With the assistance of members of the elite U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) Airborne Test Force (ATF), three Marine Corps pilots and their flight crews were able to practice conducting sling load operations during a joint training in late August.
“We don’t do it very often, so it was a chance to refresh our skills as well,” said Sgt. 1st Class Cody Lavalla, air drop operations noncommissioned officer (NCO) for ATF. “Practice makes perfect.”
Lavalla explained that the ATF maintains a good working relationship with VMX-1, the test and evaluation squadron from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, and on occasion are asked to help its pilots and crews to fulfill various required qualifications.
The joint training consisted of one V-22 Osprey with three crews taking turns picking up an A-22 cargo bag assembly dummy load weighing 1,600 pounds and dropping it back off at the same spot after a short flight.
“What the operation ended up being was each crew doing three lifts and set downs, then landing and swapping out crews for a total of nine lifts,” Lavalla said. “The Osprey then flew off, waited until dark and came back under night vision goggles and did nine more.”
In addition to rigging and inspecting the A-22 for sling load, which is also used for aerial delivery loads, and arranging for the use of range space, the ATF Soldiers/NCOs also provided all the ground support for the helicopter landing zone.
That ground support consisted of hooking up and hooking the assembly to the Osprey, making sure it was secure, and using a radio to relay information from the site to the Marines piloting the Osprey.
“We were their eyes, letting them know if a load was fouled or if something got hung up while it was being picked up and wasn’t going to fly right,” said Lavala. “We had to use a sling leg extension to get up to the aircraft. You want the extra height and distance because the bird never sits still while it is hovering for the pickup.”
While there is no school requirement to conduct sling load operations in the Army, a Soldier must be a graduate of either the Sling Load Inspector Course, Air Assault, or Pathfinder school to properly inspect and sign the Sling Load Inspection Form. The form verifies that the load is properly rigged and ready for a sling load for that particular type of helicopter.
“In those courses they teach how to inspect various types of sling load capable items, which can be vehicles, trailers or bundles, and prepare the loads for various helicopters as the preparation and equipment requirements change depending on the airframe that is doing the sling load,” Lavalla said. “We have quite a few guys in the shop who are already qualified.”
The purpose of a sling load is to quickly transport equipment or supplies by helicopter, using sling sets, cargo nets and other specially designed equipment, to remote or hostile locations that are generally a short distance away and not easily reached by vehicles.
“Army and Marine Corps units either use convoys or whatever rotary-wing asset that is available, whether it is Ospreys, CH-47s, CH-53s or UH-60s, to move equipment and supplies that are needed in different locations,” Lavalla said. “There is no right or wrong method unless there is a weight restriction, and you need a bigger helicopter for a heavier load.”
Participating in the joint training not only helped the ATF Soldiers stay tactically and technically sharp on sling load operations, but it also helps them maintain their readiness when called upon.
Lavalla noted that YPG has terrain that is so rugged in places that they are inaccessible to vehicles, so being able to conduct sling load operations is at times a logistical necessity.
"Having the capability allows us to insert and exert equipment that we normally couldn't do," said Lavalla. "We have had to go do a sling load recovery operation out on the range to recover test equipment that landed where it shouldn't have, like the side of a mountain."
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