My hands smell like jet fuel.
This may or may not turn out to be a permanent state of affairs. Every liquid and certain solid components in this helicopter are known to be carcinogenic. The IPs strongly recommend that we bring a pair of work gloves, distinct from our flight gloves, for use in pre- and post-flight inspections. They also recommend that we carry a spare flight suit in the trunk of our cars on a permanent basis: if our flight suits are splashed with any helicopter fluid, we are not allowed to fly in that suit ever again. Instead, we are required to bring it into central distribution and exchange it for a new one. If we have a spare on hand, we can at least continue with the day’s flight.
Today was the first time in my life I have touched a Black Hawk. Tomorrow I will fly one. It is a heady feeling.
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