Oh, I have escaped the pull of earth,
with as much joy as I had at first.
Pulling gently on the collective,
upward I've climbed to get perspective.
A flurry of dirt, dust and debris
to the point I can hardly see;
then out of the ground wash I soar,
into the clear, then off, I roar.
Coordinate pedals, collective, cyclic a must,
blood pumping fast, an adrenaline rush.
Getting altitude now, near the tree tops,
my trusty stead can race with the flocks.
Whirling blades overhead - whoop, whoop;
who came up with this crazy thing - please don't stop!
An autorotation may sound like fun,
but you have to hit the ground when the thing is done.
So keep those blades awhirling fast
so I can reach my objective at last.
Into a hover, I now must go
for there's Army Rangers down below.
A small patch of level earth is all I need,
to set her down right in the weed.
Landing in a rush, we are no stranger,
It's at this time we're in the most danger.
Get all onboard now, no place to dally
The enemy is near to increase his tally.
Taking on ground fire as we climb out,
Get after them, gunner -it's what we're about.
Pull blades, pull - get us out of here!
Took a few hits, but we're in the clear.
All are safe with no one missing,
homeward, I fly with God's blessing.
You'd think I could relax after all that fun,
but the mission's not over until the landing's done.
Working out of war zones' forward spaces,
It rough terrain and no improved bases.
So all that dirt and dust awaits me,
to mess with my mind so completely.
Disoriented, its easy to lose sight
of level attitude, especially at night.
Bring her in low, cross check those gauges,
gently on the collective now, take it in stages.
A whirling cloud engulfs our craft,
Keep it down boys, those of you aft.
Just a few seconds more and we're down,
Patience is the virtue that comes around.
As our chopper touches down - a sigh,
I love flying low and slow, it's really a high.
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