Army retires the Huey

rgrokelley · Post by **rgrokelley** » February 3rd, 2011, 3:47 am

http://www.military.com/news/article/ar ... =army-a.nl" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Slowpoke · Post by **Slowpoke** » February 3rd, 2011, 8:08 am

There is a whole generation of us who would still get "cold chills" from hearing the sound of a huey. I still can't believe some of the shit storms they flew into and kept flying!

Lefty · Post by **Lefty** » February 3rd, 2011, 10:05 am

Slowpoke wrote:There is a whole generation of us who would still get "cold chills" from hearing the sound of a huey. I still can't believe some of the shit storms they flew into and kept flying!

Amen. I will always associate that sound with going into a bad place or coming out of a bad place. Those pilots had iron gonads.

Jim · Post by **Jim** » February 3rd, 2011, 12:10 pm

I think there are still a few flying in the service of this great nation. I've always speculated that when the last UH-60 is flown to to the boneyard, the crew would fly back in a UH-1.

panthersix · Post by **panthersix** » February 3rd, 2011, 2:21 pm

I got to spend a year on a UH1V model as a flight medic. The CW10's that flew in the 'Nam were some crazy mo'fo's!

CatFish Driver · Post by **CatFish Driver** » February 3rd, 2011, 3:02 pm

Sad day. I know my old man sure thinks the world of the Huey. He'll be sad to hear this.

KW Driver · Post by **KW Driver** » February 3rd, 2011, 6:19 pm

Can't read the mil.com article cause it won't load.

But this might be the same or better.

The funny thing was it had been severe clear for a week before this day. Day of the fly away, it was 0' ceilings and 100' vis. They hovered in the parade field and the bird stayed there for two more days.

The CW4 flying with the good Col was a gun pilot in VN and a recall to active duty.

rgrokelley · Post by **rgrokelley** » February 4th, 2011, 3:51 am

When we first got the UH-60s we were surprised by the seats. SEATS!? We felt like we were turning into a bunch of pussies. Real men ride in the door, feet in the breeze, ready to jump out and deal death to the godless commie or heathens. Not ride in a seat like you were Miss Daisy! You couldn't even ride the skid when you did a jump from one.

Took awhile to get over that one.

KW Driver · Post by **KW Driver** » February 4th, 2011, 10:23 am

Hueys have seats too. they're just faster to install and de-stall.

shocked the hell out of me when I got to flight school and read the regs that stated seats out operations require 2 star approval without delegation, on a case by case basis. during the 5 years I spent in BN, I never saw seats once, that I recall. that's a lot of paper.

Slowpoke · Post by **Slowpoke** » February 4th, 2011, 11:49 am

While I was in Vietnam (mid '66-mid'67) there were two models of Huey, the UH-1B and the UH-1D. The B Model didn't have have the wells cut out for the door gunners and were Gun Ships (HOGS). The D Models had the cut out wells for the door gunners and were Troop Carriers (SLICKS). This was before the door gunners M-60 was mounted, it hung from above on a cable. The door gunners were secured to the aircraft by a monkey line that was long enough for them to detatch the machine gun from the cable and climb down onto the skid and fire underneath the aircraft John Wayne style. All of them I talked to hated the mounts when they first came out and would remove them until they were ordered to leave them on. Where I was in III Corp, all of the Hueys had their side doors removed to reduce weight and because it was so hot that they weren't ever going to be closed anyway. The first time I saw a Huey with the doors on it was when Westmoreland came out to our FOB in his spit-shined D-Model Huey to visit HIS LRRPS.

I will never forget those magnificent men and their flying machines. Like lefty said, they took us into and out of some nasty shit. The one thing they never did was fail us!

Lefty · Post by **Lefty** » February 4th, 2011, 12:40 pm

Slowpoke wrote: Where I was in III Corp, all of the Hueys had their side doors removed to reduce weight and because it was so hot that they weren't ever going to be closed anyway. The first time I saw a Huey with the doors on it was when Westmoreland came out to our FOB in his spit-shined D-Model Huey to visit HIS LRRPS.

I had forgotten that! I thought they all came without doors! First time I ever saw one with doors was when BG Wear's slick came in and hauled me back to Pleiku from Ben Het one time. Cushioned seats and magazine racks with current issues of Time and Newsweek. Felt like I didn't dare lean against the seat back lest I soil it. Rainy day, flew low level, thought I would take some photos of the low ceiling against the jungle, then some field grade staffer slammed the door shut, just to be a jerk.
Memories, memories.

McD · Post by **McD** » February 4th, 2011, 7:36 pm

I loved the sound... still do!

Jim · Post by **Jim** » February 5th, 2011, 10:18 am

Slowpoke wrote: The first time I saw a Huey with the doors on it was when Westmoreland came out to our FOB in his spit-shined D-Model Huey to visit HIS LRRPS.

I will never forget those magnificent men and their flying machines. Like lefty said, they took us into and out of some nasty shit. The one thing they never did was fail us!

I could not believe how modified GEN Abe's bird was when he came to visit us in Cambodia in 1970. On the side below the four-star plate, it said "Thunderbolt." Spit-shined, with every available bell and whistle. And at least four radios in the console. Cool!!!

Steadfast · Post by **Steadfast** » February 5th, 2011, 12:08 pm

Standing in a Huey was a squat.

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