Lucky13
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Many have try to build her successor, they've all failed, there'll only be one Huey! 
GOOD-BYE OLD FRIEND!
- Thread starter FLYBOYJ
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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...
Glider
Captain
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.
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
1st Sergeant
Lucky13
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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.
Lucky13
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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".
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.
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
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.
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.
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.
Agreed. Because of its history, it will go down as the greatest helicopter built.
Real shame to see her go but she has had a great service life. She certainly had a unique sound and a great reputation.
Lucky13
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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
wheelsup_cavu
1st Sergeant
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
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
Lucky13
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Glider
Captain
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
By the end of this year they will have six UH72A helicopters and three Hueys so there not gone yet
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.
