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New Black Hawk Wows Fort Drum Pilots

Story Published: Jun 11, 2012 at 7:26 PM EDT

Story Updated: Jun 11, 2012 at 7:26 PM EDT

The new UH-60M Black Hawk is a helicopter that feels familiar to pilots at Fort Drum, but boasts some critically important improvements.

"It looks like a Black Hawk from the outside and it still feels like a Black Hawk when I fly it, but it's the computer inside that's different," said Chief Warrant Officer 3 David Van Vechten, a 10th Combat Aviation Brigade pilot.

That computer now includes auto pilot and an on-screen map.

On the old Black Hawks, you were pretty much on your own.

"It gives me instant information on my current location without having to manipulate with a map and pulling out GPS and trying to figure out where I'm at," said Van Vechten.

About 45 of the new choppers are on their way to Fort Drum. 

Pilots are being retrained with approaches and touchdowns at airports around the north country. 

If this were hostile terrain instead, that new on-board map could save lives.

"If we have a suspected enemy location, we can put that on our map and that will populate on my map and instantly show if I'm flying near a threat zone," said Van Vechten.

The choppers cost several million dollars each.

The pilots say that for this workhorse of the Army, the benefits of more efficient flying cannot be calculated.

"The aircraft has better blades, has better engines...Overall it's just a better aircraft," said Lieutenant Colonel Michael McFadden, executive officer of the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade. 

Fort Drum is among the last of the Army installations to get the new helicopter.

That's because its fliers have been on deployment so much, this is their first chance to train on it.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
, Watertown, NY

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