Sky Dancer

It may be abseiling pouch - used to contain the rope.

My knowledge of vehicles is limited, but USAF Combat Control teams used to use Mules for A.T.C. duties, perhaps this is the U.S. Army equivalent? Looks like a highly modified Mule???

Hi GT, I'm going to bite, but need your help to tell me what I'm seeing..... Went onto Wings Air Helicopters website & Facebook page and found this:- https://www.facebook.com/WingsAirHelicopterCharterNYC/photos/a.270702042983331.70125.237687942951408/1112991088754418/?type=3&theater This was from their Facebook page, dated 14 October 2016 with an added caption which reads "That day we played military helicopter with the Navy SEALS... @battlefrogseries #navyseals#md600 #helicopter". So the operators appear to be SEALS, because 1. Wings Air

Hi 11Bee, I remember that previous thread - IIRC there was a 'Hip' on the ramp too......? Just checked Google , they're still there!

Hi again LD, I am also fascinated by them, I label them "Spooks, Sneaks and Freaks"!! I am pretty sure the article was from 2001, it was in a British defence-type magazine. Cannot find the exact article, as I didn't keep it all, but an internet search showed that there was an issue of "Special Ops: Journal of Elite Forces and SWAT Units" Volume 14 which features the Savannah River Site SRT. This was published by Concord Publications on June 15, 2001. The article was written by Joel B. Paskauskas II. He must have sold his article to the British mag too. Ther

11Bee, LD & C2J, Thank you all for that; that's why I like this thread so much! Thanks again! SD

Hi LD, Knew I had the pics somewhere, not a great quality scan as the article was printed on low quality paper. The article was based around the Savannah River Site Special Response Team; the aviation aspect received a paragraph or two and was referred, confusingly, to as the Aviation Operations Unit, the Aviation Operations Department and the Aviation Operations Division all within the same paragraph. Article stated that the BK117 was fitted with FLIR, Nightsun and had an NVG-compatible cockpit, adding that pilots used NVG's. Article continued that there

Folks, Please forgive the question, I'm really not too familiar with the early Littlebirds, but could someone please advise on the wires and antennas on the photo in Hawkwrench's photo above. Was there a second white aerial on the starboard side? What is the under fuselage cable/wire? Is this an EH-6? Hope you can help

Hi LD, Thanks, but I was wrong on at least one thing - that is a Batwing fitted to the 530. There's a picture of one landing on top of a B747, with a Batwing in the same location - think it was posted, or at least referred to, by 11Bee. The photo was in a thread somewhere prior to "The Great Photobucket Incident". There are other photos on the web of FBI 530's which show them with a long (flat) mounting on the tail boom in the same general area - but mostly they seem to have a single white aerial fitted on it, but when fitted, the batwing is also positioned there. Why d

For what it's worth, a couple of comments re. the photo of the 7 operators with the two blue "Littlebirds" 1. I'm not sure that that is a Batwing fitted to the lead airframe. To my eyes the forward rake of the object isn't sharp enough for a batwing - but I could be mistaken. The pilot appears to be dressed casually, possibly wearing jeans? 2. The operators themselves - There is some variation visible on the kit fitted to the plates, dependent on role, but it is all remarkably uniform. Hard to tell due to resolution but:- Operator No.

Hello again Gents, Re. the above post, a dig of internet digging revealed that the planks fitted to N593C were produced by Tyler Technologies. They call them the Tyler Special Operations Platforms (TSOP) external helicopter benches. Here is a link to the TSOP for the MD500:- http://www.tylertech.net/md-500.html An interesting and informative website, with plenty of PDF's re. fittings etc., both for the benches and fast rope fittings. The benches are produced for the MD500, the AS350 and the Bell 206 & 407. They also list the customers they

Hello Gentlemen, Thought you might be interested in this - I picked up on this over on FighterSweep.com. Being from the U.K., I wasn't previously aware of these programmes, but this article concerns what could be loosely called a Littlebird. It's N593C, which is listed on FAA Registry as a 369E registered to K&S Helicopters Inc. Not Spec Ops. per se, but look at these "planks"! Have never seen these on a Littlebird before, but have seen a larger version of them on FBI Bell 407's. https://fightersweep.com/7835/aerial-target-interdiction-hog-hunting-helic

Hi again HeavyArt, By chance, a member of another forum over here, FighterControl.co.uk, has just put up a couple of photo's of a 657 Sqn AH.9A which flew into Norwich yesterday. http://www.fightercontrol.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=142377 This shows the latest mod state of the AH.9A - fitted with a wire strike system, different antennae etc. All the best, Michael.

Hi HeavyArty, This isn't a conversion that I have tried, or even contemplated, but there will be good, solid, advice on Britmodeller. I'm not sure if anyone has done a 1/32 conversion, but 1/48 has been - but this was possibly using an AH.7 as the basis. There are a couple of "stickies" on the Lynx, both Navy and Army versions, as well as a couple of threads that may be of some use to you. IIRC, there were some ex-aircrew and ex-ground crew (and maybe some still serving) who post there. Hope these links work...... Navy Lynx :- http://

Folks, One of the other helo's on the other apron looks like a "Hip". The blunt nose suggests a Mi-17. Will have another look at the three smaller ones again. Michael.