Loach Driver Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 Thanks Ray. I thought they might have been setting down for a little R&R and maybe a beach barbecue. I guess I was wrong with that guess! LD. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rotorwash Posted December 23, 2013 Author Share Posted December 23, 2013 Thanks Ray. I thought they might have been setting down for a little R&R and maybe a beach barbecue. I guess I was wrong with that guess! LD. Yep. Notice it was exactly 48 years ago tomorrow when that pic was taken. Heck of a place to spend Christmas Eve! Just for the heck of it, here's the last pic in the series. Ray Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rotorwash Posted December 23, 2013 Author Share Posted December 23, 2013 (edited) Thanks! Great pics! Can you imagine the sound of all those Hueys!? Thunderous! A symphony! Glad you like the shots. Here's another of Mr. Thorton's pics. This is Thunderbird 3 "Tinker Toy" at Thai Hung Dec 21, 1965. Notice the early UH-1D vertical slats on the engine cowling. Ray Edited December 23, 2013 by rotorwash Quote Link to post Share on other sites
salvador001 Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Some great shots of El Salvador Air Forces Hueys. Rod. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rotorwash Posted January 31, 2014 Author Share Posted January 31, 2014 Rod, Thanks! Great stuff. So is that last shot of the Mike model with the M134 and M5 system a operational bird? I'd love to see more photos of her. Ray Quote Link to post Share on other sites
salvador001 Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Hi Ray, glad u like the pics. This UH-1M was indeed an operational bird, sadly it crashed landed last year and was written off, all crew survived. The minigun and M5 configuration is just for display purpose only as you cannot install the M21 ammo bay and the M5 granade can. El Salvador now has only one M in service and 3 stored. I have more pics of this bird, ill post them later. Rod. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thatguy96 Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Hi Ray, glad u like the pics. This UH-1M was indeed an operational bird, sadly it crashed landed last year and was written off, all crew survived. The minigun and M5 configuration is just for display purpose only as you cannot install the M21 ammo bay and the M5 granade can. El Salvador now has only one M in service and 3 stored. I have more pics of this bird, ill post them later. Rod. Did Salvadoran UH-1Ms use a modified ammunition setup for the M21? I'm only asking, because the combination of the M5 and M21 was relatively common on US UH-1Cs in South Vietnam (there was even a designation applied to the combination for a brief period). I wonder if this was only an option when using the box magazine for the M5 rather than the larger drum magazine. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
midnightprowler Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 What a beautiful bird! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rotorwash Posted February 1, 2014 Author Share Posted February 1, 2014 (edited) Did Salvadoran UH-1Ms use a modified ammunition setup for the M21? I'm only asking, because the combination of the M5 and M21 was relatively common on US UH-1Cs in South Vietnam (there was even a designation applied to the combination for a brief period). I wonder if this was only an option when using the box magazine for the M5 rather than the larger drum magazine. Joe, I rarely if ever disagree with you but the M21+M5 system was only flown CONUS by Army Flight Test. It was called the XM51 system. Even if you could get all the ammo on board, it was just too heavy to fly in the hot climate of South Vietnam. I have seen a lot of weird setups from Vietnam, but this is not one of them. Ray Edited February 1, 2014 by rotorwash Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thatguy96 Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 (edited) I must be getting rusty heh. I could've sworn I had seen many pictures of this combination, but indeed a cursory look over photos of aircraft in country is all just the nose turret and various rocket arrangements. The Squadron Signal UH-1 Gunship Walk Around book does have a picture of the second ever UH-1C configured this way, but clearly for testing. There's also the picture of the Army Flight Test checked tailboom aircraft with the XM50 that pops up from time to time. Edited February 1, 2014 by thatguy96 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
salvador001 Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 (edited) Hi Ray, heres another pic of this Mike including a profile artwork showing the real configuration of the bird, called the Hog. Let me get some more pics for you later ok. Hope you enjoy them. Rod. Edited February 1, 2014 by salvador001 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rotorwash Posted February 1, 2014 Author Share Posted February 1, 2014 I must be getting rusty heh. I could've sworn I had seen many pictures of this combination, but indeed a cursory look over photos of aircraft in country is all just the nose turret and various rocket arrangements. The Squadron Signal UH-1 Gunship Walk Around book does have a picture of the second ever UH-1C configured this way, but clearly for testing. There's also the picture of the Army Flight Test checked tailboom aircraft with the XM50 that pops up from time to time. Joe, It doesn't really fit in a Bell beauty shots thread, but I can give you copies of the XM50 (my mistake on calling the XM51) pics I have from the USAAM, including the original of the one published in the Squadron Walk Around book. A photo of the XM50 in country is a one of the holy grail shots for me so if you find it, please share! Ray Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rotorwash Posted February 1, 2014 Author Share Posted February 1, 2014 Hi Ray, heres another pic of this Mike including a profile artwork showing the real configuration of the bird, called the Hog. Let me get some more pics for you later ok. Hope you enjoy them. Rod. Rod, Thanks! Those are great. That setup in Vietnam was called a "heavy hog" with the M5 40mm and the M159/M200 19 shot rocket pods. If you have a pic of the M5 system with the drum in the cabin, I would really like to see that as the drum was rarely if ever used in Vietnam and was replaced with custom made metal ammo bins. Ray Quote Link to post Share on other sites
salvador001 Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Other shots of the last M models flying in the world, sadly one of them is no longer in service. Rod. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
salvador001 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Reviving this great thread. Heres some shots of UH-1Hs from El Salvador. Hope you like em. Rod. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GeejeeZ Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Nice pics, Rod! What's the story on that last picture? The civil- like color scheme seems odd in combination with the toilet bowl exhaust! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
salvador001 Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Hi Gee, That huey was painted civil because when the war ended a private company was hired by the government to eliminate the mines left by the terrrorist, and this hueys were used to transport the personnel. Dont know why they left the toilet bowl on. Rod. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bravosierra001 Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 (edited) I took this one while out on a Weps DET in El Centro. And this one while out in Washington state while out on a rescue of one our jets. Brandon Edited November 21, 2015 by Bravosierra001 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
midnightprowler Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Rare to see a Cobra in civilian clothing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rotorwash Posted November 21, 2015 Author Share Posted November 21, 2015 Nice shots, Brandon. Thanks for sharing. Ray Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RGS Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 On 01/12/2010 at 0:50 AM, rotorwash said: Matt, You know anything about this demonstrator? It says Bell FVJ1 Demonstrator 1988 on the back. It looks to be a early Huey II to me. You can read "Live Demonstrator" on the engine cowling and "Experimental" under the co-pilot's door. Ray Hi Ray, Any chance you might be able to re-upload this photo (N19AL)? Had a look on your Photobucket page, but it only shows the thumbnail/low res image. I thought I'd downloaded it ages ago, but can't seem to locate it locally... Thanks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rotorwash Posted July 21, 2017 Author Share Posted July 21, 2017 3 hours ago, RGS said: Hi Ray, Any chance you might be able to re-upload this photo (N19AL)? Had a look on your Photobucket page, but it only shows the thumbnail/low res image. I thought I'd downloaded it ages ago, but can't seem to locate it locally... Thanks. N19AL is a 205B that flies as a support aircraft for Bell at Amarillo. She has a long history with the company. I'm not sure which photo I posted of her, but here's a Bell photo of her. She currently wears a Texas flag scheme. This aircraft has been highly modified over the years to the point that she has a lot of nonstandard mods like diamond tread on the foot rests. Ray Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RGS Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 (edited) Thanks Ray, the image I was after was an old one of her in a Bell/Fuji scheme from 1988 (as a 205B demonstrator?). Here's the thumbnail: I hadn't seen the one you just posted above before though, so thanks for that too ;). Don't suppose you have any of the cockpit... Thanks again! Edited July 21, 2017 by RGS Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rotorwash Posted July 21, 2017 Author Share Posted July 21, 2017 18 minutes ago, RGS said: Thanks Ray, the image I was after was an old one of her in a Bell/Fuji scheme from 1988 (as a 205B demonstrator?). Here's the thumbnail: I hadn't seen the one you just posted above before though, so thanks for that too ;). Don't suppose you have any of the cockpit... Thanks again! Alas, when I visited the Amarillo plant last year I was not allowed to photograph since it is where they build the UH-1Y and AH-1Z. Here's the shot. It is from the Wayne Mutza collection. Ray Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rotorwash Posted July 21, 2017 Author Share Posted July 21, 2017 Here's what she looks like today. Photo by Wayne Evans, Sr. Ray Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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