Avionics News February 2012 - 68

series
B Y T H O M A S I N M A N

‘Huey’ Endures
ost of the year, the Penn College “Huey” sits in the back of the hangar. The aircraft is old. It is an “A” model from the Vietnam era. I caution all students who begin to lose respect for the bird, thinking it is a relic from a bygone era. The UH-1 is not quite the relic they think. As I write this column, the chopper sits just inside the hangar doors. Soon, the students will move it outside. Although the aircraft is old, it still runs smooth as silk. Students will get valuable practice starting and running a turbine engine. They will find the experience more interesting than starting an engine in a test cell. Some will find the experience more interesting than starting a similar engine on a fixed-wing aircraft. We use our UH-1, and for the most part, it gets used in the turbine engine and rotary-wing maintenance classes. The airframe also has helped students complete degree capstone projects. For example, a few years back, a student overhauled the drive train from the main transmission to the tail rotor. It was a big job, which helped him secure a job in the rotorcraft industry. Do a quick internet search, and
68
avionics news

you will find the first mass-produced turbine-powered Army aircraft lives on as a UH-1Y and AH-1Z. According to helis.com, a helicopter history website, UH-1 and AH-1 helicopters have amassed more than 27 million hours in flight. In the early 1950s, the U.S. Army was interested in a jet-powered utility helicopter. Since the Army

head. Once accepted by the Army, the helicopter was designated the HU-1 Iroquois, and the rotorcraft got its “Huey” nickname. In 1962, the Department of Defense reversed the letters, and the helicopter officially became the UH-1 Iroquois. The original versions (UH-1 and UH-1A) carried two crew members and five troops. More than 1,000 B

Although the aircraft is old, it still runs smooth as silk. Students will get valuable practice starting and running a turbine engine. They will find the experience more interesting than starting an engine in a test cell.

did not have the ability to develop aircraft, the Air Force took the lead in development. As a result, Bell developed three model 204, XH40 prototypes, and the first flew in October 1956. The XH-40 was powered by a Lycoming T-53 turbine, developing approximately 700 shaft horsepower. The control system was boosted hydraulically, and the two-bladed rotor system was typical of other Bell models with a teetering rotor

model units were constructed, which were rated to carry seven troops, and had a higher horsepower engine. More models kept coming. Some had higher horsepower engines, up to 1,800 horsepower, and some could carry up to 14 troops. UH-1 variants were flown with engines from Lycoming, Pratt & Whitney, Honeywell and GE. Bell made models for the Air Force and the Navy. Agusta built AV 204 models in Italy, and Fuji built FUJI 204 models in Japan.

•

february

2012

http://www.helis.com

Avionics News February 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News February 2012