Physical Characteristics of the Black Helicopters

by Ted

Physical characteristics of the black Choppers:

Lets beat this dead horse one more time. - Are those of you that saw the choppers 100% sure that they were solid black.? The standard European One paint job can look black from a distance. Also the dark gray-blue paint job on navy choppers could appear to be much darker than it really is under certain lighting conditions. I want to hear from others that saw these choppers to confirm that they are really black. According to Chris, the one he saw was a charcoal black. To me this would indicate a flat black, military style paint job. Another point about color; by law no aircraft can be painted brighter than semi-gloss, due to glare. Virtually all DEA and other federal law enforcement aircraft are painted in semi-gloss. This is due to the fact that many are leased from private companies. A flat paint job would be further indication of a military connection.

Markings - You say that they were unmarked. But many experimental aircraft have their markings in a dark red color. From a distance the red is very difficult to see. Remember the SR-71, it had red markings, and from a distance they were very hard to notice. Another thing to keep in mind is that virtually all current military aircraft have low visibility paint schemes. This includes the markings as well. Another point to consider; by law all aircraft must have some markings such as NCC-879045. Military aircraft do not have to comply to this, but federal law enforcement does. Also by law all aircraft must have some lights running while in the air. Military aircraft have to comply with this except in time of war. Most choppers have a large red light under the center of the belly of the aircraft. Did any of you notice any lights?

Did the Chopper have skids or retractable wheels? Not many military choppers have retractable gear.

Chris mentioned there was hardly any noise when he saw the chopper. The more blades a chopper has the less rotor noise there is. Did anyone notice the number of blades, or can confirm the noise level.

Did anyone notice a lot of heat coming off the rear of the chopper or could tell how many engines?

Were there any pylons, drop-tanks or in-flight refueling booms on the chopper. Anyone notice a floodlight or a lot of aerials??

Someone mentioned that they might be private. Many news services and cops use Hughes 500 Defenders, and Bell 206A Jet Rangers. Both are small and relatively inexpensive to operate, as far as helicopters go. One way to find out if they are private would be to call the local general aviation airports and ask if anyone has a black chopper for rent. Also check with the local cops, both of the choppers are popular with police, DEA etc..

Chris also mentioned that he has to put up with a lot of noise from MacDill. An easy way to find out if you are under a military flight path is to go to a local general aviation airport and ask for a sectional map. They are about $5.00. Military flight paths are the gray lines. They are suppose to change every 90 days. From your E-mail I get the impression that the noise has been around for longer than 90 days. If this the case you are probably under the glide path to MacDill. As for the Coast Guard; I don't know if they use military flight paths or have to change every 90 days. Sectional charts will come up later.

Now I need some info from you locals about the law enforcement community in your area. It could be very possible that these black choppers are part of the DEA or ATF. According to the news Florida is a war zone with copious quantities of drugs flowing around and a large law enforcement presence to combat it. What I would like to know is: do the local police \ sheriff depts. have choppers for surveillance? Is there a FBI, DEA, ATF task-force stationed in the area. Are these units known to conduct flight ops? What is gut reaction to the possibility that these black choppers are federal law enforcement?

As I mentioned in an earlier E-mail to Chris there is a good possibility that what you are seeing are aircraft that belong to a Special Operations unit. The following is part of an earlier E-mail:

Now if the chopper was actually painted black this would indicate that it is part of a Spec Op's unit. The US Air Force Special Operations Command has several choppers in its inventory, and includes Army choppers such as the Apache. Your typical Special Operations Wing (SOW) consists of the following choppers: MH- 53J Pave Low (Green Giants CH-53E's) MH-60G Pave Hawks (Blackhawks). There are also AH-64 Apaches, and Cobra Gunships along with AC-130's.

If you don't know what type of chopper you saw, there are probably plenty of books at your local library that could help you figure it out. Please note that Blackhawks used for Spec Op's have an in-flight refueling probe and two large drop tanks on pylons. They will look different from standard Blackhawks in the books.

Officially there are no SOW units assigned to MacDill, but this does not mean much. If I remember correctly the air bases in Florida are assigned to the South West Asian military theater of operations ( the Middle East). During the Gulf War and previous fighting with Iranian gun boats SOW units were involved. During the confrontations with Iran there were many choppers painted solid black for night OP's. These units operated in conjunction with black units such as "Seaspray", and "Yellow Fruit" in the waters off Iran. So it would make sense to have these units operating out of an air base assigned to the Middle East.

End old stuff.

In the mean time I have done some further research into the possibility of a SOW connection and found one. Since 1988 all Special Operation forces have been under a unified command structure based at (big surprise here) MacDill AFB. The command structure is called the US Special Operations Command (USSOC) They are in charge of all units in all branches and directs the operations in all military theaters of operations.

But it gets better. I don't know if you locals have ever heard of Hurlburt Field. It took some digging to find anything about it. I would be interested to know what you know about it. Have you ever heard of it?? Is it a closed base or can you go on it?? Hurlburt Field is home to a USAF unconventional warfare unit. The unit is called the 1st Special Operations Wing. This units directs the Special operations Squadrons (SOS). These units are trained to fly special warfare units behind enemy lines and supply them, and extract them when the time comes. Extraction indicates CH-53's most likely. Three of these units are based in the USA, one in the following: Philippines, UK, Germany. If you get a sectional chart it would be interesting to see if Hurlburt field is a MOWA or a restricted airspace. This could tell a lot about what goes on there.

The 3rd Ranger Company of the 75th Ranger Regiment also conducts training in the Florida swamps . Mainly hit and run operations from boats large enough to carry one A-Team. 75th Ranger was the unit that lost 18 men in Somalia. Men from the 1st SOW take part in amphibious training in the Everglades swamps.

I'm going to make a guess as to what you have been seeing. I don't put much faith in this guess and admit it could be totally wrong. But based on what I read, what you are probably seeing a Bell OH- 58 Kiowa. This is the military version of the Jet Ranger. This would explain the fact that some think it is a private chopper. The Kiowa is a small chopper used for observation and spotting duties. They often work in conjunction with the MH-53J Pave Low (Green Giants CH-53E's) MH-60G Pave Hawks (Blackhawks) on special Ops. Some of you mentioned that the choppers were flying very low over populated areas. A chopper as small as a Kiowa would not cause much noise or rotor wash as a blackhawk or a Green Giant. If a Green Giant had flown over you would know it, believe me. Another point in favor of the Kiowa is the fact that during confrontations with Iranian gun boats Kiowas were fitted with special noise damping equipment and power night-vision equipment. It was reported that they could get close enough to I ranian fisherman ,to count the number of fish caught in their nets as they reeled them in, and yet remain undetected. The groups running that operation were the "Seaspray", and "Yellow Fruit" units mentioned earlier. These were CIA Spec Ops units, not military. Maybe this has something to do with the SS police some of you mentioned.

As for why they are flying around, who knows. I do know that groups like the Rangers and other Special Warfare units often get to evaluate new toys. It could be possible they were trying out some new surveillance equipment. I know of one member of a Special Warfare group that was personally involved it the testing of a new type of crowd control devise. In was the late 1960's and there were several student riots in France. The French govt. had a developed a new crowd control devise that used a ultra-sonic sound wave to give rioters a headache with the hopes that they would leave. For some reason the devise was tested at Fort Bragg NC. Any of you got a real bad headache ?? Just kidding. It could be possible that a foreign govt. has developed a crowd control devise and wants us to test it. That might explain why these choppers are seen over populated areas.

Anyone who has seen these black choppers please send an E-mail. The more facts that are presented the easier it will be to figure out what is going on.

Ted