European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 14, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday october 14, 1990 the stars and stripes a a Page 3crisis in the nullity s whole new world for chopper Crews by Dave Tarrant staff writer with the . Forces saudi Arabia a Europe based helicopter Crews Are sweating out 110-degree cockpit temperatures and featureless desert terrain a world away from Cool Hilly Germany where they had trained just a month ago. Instead of Altitude restrictions and noise abatement rules these pilots Are now shop talking about dunes Sand a brownouts a and the great Shamal a gusting wind out of the North that sweeps great Gray Clouds of dust through the desert every autumn. A flying Here is very different a said chief warrant officer 2 Paul Kuklish an Apache gunship Pilot stationed in Hanau Germany. A basically the ground gives you no visual cues to see exactly How High you Are. And its especially hard at  for these european based units the Dusty Sand is the most glaring difference from Germany. A the blowing Sand especially when we re coming in for a Landing around the helicopter pretty much Browns out the helicopter a said Kuklish whose unit is the 227th aviation regt of the 3rd army div. A the Sand also plays havoc on every moving part of the helicopter a he said a especially the rotary  attention on safety problems has been heightened in the Wake of four . Aircraft crashes last week in the persian Gulf Region where about 200,000 soldiers airmen sailors and marines Are deployed. In addition four army oh-58 and uh-60 helicopters have been among the seven chopper crashes so far in the 2-month-old desert shield operation. The accidents have promoted several new safety features which include radar altimeters that signal when a helicopter flies too Low. Europe based pilots say night flying in the desert taxes their judgment to the limit. A terrain is very difficult to see at night a said Kuklish 30. Night vision goggles shown by Marine maj. Tom Bray of san Diego can pose problems in the saudi desert some helicopter Crew members say. The Apache ah-64 is equipped with systems that allow pilots to see infrared images. In other aircraft such As the oh-588, pilots use night vision goggles a which done to distinguish horizon very Well the ground from the sky a he said. Takeoffs and landings a probably the most critical times for operating a helicopter a Are especially difficult in a desert where the up drafts created by the Rotar Blades can engulf a helicopter in a  coming in High and a Little bit fast is the desired effect a to get away from hovering Over the Sand a Kuklish said. Pilots used to flying in Germany a relatively Cool weather Are also battling the desert heat and the 100-degree-plus temperatures. Except for the Apache most helicopters Are not air conditioned and flying can be uncomfortable at Best. The Apache is kept air conditioned in order to protect its sophisticated avionics. A the air conditioning is just a byproduct for the Pilot a Kuklish said. Sgt. Mark a. Gibbs an Aerial scout observer said there were initial worries that the heat might affect the weight limits on the relatively Small oh-58s. A lots of people thought we might have to go to a single Pilot. We weren to sure if they were Strong enough. With the heat and everything they re not powerful enough to go very far but we re not hav ing any problems a said Gibbs 22, from the 3rd in 227th aviation regt Hanau. The night vision goggles which the military contends arc a great advantage to pilots pose some problems in the desert Gibbs said. The goggles enhance Light from the Moon stars and other sources. A with the night vision goggles its really hard to Tell depth perception above the Sand because there Are no features on the desert to focus on a Gibbs said. Even during Daylight hours helicopter Crews have been warned to stay away from dunes which can reach up to Heights of 50 feet or More. A in the Middle of the Day if you hover Over a Sand Dune and you just look directly at the Sand Dune you can to Tell How High you Are. You can think you re 1 foot or 30 feet above it a Gibbs said. Pilots Arentt the Only ones adjusting to the new environment. Maintenance Crews Are also battling problems caused by the corrosive effects of heat and Sand. Rotary Blades Are continually being resurfaced with a protective coating and erosion resistant tape is placed Over the leading edges of the Blades. Sgt. Jeff Shelton 25, with the Hanau unit said that Crews try to keep choppers on the ground covered with old cargo parachutes to Ward off the effects of the Dusty gusts of wind. Studying All these changes closely is the 12th aviation brigades safety officer who said the units philosophy on training is to Progress slowly in order to adjust to the new environment. A you crawl you walk and then you run a said chief warrant officer 4 Joseph Bailey. A if you re used to flying Over terrain a he said a where you have Trees highways mountains and Hills that constantly give you a contrast so that you can Deal with depth perception and then you go out into a terrain that a like a Pool table with no mountains no Trees then you have to become  Don t miss a move in Gulf strategy by Dave Tarrant staff writer with the marines saudi Arabia a neither heat nor Sand nor the threat of a Poison Gas attack will deter a couple of marines from their duly appointed chess match. So when a chemical weapons Drill started in the Middle of a recent chess game staff sgt. Tim Kletzke and sgt. Russ Adamson calmly donned Gas masks and went about their game. A i always take Abc training seriously a said the 29-year-old Kletzke referring to the twice daily nuclear biological and chemical warfare drills at his unit the 1st service support det located in the Central arabian desert. Kletzke and a couple of other marines in the unit also take chess seriously a enough so to build their championship size Board and chess pieces from trash. Adamson said he and another Marine were playing a  one 9n a4-by-4-Inch set that came in the mail. We started saying a hey lets make a bigger chess  a armed with a Little ingenuity the marines began snooping around and spied an old wooden pallet which they soon turned into a Coffee table size chess Board. They covered the Board completely with some spare a a Spray painted it Black and then Cut out Blank spaces so the Board would have the Correct alternating Black and White  Street by Street tent by tent the marines scoured their base Camp a taking no prisoners but capturing various leftovers that they eagerly fashioned into realistic look my chess pieces. A h plastic water bottles come in All shapes and sizes so the marines turned a Short fat one into a Queen and crowned a Long thin one the King. They decided that a couple of old Tabasco sauce bottles were Good enough to be Bishops a due to the fact that they re Long and thin but they come up into a Point like a Bishop s piece a Adamson said. And with a Little remodelling Small cardboard juice Cartons became Rooks. A they sort of look like Little castles done to they a the proud Adamson said. The Only pieces requiring a Little imagination Are the knights a couple of old Spray paint cans. A they done to really resemble knights a he said a but we  find anything  the whole set was put together in about three hours one saturday and Adamson said its been a pretty popular among the marines since. A you know we got a lot of Good chess players that played chess prior to coming Here a he said. Several have even played masters from different countries while they were on special duty. A we have staff sergeant Kletzke. He played russians when he was Over there a Adamson said. Maybe soviet world Champion Gary Kasparov had better watch out. The marines Are on the move. A Gas Drill does no to faze sgt. Russ Adamson left and staff sgt. Tim Kletzke who Are watched by a fellow Marine