Welcome to the Navy Longhorns Site
Because of their demanding Search and Rescue mission requirements, the Navy Longhorns of Naval Air Station Fallon must form a close knit team. It is vital that everyone flying in the HH-1N Huey performs as one unit.
Stationed one and a half-hours east of Lake Tahoe, in Fallon, Nevada and in close proximity to the Sierra Mountain range, with its prime hiking and skiing areas, the Longhorns keep extremely busy with flying that would send some Search and Rescue teams packing. In 2000, the Longhorns' performance included 26 rescues ranging from a lost 60-year-old hiker with a broken femur to a 22-year-old snowboarder who fell 800 feet down a crevasse.
About the Aircraft
The U.S. Navy services HH-1 utility helicopters for their Base's Primary Search and Rescue Mission. The UH-1 is manufactured by Bell Textron. It is capable of operating from prepared or unprepared takeoff or landing areas under VFR (Visual Flight Rules) or IFR (Instrument Flight Rules), day or night.
Power plant: 2 T400 CP-400 Turbo shaft engines rated at 1800 SHP
Length: 57' 33"
Width: 48'
Max. Altitude: 15,000'
Max Weight: 10,500 lbs
Fuel: 195.5 gallons
Mission: To provide helicopter Search and Rescue (SAR) services for military operations in Northwest Nevada, specifically, NAS Fallon.
Under the National SAR Plan the Longhorns have a secondary responsibility of providing helicopter SAR services to civilian agencies when the service does not interfere with the unit's primary mission.
Comments on Welcome to the Navy Longhorns Site
Fellow Longhorns,
Great website! I was a Longhorn UH-1N SAR Pilot and Fleet Liaison Officer at NAS Fallon from summer of 1975 thru summer of 1977. It was great duty that I enjoyed, as I have many fond memories of NAS Fallon and the surrounding area. I am planning to attend the fly off on 3 April 09 and I hope Harry Ishiguro, last I heard was living in Reno also attends.
Joe Skrzypek
CDR USNR(Ret)
World Famous HC-7 & HC-9 Helo Pilot
Hi Joe, Its been awhile. First time I've seen this site. Do you remember. I was flying there 1971-73 and 1976-79.
I stopped by about 1987. Things change, Then I stopped again about 2002..don't recognize it any more. I did see the helo on the salt on top of the volcanic hill just east of the field ..saw it on google earth..its changed quite a bit since I worked on it in 1973
DCSAR can't thank you enough. Want to share the article from March 11 09 with you
Jeff Munson / Tahoe Daily Tribune Article
LAKE TAHOE — A day after a series of storms dropped more than four feet of snow on Heavenly Mountain Resort, Nick Gorman thought it would be a great time to learn fresh powder snowboarding down his favorite run, Firebreak.
Did he ever have another thing coming.
Having skied nearly his entire life to an expert level, the 27-year-old Stateline man picked up snowboarding only a few months ago.
He spent most of March 4 on Heavenly’s slopes, carving groomed areas. Thinking he had gotten the hang of it, he told himself he was ready for the backcountry Firebreak run, known for its gladed, expert terrain.
“I thought I was ready because I had skied it so many times before,” said Gorman, a professional poker player.
But nothing compared to the challenge of getting caught alone in snow up to his neck, unable to move, with wet clothes and a creeping feeling that he might not make it out alive.
Four hours later, he did, rescued by a Navy helicopter from Fallon.
A week later Gorman reflected with the Tribune on his obvious mistakes, feeling contrite about the need to be rescued and grateful to the 40-plus people who spent hours trying to reach him in an area where there was a considerable avalanche threat.
“I would have died if I hadn’t had my cell phone,” Gorman said. “Everyone who skis in the backcountry needs to have one that is fully charged and can get service.”
Caught in ‘quicksand’
Snowboarding in powder is much different than on groomed snow. It requires different balance. Unlike skiing, there are no poles, and there is nothing to grab onto once you’ve fallen.
When Gorman reached the top of Firebreak, he was already tired from a full day of riding, he said. That was his first mistake, he admits.
“I should have been paying attention, but there was something telling me that I need to do this. I was feeling arrogant,” he said.
Five minutes into the run, he fell. He got up, went some distance, and then fell again. Each time he fell it took several minutes to get back up.
“It’s like getting caught up in a quicksand sink and you can’t move around, and all you’ve got is your arms to pull you back up. Every time I fell, the more tired I got,” he said.
Tired and unable to sustain any amount of ride, he looked around and saw nothing but trees and snow. His breathing became heavy. Panic overcame him.
“I’m looking at two miles from the bottom, and every time I move I’m getting deeper and deeper into trouble,” he said.
Snow flowed like sand down his parka, into his gloves and through his pants. One foot of powder is something he could handle easily, he said. But four feet of it and going nowhere, Gorman knew he was in trouble.
Beginning to hyperventilate and his clothes soaking wet, he took off his gloves and went for his cell phone. His hands numb, he had trouble dialing 911. He began sucking on his fingers to get some feeling back and was able to complete the dial.
He told the dispatcher where he was and his condition. The dispatcher told him to take his hands and put them against his chest to keep warm, he said.
The waiting was the hardest part
Meanwhile Douglas County search-and-rescue personnel, Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District firefighters and the ski patrol at Heavenly were notified. But there was one problem. The Firebreak area was considered an avalanche threat, according to the sheriff’s office, and rescuers would be risking their lives by going in.
After assessing the area, the decision was made to call the Naval Air Station Fallon rescue squadron, which deployed a helicopter, Douglas County authorities said.
Waiting for help to arrive was the hardest part. Gorman was assured he was going to be rescued, but he wasn’t sure he would keep all of his fingers and toes. The numbness overtook his body and he was told to keep his head lowered and to move around to keep up his circulation. He closed his eyes and began thinking “good thoughts” — people, nature and the sky. He called a friend several times in between calls to dispatch. A helicopter arrived, spotting him on the ground, and then remained suspended while a search-and-rescue sled team were sent to the scene at about 4:30 p.m., but because of his remote location and the avalanche threat, they were not able to reach him.
The Naval helicopter was, perhaps, a last-ditch effort to save his fingers and toes — if not his very life.
At around 6 p.m. and in darkness, the helicopter sent down a man attached to a rope. The man grabbed onto Gorman and told him to hug his body while the crew inside the helicopter pulled him to safety inside.
The crew members gave the shivering man blankets. All he could say at the time was “thank you for saving me.”
The pilot flew him 40 minutes to Carson Tahoe Hospital in Carson City, where his body temperature was 93.1, as compared to the normal 98.6. He declined medical attention, he said, because he didn’t have insurance. A Douglas County Sheriff’s deputy arrived at the hospital, and, after speaking briefly with Gorman, told him he didn’t face any charges.
The pilot of the Naval helicopter told Gorman he would not be charged for the rescue.
Gorman spent the night warming up at a Carson City motel and returned to Tahoe the next day, only to find that his car, which had been parked on Chonokis Street, had been ticketed and towed.
As it turns out, Gorman was parked in an area that had to be plowed and his car stuck out too much for the plow to get through. It cost him nearly $600 to get it taken care of, including the tow, the ticket and getting his car out of the tow yard, he said.
“I think of it as really weird karma,” he said.
Still, Gorman remains grateful to the search and rescue crews, the Longhorn Naval helicopter crew.
“They saved my life,” he said.
He is also apologetic for his actions, which he said were “dumb, impulsive and arrogant” and completely void of “any self-awareness.”
Gorman said he will continue to snowboard on regular runs, and won’t go into backcountry on his board until he’s confident he’s able to handle powder.
“I’m thinking, with a snow like that, with all of that powder and what is required with a snowboard, I will need a few years of practice before I ever think of going back there again with a board,” he said.
Very cool site! I was stationed at NAS Fallon from 1985-1988 as a SAR crewman. I have some very fond memories of my duty there as well as the friends I made. Hard to believe that was 24 years ago! I'm sure the place has changed since then. Go Longhorns!
Great site. Finally some decent pics of UH-1N SAR. Flew them on Belleau Wood ('89-'91),and then as Det O-in-C of the "FRS" at HMT-303, Camp Pendleton, ('93-'95).
this is such great information. thanks for the insight.
Great to see the Longhorns have an awesome site!
I was a SAR pilot at NAS Fallon from 1987 to 1990. Absolutely the best flying job in the world. We had two Hueys, 242 and 244 and a C-12. Some days I got to fly all three:^)
Nowadays, I fly big Boeings and tell stories about how cool it was to do one skids at 9,000 ft with a heavy cross wind or burying the skids in snow up to the belly on a frozen lake. Man do I miss those times.
Gary Williams
B757/767 First Officer
Continental Airlines
Houston, TX
Hi, I was a SAR Corpsman 1978-79. Great memories of flying in those helo's and rappelling from the skids. We would practice rappelling from the hanger. I remember those high level horse collar,jungle penetrater, stokes, rides!
Great pilots and crew!
Did a exercise with HCS-5 back in 2002, man has that place changed!
Carl Bernstein USN Retired
wats up miss those days that i would still like to see uh-1ns at fallon but times have sure change latter drop aline riceball
hi my name is jason I remeber you guys coming to the airshow in elcentro back in 2009.but, sadly I missed it but that is okay, because I see you might be coming back this year which would mean alot. Thank you guys so much for fighting for this great nation we call home, and take care hope to see the demo live this time!
i need to obtain a UH-1N (stab-bar Huey) Pilot's checklist and/or NATOPS Manual.
kind of important.
Butch,
I have my complete NATOPS manuals for the UH-1N and the UC-12, but they're important mementos. What exactly are you needing?
I never knew this site existed and found it by accident. I am a former AMHC and HIRA. Did my best tour of duty in Fallon from July 1995 to Jan 1999. It was an honor to fly with what has to be considered one of the best SAR Teams Inland SAR has ever seen (I've been around, I would know).
To those still flying – Be safe. To those who flew with me – Thanks for the memories.
-Ron
Former Longhorn SAR Corpsman, By far the best unit that I have ever had the privlege of working with. I miss the unit and I know you are out there doing good things. I miss the sense of job fulfillment that I had when working with the longhorns. Miss you all. I want to also say that I worked with AW2 Chris Humphreys one of my best friends, lost in Iraq Nov 15th 2008. I know he was proud to also have served with the longhorn crews!! Fly safe!!