European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 1, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday october 1,1989 the stars and stripes Page 9 Over Here senior chief Petty officer John w. Singer packs fresh produce aboard a copter. Right Petty officer 2nd class . Rickson replaces a super stallion engine cowl. Navy s super stallion pulls its weight in med  Mediterranean Bureau Nas Simonella Sicily stepping into the Rotor Wash of a Navy super Stal lion helicopter is like planting yourself in the path of Hurricane Hugo. At hover Speed the helicopter s seven main Rotor Blades generate gals that top i so Mph enough wind to blow a Sailor off a ship s deck with ease. So we have to be real careful about where we operate said cmdr. David j. Smania commander of helicopter com Bat support so 4, the Only Navy outfit exclusively operating the giant choppers. Based at is Gonella since 198.1. The unit of about 30 officers and 180 enlisted personnel provides round the clock All weather corneal logistic support to ships of the 6th reel and other deployed units in the med. To Date the unit has moved More than 50,000 passengers and 30 Mil lion pounds of mail and cargo in an area stretching from Turkey to Rota Spain. The unit owns seven of the $26 Mil lion super stallions which lower 28 feet above the Tarmac and stretch 99 feet Long. Power is provided by three Jet engines each capable of producing 4,380 Shaft horsepower. Besides creating fierce winds the turn ing rotors can develop As much As 100,000 volts of Static electricity in third of a second enough to Stop some one with a bad heart said cmdr. Arne Nelson the unit s executive officer. For that reason Smania said we arc prohibited from rescuing anyone who sin the water even if he is drowning be cause once the victim s feet come out of the water he would be  Smania 40, Calls the super stallion the perfect Halo for its role in the med because of its ability to haul extremely heavy loads and to operate Over Long Dis Tances. Keeping the ch-53es Mission ready Calls for an extremely High ratio of maintenance hours to night hours. While other aircraft require 20 to 30 hours of maintenance per flight hour the complicated stallions receive an average of 90hours. Its complement for a Normal logistic Mission is two pilots and two Crew Mem Bers. The aircraft usually seats 37 Pas sengers but with Center seals installed it can ferry 55 combat troops. It can haul up to 18,000 pounds of internal cargo. Recent cargo runs have included haul ing one of the 5-ton rubber moorings the Navy uses to protect ships from scraping against piers or other vessels during Docking or repairs. More mundane mis Sions included delivering mail and spare parts for two . Carrier groups operating of the coast of France. Well cube out on space the amount of room available for cargo before we will Max out on weight the skipper said. A super stallion also can lug roughly its own weight of 16 tons externally. The ch-53e is outfitted with a refuel ing probe on its nose that when extended can plug into a special refuelling Hose trailing from a Wing mounted pod on a Kc-130. The plane can deliver 7,000 pounds of fuel to the chopper in 15 min utes. During in flight refuelling operations separation Between the Tail of the pc 130 and the seven main Rotor Blades of the Halo can be As Little As 20 to 25 feet. These operations Are said to require some of the most skilled lying known to helicopter aviation. Air to air refuelling is the most challenging and the most fun of the flying we do said it. De Martin a 32-year-old Pilot from Philadelphia a. The helicopter can also receive in flight fuel from some Navy ships. While the helicopter hovers alongside the fueling ship a Hose is hoisted up to the chopper and connected to an internal re fueling fitting. We started refuelling from ships two years ago. But the pumping is slow and we Burn a lot of fuel while hovering. Mostly we will Only take on fuel if we arc going to drop off cargo on thai ship anyway. It s exhausting work Smania said. Routine logistics support and Contin gency operations require the Squadron to deploy detachments to All areas of the Mediterranean. Since its inception the Squadron has participated in every major naval operation in the med including the . Peacekeeping duties in Beirut. Lebanon. Typically the Squadron will Send a two or three plane detachment to a Landing area where it will stay anywhere from five Days to two weeks hauling mail passengers and cargo to a Navy Battle group. Since last summer the Squadron also has been flying soviet inspection teams Between is Gonella and the air Force s ground launched cruise missile base at Comiso. Sicily. The soviets visit the base to Check on . Compliance with the intermediate Range nuclear forces treaty. Whenever we schedule something we have to remember that inf is always lurking Over the horizon Smania said adding that a missed inf Mission would get attention real  members of helicopter combat support so 4 at Simonella Load an aircraft for a Supply flight to the Loran station on Lampedusa