Advanced Helicopter Training

Last updated March 06, 2019

Advanced Helicopter Training is the last phase of flight school for Navy and Marine Corps helicopter pilots. Training is accomplished at NAS Whiting Field in Milton, Florida. All training is done in Bell TH-57 Sea Rangers. Advanced training is approximately six months long, and is divided into ten phases:

United States Navy Naval warfare branch of the United States Armed Forces

The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most capable navy in the world and it has been estimated that in terms of tonnage of its active battle fleet alone, it is larger than the next 13 navies combined, which includes 11 U.S. allies or partner nations. with the highest combined battle fleet tonnage and the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, and two new carriers under construction. With 319,421 personnel on active duty and 99,616 in the Ready Reserve, the Navy is the third largest of the service branches. It has 282 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of March 2018, making it the second largest and second most powerful air force in the world.

The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or U.S. Marines, is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations with the United States Navy as well as the Army and Air Force. The U.S. Marine Corps is one of the four armed service branches in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States.

A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward, and laterally. These attributes allow helicopters to be used in congested or isolated areas where fixed-wing aircraft and many forms of VTOL aircraft cannot perform.

Ground school: aircraft systems, local course rules, emergency procedures
Familiarization: hovering, basic helicopter maneuvers
Tactics: confined-area landings, external load operations, high-speed landings
Trans-fams: familiarization in the instrument capable TH-57C model
Basic instruments (BIs): common instrument scans
Radio instruments (RIs): instrument approaches, basic instrument navigation
Visual/instrument navigation: cross-country navigation
Low-level navigation: visual navigation below 500 feet AGL
Formation: section formation maneuvers
Night familiarization/NVGs

Three squadrons perform advanced helicopter training: HT-8 Eightballers, HT-18 Vigilant Eagles and HT-28 Hellions. Training is also done for the United States Coast Guard and for the navies and marines of several allied countries, including Italy, Spain, and Germany.

Helicopter Training Squadron EIGHT (HT-8) is a United States Navy helicopter training squadron based at Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Milton, FL. The squadron's mission is helicopter pilot training for U. S. Navy, U. S. Marine Corps and U. S. Coast Guard Student Naval Aviators and for selected foreign military flight students from basic helicopter flight training through winging. Student Naval Aviators report to HT-8 for helicopter training upon completion of primary flight training conducted in the T-6B Texan II U. S. Navy primary flight trainer. HT-8 flies both the TH-57B Sea Ranger and the TH-57C Sea Ranger. The unit generally uses the call sign "Eight Ball" over the radio.

Helicopter Training Squadron EIGHTEEN (HT-18) is a United States Navy helicopter training squadron based at Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Milton, Florida. The squadron's mission is helicopter pilot training for U. S. Navy, U. S. Marine Corps and U. S. Coast Guard Student Naval Aviators and for selected foreign military flight students from basic helicopter flight training through winging, the squadron also provides indoctrination fights for Midshipmen and Flight Surgeons. Student Naval Aviators report to HT-18 for helicopter training upon completion of primary flight training conducted in the T-6B Texan II U. S. Navy primary flight trainer. HT-18 flies both the TH-57B Sea Ranger and the TH-57C Sea Ranger. The Squadron's nickname is "Vigilant Eagles"

Helicopter Training Squadron 28 (HT-28) is a United States Navy helicopter training squadron based at Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Milton, Florida. The squadron, known as the Hellions, is one of three Advanced Helicopter Training squadrons that produces aviators for the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. They fall under the command of Training Air Wing Five and fly both the TH-57B Sea Ranger basic helicopter trainer and the TH-57C Sea Ranger advanced helicopter trainer. The squadron's tactical call sign is "Lucky."

This United States military article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

Related Research Articles

The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. and is responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm recently started operating the F-35 Lightning II in a Maritime Strike Role, the AW159 Wildcat and AW101 Merlin in both Commando and Anti-Submarine roles, and the BAE Hawk. Helicopters such as the Lynx and Westland Wasp were previously deployed on smaller vessels since 1964, taking over the roles once performed by biplanes such as the Fairey Swordfish.

Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in normal flight. Aerobatics are performed in airplanes and gliders for training, recreation, entertainment, and sport. Additionally, some helicopters, such as the MBB Bo 105, are capable of limited aerobatic maneuvers. An example of a fully aerobatic helicopter, capable of performing loops and rolls, is the Westland Lynx.

Recruit training initial indoctrination and instruction given to new military personnel

Recruit training, more commonly known as basic training or colloquially boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. Recruit training is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the demands of military employment.

Royal Air Force Shawbury otherwise known as RAF Shawbury is a Royal Air Force station near the village of Shawbury in Shropshire in the West Midlands of England.

A Naval Flight Officer (NFO) is a commissioned officer in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps who specializes in airborne weapons and sensor systems. NFOs are not pilots per se, but they may perform many "co-pilot" functions, depending on the type of aircraft. Until 1966, their duties were performed by both commissioned officer and senior enlisted naval aviation observers (NAO).

The United States Army Airborne School – widely known as Jump School – conducts the basic paratrooper training for the United States armed forces. It is operated by the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 507th Infantry, United States Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia. The Airborne School conducts the Basic Airborne Course, which is open to troops of both genders from all branches of the United States Department of Defense, Reserve Officer Training Corps, and allied military personnel. All students must volunteer to attend the course.

MARCOS, previously named as Marine Commando Force (MCF), is the special forces unit of the Indian Navy created for conducting special operations such as amphibious warfare, close quarter combat, counter-terrorism, direct action, special reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, hostage rescue, personnel recovery, combat search and rescue, asymmetric warfare, foreign internal defence, counterproliferation, amphibious reconnaissance including hydrographic reconnaissance. The MCF is specially organised, trained and equipped for the conduct of special operations in a maritime environment. The force has gradually acquired experience and a reputation for professionalism over the three decades it has been in existence. The MARCOS are capable of undertaking operations in all types of terrain, but are specialised in maritime operations in Jammu and Kashmir through the Jhelum River and Wular Lake, a 65 square kilometre freshwater lake. Some MARCOS personnel are also attached with the Army special forces units conducting counter-terrorism operations in the area.

The Defence Helicopter Flying School is a military flying school based at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire, England. The school is a tri-service organisation and trains helicopter aircrews for all three British armed forces, using the Airbus Juno HT1 and Airbus Jupiter HT1 helicopters.

A Naval Aviator is a commissioned officer or warrant officer qualified as a pilot in the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps or United States Coast Guard.

A Weapon Systems Officer is an air flight officer directly involved in all air operations and weapon systems of a military aircraft.

Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101 (VMFAT-101) is a United States Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet training squadron. The squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 11 (MAG-11) and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.

Marine Light Attack Helicopter Training Squadron 303 (HMLAT-303), is a United States Marine Corps helicopter training squadron stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. Known as the "Atlas", HMLAT-303 trains newly commissioned Naval Aviators, conversion pilots, and refresher pilots to fly the Bell UH-1Y Venom and Bell AH-1Z Viper. HMLAT-303 is also responsible for training Bell UH-1Y Venom crew chiefs. It is part of Marine Aircraft Group 39 (MAG-39) and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.

The Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center, (AATTC), is located at Rosecrans Air National Guard Base, Saint Joseph, Missouri. The host unit is the 139th Airlift Wing, Missouri Air National Guard. The AATTC was founded in 1983 by Major Howard W. Dixon but has its roots in the efforts of the technicians, AGR's and members of the 180th Airlift Squadron and other ANG airlift units prior to that date.

Training Squadron TEN (VT-10) is a training squadron of the United States Navy. The squadron is homebased at NAS Pensacola, Florida.

705 Naval Air Squadron was first formed as a flight in 1936 from No 447 Flight Royal Air Force and operated Swordfish torpedo bombers from battlecruisers. It achieved squadron status in 1939 before being disbanded in 1940. The squadron was re-formed briefly in 1945 and then again in 1947 as a fleet requirements unit to evaluate naval use of helicopters. Since the 1950s the squadron has been involved in the basic training of helicopter aircrew, and currently forms part of the Defence Helicopter Flying School at RAF Shawbury.

Marine Commandos Special operations group of the Lebanese Navy

The Marine Commandos are an elite unit of the Lebanese Navy. They are part of the Lebanese Special Operations Command. Established with assistance from the United States Navy SEALs and the British Royal Marines and tasked with conducting a variety of missions, particularly in a maritime environment, which include: sabotage, raids, beach landings and maritime counter-terrorism. The Marine Commandos were established in 1997, then got their administrative independence in July 2001.

Training Squadron 22 (VT-22) or TRARON TWO TWO, known as the Golden Eagles, callsign "Blazer", is a U.S. Navy strike jet training squadron stationed aboard Naval Air Station Kingsville, flying the T-45C Goshawk. The Golden Eagles are one of four strike jet training squadrons in operation today, and are under the command of Training Air Wing Two.