thedrifter
05-19-09, 08:21 AM
Last of the Hueys makes final flight
Former Marine One chopper lands at Battleship Park
By Curt Chapman
Staff Writer
(Created: Monday, May 18, 2009 10:03 AM CDT)
MOBILE, Ala. — History was made recently when the last Bell Huey helicopter operated by the U.S. Navy made its final flight and landed on May 7 at USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park. But making history is what the aircraft has long been known for.
This HH-1N had most recently been used as a rescue helicopter stationed at Naval Air Base Fallon, Nev., but was removed from service and then loaned to the park for use as a static display by the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola.
Before a conversion to the current HH-1N configuration, the aircraft had seen high-profile service for two decades while known as a VH-1N. When its most important passenger was aboard during that time, it was called Marine One.
Presidents Nixon, Ford and Reagan used the helicopter as regular transportation when it was part of the US Marines HMX-1 presidential unit at Quantico, Va.
According to the helicopter history Web site, Helis.com, it and its sister choppers were placed in mothballs at the Arizona bone yard by order of President Jimmy Carter. Ronald Reagan pulled them out, however, and again pressed them into service.
The Sikorsky VH-60N Whitehawk permanently knocked them from favor in the 1990s, and they were returned to Arizona where some remained until used for other purposes. Before this unit goes on permanent display in a year or so, it will be returned to presidential configuration.
Mike Thompson, who is Battleship Park’s restoration guru, said he will house the helicopter in the Medal of Honor Aircraft Pavilion at the park during most of the renewal process, and it will be displayed there when complete.
Currently painted orange and white for its rescue work, it will be returned to the more familiar green and white color scheme.
There were six Hueys used as presidential helicopters during the era this aircraft was in primary service, Thompson said. Three of them were larger choppers. Some were green tops. The others were called white tops.
This will likely become a white top, with the familiar dog house returned to the roof. The cowl concealed an air conditioning unit no longer used on the aircraft, as well as antennas and uplinks for presidential communication.
The sliding cargo doors will also be modified or replaced in order to replicate the four “suicide” doors that were once fixtures on the chopper.
Thompson has been researching the Marine One configuration, something not easy to do for security reasons. He has obtained rare photos of the interior, and should soon have original floor plans from which to work.
“I’ll have to go in and reconfigure the airplane to the way it was,” he said. “I’ll have to build all that stuff from scratch. It won’t have to fly. It just has to look good.”
The luxurious wall-to-wall carpeting must be replaced, along with six plush passenger seats. Thompson said the front two were larger than the rest, and meant for the president and first lady. The seat behind the president was always occupied by a military aid carrying a briefcase containing missile launch codes, also known as “the football.”
During the Reagan administration, the armrest of the president’s chair was outfitted with a jar to hold jelly beans. One of those jars has been located and will be returned to the interior.
Considered the limo of the Hueys, the aircraft reportedly held a wet bar to help entertain guests. This unit was also sometimes used by various cabinet agencies, and then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was known to fly aboard from time to time.
Although not confirmed at this time, this unit might have also been used to transfer President Nixon from Quantico to Andrews Air Force Base after he departed the White House for the last time following his August 1974 resignation from office.
Thompson said the presidential trappings were stripped in Corpus Christi, Texas by the Navy, and the interior is “180 degrees from what it was then.”
Restoration to the VH-1N configuration is expected to cost between $12,000 and $15,000, and it will be funded through donations.
The interior will receive attention soon, and the chopper will then be moved outside for original paint to be applied. It should be nearly as good as new next spring.
“This is an outstanding and quite historic addition to our aircraft collection at Battleship Memorial Park,” Bill Tunnell, Battleship Park executive director, stated. “Many thanks to the great team at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola who have made this possible.”
FYI
(Courtesy of the U.S. Navy)
•Primary Function: Utility and transport helicopter.
•Contractor: Bell Helicopter Company.
•Date Deployed: Introduction date: January 1971.
•Propulsion: Two Pratt and Whitney T400-CP-400 turboshaft engines; 1,250 hp (932 kw).
•Length: 57 feet, 0 inches (17 meters).
•Height: 14 feet 5 inches (4.4 meters).
•Rotor Diameter: 48 feet (14.6 meters) with rotors spread.
•Weight: Empty: 6,000 pounds (2,721.5 kg); Maximum Takeoff Weight: 10,500 pounds (4,762.7 kg).
•Airspeed: Max cruise speed is 110 kts (203.7 km/hr).
•Ceiling: 17,300 feet (5,273 meters).
•Range: 286 miles (460 km).
http://helis.com/
Ellie
Former Marine One chopper lands at Battleship Park
By Curt Chapman
Staff Writer
(Created: Monday, May 18, 2009 10:03 AM CDT)
MOBILE, Ala. — History was made recently when the last Bell Huey helicopter operated by the U.S. Navy made its final flight and landed on May 7 at USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park. But making history is what the aircraft has long been known for.
This HH-1N had most recently been used as a rescue helicopter stationed at Naval Air Base Fallon, Nev., but was removed from service and then loaned to the park for use as a static display by the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola.
Before a conversion to the current HH-1N configuration, the aircraft had seen high-profile service for two decades while known as a VH-1N. When its most important passenger was aboard during that time, it was called Marine One.
Presidents Nixon, Ford and Reagan used the helicopter as regular transportation when it was part of the US Marines HMX-1 presidential unit at Quantico, Va.
According to the helicopter history Web site, Helis.com, it and its sister choppers were placed in mothballs at the Arizona bone yard by order of President Jimmy Carter. Ronald Reagan pulled them out, however, and again pressed them into service.
The Sikorsky VH-60N Whitehawk permanently knocked them from favor in the 1990s, and they were returned to Arizona where some remained until used for other purposes. Before this unit goes on permanent display in a year or so, it will be returned to presidential configuration.
Mike Thompson, who is Battleship Park’s restoration guru, said he will house the helicopter in the Medal of Honor Aircraft Pavilion at the park during most of the renewal process, and it will be displayed there when complete.
Currently painted orange and white for its rescue work, it will be returned to the more familiar green and white color scheme.
There were six Hueys used as presidential helicopters during the era this aircraft was in primary service, Thompson said. Three of them were larger choppers. Some were green tops. The others were called white tops.
This will likely become a white top, with the familiar dog house returned to the roof. The cowl concealed an air conditioning unit no longer used on the aircraft, as well as antennas and uplinks for presidential communication.
The sliding cargo doors will also be modified or replaced in order to replicate the four “suicide” doors that were once fixtures on the chopper.
Thompson has been researching the Marine One configuration, something not easy to do for security reasons. He has obtained rare photos of the interior, and should soon have original floor plans from which to work.
“I’ll have to go in and reconfigure the airplane to the way it was,” he said. “I’ll have to build all that stuff from scratch. It won’t have to fly. It just has to look good.”
The luxurious wall-to-wall carpeting must be replaced, along with six plush passenger seats. Thompson said the front two were larger than the rest, and meant for the president and first lady. The seat behind the president was always occupied by a military aid carrying a briefcase containing missile launch codes, also known as “the football.”
During the Reagan administration, the armrest of the president’s chair was outfitted with a jar to hold jelly beans. One of those jars has been located and will be returned to the interior.
Considered the limo of the Hueys, the aircraft reportedly held a wet bar to help entertain guests. This unit was also sometimes used by various cabinet agencies, and then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was known to fly aboard from time to time.
Although not confirmed at this time, this unit might have also been used to transfer President Nixon from Quantico to Andrews Air Force Base after he departed the White House for the last time following his August 1974 resignation from office.
Thompson said the presidential trappings were stripped in Corpus Christi, Texas by the Navy, and the interior is “180 degrees from what it was then.”
Restoration to the VH-1N configuration is expected to cost between $12,000 and $15,000, and it will be funded through donations.
The interior will receive attention soon, and the chopper will then be moved outside for original paint to be applied. It should be nearly as good as new next spring.
“This is an outstanding and quite historic addition to our aircraft collection at Battleship Memorial Park,” Bill Tunnell, Battleship Park executive director, stated. “Many thanks to the great team at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola who have made this possible.”
FYI
(Courtesy of the U.S. Navy)
•Primary Function: Utility and transport helicopter.
•Contractor: Bell Helicopter Company.
•Date Deployed: Introduction date: January 1971.
•Propulsion: Two Pratt and Whitney T400-CP-400 turboshaft engines; 1,250 hp (932 kw).
•Length: 57 feet, 0 inches (17 meters).
•Height: 14 feet 5 inches (4.4 meters).
•Rotor Diameter: 48 feet (14.6 meters) with rotors spread.
•Weight: Empty: 6,000 pounds (2,721.5 kg); Maximum Takeoff Weight: 10,500 pounds (4,762.7 kg).
•Airspeed: Max cruise speed is 110 kts (203.7 km/hr).
•Ceiling: 17,300 feet (5,273 meters).
•Range: 286 miles (460 km).
http://helis.com/
Ellie