Kenosha, WI Native Flies One Of Two HSL-45 "WolfPack" SH-60Bs

by ANN Correspondent Larry Stencel

Folks... you have to read and hear THIS wonderful AirVenture story. Meet "Bubbles!"

NAS North Island, CA based helicopter squadron HSL-45 sent two SH-60B SeaHawk anti-submarine warfare/anti-surface warfare helicopters to AirVenture 2008 as part of a long distance cross-country navigation training exercise this week. Their flight took 19.2 hours over three days with six landings enroute at Phoenix, Albuquerque, Lubbock, Oklahoma City, Columbia, MO and Davenport, IA. In advance, a maintenance team of four was in place to accept their machines upon arrival at AirVenture last Sunday, July 27.

Piloting one of the helicopters was 26 year old Kenosha, WI native, Lt. Katie Scholz -- call sign "Bubbles" -- who has attended "six or seven" AirVenture air shows in the past with her father, Ted, starting when she was eight years old in 1989.

During an interview with Aero-News, Lt. Scholz --now a five year Navy veteran with 600 hours of flying time -- said she always knew she wanted to fly as a result of those visits to AirVenture but also knew she had to attend college first. Just before she graduated from Kenosha's Bradford High School in 1999, a friend suggested that she try for an appointment to the Naval Academy. Graduating four years later as a commissioned officer, Lt. Scholz was selected for pilot training and subsequently learned to fly the SH-60B anti-submarine "SeaHawk" helicopter.

Lt. Scholz is an excellent example of how AirVenture and the Young Eagles Program inspires our youth to pursue -- and get -- a career in aviation.

Scholz is now assigned as a "hack" (aircraft commander) in the HSL-45 "WolfPack" squadron. When asked what interesting assignments she's had so far, she said "serving on detachment in Central and South America on counter drug operations and netting 11 metric tons of cocaine." During one interception operation, Lt. Scholz said she was required to hold the helicopter steady enough such that a Coast Guard sharpshooter with a .50 caliber weapon could disable the engine of a drug runner's boat.

Talking about the flight from San Diego to Oshkosh, she said that she had an opportunity to fly the shoreline of Lake Michigan past a place in Kenosha where her family was pre-positioned and waiting to see her fly by on her last leg into Oshkosh. She commented that her Father Ted was rendered "speechless and emotional" when she flew by.

Arriving at AirVenture, Lt. Scholz said that the reality of being at Oshkosh began to sink in when she was flying at 700 feet AGL down Highway 41 and began to see Wittman Field and the great numbers of airplanes on the ground and in the air around her; during her previous visits, she had never seen the airfield from the air. She said the sight was "incredible" and that it was an "amazing feeling" to now be a participant versus spectator at AirVenture.

Being interviewed in the shadow of John Travolta's Boeing 707B, you couldn't help but understand why her squadron mates gave her the call sign "Bubbles."

Lt. Scholz's parents, Ted and Monica were on hand on Friday, August 1. They were smiling from ear to ear at their daughter's accomplishment.

During the interview, it was especially poignant that just a few feet away, about 800 female pilots were taking a group photo and setting a record for the most female pilots in one place. Lt. Scholz said she realizes that she is now a role model for other females interested in aviation. Of the 40 pilots in her squadron, 10 are female, she said.

The CO of HSL-45 is Commander Larry "BugMan" Vasquez who hails from the Bronx, New York City. Graduating from CUNY in 1986, he worked for a time as a financial analyst at 2 World Trade Center. Like Lt. Scholz, he also knew that he wanted to fly. In 1988, he reported for Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS) and was commissioned an Ensign on August 1, 1988 -- exactly 20 years ago. CDR Vasquez became a Naval Aviator in January 1990 when he began a long association with Navy helicopter service.

When asked about the mission involving two SH-60B's flying all the way to Oshkosh from San Diego, CDR Vasquez commented that the weather in San Diego is just "too good." The long distance VFR and IFR cross-country he sent his crews on exposes them to situations they cannot find at home base. "It wasn't fun and games … they earned their pay," he said. He added that HSL-45 has three detachments out currently, two of them serving in the middle east. He will accompany his crews on the flight back to San Diego, replacing his XO, CDR Wayne "Mouse" Baze who flew out with the helicopters.

When asked his impressions of AirVenture on the his first ever visit, CDR Vasquez said, "the crowds are phenomenal and it exceeded all of (his) expectations." He said many people came up to to his aircrews and thanked them for their service. He was especially impressed with the knowledge EAA'ers have of all things aviation. CDR Vasquez will be replaced as HSL-45 CO this coming December when CDR Baze succeeds him.

Larry, Wayne, "Bubbles" and all of HSL-45 … thank you for your service from Aero-News Network.

(Watch for an audio podcast interview by Paul Plack with CDR Vasquez and Lt. Scholz on Tuesday, August 5... THEN you'll understand how she got her call sign.)

FMI: www.navy.mil, www.airventure.org