Helicopters fly over coastal clouds during May 4 formation flight./Photo by Cpl. Christopher O'Quin
Crank up “Ride of the Valkyries.”
Nearly two dozen Marine helicopters – including new four-bladed UH-1Y “Yankee” Hueys and AH-1Z “Zulu” helicopters – took to the air over north San Diego County on May 4, flying in a chevron formation above Interstate 5 as they flew between Camp Pendleton, Calif., and Miramar Marine Corps Base in San Diego. Check out a video and report by the local CBS affiliate here.
It was a sight that, in the pre-9/11 world, would have drawn numerous complaints of vibrating walls and interrupted conversations from residents in the hilly communities along the freeway. Still, a few complainers aired their gripes at several online forums.
It’s not an every-day occurrence. The training squadron at Camp Pendleton’s air station, home to the Corps’ West Coast “skid row,” organized the three-hour midday flight to give aircrews experience in larger flight formations, much more than helo pilots in typical two- or four-plane sections would normally do. “Most of it was a flight designed to showcase what we do here,” Maj. Rodney Dean, a pilot with Marine Light Attack Training Squadron 303, told KFMB-TV.
Check out a few photos here taken before the formation left Miramar to return home. If you can’t get enough, there’s another video view here from the local NBC affiliate.
