HeliHub.com : Illinois Army National Guard Receives UH-60V Black Hawks helihub.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from helihub.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Illinois Army National Guard has received new UH-60V Black Hawk helicopters, assigned to the 106th Aviation Regiment, stationed in Kankakee and Decatur.
9 On an overcast day in late March, the hard thump of rotor blades beating down the air accompanied by the high-pitched whine of twin Lycoming turboshaft engines accompanied the normal din at the Peoria International Airport in Peoria, Illinois. It was the unmistakable sound of two CH-47 Chinook helicopters on approach to the Army Aviation Support Facility across the tarmac from the airport.
As the two helicopters made their way to the ground and taxied back to the facility, a fire engine waited on the ramp, ready to douse the lead Chinook with a deluge from its water cannon. As the blades ceased their rotation and the engines wound down, a smiling Jason Rassi, chief warrant officer 4 and Chinook pilot with B Co. 2nd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment, could be seen from his side window. This was Jason’s “fini flight,” a time-honored tradition among aviators taking their final flight before retirement.