1/35 UH-1H Huey By lmagna

[mtaylor]

No worries from me on the mind.... my ran off, played in the mud and came back a shambles.   Everything seems foggy now.

[popeye the sailor]

good to see you finally got your stuff Lou.  dry fits will be your best bet in seeing what will work together.  I'll do some experimenting later today......took the day off.  we had an disruption of the force in the family  

Edited January 22, 2020 by popeye the sailor

[lmagna]

5 minutes ago, popeye the sailor said:

we had an unexpected death in the family

WOW that's a hard one to hit the "like" button on Denis. I hope it does not drag things down around your house too bad. I hope things get better quickly for you and Phyllis 

[mtaylor]

I'm not going to like your post, Denis.  You have my condolences.  

[CDW]

In 1969, I visited Washington DC with a group of other teens from the Boys Club in Tampa. It was a memorable trip with lots of cool things to see along the way, in DC, as well as on the way back. 

A low-light of that trip was the disgusting behavior of anti-war protesters in DC. They even threw crap at our Boys Club bus. While it wasn't until later that I served in the USMC, it permanently tainted my view of war protests. It left me feeling they were protesting more than the war. Why the hell would these people attack a Boys Club bus with teenagers on board?

[lmagna]

I don't think things have changed all that much when it comes to people like that Craig. They take offence at ANYONE who does not share their cause AND in the intensity of their feelings. To them there are really no innocent bystanders. It is not enough to agree with them, you are ether protesting with them or you are the enemy. At least that is my take on it.

 

I always thought it odd that the protesters could become so violent so quickly and do so much damage in the name of "Peace", yet we who only served were the danger to the world we returned to.

Edited January 22, 2020 by lmagna

[CDW]

Self explanatory

[BETAQDAVE]

On 1/14/2020 at 1:14 PM, lmagna said:

Hopefully at least some of this will key good, funny, or memorable experiences from people that happened in their lives 50 years ago and helped form who they are today and they take the time to share it here whether it is in story, model, or picture form.

    Here is my not so good (or funny) trip on an Army Helicopter. 

    Sometime in the spring of 71, while on temporary duty at the Ft. Sill Army Hospital, I had my first and only experience with an Army chopper.  In a joint Army/civilian disaster exercise,  I was volunteered (?) to participate as a victim in a major highway accident.  My part was to pose as a victim with severe head trauma which required me to wear a neck brace and to have my head, including my eyes, to be heavily bandaged.  I couldn’t see a thing after that and was strapped down onto a gurney which was hustled off to a waiting chopper and set inside with the doors still wide open. 

    Well, the pilot seemed to think that trying some drastic evasive maneuvers was needed for some unknown reason or other.  All I could think of the whole trip to the hospital was that I prayed that the gurney had been solidly anchored in place as I desperately gripped the sides of the gurney hoping not to be ejected from the cabin as the wind howled by me and he made some pretty wild twists and turns. 

    I may have yelled out some choice oaths at the pilot, but with the racket from the choppers engines he probably couldn’t hear me at all.  (That was probably for the best anyway since I’m quite sure he outranked me by quite a bit.) It was like riding a monster roller coaster with your eyes closed and you couldn’t remember if your seat belt was hooked up.  Luckily, I had not eaten much that morning or I’m sure I would have left quite a mess to clean up. 

    I have never been that close to a helicopter since!!!!!

[CDW]

Just now, BETAQDAVE said:

    Here is my not so good (or funny) trip on an Army Helicopter. 

   

Dave

I know that had to be a harrowing experience, but it is funny as heck reading about it after the fact and realizing you made it okay without a bad outcome. 😁

 

 

[el cid]

The framers of the Constitution were mostly lawyers, not soldiers. 

 

FWIW,

 

Keith

[CDW]

28 minutes ago, el cid said:

The framers of the Constitution were mostly lawyers, not soldiers. 

 

FWIW,

 

Keith

That's the difference between writing about it and spilling blood to achieve it.

[Canute]

They may have been lawyers, but many served in the Continental Army (Monroe and Hamilton) or had their lives messed with by the Redcoats. Hence, the Bill of Rights for all of us.

[lmagna]

5 hours ago, BETAQDAVE said:

Here is my not so good (or funny) trip on an Army Helicopter. 

So we have a couple of things in common Dave. Helicopter riding, and being stationed in the Cockroach, Tarantula, hurricane, pit of the world! I was fortunate enough to waste six months of my precious life stationed at Ft Sill! Do they have a "Good" season there? If so it didn't show up while I was there. Not all but many of the towns people had attitudes toward the military to match as well. There were "No Military" signs in a number of places in 68-69. I thought it was odd for a town that would dry up and disappear if it was not for the base! It was almost a blessing to get orders to ship out overseas! 

As for your inaugural helicopter ride, I'm sorry but like CDW I can't help but chuckle a little. If it makes you feel a little better I  could tell you of at least three cases of "Pilot humor" where the intent was to scare the livings daylights out of the passenger(s). In one case the targets were pilots themselves! 

 

It is fairly certain that the pilots could not hear you, but there is little doubt they were getting a blow by blow account from the crew in back who were "watching over" your welfare.😈

[mtaylor]

8 hours ago, CDW said:

Self explanatory

 

That pretty much says it all.   Semper Fi.

[mtaylor]

I believed back then most of those protesters weren't there to protest because they believed on the protest. Nope, most of them seemed to be there to meet members of the opposite sex.  Laugh... but heard too many say they found their mate there.  Sadly, those idiots didn't have boundaries. Even sadder, they've passed that apathy, etc. on to their children.   The catch was/is that most of those didn't understand that those of us in the military were in control such things as war, etc.   

 

I'll get off my soapbox and also apologize for hijacking this topic.   

[lmagna]

30 minutes ago, mtaylor said:

I'll get off my soapbox and also apologize for hijacking this topic. 

Remember Mark there is no such thing as hijacking here. This whole thing will go where it does without regret.

[Old Collingwood]

Do you recognize this little fella  lou?

 

OC.

[lmagna]

10 minutes ago, Old Collingwood said:

Do you recognize this little fella  lou?

I certainly do. I never got a ride in one, even as a passenger, but I did get to watch them work over an LZ more than once. They could turn on a dime and flip around so fast that the fuselage was higher than the rotor blades. Not quite inverted but close! They were like little Pit Bulls once they got a hold of you there was little chance of escape.  

Edited January 23, 2020 by lmagna

[lmagna]

6 hours ago, CDW said:

The framers of the Constitution were mostly lawyers, not soldiers. 

I am not certain of the exact number, but only about half of the framers of the Constitution were lawyers. The rest were merchantmen and land owner/farmers or entrepreneurs of one sort or another. Like ken said, many served in the Continental Army and several lost everything before it was all over. 

 

It was certainly a different time than today.  

Edited January 23, 2020 by lmagna

[Canute]

A Loach. Sounds like it was fun to fly.

[lmagna]

I couldn't find any footage of Cobra's or Loach's working out for real but this is Ok as well in a few places. 

[popeye the sailor]

the mechanical part was really interesting.........amazing how they function.  still pretty scary concerning the air frame........really not much that protects the pilot and crew.  my brother and a few of his companions {when he was stationed in Korea}  used to sneak out with one of the locals to go duck hunting.  he told me one time when someone shot the rotor by accident.......no one got hurt,  but it stung when they had to get the chopper out of the rice paddy     

[lmagna]

11 minutes ago, popeye the sailor said:

really not much that protects the pilot and crew.

Like almost all aircraft, speed, maneuverability, and luck with a little bit of armor!

 

That's strange about the rotor hit. I guess it might be where you were hit. We took blade hits a couple of times and didn't even know until we got back and did a post flight inspection.

Edited January 23, 2020 by lmagna

[popeye the sailor]

I would imagine that bird shot does more damage...dunno.

[John Allen]

Been indisposed for a couple of days clarify an earlier statement about bad memories. In Mobile as other cities in this country a huge number of homeless are vets with PTSD. My son taught me a lesson a couple of years ago when he bought some fast food for a homeless vet I asked him did he have one of those signs work for food. He said no the guy looked down he asked him after he bought the food his story. He would not say much except he was a vet and the V.A. had stopped his psyche treatments. Was it true don't know except I found out later that here there are not adequate facilities to deal with homeless here which vets are a large number, and they are not provided the treatment they need. As noted in numerous news reports

 

 

[lmagna]

55 minutes ago, popeye the sailor said:

I would imagine that bird shot does more damage

Huey blades are really strong! I have personally seen them cut through finger size branches at over 6000 RPM with little more damage than scuffing of the paint! The tips of the main rotor are moving at almost the speed of sound depending on altitude and ground speed. Bird-shot would be like sandblasting the finish. Double O Buck magnum or a sabot slug might have a better chance.

Edited January 23, 2020 by lmagna

[popeye the sailor]

I'm sure they are........as your video attests.   not having knowledge of Huey blades or any other types,  I can only go by the story as told to me.

[lmagna]

I am certain that some kind of perfect storm kind of thing could happen. Chopper is close to the ground, shotgun goes off right next to the pilots ear and startles him to the point that he pulls on the cyclic and tips the chopper enough to strike the ground with the rotor tip. Pretty certain that under those circumstances the chopper would become rice paddy decoration. Also pretty certain someone would get a bill from Uncle Sam after the Court Martial.

 

I know of at least one instance where a door gunner hit the rotor of his own chopper with 7.56mm rounds. I was not there for the event so I have no idea how badly the blades were damaged but we were assured when we were told the story in training that he was no longer a door gunner. Shooting up your own chopper was generally considered a No No.

Edited January 23, 2020 by lmagna

[mtaylor]

Interesting on the shooting his own rotor.  I've heard of it happening but never saw one up close and personal.  If I remember right,  our mounts on the CH-53 limited the "up".  I wonder if the Huey getting hit was from the gunner holding it instead of on a mount?   There's no way in hell I ever heard anyone doing a John Wayne with .50.  A .30 it could be done.... M60 was a hand held.

[lmagna]

In the older days before the solid gun mounts they would hold the M-60 Rambo style from a lanyard attached from the overhead. The Loach gunners still did it that way when I was in. I suppose it could have been this method. On our mounts we had a limit on the mount and also a tether attached to the barrel that would limit upward travel to below the rotor arc. Not really much chance of hitting the rotor. I have never seen it happen either. Even more amazing, my personal fear of being shot by a fellow gunner in another chopper never happened either.

 

The story of shooting your own rotor could have also been a war story made up by the instructor to put the fear of God into the new recruits, I would not put it past him. When we were in basic training and being introduced to the M-16, the instructor held out a M-16 at arms length one handed like a pistol, and fired three fairly rapid shots at the 25M target to demonstrate how little recoil the M-16 had. He then retrieved the target and showed us three holes that could be covered by a .50 cent coin. I always thought that he had made those holes from three feet away before we got there and the three we watched him shoot never came close to the target.