The Desert Slug Goes Mute for awhile
He had seen combat in a place called Vietnam. He had flown to wells and rigs off the Louisiana Coast in a Bell 47. The navigation on such flights was handled by the same navigation tools that were aboard schooners and fishing boats for many years: compass and watch. His career went from wooden bladed helicopters to its presence state the advent of the GPS era. He was an instrument flight examiner. He was on the US Precision Helicopter Team. The flight was simple an IFR flight in the Desert Slug. When I heard the story the destination was not revealed. It was a man voicing a concern. The story had illustrative values.
The aircraft had become mythic. You strip away the fame it was an old Huey with old avionics that while heavily in symbolic value. For the US Army and The Texas National Guard it had practical value but the value was rapidly diminishing. That is why it was being retired. That was why its avionics suite was not state of the art.
It is a well known navigational point in the DFW metroplex it is a heavy collection and TV Antennas and Radio antennas. It is marked on sectionals on the southern fringe of the DFW metro area. The Cedar Hill Antennas are known in the area.
The Desert Slug was out of Navy Dallas to points south and west on an instrument flight plan. The Vietnam vet was at the controls of this beloved symbol. Just another flight almost not worth mentioning. The Army National Guard was operating as it did after Desert Shield Desert Storm before the cursed day the towers fell. The Desert Slug overflew the Antennas. The older UHF radio of the Desert Slug went mute. The pilot of the Desert Slug reacted with calmness... being shot at, being screamed at, being drilled drilled drilled, practice practice practice tends to put perspective on such events. This hardly warranted a sweat. The transponder was turned to. ATC knew that the bird could not speak and was proceeding along a clearance. The flight went along the route of last clearance south to Waco. After a while north of Waco the mute Desert Slug was speaking again.