Look What I got to do today!

[scanman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cFOIUkxvFs

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Look What I got to do today!

You got a Huey? Seriously??


OH you got to video a Huey today! I love those birds got to ride in a couple too, my dream is to fly one someday......

 

[scanman]

Re: Look What I got to do today!

I wish it was mine! It was supposed to fly today, but the tail rotor was outta balance & the pilot refused to lift it off. The owner friend of mine is gonna have it balanced & synched soon & we're gonna try again. This one hasn't been flown in a long time. It's a restoration project. I don't know much about this thing, but it'll be cool to ride in it! Hopefully my next vid will be from the sky!

 

[Bucks45]

Re: Look What I got to do today!

Very cool!

 

[partskenn]

Re: Look What I got to do today!

It wasn't a Huey, but I got to fly a 1945 T6 Texan last year. Grew up on WW11 movies like Tora Tora Tora, and Midway, all of the sudden I'm flying one of those planes. Sitting in that cockpit, it was no problem picturing myself in the middle of on of those battles.

 

[dlindeblad]

Re: Look What I got to do today!

I used to fly with the ANG guys out of Denver Colorado on night qualification flights for fun in the mid 90's. Most times they set me in the door gunner seat of the Huey to check clear for turns. It was cool, them in their flight attire, me in my dungarees. One night while waiting for the guys to run through thier pre-flight brief I was flipping through a maintenance log for thier helos. I about crapped my pants when I saw the age of the airframes (all from the mid sixties).

 

[scanman]

Re: Look What I got to do today!

I think he said that chopper was built in 1966. It's really cool to see it runnin! He's really proud of it 'cause he's worked his butt off, restorin it.

 

[TestEngr]

Re: Look What I got to do today!

I don't fly, but I do test jet engines (as my screen name implies). Been working on and running jet engines for over 30 years now. My greatest thrill was flying backseat in an F-16 in AZ. We did a max take-off (vertical) and flew inverted over the Grand Canyon. What a thrill! But I've always loved the sound of a heli....would love to take a flight in one some day. You have to tell me about it when you do.

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: Look What I got to do today!

You didn't get to ride?

 

[scanman]

Re: Look What I got to do today!

I won't get to ride on the 1st flight. Only the certified pilot, his certified pilot cameraman, & the owner get to go that day. I'm sure I'll get to, but I haven't chipped enough paint, or read enough books yet, LOL! Guess I should try to focus on one or the other! Right now it's not flightworthy, but DARN IT'S CLOSE! This is a private owner & he's workin on gettin an "experimental" permit cause of all the FAA crap I don't understand. The G.I. Museum in Gautier, MS is also tryin to build one that'll fly, but people keep comin down here from other states & STEALIN OUR PARTS! If you see Huey parts in North Carolina, they might be hot!

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Look What I got to do today!

That's the big problem with those old ladies, some of the parts have a lifespan and there is no parts being manufactured to replace them so I guess the only way to keep them flying is to find parts that have not exceeded their lifespan. I know a county here in Colorado that had two Huey's one to fly and the other for parts to keep the other in the air, it made no sense to me but the pilot explained the issue to me, Great guy and a Vietnam Vet who shared my love for that old Helicopter. In the end they had to ground the Huey due to a mechanic that was stealing engines or something and they got jacked out of alot of money, not sure what happened to either airframe after that.

I have flown in a couple different Hueys, a Super Huey Jet Rangers and a Lama(sp)? I still love being in the Huey!

When I was a kid (12 or 13) my dads buddy (another Vietnam Vet) ran a helicopter business, had a Huey and a brand new Jet Ranger and asked me if I wanted to ride for the day in the Helicopter and I jumped at the opportunity! well my dads buddy puts his hand on my shoulder and leads me towards the Jet Ranger and I hesitated so he asked me whats wrong? I told him I thought we were going up in the Huey? He looks at my dad and says Your dad said you were a great kid! We spent the day in the Huey and I got to handle some of the controls with his help. What a memory!!

I remember he rolled the Huey off a mountain side and pulled it out I slipped to the bottom of the seat and remember those blades just pounding, My dads buddy looked at me and I must have had a smile from ear to ear because that became the theme for the day! What a ride!!

 

[scanman]

Re: Look What I got to do today!

Yeah, I can't wait! Sounds like the ride of a lifetime! Hope he gets that permit!

 

[DaNinja]

Re: Look What I got to do today!

There is a company that still uses Hueys on the base here.
I have a couple hundred hours in them from flight school.
My favorite Bell product was the Cobra, though.
I've got a thousand hours in Cobras; the skinny Huey.

Best seat of anything I've flown is the front seat of a Cobra.
Apaches were awesome, but the front seat of a Cobra was like
being on the tip of a javelin with its side stick controls.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Look What I got to do today!

There is a company that still uses Hueys on the base here.
I have a couple hundred hours in them from flight school.
My favorite Bell product was the Cobra, though.
I've got a thousand hours in Cobras; the skinny Huey.

Best seat of anything I've flown is the front seat of a Cobra.
Apaches were awesome, but the front seat of a Cobra was like
being on the tip of a javelin with its side stick controls.

You suck!!!

 

[DaNinja]

Re: Look What I got to do today!

You suck!!!

I paid for the fun by being the commander's wingman in Iraq.
The commander was very good at stirring up trouble for his wingman to deal with.

That was Longbow Apaches. After a while the crew chief changed his question from,
"Were you shot at?" to "Were you hit today?"

 

[scanman]

Re: Look What I got to do today!

WOW! I went to the museum at Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg, MS & they actually have a Cobra on display, along with a sky crane, about 10 other choppers, several planes, & 6 or 8 tanks, to include recent returnees from Iraq & Afghanistan! I didn't know the Cobra was made by bell, but IT IS A SKINNY SON OF A BIG GUN, LOL!!! It's gotta be a lot harder to hit than a Huey! I'm workin with a lifelong buddy at the G.I. Museum here in Gautier, MS. We actually got to make 3 trips up to Camp Shelby to strip a dozen Hueys of thier parts before they turned the Warthogs loose on 'em for target practice! I'm not really sure what a Warthog is, but The only thing they wouldn't let us take were the airframes. We were able to get everything from doors to radios. Even cyclics & Whole dashboards! After watchin that flight test I really felt bad about strippin 'em that way, but the greenhouses & chin bubbles alone are worth a fortune to the museum. I guess it had to be done. I'd really like to have been able to watch 'em get blown up, but we didn't have clearance for that. The birds we stripped were actually already on the firing range. We held up some pilot training just to get those parts! It was a blast though. There were dirt roads everywhere that sported signs sayin "Warning: Military Firing Range. Unexploded Ordinance Area"!!!!

 

[saxrulez]

Re: Look What I got to do today!

I paid for the fun by being the commander's wingman in Iraq.
The commander was very good at stirring up trouble for his wingman to deal with.

That was Longbow Apaches. After a while the crew chief changed his question from,
"Were you shot at?" to "Were you hit today?"

Apache pilot eh!?

I'm at Rucker now. 64's are the best thing since sliced bread!

Best job ever.

Flying an Apache is the most fun you can have with your pants on!

Another day at the office!

 

[eastont]

Re: Look What I got to do today!

Hundreds of Hueys up here in Canada.....they are the backbone of the mining community

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Look What I got to do today!

This is a Warthog, this one specifically is based at Davis Monthan AFB where I was born
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIzhqH0ntr8&feature=fvst
Another shot not sure where he is from but oh my!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i6E2DowlCU&feature=related
This is the baddest "Gun" ever to placed in an airframe the GAU-8 Avenger 30mm Gatling Gun 4200 Rounds per minute, the main weapon on the A-10
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GAU-8_Avenger
In action
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Iz5MwPsfyo&feature=related

In this video you can here the gun go off clearly after the rounds hit, it sounds like a fart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v69CNLhq-Og&feature=related

scanman you have touched on 2 of the top 3 airframes I love most, in order too, care to try for the 3rd? It's a whole lot faster!!

 

[DaNinja]

Re: Look What I got to do today!

Apache pilot eh!?

I'm at Rucker now. 64's are the best thing since sliced bread!

Best job ever.

Flying an Apache is the most fun you can have with your pants on!

Another day at the office!

Ahh...the memories come flooding back.