1st Helicopter Squadron
(Courtesy of David Parsons) |
| 
40th Flight Test Squadron
(Courtesy of David Parsons) |
| 
Flight Engineers patch
(Courtesy of David Parsons) |
UH-1N 69-6617 at the 40th FTS Eglin AFB Test Range, Florida. SAR training with F-15 Test Pilots. (May 1998)
(Courtesy of David Parsons) |
| 
UH-1N 69-66617 Fire Fighting the Choctaw, Florida wild fire (1997) . We made 88 drops with a bambi bucket over a period of three days and acft 617 was used and abused more than I've ever seen a Huey treated. Water pick-ups were in the Gulf of Mexico, sometimes at full power while the fuel was still heavy, and sea spray was everywhere. Most of the drops on the fire were low enough to fill the cabin with smoke, including a drop on a fire jumper who found himself stuck too close to the fire. On the third day, the fire began to subside, and we thought we had a flicker on the transmission chip light but we weren't sure. We landed remotely near the fire and looked everything over, but couldn't repeat the flicker, so we flew her back to Eglin and as we landed on the ramp the chip light came on. 617 was a great Huey!
(Courtesy of David Parsons) |
| 
UH-1N 69-66617 Fire Fighting the Choctaw, Florida wild fire (1997) . We made 88 drops with a bambi bucket over a period of three days and acft 617 was used and abused more than I've ever seen a Huey treated. Water pick-ups were in the Gulf of Mexico, sometimes at full power while the fuel was still heavy, and sea spray was everywhere. Most of the drops on the fire were low enough to fill the cabin with smoke, including a drop on a fire jumper who found himself stuck too close to the fire. On the third day, the fire began to subside, and we thought we had a flicker on the transmission chip light but we weren't sure. We landed remotely near the fire and looked everything over, but couldn't repeat the flicker, so we flew her back to Eglin and as we landed on the ramp the chip light came on. 617 was a great Huey!
(Courtesy of David Parsons) |
UH-1N 69-6617, "The Machine" A specially adapted fire starting machine attached to the Huey used to ignite controlled fires in front of wild fires to suppress wood/forest fuel for fast moving wild fires. The machine is pictured with 4-bags of ping pong balls which are loaded into the device and injected inside the machine with the glycerol combination and fired at a rate of 4-balls at a time. Once on the ground they begin to ignite and start the controlled burn. The weight of the glycerol compound was enough to ensure the ping pong balls fell straight down, but having them fly back into the cabin from rotor wash was always a concern. (1997)
(Courtesy of David Parsons)
|
| 
UH-1N 69-6617, "The Machine" A specially adapted fire starting machine attached to the Huey used to ignite controlled fires in front of wild fires to suppress wood/forest fuel for fast moving wild fires. The machine is pictured with 4-bags of ping pong balls which are loaded into the device and injected inside the machine with the glycerol combination and fired at a rate of 4-balls at a time. Once on the ground they begin to ignite and start the controlled burn. The weight of the glycerol compound was enough to ensure the ping pong balls fell straight down, but having them fly back into the cabin from rotor wash was always a concern. (1997)
(Courtesy of David Parsons)
|
| 
(1998) UH-1N 69-6626, Holloman AFB, White Sands Test Range. The AGM-158 JASSM (Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile) being tested in Desert conditions. The pod attached to the side of the Huey is used to simulate the seeker portion of the missile. Proving trials requires the seeker to target in snow, jungle, desert, and through clouds. Desert testing took place on the White Sands range, very near the Trinity atomic test site.
(Courtesy of David Parsons)
|
UH-1N 69-6626, at Eglin AFB, 40th FTS. (August 1998) Flight testing with hardpoints attached. I'm not entirely sure I can elaborate on what the device is, but firing this from a Huey was a thrill.
(Courtesy of David Parsons)
|
| 
UH-1N 69-6626, at Eglin AFB, 40th FTS. (August 1998) Flight testing with hardpoints attached. I'm not entirely sure I can elaborate on what the device is, but firing this from a Huey was a thrill.
(Courtesy of David Parsons)
|
| 
H-13J Sioux parked on the South lawn of the White House waiting to transport President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
One of two H-13J's to serve with the distinction of being the first helicopter to be used for Presidential airlift (1957 - 1961), before the USMC took over the mission.
(Courtesy of David Parsons)
|
