This sign marked the entrance to Flipper Country, our living quarters while working in and around Honduras. The few luxuries had by all - air conditioning, a television, and a phone were contained within this building. The Company gathering place, known as November 41, became a combination Orderly Room, Operations Center, Day room, and a general all purpose meeting place for the soldiers of Charlie Company while deployed to Honduras. If they could just get the pilot's glove out of the way. This system controls the speed at which the engine operates, so it is rather important that it work correctly. In another of those rare moments, SGT Santos, Sgt Montgomery, and SPC Sill attempt to discern why the Number 2 engine N2 system is inoperative. Taking advantage of the downtime, maintenance personnel worked hard on the little problems while they waited the arrival of parts to fix the big problems. Parts were difficult to obtain, but crews made the best of every situation. Rattlesnakes and scorpions were a bit of a problem, so folks stayed alert and out of the grass.Īlthough rather rare for a Flipper helicopter, sometimes the aircraft broke. Because the daily temperature ran a steady 90 degrees, flight crews often stripped down as far as possible when not flying in an attempt to stay cool. Although not home, the air base offered comfortable living quarters, hot showers, great food and adequate working conditions. Life and living conditions at Soto Cano were good. However, it always worked out for the better and the supplies got through. The standard weather brief became: Temperature, a balmy 90 degrees, Winds out of the North at 10 gusting to 15, Skies - Clear. Weather reporting was more often nonexistent and pilots had to make educated guesses about which routes to take. Transporting the relief supplies throughout Honduras was often a tricky task. Several hundred tons of food and clothing was transported from "Teguc" to the many distant parts of Honduras. Tegucigalpa International Airport became one of the numerous hub centers for conducting Relief Operations. The morning brought cool air, near clear skies, and an impressive view of an semi active volcano in the distance. Thousands of pounds of food and clothing were delivered the very first day.Ī quick stop overnight in Guatemala City for food, fuel and sleep proved worthwhile. Flippers immediately began cargo operations upon arrival. There were many hungry, homeless people far away who desperately awaited the relief supplies that the Flippers would bring.Īlthough the weather was less than perfect for the 2200 mile deployment, the Flippers managed to squeeze through Mexico and Guatemala arriving in the disaster torn country of Honduras in only four days. With aircraft 85-24337 chock full of supplies and the support personnel aboard, the crew fired up this Chinook and headed off for the distant land of Honduras. C Company was the former 196th Assault Support Helicopter Company (ASHC) - "Flippers". The Road to Soto Cano Air Base and Disaster Relief.įrom 8 November 1998 to 8 February 1999, members of C Company - "Flippers", 159th Aviation Regiment, a subordinate unit of the 18th Aviation Brigade, 18th Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, self deployed and served the Nation by supporting the people of Central America after the awesome destruction brought on by Hurricane Mitch. This event was posted in Holiday Fun, Kids & Family Fun by Carmen Pinckney.The CH-47D Chinook helicopter and the Fort Bragg "Flippers" in action - Operation Hurricane Mitch (RED) You need to pre-register your child(ren) in order to participate. Please note that parents will NOT be allowed on the field this year – and it starts at age 2, so your child will be on the field with student volunteers. There will be a $10 charge per child, and that will include unlimited bounce house use, professional balloon artists by Carol’s Balloon Art, professional face painters, Easter Bunny pictures and the egg drop. The fun doesn’t stop at the Egg Drop, we’ll also be having a Bounce House Area with over 8 inflatables, Balloon Artists, Professional Face Painters, KONA Ice, FOOD TRUCKS, DJ Jesse Gavigan & Music, and of course the EASTER BUNNY! There will be TWO golden eggs with GREAT PRIZES including a NINTENDO SWITCH & an APPLE ITOUCH, plus other cool prizes! The Easter Egg Drop is an Easter Egg Hunt open to the first 1,500 pre-registered children in our community between the ages of 2-10. We’re dropping thousands of plastic Easter eggs from a helicopter…yup, you heard that right – a HELICOPTER! Pre-register your children to participate in one of FOUR age-specific egg hunts with over 15,000 eggs!
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