Delaware National Guard Blackhawks on the way
Biden announces 6 UH-60-A's will replace old Hueys by June
By
Sgt. 1st Class Deborah Welch
Eight refurbished UH-60-A
Blackhawks will be transferred from units in Europe to the Delaware Guard
by June, Sen. Joe Biden said February 9 during Delaware National
Guard's Senior Leaders Conference.
Maj. Gen. Frank Vavala, commander of the Delaware Guard, told officers and senior enlisted personnel at the meeting held near Delaware City that currently only about five of the Guard's 23 UH-1 Hueys can fly at one time. The others are grounded.
Vavala said Delaware's Hueys date from 1967 to 1970, making the helicopters older than some of the crews who fly and service them.
The limited number of operational Hueys make it difficult for pilots to get the flying time they need and also reduces the number of simultaneous missions the state can complete.
In preparation for the switch to Blackhawks, pilots and ground crews are currently either being retrained or getting refresher courses.
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Sen. Joseph R.
Biden |
"The Huey is a good aircraft, but it's reaching the end of its economic life," he said. "The Blackhawk will give us something that's more powerful and that will give us the ability to fly more types of missions."
Aviators in C Company of the 2nd Battalion, 126th Aviation Regiment will be glad to have the new aircraft when it arrives in June. They said they will continue to fly the other Hueys after the Blackhawks arrive.
Until then, the pilots are anticipating the increased flight time and mission effectiveness when they are finally able to take those Blackhawks up.
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