Guardsman lands Black Hawk at daughter’s elementary school
It’s not every day your dad lands a helicopter at your school.
But Gabrielle Baker had that honor when her dad, Maj. Jeffery Baker from the New York National Guard, and fellow crew members landed a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter on Thursday, June 16, at Jefferson Elementary School’s field. Tours were given to elementary students from all three Schalmont elementary schools throughout the day with Baker explaining the ins and outs of the helicopter, which has been to Iraq. After the briefing and getting a chance to ask questions, children excitedly stormed onto the helicopter and strapped in.
Baker’s daughter was in fourth grade at Jefferson and got a chance to tour the Black Hawk, but Baker’s son, Noah, who just finished his first year in middle school at Schalmont, still made it down before the helicopter took off at 2 p.m.
It is pretty cool. Not everyone gets to see their dad fly a helicopter, said Noah Baker.
Visiting the school with the helicopter stemmed from the support the school community showed Baker’s unit when they were deployed. Both of Baker’s children were still in elementary school when he first had the idea to arrange the helicopter visit at the school.
`When I was gone last time both kids were in elementary school and the teachers sent me care packages and it just really meant a lot to us over there,` said Baker. `We have been trying to set this up for a year now.`
The event also acted as a nice transition for the two elementary schools closing next year in the district, because students and teachers from the three schools were paired up together.
`He [Baker] had brought it up a couple of times and this year with the transition with Woestina and Mariaville (Jefferson Principal Joby Gifford) took him up on the offer,` said Assistant Principal of Jefferson Jason Thompson. `There is a learning opportunity but the bigger component as well was a transitional event that would allow for all three schools of students to have a chance to be together and have a time to start experiencing what next year will be like.`
Children were bused in from the other two elementary schools, with one bus getting to view the landing and the other the departure, and the stream of children kept pouring throughout the day.
`The kids were ecstatic when it landed and they haven’t stopped talking about it all day long,` said Thompson. `The best part of it was the crew all actually had lunch in the cafeteria with the kids today, so the second graders had a chance to actually sit and talk with them and have lunch in the cafeteria together.`
The lunch, which was pizza that day, even proved to be some good eats too, according to the guard members.
`They even said that the school lunch was pretty good; one of the best meals that they had in a while,` said Thompson.
Getting a chance to interact with the kids and answer their questions was also a highlight of the trip for guard members.
`This is great,` said Specialist Joseph Tersigni, of Albany. `I think all of us are having a great time and all the kids are having a great time, which is the best thing.`
The unit is coming up on their third deployment and the helicopter at Jefferson was flown in Iraq. Often the helicopter serves as a shuttle for people to get from one place to another, said Becker, to keep people off the roads to avoid an IED and other bombs.
The helicopter holds up to 11 people in the seats and can travel up to 200 mph, with the average flight speed around 150 mph. The helicopter holds 360 gallons of refined diesel fuel, which Baker jokingly told children he couldn’t just stop at a gas station to fill up. The massive fuel capacity lasts for about 2-and-a-half hours of flying time.
`Every day flying this helicopter is exciting and to kind of see other people give their reaction just kind of reminds us of what were doing,` said Baker.
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