101st Airborne Division Pathfinder Company conducts Fast Rope from a UH-60 Blackhawk

[FTroop37F]

The UH-60 is an outstanding Helo. Heavy lift (relatively), fast, high altitude. If insertion time isn't a factor, rappelling is safer and a hoist insertion is safer still.

If uneven terrain (mountains) is the issue, a one skid landing is an option. You can't fast rope with a 60 lb ruck though. These are fast & light ops.

LACoFD flies the H-60 Firehawk, it's a Blackhawk without all the stuff that will kill you. Igor Sikorsky was an aviation genius and the Screaming Eagles make this look easy.

[makreis]

Grime'sy!

No fear!

[nixymagoo]

54 seconds WOW thats guna cause some problems

[martykhodge]

I hadn't seen the Air Assault School since 2003 when I had sent a couple of my soldiers to the course while we were waiting to be deployed to Iraq. Just an old PSG reflecting and thanks for posting the vid!

[CarbineDioxide]

101st Airborne, 3-187 Iron Rakkasan. Sabalauski Air Assault School class 25-11. Graduated a couple weeks ago and I absolutely LOVED air assault school. I was really lucky to get into the school being as new as I am to the unit. Anyone who gets a chance should jump on it.

[thirdtuck]

this is my old unit! very cool to see this and it brings back the memories. they are definitely training. we used to do this with equipment on our backs which made it even more treacherous and difficult. i remember several times landing like a sack of shit and having to scramble out of the way b/c five or six other dudes are racing down 100mph after you. plus the slower you go the more you are exposing your birds to danger. more you sweat in training less you bleed in battle!

[stephenmegos]

These are the guys that most people want be, but aren't nearly good enough to make it.

[icychillgrill3]

When I was taught to fast rope we were taught to go down much faster. I'm not intending to be a smart ass or insult anyone but why do they go slower? Does it have to do with balancing the helo or something?

[sladeandfiona]

learning how to do this was alot of fun. i never was able to keep my feet on landing though. i was always a 'feet, ass, head' on either a fast rope or airborne jump. been out of the Army since Dec 2000 and miss the hell out of it

[knguyen128]

I've always thought that was really cool, but why can't they just land? Wouldn't it be faster for everyone to get out?

[mayson12451245]

@knguyen128 maybe because when your in combat the ground is not the safest place to land, so you rappel down instead of risking a bird getting shot at with rpg's. this is my theory, i need to ask my brother, he was in the 101st airborne.

[sladeandfiona]

@knguyen128 mayson12451245 is right, once a chopper touches down it's completely vunerable. it's much safer for everyone if you fast rope. and with two lines going, you can empty a Blackhawk in just seconds.

[BrianT175]

@knguyen128 Landing is faster and that's why fast-roping is rarely used. Fast-roping is for getting to areas that a bird can't land, say a tight rooftop or an urban street. Right now they are just training, so it's in an open field. Oh and they don't tell you this, but someone signs for those ropes, so they have to be recovered, which means someone has to carry them off the objective. They were unusually slow by the way, generally you have multiple people on the ropes at the same time.

[MrReddDott]

Do you guys still have Hyde Hall?

[rubberduckytank]

I'm afraid of heights but this is awesome stuff! I wish can try it out!

It must suck if the rope hits your head when the helicopter detaches the rope after everyone is down.

[cobra4v320]

AIRASSAULT!!!!

[9VARZ]

That's so cute!

Certainly brings back the memories of my first "live" rappeling with an AS-332M1.

[manokane2211]

I did this in the Marines from a ch-53. A couple of times during goplats. Makes yor asshole pucker to do over a an oil platform. Keep expecting a strong gust of wind to knock you off the platform plus you gotta deal with rotor wash. I like this kind of insertion though. Its better than coming up from a sub I can tell you.

[gmanflyairforce3]

I wonder if you could cut hovering time by putting 2 fast ropes on each side; a total of 4

[NightJackal61]

My God How I Love This.

[kokotenks]

I always hate this kinda insertion, it's easy and over quick but you feel like a sitting duck the whole time.

[HOGWIRED1112]

i know this sounds a lil cliche but i think welcome to jungle would have been a better song....but thats just my opinion

[IdidURmom2]

thats badass

[spiderfreak81401]

It's pretty cool that your first time looking over the skid you flew down the rope and couldn't stop before hitting your head a few times on the ground. This is from an instruction class, not regular training drills. Comments shouldn't be made unless you've had some experience with Air Assault.

[williejenkins666]

@spiderfreak81401 I know this comment is old, but I'd like to add that unless things have changed over the last 6 years, fast roping out of a UH-60 Blackhawk wasn't part of the air assault course. We did fast rope, but from within one of those towers. I got yelled at for going too fast. :)

This appears to be specialized instructional class. It looks fun.

[Hickeydog2365]

My Gawd. This song friggin SUCKS

[Q3HackerPolice]

Go Finger Eleven + Black Hawk Video!

[12romeo21]

esta chulo pero parece que hay poca altura... =S

[casabella]

de ai t kaes i t partes