# GOOD-BYE OLD FRIEND!



## FLYBOYJ (Sep 7, 2009)

Colo. Guard Retires Last Of Its 'Huey' Helicopters - cbs4denver.com


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## evangilder (Sep 7, 2009)

Talk about a long run!


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## Ferdinand Foch (Sep 7, 2009)




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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Sep 7, 2009)

A well deserved retirement. The most amazing helicopter ever built! I am glad I had the opportunities to fly in them, only wish I could have crewed them as well.


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## B-17engineer (Sep 7, 2009)

Seemed like such a good helicopter!


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## ToughOmbre (Sep 7, 2009)

Was lucky enough to fly in the Huey a few times.

A true "Hall of Famer".



TO


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## Airframes (Sep 7, 2009)

An amazing service life for any military aircraft, more so for a helicopter. Flew in them two or three times - great birds!


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## Marcel (Sep 7, 2009)

DerAdlerIstGelandet said:


> A well deserved retirement. The most amazing helicopter ever built! I am glad I had the opportunities to fly in them, only wish I could have crewed them as well.



I thought Germany still has some operational, don't they?


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## pbfoot (Sep 7, 2009)

That thump thump sound will be missed all the newer choppers are so much quieter, used to get hauled into a fishing camp in them


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## v2 (Sep 7, 2009)




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## A4K (Sep 7, 2009)

We still use the UH-1H In NZ - bought them new in 1966!

We call them "Wokka wokka's" in the RNZAF... you know, WOKKA-WOKKA-WOKKA-WOKKA-WOKKA-WOKKA... !!!!


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Sep 7, 2009)

Marcel said:


> I thought Germany still has some operational, don't they?



The German Heer and Luftwaffe use the UH-1D as well.

There are still going to be small units in the US Army that will use the Huey as well. The OPFOR units here of the US Army here in Germany have Huey's, and I don't see them getting rid of them any time soon.


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## vikingBerserker (Sep 7, 2009)

Nice!


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## Vassili Zaitzev (Sep 7, 2009)

to one of the longest serving helicopters in the US.


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## Henk (Sep 9, 2009)

What a great helicopter, they named it as one of the best out there and it a shame to see it go.


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## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Sep 9, 2009)

A great machine indeed.


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## Glider (Sep 10, 2009)

Don't be so premature, my understanding is that the latest version the UH1-Y is being introduced into the Marines for use in Afghanistan.


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Sep 10, 2009)

Glider said:


> Don't be so premature, my understanding is that the latest version the UH1-Y is being introduced into the Marines for use in Afghanistan.



Yes the Marines will be using the Huey for years and years to come. The contemporary Huey though is being retired from the US Army service.


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## Thorlifter (Sep 10, 2009)

A true aviation legend!


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## lesofprimus (Sep 10, 2009)

Hear hear, a great salute to the Huey.....


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## Lucky13 (Sep 10, 2009)

Many have try to build her successor, they've all failed, there'll only be one Huey!


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Sep 11, 2009)

Lucky13 said:


> Many have try to build her successor, they've all failed, there'll only be one Huey!



The UH-60 Blackhawk has more than fullfilled the shoes of the Huey...


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## Glider (Sep 11, 2009)

If its still around in 30 years time with new versions entering service, I suggest that then and only then, can the UH-60 claim the crown.

Its a bit like trying to take the crown off the DC3, many have tried and some have come close, but not quite close enough.


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Sep 11, 2009)

Glider said:


> If its still around in 30 years time with new versions entering service, I suggest that then and only then, can the UH-60 claim the crown.
> 
> Its a bit like trying to take the crown off the DC3, many have tried and some have come close, but not quite close enough.



Time wise you are correct. However the aircraft is just as rugged, has far better performance, is capable of more missions, can perform the missions better in more adverse environments.

Is the Huey the greatest helicopter of all times? Hell yes it is! I love the damn Huey, it is my favorite Helo. I grew up with the Huey. My father used to fly them. When I was a kid and people would go to the pool in the summer time, I was at his work sitting in the cockpit pretending to fly. It is the helicopter that I dreamed of flying in the Army (unfortunately that did not pan out.)

But fact remains there are better and more capable aircraft. The Blackhawk is one of them...

As for your 30 year requirement? The Blackhawk has reached that requirement. The UH-60 Blackhawk entered active service with the US Army in 1979 (2009 = 30 years). If you want to be more precise the Huey first entered service with the US Army in 1959 (2009 = 50 years)...


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## wheelsup_cavu (Sep 12, 2009)

DerAdlerIstGelandet said:


> --------
> 
> As for your 30 year requirement? The Blackhawk has reached that requirement. The UH-60 Blackhawk entered active service with the US Army in 1979 (2009 = 30 years).
> 
> --------


I didn't realize that the Blackhawk had been around that long.


Wheels


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## Lucky13 (Sep 12, 2009)

No kidding Chris!? 30 years already!? One thing though, correct me if I'm wrong....every helicopter sound pretty much the same, but the Huey had THAT unique sound....right?


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Sep 12, 2009)

Lucky13 said:


> No kidding Chris!? 30 years already!? One thing though, correct me if I'm wrong....every helicopter sound pretty much the same, but the Huey had THAT unique sound....right?



No each and every helicopter has its own distinct sound, but the Huey does have the most unique one. That thwap, thwap, thwap, thwap. I still get chills whenever I see one fly overhead over here.


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## Lucky13 (Sep 12, 2009)

Is it from that sound that the Huey has, the expression "whipping the air into submission", or what it was, comes maybe....?


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Sep 12, 2009)

Lucky13 said:


> Is it from that sound that the Huey has, the expression "whipping the air into submission", or what it was, comes maybe....?



Probably. It really does have the most unique and in my opinion beautiful sound for a helicopter.

It could also be another variant of the old saying "A helicopter is so damn ugly, the ground repels it".


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## klarmie (Sep 13, 2009)

DerAdlerIstGelandet said:


> No each and every helicopter has its own distinct sound, but the Huey does have the most unique one. That thwap, thwap, thwap, thwap. I still get chills whenever I see one fly overhead over here.



When I was younger, growing up as an Army brat. I could tell the difference between a Huey, Kiowa, Chinook, and Blackhawk, the only ones I had a hard time distiguishing were the Huey from the Cobra. The other day we had a Bell 47 fly over and I was able to pick out the radial engine on that , but a I doubt I could pick them out now.....except for a Chinook.....I know I could pick that out.


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## GrauGeist (Sep 13, 2009)

Where I grew up, we had all sorts of military aircraft in the area, but there was no mistaking the approach Huey. The sound that made me look up though, was the sound of a CH-53...I loved those things for some reason.

I know we have suitable replacements for the Huey, but it's been a reliable workhorse for so long, it's almost become an icon of the age of helicopters.


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Sep 13, 2009)

klarmie said:


> When I was younger, growing up as an Army brat. I could tell the difference between a Huey, Kiowa, Chinook, and Blackhawk, the only ones I had a hard time distiguishing were the Huey from the Cobra.



Same here, I grew up at places like Fort Rucker (home of Army Aviation/Flight School) and other airfields around the world because my father flew Huey's. I could always tell the difference just by sound.

Now all I get to hear is Blackhawks and Chinooks because that is we have at this airfield.



GrauGeist said:


> I know we have suitable replacements for the Huey, but it's been a reliable workhorse for so long, it's almost become an icon of the age of helicopters.



Agreed. Because of its history, it will go down as the greatest helicopter built.


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## Gnomey (Sep 13, 2009)

Real shame to see her go but she has had a great service life. She certainly had a unique sound and a great reputation.


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## Lucky13 (Sep 13, 2009)

I bet that, back in the day, there were no sweeter sound than that of an inbound Huey.... Btw, isn't the Huey also known as the Iroquois?


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Sep 13, 2009)

Lucky13 said:


> I bet that, back in the day, there were no sweeter sound than that of an inbound Huey.... Btw, isn't the Huey also known as the Iroquois?



The UH-1 Iroquois is actually the name of the helicopter. Huey is only a nickname that has stuck with it and become so famous, that is how it is known. It got the nickname Huey because originally up until the early 60s the US military designation for Utility Helicopters was HU not UH (therefore the Huey was called the HU-1A Iroquois), and everyone just called them HUeys for short. Eventually the name stuck (even after they changed the designation from HU to UH), and Bell even started spelling out the words HUEY on the cockpit pedals. 

Just some more information. The UH-1 has the name Iroquois because the US military (most specifically the Army) has a system of naming all helicopters after Native American tribes:

UH-1 Iroquois
UH-60 Blackhawk
AH-64 Apache
OH-58 Kiowa
CH-47 Chinook
H-13 Sioux
AH-56 Cheyenne
CH-54 Tarhe
CH-37 Mojave
OH-6 Cayuse
RAH-66 Comanche
TH-55 Osage
UH-72 Lakota


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## wheelsup_cavu (Sep 13, 2009)

Geek alert! 

I remember in Star Trek 4 how excited Sulu was to get to fly a Huey.
They used it to lift the plexiglass panels for the whale tank.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

The Huey helicopter is one that will always be remembered by me.


Wheels


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## Micdrow (Sep 13, 2009)




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## Lucky13 (Sep 13, 2009)

Some pics....


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## Glider (Sep 23, 2009)

Just noticed that the U.S. Army Air Ambulance Detachment, 5th Aviation Battalion will keep its last two Hueys until 2011 when the medevac-configured Lakota UH72A Light Utility Helicopters will finally replace them.

By the end of this year they will have six UH72A helicopters and three Hueys so there not gone yet


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Sep 23, 2009)

The US Army over here in Hohenfels still uses the Huey as well for OPFOR and OC duties. They are being replaced in the next few years by the Lakota as well.


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## Glider (Oct 1, 2009)

I notice that the KC135 E has just been retired, another aircraft that served well


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Oct 1, 2009)

Glider said:


> I notice that the KC135 E has just been retired, another aircraft that served well



The KC 135 has not been retired (at least not with teh USAF). It will take quite some time to be replaced. There are over 500 of them and the USAF says that it could take up to 2040 to replace them all. An actual replacement has to be found in the first place.

I just saw a KC 135 take off from Ramstein when I was up there on Tuesday.


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