H1HU

Had I not been stood on the ramp at Blackpool Airport next to the Lancaster as they fired up the four Merlins and then watched the Huey depart for its slot I would probably have popped along. Lytham Hall is certainly a great setting. Will sort out some pictures of the Lancaster for the aviation section. H1HU

It was always the intention when it first came to fruition to be a laid back get together of Jeep owners whether military or civilian. It was an added attraction to those visiting the museum and as a thank you the museum fed and watered you. You make of the event what you want to make of it. The first year it ran my MB broke down on the way there and I abandoned it at my parents house in Leeds. We continued in my wife's CJ7 with the James ML in the trailer. It was just a good relaxed day with a chance to look round the museum. One or two had brought bits and pieces to sell whether jeep parts or accessories etc. H1HU

I've run two 4litre Jeep Cherokees on LPG for over 10 years and 230,000 miles without any problems. If I hadn't had the conversions done I wouldn't have been able to drive the car of my choice. However I was told at the time that the inline 6 was by far the best engine to convert. It is also crucial that the engine to be converted short be a low miler. Not recommended of high mileage engines. I have heard of horror stories concerning conversions to Discovery V8's, not so much the standard of conversion but the effects LPG has on the engines. Sure the tax will rise on LPG but in the meantime I'm going to enjoy driving the vehicle I choose to drive, rather than the one I am dictated to drive due to the cost of fuel and because it is young and has low emmissions. H1HU

If you want to hear the Huey doing a flyby at 110 knots and 100ft(?!!) then take a look here. It's not my video I must add as I'm at the front of the Huey. Incidently the reason it takes so long to get the old girl in the air once the starter button is pressed is that the gas turbine is brought up to temperature. Also all other temperatues and pressures are monitored. Once happy with that then all the systems have to be checked. Radio frequencies set. During all that the ground crew outside do a final walk round check to make sure all covers/cubbyholes and doors are properly secured and importantly no leaks are seen from the fuel and hydraulic lines. They also keep an eye out for any unexpected movement of people, vehicles, model aircraft and anything else that could cause a potential hazard to the aircraft. Hence I'm stood at the nose which is the safest place to be during the run up and it means the flying crew can still talk to me if they need to. After everything is set I'm given the thumbs up which means I can move away from under the rotor disc to a safe distance. Sorry wittered on too long, but thought it might add to the understanding of what goes on. Enjoy the sight and sound of 509. H1HU

And these......great weekend, very relaxed atmosphere and good to see the MV's parade on the runway.

Phil hoping to fly the Huey in around 5 o'clock give or take an hour or two depending on the weather. As we always say 'if you've got time to spare, go by air'. H1HU

I'll be there as the Huey will once again putting in an appearance. Missed last year due to a technical problem. In past though it has been a good show. Only one incident that is worth telling. The first year we went there were no locks on the Huey, so my son volunteered to sleep in the machine. In the we small hours he was woken by someone opening the pilots door. It surprised my son somewhat but not half as much as the guy trying to climb in when he heard the helicopter ask him what he thought he was doing!!

The Huey is kept to around 50 hours a years thus allowing it to fly for several years without any major components requiring replacement. The knock on affect of the Vulcan to the warbird world is most definately felt. Air Shows have been putting all their money in one basket at the expense of other aircraft being booked, and when Cinderella doesn't display they have a problem. Taken from another forum: 'Trust accounts show annual staff costs for the financial year ending in March 2009 are likely to be £620,000, while engineering and maintenance costs are estimated at £320,000' That's alot of donations even taking into account Gift Aid. H1HU

I too was at Etreham. We were tucked in the corner that backed on to the road and the entrance. In the photo attached we were the jeep with the wooden bodied British 10cwt trailer and James ML. No doubt saw some of you and possibly even spoke to you without realising it. Though I did have a chat about 'Willow' during a walk about on the site.

Sally B took to the skies yesterday for a test flight following a hard winter with engine problems. Retired master builder gave the trust £360,000 which has helped here take to the air once again. More details here http://www.edp24.co.uk/content/edp24/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=NewsSplash&tBrand=EDPOnline&tCategory=xDefault&itemid=NOED14%20May%202009%2021%3A19%3A36%3A837 H1HU

All went well and all pilots are now display authorised. Hence the long and noisy show at Blackpool on Saturday.

Just started flying to get hours back up and ready for Display Authorisation which is planne dof rthis weekend weather permitting. The MUTT is sorted just needs registering. Already earning its keeps as the ground handling tractor. A pintle on a removable bracket can now be attached to the front which makes the moving of 509 so much easier. H1HU

Weather permitting 509 will be flying both days as more practice is required etc. So Lancashire will hear us playing yet again. H1HU

Came across this account with difference of an OH6 crew in Vietnam:- A recon helicopter (known as a Loach) or better as "Bait" was looking for enemy troops. Somehow a White Phosphorus (Willie Pete) grenade (pin pulled and lever gone) found its way to the cockpit floor in front of the pilot, he tried to kick the thing out of the aircraft but only got it a bit closer to the door when it went off and put a bit of smoke and burning phosphorus into the cockpit. The Cobra over head coving the Loach happened to take a photograph just as this happened resulting in the following photograph. As the excitement occurred....a finger got pulled on a trigger instead of the radio or both....and you can see the mini-gun fire striking the water in front of the aircraft. Both occupants survived after going for a swim.

The event of 808 going missing is mentioned in the excellent book Chickenhawk written by Robert Mason. 1965, 1st Cav Huey crew found -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A 43-year search for a lost helicopter in Vietnam ends As with so much in life and in death, there was news last week that was joyous and sad and bittersweet for the small community of the Vietnam War’s band of brothers of the Ia Drang Valley. Early Dec. 28, 1965, an Army Huey helicopter, tail number 63-08808, lifted off from the huge grassy airfield at the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) base at An Khe in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. Two experienced pilots, Chief Warrant Officer Jesse Phelps of Boise, Idaho, and Chief Warrant Officer Kenneth Stancel of Chattanooga, Tenn., were at the controls. Behind them in the doors were crew chief Don Grella of Laurel, Neb., and door gunner Jim Rice of Spartanburg, S.C. All four were veterans of the fiercest air assault battle of the war, fought the previous month in the Ia Drang. Huey 808 was one of 10 birds in a platoon of A Company, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, led by Capt. Ed "Too Tall to Fly" Freeman. Normally, all missions were flown by at least two helicopters, but this one was so brief and so routine and along a route so well-known and marked by the center white line of a familiar highway that Freeman and his boss, Maj. Bruce "Ol’ Snake" Crandall, already at the Landing Zone with the rest of A Company’s 20 helicopters, agreed to waive that requirement and let 808 fly alone. With that, 808 flew off the face of the Earth. It disappeared without a word on the radio of distress or trouble. For weeks, searchers and Huey pilots combed the rugged jungle hills on both sides of the road and the mountain pass. Choppers hovered over every break in the tree cover, peering down or sending crewmen to look. They found nothing. The families of the crewmen joined the ranks of those waiting for news, for hope, for some closure of an open wound. More than 1,600 American servicemen are still missing in action in Vietnam. Last week, the Department of Defense liaison officers who work with MIA families called Ol’ Snake Crandall and surviving family members of the four missing crewmen to confirm that after 43 years, search teams following one of thousands of leads had found and positively identified the wreckage of Huey 808. In what amounts to almost an archaeological dig, the Joint Task Force — Missing in Action team assigned to this lead also recovered dog tags, other personal artifacts and some human remains. The remains will be flown to the Central Identification Library in Hawaii. "They told us it could take several months to complete that process," said Shirley Haase of Omaha, Neb., the sister of Grella. "I only wish my mother was here for this news. She waited for so long." The men of Huey 808 will be coming home at last. Grieving mothers and fathers have died waiting for news that never came. Siblings have grown old. Their buddies have never forgotten and never rested in pressing for a resolution to this case. Too Tall Ed Freeman and Ol’ Snake Crandall, his wingman and boss, never missed an opportunity to ask questions or get a little pushy with a government official, even a president of the United States or a North Vietnamese army general, in seeking an answer to the mystery. Too Tall Ed died last summer (2008) in a Boise hospital. In their final farewell visit, he and Crandall, both Medal of Honor recipients, talked about Huey 808, and Bruce promised Ed that he’d keep pushing the search as long as he lived.

As the weather was good the boys thought they'd get a bit of practice in flying the old girl as things have been quiet over the winter. Unfortunately I had more mundane thing to attend to, helping to fit a new rear cross member to my son's LR90, otherwise both he and I would have been out with them. H1HU

Well the cat is out of the bag if you have visited the huey.co.uk site. If you haven't then I'll get you up to speed. The OH is back together but now comes the certification by the CAA. The MUTT arrived safely from the States this week. The artwork for the motorhome are now complete and the final piece of the jigsaw slots into place this weekend. Phil and I fly over to LA for the Heliexpo which is held in Annaheim to official be handed the 'keys' for the Cobra. So that is the set complete. Arrival date of the Cobra will be worked out once Phil and company are brought up to speed to fly the machine. So a busy summer ahead sorting everything out. More pictures on the website. H1HU

Here's a report from North West Tonight yesterday. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7852443.stm

Little Bird arrived Friday morning having cleared customs. Unpacked and put into the hangar for re-assembly, which will take no time at all as it was placed in the container almost complete. Now just need for the paperwork to be cleared to let it fly. Not as simple as it sounds unfortunately. Fingers and toes crossed. H1HU

Here is the Little Bird being containerised. H1HU

OH6A has been loaded into its container and now on its way to the UK. Due first week in January 09 for reassembly. H1HU

OH6A is the Cayuse. The Kiowa is OH58 which was developed for the military as a light observation helicopter but the military turned it down in favour of the OH6. Bell then developed it commercially as the Jetranger which later the military returned to and put into service. Funny old thing military procurement.

Just thought you'd like to know that as I type a fully restored OH6A scout helicopter is being acceptance flown in the States. It will have its rotor blades removed at the end of the week and packed into a container for shipment to the UK. The Little Bird will join 509 on the show/air show circuit next year adding an extra dimension to the Vietnam theme. Like 509 the OH has Vietnam history and is marked up as she would have been in 1970. Shot down by small arms fire whilst travel at 80knots at an altitude of 10 feet! Riddled with holes which were patched up. Eventually she was returned to Hughes for complete overhaul.

Ed "Too Tall to Fly" Freeman A measure of heroism that is not so obvious in the Mel Gibson movie: "We Were Soldiers Once......And Young" You're an 18 or 19 year old kid. You're critically wounded, and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley, November 14,1965. LZ Xray, Vietnam. Your Infantry Unit is outnumbered 8 to 1, and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that yo! ur own Infantry Commander has ordered the medevac helicopters to stop coming in. You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you're not getting out. Your family is 1/2 way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you'll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day. Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter, and you look up to see a Huey, but it doesn't seem real, because no medevac markings are on it. Ed "Too Tall" Freeman is coming for you. He's not a medevac, so it's not his job, but he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the medevac's were orde! red not to come. He's coming anyway. 0A And he drops it in, and sits there in the machine gun fire, they load 2 or 3 of you onboard, as they drop off much needed water and ammunition. Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire, to the Doctors and Nurses. And, he kept coming back...... 13 more times..... and took about 30 of you and your buddies out, who would never have gotten out. Medal of Honor Recipient Ed Freeman died Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008 at the age of 80, in Boise, Idaho.

I'm not sure if I spoke to either of you but after the battle there were rather a few people around the machine.