ZeroCinco keeps trying to make helicopter flying "easy." Flying helicopters is easy only for those who flew them (which means fixed wing drivers had the problems). As for kicking the nose right or left in order to see....well, I used to do that when landing on a helicopter carrier but not in Vietnam (some guys, with poor technique, played ping-pong with the turn and slip indicator ball, but never yours truly <big grin>). I tried to put the biggest guy in the unit in my front seat as added protection....it actually worked (absorbed a round in his love handle....didn't hurt him too bad otherwise I wouldn't tell this as a joke).

There were times when I did NOT want to see what was directly in front of me....bottom line, flying backseat in a Cobra was an acquired skill. After while, never thought about it, just did it.

Hey SnakeDriver5000, I like that you tell us your experiences. Keep it coming. Besides the other books about flying helos in Vietnam, I much liked reading "Snake Driver" by Randy R. Zahn.