Alabama Army National Guard Public Demonstration, Hoover, Alabama
The Alabama Army National Guard was conducting a public demonstration of helicopters and parachutists in Shades Mountain Park. I selected 400 ISO film to be able to capture the aircraft despite the overcast/rainy day. This accounts for the grainy nature of the photos.
A Bell UH-1 Iroquois "Huey" utility helicopter performed a low-altitude pass over the outfield tree line at Shades Mountain Park. Crew members can be seen seated in the open main cabin doors under the heavy overcast skies.
Here a National Guard parachutist drifts toward the landing zone over the baseball diamond outfield. He is equipped with a steerable square canopy, wearing a white jumpsuit over standard-issue M81 Woodland camouflage.
Two Army National Guard jumpers executing a Canopy Relative Work (CRW) stack formation:
Preparing to land:
A 1969 Sikorsky CH-54B Tarhe "Skycrane" (Serial Number 69-18471, Construction Number 64-078) parked on the athletic grass. Crew members are visible inspecting the cockpit area:
The massive five-bladed main rotor of the CH-54B Skycrane spins up for departure as a heavy downpour sweeps across the park. The immense power of the Pratt & Whitney T73 engines creates a violent cloud of atomized rain and rotor wash over the field. A Guard soldier in Woodland BDUs looks on:
The Bell UH-1 Huey sits idling on the wet clay of the baseball infield as heavy rain blankets the park. Parachutists or support crew are huddled inside the open cabin, waiting out the storm before departure:
Alabama Army National Guard personnel standing in a torrential downpour next to an M101 3/4-ton military cargo trailer. In the background, the silhouette of the CH-54B Skycrane is visible through the sheet of rain. Mindful of backwash, two other personnel put their weight against a park track sign reading "One Quarter Mile Track":
Ghostly silhouette of the Sikorsky CH-54B Tarhe lifting off from Shades Mountain Park into dense fog, heavy rain, and low visibility. The severe weather conditions beautifully showcase the extreme environment of tactical heavy-lift operations:
