Students explore military aircraft in honor of Veterans Day

Fresno Christian’s north field facilitates sports games, carnivals and P.E. classes, but rarely functions as an airfield. However, as approximately 280 elementary students plus select high school classes gathered to watch a UH-60L Blackhawk helicopter touch down on the grass during 1st period, Nov. 9.

In honor of Veterans Day, the 1106th Theater Aviation Support Maintenance Group (TASMG), based nearby Fresno Yosemite International Airport, agreed to land and allow students to explore the Blackhawk helicopter. In addition to maintenancing military helicopters from 13 states, the 1106th TASMG performs various missions throughout California.

LTC Shiloh Briggs and CPT Joe Gentry piloted the visiting chopper, along with crew chief SSG Ge Xiong and SGT Thomas Hernandez. The crew led each elementary class on a tour of the cockpit and answered questions about the Army’s most produced helicopter.

Capt. Gentry has served in the California Army National Guard for 14 years after graduating Fresno State’s ROTC program and training to become a pilot. Gentry later served in Iraq and Kuwait as a Blackhawk pilot. He says his first flight in a Bell UH-1 “Huey” inspired a fascination of flight.

“I did army ROTC at Fresno State, and when I was a student there, I went on my first helicopter flight,” Gentry said. “Just sitting in the back of the Huey helicopter, an old, Vietnam style helicopter, there was something exciting about. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve been in the aircraft, but the sensation of flight, it was pretty cool.”

Bryce Foshee interviews Capt. Joe Gentry on the north field about piloting Blackhawk helicopters in the following podcast.

The US Army started operating Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawks in 1979 and designed them with reliability and strength in mind. The 10,640 pound, 64 foot long helicopters cruise at 170 mph and can transport 11 troops 368 miles. In addition to peacetime missions like firefighting and disaster relief, the US military uses Blackhawks in special operations, medical evacuation, search and rescue, and other roles.

In addition to watching the Blackhawk roll 45 degrees and hearing the 1,900 horsepower General Electric turboshaft engines, students could sit in and explore the aircraft. First grader Judah Hann expressed awe after experiencing the chopper in person.

“It was the best,” Hann said. “I really wanted to fly in it. I was surprised when it came, it made all the trees go ‘whoosh.’ I got to sit in it; it was cool.”

Operating a Blackhawk helicopter requires a great deal of skill and training. Gentry says the continual learning and practice which come with his job is challenging, but makes flying go smoother.

“The hardest part about it is the studying you have to do,” Gentry said. “It’s like being back in college, there’s a lot of academics, which is a good thing so you’re safe when you’re flying the aircraft. So that’s probably the hardest thing, is just the continual studying of honing your craft and staying sharp inside the cockpit.”

Students throughout the school interacted with the crew and learned more about their jobs. Samuel Rieker, ’25, recognized the complexity of the aircraft and appreciates the type of character of those who fly them.

“I sat in the very back, but not the pilot’s seat,” Rieker said. “It’s cool how there’s compartments for like guns and ammo. There’s a hatch in the bottom, where you carry a humvee, and so you can press a button and drop it. It’s probably difficult to control and it takes a lot of people to man the whole entire thing.”

The Blackhawk visit gave students an opportunity to learn about a prominent aircraft and gain a better appreciation for the men and women who fly them. Thank you so much to the veterans, servicemen and servicewomen who protect our nation!

The following is a recap of the Blackhawk visit by Braden Bell.

UH-60L Blackhawk visits FC from The Feather Online on Vimeo.

For more articles, check out 98th Fresno Veterans Day Parade seeks to honor veterans, recognize service and CV Honor flight recognizes U.S. veterans.

Bryce Foshee can be reached via Twitter @brycer_f and via email.