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Source: sana.sy
Hovering Helicopter News Desk covers rotorcraft developments, helicopter operations, aviation technology, training, safety, and industry news.
After many years of searching for a UH-1H Huey Helicopter to add to the Yanks Air’s collection, on August 31, 2013 the museum has received its first model. Yanks received this aircraft through the US Forestry Service. The museum will display the Huey as the entrance into the Vietnam era. The Huey is one of the most extraordinary aircraft of our time. Officially the UH-1 series is the Iroquois.
In 1952 the US Army specified a requirement for new helicopter to serve as a medical evacuation, helicopter trainer, troop transport and general utility helicopter. Of the twenty companies that submitted designs, Bell Helicopter won the bid in late 1953 to build the first 3 prototypes based on their Model 204 design. The first flight of the XH-40 was October 20th, 1956 at Fort Worth, Texas and Bell was commissioned to build the first 100 HU-1A helicopters in March 1960, officially named Iroquois. While its official name is rarely used, the helicopter was nicknamed the Huey and the name stuck even after the US Army changed its designation to UH-1 “Huey” Helicopter.
The Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program was meant to create the U.S. Army’s new weaponized scout helicopter. The Army had even held a design competition to find the replacement for the Vietnam-era OH-58 chopper once it was retired. In the interim, Apache attack helicopters and Shadow drones were filling in.
Helicopters have proven themselves time and again in every scenario they have been exposed to. One of the areas they have particular excelled at is medevac and casevac. Helicopters can and will go where other aircraft cannot and where ambulances can’t reach to rescue the wounded. They provide fast, smooth transportation of casualties to field hospitals many miles from the front lines and offer the ability to begin critical care as soon as they enter the airframe.
During the two Iraq wars and while in Afghanistan, helicopters have continued their service to troops on the front lines. Soldiers and commanders depend on them, they regard them as essential and combat operations are not planned unless medevac choppers are available if needed. Such is the importance place on them in modern warfare.
Designed as a heavy assault transport helicopter for the Marine Corps, the initial Sea Stallion CH-53A version of the Sikorsky S-65 was basically a considerably enlarged version of the S-61, but with a conventional fuselage instead of a boat hull. The dynamic parts – gearboxes, transmission and rotors – were based on those of the CH-54 (S-64) but with the main rotor having a titanium hub and folding blades.
The Bell UH-1 Helicopter played an unprecedented role in the Vietnam War, earning the reputation of the most crucial military aircraft. Serving various purposes, including troop transport, armed attacks, and medical evacuations, the Huey accomplished over 36 million sorties during the war. It revolutionized the battlefield in three distinctive roles – as “slicks,” “gunships,” or “dustoffs.”
