Returning Army Pilots 'Say It Right'

The AOPA Air Safety Foundation recently conducted a special showing of its safety seminar "Say It Right" for Army helicopter pilots just back from Iraq.  The Foundation arranged the seminar for about 100 aviators of the 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bragg, NC. The "Say It Right" program on proper radio communications techniques is designed to ease the transition of military pilots back to flight operations in the United States. "Our pilots are too good to be perceived as unprofessional on the radio," said Chief Warrant Officer John MacElroy. "But they've been flying for nearly a year in a country where there is very little aviation infrastructure, and where the air traffic control system isn't as complex and demanding as in the United States. This seminar is a big help for our returning pilots in reinforcing FAA radio communication procedures," he added. MacElroy said he and his fellow pilots flew for nearly a year in conditions that would horrify most any civilian pilot. Operations were frequently over trackless desert terrain in Iraq, often at night under "lights out" conditions and in poor visibility. "You had to keep an eye on the environment," added Squadron Commander Lt. Col. Michael Pyott. "You could instantly find yourself at low altitude in blowing dust with very limited visibility, while 20 miles away it could be clear. In our operations, five miles visibility was comparable to three miles in the United States because there is so little contrast, so few visual references in the desert."