Slow. Small. Underpowered.
For much of its nearly 50-year history, the OH-58 has been the runt of Army aviation.
But its pilots have developed a reputation for being fearless. Its maintainers, tireless.
And the aircraft itself has become a beloved protector of America’s ground forces.
But the Army’s use of the Kiowa Warrior is coming to an end.
On Friday, the last U.S.-based Kiowa squadron took to the skies over Fort Bragg and Fayetteville for one last goodbye.
The 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment will deploy to Korea this summer, then transition to the AH-64 Apache and unmanned aerial systems upon its return.
Friday’s flight was meant as a tribute to the unit and to the community and those who have worked with the Kiowa in the past.
“Today, we are not flying for ourselves,” Lt. Col. Adam Frederick, the squadron commander, told aviators before the flight. “Today, like never before, we are flying for every 58D pilot, crew chief, maintainer, fueler, cook. Everybody.”
That includes, he said, the 42 people from Kiowa squadrons killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Today, we’re flying for each and every one of them,” Frederick said.
In taking 32 OH-58Ds into the sky at one time, as well as one UH-60 Black Hawk, officials believe the squadron set a new world record for largest helicopter formation.
That would need to be verified by Guinness World Records.
Regardless, the flight was a noteworthy spectacle, watched by roughly 800 spectators at the downtown Airborne & Special Operations Museum, along with countless others online and across Fayetteville and Fort Bragg.
Kevin Palush was among those watching at the museum. His first tour as a helicopter pilot was with the 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment.
“It was excellent. It was very emotional,” said Palush, 56, of Fayetteville, who works as a helicopter pilot contractor after piloting helicopters during his 34 years in the Army. “It was visual as they went over the trees out of sight. They went off in history, if you will.”
Fourteen minutes after schedule, the helicopters whirled overhead the downtown area, flying southeast, in what Palush called a custom formation. “World…
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