The chopper is so versatile that it is omnipresent in all crises: infrastructure development, political happenings and any other event that attracts public attention. Above all, helicopters have saved millions of lives across the world. I have worked shoulder to shoulder with people who have made this nation what it is today, especially in the underdeveloped frontiers along the Himalayas. I have spent nights in the exotic huts of tribals in Ladakh, Lahaul and Spiti, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Middle Andaman and Great Nicobar, among other places. They were truly priceless experiences.

When I started sharing some of my stories with my family and close friends, considerable disbelief was common. Friends who had rarely been out of metros, except for well-planned holidays abroad, could just not fathom the rich diversity their own country offered. Children loved my animal stories, and the aeroplanes and helicopters always excited them. Many young air warriors of my service are not aware of how life and work was managed far more frugally and fruitfully even without mobile phones or the internet!

My aim in penning down these stories is to bring out the diversity of India across its farthest corners, and also how life has changed over the decades in the air force in particular. While the lightness and humour are intentional, in no way should it give the impression that a chopper pilots job is less risky or less demanding. A good life or a life well lived may not have much to do with our bank balances or net worth, but it has everything to do with our diverse interactions in strange places with unfamiliar people. Those are the spices that make lifes menu so tasty and nourishing.

Dealing with Crazy A(H)erodynamics

Most people are confused as to how a bumblebee manages to fly, and that too quite well, against all odds. A helicopter is not too far down on the scale of peoples consternation about oddities. It seems that such a seemingly unstable machine as a chopper is always about to crashand it would too, if the pilot is not nimble enough. You can easily topple over if your wheel or skid lodges against something, and this can happen fast enough to surprise even a good pilot. This is called a dynamic rolloverhow apt! There is an even more infamous and destructive phenomenon called ground resonance. This is akin to troops marching over a bridge in step, producing vibrations in sync with the natural frequency of the bridge. And voila, this resonance ultimately breaks the bridge. A choppers oleo-pneumatic legs (landing gear) have a natural frequency, and a chopper is a huge vibrating object. You get the connect? This can cause complete destructionand in just a few seconds!

A helicopter evolved from what was known as an autogyro, which had no tail rotor. It is the breakthrough of a tail rotor, which provides the counter torque to the main rotor, that has given a chopper its real capabilities. If not for this, a cockpit would rotate as fast as the main rotor in the opposite direction. But it brings with it a number of dangers and accidents waiting to happen. Many unsuspecting soldiers have walked into it in the heat of battleand paid a heavy price with their limbs and lives. I was once captaining a sortie in Arunachal Pradesh, which involved hot mission boarding of soldiers. While there are standard procedures and checks and balances, Murphys Law ultimately prevails. My co-pilot was inside the cockpit, while I had jumped out to help the gunner ensure that no assault rifle was loaded live. And suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a figure walking towards the tail rotor. I yelled amid the tremendous noise and din of the Mi-17, but before I knew it, he had walked right into the rotor, or rather, under it. Im quite sure my crew and I missed a few heartbeats. This army captain happened to be the shortest officer Ive ever met. He was a Gurkha and, thankfully, there are concessions on their minimum height during recruitment.

Of course, there was our Tail Rotor Negi. He was an extremely accomplished and bold pilot with a great flying reputation who, later, narrowly escaped from the jaws of death. While doing a training sortie at night as a young pilot officer, he got off to do a crew change with the rotors running. He customarily started walking around the chopper and absent-mindedly went into the Chetaks tail rotor. Despite the shrieking noise of the fast-rotating rotor, he managed to do the unthinkable. He suffered some serious lacerations on his right arm, which put him down for about six monthsbut the name stuck.

A classic dynamic rollover leading to the complete wreck of a Mi-8 took place at a forward helipad in Sri Lanka. The Mi-8 was on the ground with rotors running and frenetic activity all around it. Suddenly, the captain heard a call from two light helicopters carrying the armys vice-chief, asking for some space. In a bid to oblige, and in the truest spirit of jointmanship, the Mi-8 captain hastened to shift to a corner of the large ground. Unfortunately, in doing so, while being too low, his main wheel struck a tree stump that was protruding but camouflaged naturally. And, before he realized it, the chopper tilted dangerously and crashed. The ironythe vice-chief did not manage to land!

We learnt about centre of gravity, or the C of G, in school long ago, with ample reiteration along the way. But the real lessons dont come home till you fly large aircraft or helicopters. At least the fixed-wing guys get trained people to load scientifically at most runways. Chopper guys do this at far-flung helipads with no weighing machines, and loaders with no education on the C of G or without a care in the world about its implications. It results in amusing and, sometimes, grave results. I was flying in Sri Lanka as part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in a Mi-8. I was the captain while Kama was the co-pilot. We had landed in Talai Mannar, just off the beach, with the vast Indian Ocean in front, beckoning gently with its waves. In a hurry, and I suspect because of the wheeling and dealing of our flight gunner on ground (like changing currency!), who also doubles as load master, a quick offloading of supplies was done. Once the helicopter was offloaded, empty crates were to be put at the end of the cargo compartment first. But in the haste and the absence of the gunner in the compartment, all crates were piled up in the middle. Then in came the soldiers going back home. They got packed like sardines in the front half. The gunner came in last, not realizing what had happened. Quite evidently, the C of G was way forward and out of limits.