Huey

[A Hay]

As an Army Captain in 1970 in Vietnam, I rode in one piloted by a couple of hotshot Vietnamese pilots who were assigned to the Vietnamese 2 star general in the Delta Region. I was Engineer Branch and was checking out a road project with the Vietnamese Engineer Major I was advisor to.

Some of my fellow Americans were hesitant to fly with the Vietnamese pilots as they did not have as much experience and the maintenance was questionable. I figured the Vietnamese General probably had the best Huey around and the best pilots.

We handed in a street in a village, got out and looked around, got back on board and took off. Only about a yard clearence on either side of the rotor blades and not much left of the grass houses on either side as the pilot climbed out of that tight space!

Rode in a few others with the doors open all the time and nothing between you and the ground except a seatbelt. Of course this was quite tame compared to the combat units, but was quite exciting enough for me.

They flew in pairs around our base perimeter at night also, one with a spot light and one with a mini-gun. It was some light show when the gun ship opened up up and the tracers came down.

Sorry for the "war story" but seeing the picture brought back some memories.

Thanks for showing the pic Alex.

Tom

[creagdhubh]

Great helos; use to 'ride' in them (more so in CH-46's - double prop) whilst serving on active-duty with the U.S. Marine Corps, though ours were painted battleship grey.

Thanks for sharing,

[CelticSire]

I had the privilege of being an unofficial guest on a "training flight" in New Jersey in a UH1D. We were supposed to be doing "touch-and-go's" but toured the NY City skyline at dusk instead. The Twin Towers were still up back then, and to see them and the Empire State Building from the air at dusk, and then the Statue of Liberty lit up at night was an incredible experience.

[English Bloke]

Great helos; use to 'ride' in them (more so in CH-46's - double prop) whilst serving on active-duty with the U.S. Marine Corps, though ours were painted battleship grey.

Thanks for sharing,

Ahhhh Chinooks. (I know they are CH47's but near enough). Didn't like those at all. An air tech I once knew described all helicopters as "a million bits of machinery, all fighting frantically to get away from one and other". After flying in Chinooks, I knew what he meant.

[flyingshamrock]

Wicked Great Pic!

[bigdad1]

Steve that was a very apt description. To this day, some 45 years later, I still look up most of the time when I hear a bird coming near but that wop wop sound is so distinctive that I look up and get chills and brief flash of paddies and jungles.