Bell UH-1 helicopter

looks a bit less flash than last time I saw it, doubt if they would get away with the flying fag packet colour scheme these days.

(Finningley 1989)

G-HUEY was, as of last September, in the back of a hangar at North Weald awaiting restoration, but just to confuse the issue, the Huey on show at the Museum of Army Flying claims to be G-HUEY also, according to the display board ! :confused:

The original designation for the helicopter was the XH-40.
Later, during the DoD designation system overhaul of 1962 it became the HU-1 (Helicopter Utility) under an interim Army-only system.
That was later revised to Utility Helicopter (when the standard DoD-wide system was adpoted by the Army).
So, HU turned into Huey.

At Wings over Wairarapa today a Huey displayed – the commentator gave this description of “where the name came from” almost word for word. I thought to myself – ‘e reads the forum!

I Belive that G-HUEY was removed from display at Bournemouth in the Spring(?) and was taken to Noirth Weald(?) to be restored to flight. I think thats what I remember reading in Bournemouth Aviation museums members newsletter.

If it’s the rotor tachometer, he’s right…you just don’t want to let it go too low! My instructor (with a few thousand hours of experience) said he could judge speed as much by sound as looking at the rotor tach.
For fixed wing pilots, the best anology I can make is low rotor speed will do to a helicopter what going below the stall speed will do for an airplane…loose too much and you’ve got no lift.

Now I think about it, it was the low-rpm light as it came on during the high-g (for a chopper) turns while we were flying next to the mountains in Arthur’s Pass (very desolate place in the South Island of NZ).
Great fun stuff and getting paid to be part of it too !!!!

Cheers
TNZ

I may be wrong,but isn’t G-HUEY on display at Bournemouth museum?

Also, on the same flight I saw the RPM light on the panel come on and stay on for a few seconds quite a few times.
Quizzed the pilots and they said “nothing to worry about, only if the sound from the rotors alters too much we worry 😮 ….

TNZ

If it’s the rotor tachometer, he’s right…you just don’t want to let it go too low! My instructor (with a few thousand hours of experience) said he could judge speed as much by sound as looking at the rotor tach.
For fixed wing pilots, the best anology I can make is low rotor speed will do to a helicopter what going below the stall speed will do for an airplane…loose too much and you’ve got no lift.

It had no paperwork. Apparently the previous owner didn’t send it off to Swansea or something.

😀

I presumme then that it’s now on static display somewhere?

I love the Iroquois, they sound awesome, look awesome, and are really awesome to fly in (and be winched out of!). I used to like watching Tour of Duty when I was a teen, so when I joined the RNZAF I loved every time I saw or heard one fly over. I used to know all the crews well at Wigram too and they were a great, wild bunch of guys.

At Hobsonville they used to hover over our barracks in the dead of night, never worked out why, but it was really eerie to awake to “Whomph, whomph. whomph…” right above you. Like Apocolypse Now! In our Air Force the name Huey isn’t really used, we called them “wocka-wockas”. I don’t know if other countries use that colloquial nickname. The RNZAF had a nickname for almost all its types – Squawks (A4K), Blunty (Strikemaster), Leftover (Andover), Friendly (Friendship), Vomet Comet (727), Onion (Orion)….

Most of our RNZAF-operated Iroquois turn 40 years old this year – the big Four-Zero!
Also turning 40 are three of our Hercules and at least five of our Orions (not sure how old the ex-RAAF one is), plus many of our Souix too (one of them was built from parts by RNZAF engineers!). All these 40-year olds are still going strong. The P3’s are getting new wings so they’ll be around for their 50th I’d say. Amazing eh?

The Iroquois and Souix fleets are to be replaced very soon I hear (heard directly from a mate who the officer who was in charge of deciding their replacement). So Gnome, although there are civil operated twin engine Hueys in NZ, make the most of seeing the UH-1H’s of the RNZAF while you can.

Whatever happened to G-HUEY that used to display occasionally back in the mid-80’s..?
Was on permanent loan from the Argentine’s as I recall….. 😀

It had no paperwork. Apparently the previous owner didn’t send it off to Swansea or something.

I once in an RNZAF Huey when I was in the army on exercise with a 7-stick squad in there.
Something un-nerving about sitting on the floor next to the left hand door (open) and only being strapped in by a well-worn buckle as the pilot does a near 90 degree left turn to the LZ, just seeing a bunch of ground straight down while looking through…!!!!

Also, on the same flight I saw the RPM light on the panel come on and stay on for a few seconds quite a few times.
Quizzed the pilots and they said “nothing to worry about, only if the sound from the rotors alters too much we worry 😮 ….

Gotta love the Hueys !!!

TNZ

Whatever happened to G-HUEY that used to display occasionally back in the mid-80’s..?
Was on permanent loan from the Argentine’s as I recall….. 😀

Huey, Huey, ooh…ooh, Me gotta go now…

Part of the UH-1Y production will be new-built aircraft? I was under the impression they were all rebuilt UH-1N’s. I know the UH-1Y is being offered as new-build, but I didn’t know the Corps was getting new-build models.
I thought the same applies to the AH-1Z’s.

The Z’s will be rebuilds, but the USMC figured out that all new Ys yould cost about the same as retrofit…and they had concerns about taking most of their Ns out of service for the lengthy conversion process.
I believe the Y’s will be something like 85 new, 15 conversions.
Total H-1Y & Zs will be 285.

Also on the subject of Hueys…let’s not forget the proposed upgraded H…now called the Bell 210 is being offered for the Army Light Utility Helicopter requirement. It will have a new Honeywell T5317B engine and inproved rotor system and avionics. A rebuild will cost only $3 million.

And before anyone says “take this conversation to the Modern military thread”…let’s remember the Huey first flew in October of 1956….making it older than the Lightning, Phantom and a few other planes often mentioned in this forum. IMHO, The Huey is the DC-3 of the helicopter world.

Part of the UH-1Y production will be new-built aircraft? I was under the impression they were all rebuilt UH-1N’s. I know the UH-1Y is being offered as new-build, but I didn’t know the Corps was getting new-build models.

I thought the same applies to the AH-1Z’s.

Pre-emptive Moggy strike. It is so historic! So there! :p

And thanks J Boyle … U – he becomes Huey. Very nice.

Still around…

Think there were Bell 212, 214, and 414s being made until just a few years ago – just updated look-a-likes…

Flood

I think you mean 412…a 212 with a four bladed rotor system.
They are still being made by Bell Commercial in Canada. And the USMC is buying a number of new build 412s…called the UH-1Y, along with 100+ rebuilds.

Think there were Bell 212, 214, and 414s being made until just a few years ago – just updated look-a-likes…
(Moggy will make a profound statement about the subject of this thread, just you see;))

Flood

Huey name

The original designation for the helicopter was the XH-40.
Later, during the DoD designation system overhaul of 1962 it became the HU-1 (Helicopter Utility) under an interim Army-only system.
That was later revised to Utility Helicopter (when the standard DoD-wide system was adpoted by the Army).
So, HU turned into Huey.

Thanks Rob..

And you could be right AJ … except I wonder …

Are Bell still making them, or making parts, or are their numbers in slow decline??

Being Vietnam war vets and all I assume it’s fair enough to reflect on the ubiquitous Bell Iriquous “Huey” here.

But of course they’re still active all over the world and indeed one just took off in front of me over Wellington harbour a few minutes ago.

Made me stop and think … where does the name “Huey” come from?

Is it simply a derivation of the official model designation … UH?

Gnome yes it comes from UH

Cheers
RER