Photo: platinumfighters.com
About a year ago, we took a trip to a little air museum in Western Pennsylvania that served as the foster home for several Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopters. Among these were a handful of Vietnam war veterans.
Well, if any of these old "Hueys" were ever to be restored, this is what it would more likely than not look like. This Huey is a war veteran in itself, a member of the American 119th "Gators." Aviation Company of the 52nd Aviation Battalion in Vietnam. It's in a much prettier condition than the ones on display at the Air Heritage Museum. Let's take a look at the details.
Though a search of this Huey's serial number doesn't reveal its manufacturing date, the UH-1H variant was an overall improvement of the UH-1D. The UH-1D was itself the militarized variant of the Bell 205, an elongated variant of the civilian Bell 204 with which the original Huey shares its DNA.
Approximately 4,500 of these long-fuselage UH-1H Hueys were built, with most sporting the upgraded L-13 variant of the Lycoming T53 turbine engine jetting 1,400 shaft-horsepower, though a step-down transmission keeps gross horsepower levels from destroying the engine's drive shaft and does sap power somewhat.
The UH-1H served with several of militaries across the globe. It also served in a variety of roles, including as trainers, search and rescue, communications jamming, and airborne radar-assisted surveillance, apart from cargo and troop transport duties. All around, it was one of the most versatile aircraft ever to see a military battlefield.
But it was primarily in the load transport role that this particular UH-1H served in during the Vietnam War, doing so based out of Camp Holloway, a South Vietnamese U.S. Army base situated near the center of the country. In this role, this aircraft was piloted by an American Army Aviator by the name of Donald C. Glauthier. Though Glauthier sadly passed away in 2002, his legacy and that of his fellow Army pilots live on through the very machine he flew into combat.
This Huey's present state gives the vibe this Huey is fresh from the Vietnam battlefield. But it is indeed rocking a fair amount of modern navigation and communications hardware. Most of it is courtesy of a King Avionics KFM-895 radio and KT-79 transponder, but it's also flanked by a Garmin 30 COM/NAV/GPS array.
Thanks to Northwest Helicopters of Washington State, this Huey was acquired as a bare fuselage and restored to full-flight-ready status. Since then, this helicopter's added to its already impressive resume with roles in Hollywood movies like Kong Skull Island, Only the Brave, and Marvel's X-Men. With transaction records online available dating back to at least 1997, it's safe to say this old bird's been taken very good care of in the last quarter century. That only makes the asking price of $895,000 all the more understandable.
Though a search of this Huey's serial number doesn't reveal its manufacturing date, the UH-1H variant was an overall improvement of the UH-1D. The UH-1D was itself the militarized variant of the Bell 205, an elongated variant of the civilian Bell 204 with which the original Huey shares its DNA.
Approximately 4,500 of these long-fuselage UH-1H Hueys were built, with most sporting the upgraded L-13 variant of the Lycoming T53 turbine engine jetting 1,400 shaft-horsepower, though a step-down transmission keeps gross horsepower levels from destroying the engine's drive shaft and does sap power somewhat.
The UH-1H served with several of militaries across the globe. It also served in a variety of roles, including as trainers, search and rescue, communications jamming, and airborne radar-assisted surveillance, apart from cargo and troop transport duties. All around, it was one of the most versatile aircraft ever to see a military battlefield.
But it was primarily in the load transport role that this particular UH-1H served in during the Vietnam War, doing so based out of Camp Holloway, a South Vietnamese U.S. Army base situated near the center of the country. In this role, this aircraft was piloted by an American Army Aviator by the name of Donald C. Glauthier. Though Glauthier sadly passed away in 2002, his legacy and that of his fellow Army pilots live on through the very machine he flew into combat.
This Huey's present state gives the vibe this Huey is fresh from the Vietnam battlefield. But it is indeed rocking a fair amount of modern navigation and communications hardware. Most of it is courtesy of a King Avionics KFM-895 radio and KT-79 transponder, but it's also flanked by a Garmin 30 COM/NAV/GPS array.
Thanks to Northwest Helicopters of Washington State, this Huey was acquired as a bare fuselage and restored to full-flight-ready status. Since then, this helicopter's added to its already impressive resume with roles in Hollywood movies like Kong Skull Island, Only the Brave, and Marvel's X-Men. With transaction records online available dating back to at least 1997, it's safe to say this old bird's been taken very good care of in the last quarter century. That only makes the asking price of $895,000 all the more understandable.
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