US Navy Aircrewman that was deployed to NAF Atsugi tells the story of the Japanese Military Helicopters that Hovered in place all day long

US Navy Aircrewman that was deployed to NAF Atsugi tells the story of the Japanese Military Helicopters that Hovered in place all day long

By Dario Leone
Jan 3 2022
Share this article

‘Those Japanese choppers hovered all day, just for fun. The kind of fun you only get in the military,’ Michael Alapaki, former US Navy enlisted aircrew.

For a helicopter, hovering means that it is in flight at a constant altitude, with no forward, aft, or sideways movement. In order to hover, a helicopter must be producing enough lift in its main rotor blades to equal the weight of the aircraft.

The engine of the helicopter must be producing enough power to drive the main rotor, and also to drive whatever type of anti-torque system is being used.

The ability of a helicopter to hover is affected by many things, including whether or not it is in ground effect, the density altitude of the air, the available power from the engine, and how heavily loaded it is.

How long can a helicopter hover in place?

‘When the Navy stationed me at the US Naval Air Facility called Atsugi Kaigun Kichi in 1979, the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force [Japanese Navy] shared the base with us,’ Michael Alapaki, former US Navy enlisted aircrew who served aboard 5 carriers, recalls on Quora.

‘Every day, the Japanese helicopter rescue squadron put a ship in the middle of the airfield, it lifted up about 20–30 feet, and sat there, hovering from breakfast to lunch, and then again for the whole afternoon.

‘Didn’t matter what the wind was doing. That chopper hovered in place, all day long. For practice, I guess.’

US Navy Aircrewman that was deployed to NAF Atsugi tells the story of the Japanese Military Helicopters that Hovered in place all day long
Photo above: Somewhat similar view.

Alapaki continues;

‘While I was stationed in Japan, I decided to train for a private pilot certificate, and I flew little Cessna’s.

‘One of the final tests was to fly solo, by myself, on a long cross-country flight over 200 miles, and land at several airfields.

‘An hour into the flight, concerned about my fuel state, I lined up to land at a Japanese helicopter base called UTSONOMIYA.

‘When I looked straight ahead to the runway, this was what I saw.

US Navy Aircrewman that was deployed to NAF Atsugi tells the story of the Japanese Military Helicopters that Hovered in place all day long

‘Musta been half the JN army [Japan Ground Self-Defense Force AKA Japanese Army] choppers hovering over the field I needed to land on. CRAP! Pucker factor 9.

‘So I made sure they knew I was coming, eyeballed a thread-the-needle route between the choppers to the runway, and held my breath.

‘I landed, got a signature proving I was there, and took off for the rest of my cross country, soon to be over water, to land on a tiny dot just at the inside edge of my fuel reserve.’

Alapaki concludes;

‘Those Japanese choppers hovered all day, just for fun. The kind of fun you only get in the military.’

Photo credit: Derek Webster / U.S. Navy, U.S. Army and Japan Self-Defense Forces


Share this article

Dario Leone

Dario Leone

Dario Leone is an aviation, defense and military writer. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviation Geek Club” one of the world’s most read military aviation blogs. His writing has appeared in The National Interest and other news media. He has reported from Europe and flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters with the Swiss Air Force.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Share this article


Share this article
Share this article

Always up to date! News and offers delivered directly to you!

Get the best aviation news, stories and features from The Aviation Geek Club in our newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.



    Share this article
    Back to top
    My Agile Privacy
    This website uses technical and profiling cookies. Clicking on "Accept" authorises all profiling cookies. Clicking on "Refuse" or the X will refuse all profiling cookies. By clicking on "Customise" you can select which profiling cookies to activate. We and our selected ad partners can store and/or access information on your device, such as cookies, unique identifiers, browsing data. You can always choose the specific purposes related to profiling by accessing the advertising preferences panel, and you can always withdraw your consent at any time by clicking on "Manage consent" at the bottom of the page.

    List of some possible advertising permissions:

    You can consult: our list of advertising partners, the Cookie Policy and the Privacy Policy.
    Warning: some page functionalities could not work due to your privacy choices