Right around sunset the Missus and I heard the thumping of a very large helicopter nearby. Looking outside there was an H-53 with its landing gear down and headed towards Chesterfield County Airport.
"I'm going to the airport," I said. "I'll go with you," said the Missus. 10 minutes later, we were at our usual parking spot for sunsets with no choppers in sight...but we could hear its cavitation as it was coming back, practicing approaches and landings.
Seeing it closer, it's an MH-53 Sea Dragon. It is in the minesweeper configuration and carries the unit markings of Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15 (HM-15). HM-15 is based at Naval Station Norfolk, 70 miles southeast of here.
I got a bunch of good pictures (hard not to with a sky like this), but this one captures the brief flash of reflected sunlight off the belly of the chopper and two of its rotor blades.
EDIT: It is now three hours later. We're back at home and the Sea Dragon is back from Norfolk, making pass after pass at the airport. Reading my mind, the Missus said, "Now he's just teasing you."
