Saturday, 3 November 2012

Huey UK Open Day 03-11-2012

When I heard the guys (and gals) responsible for G-UHIH & G-OHGA being in the UK & attending various events throughout the year were holding an open day at their base near Blackpool I didn't take much convincing to attend.

I first heard of the open day through Kevin Dutton who sent me an e-mail asking if I'd like to attend. If you've not already seen it Kevin keeps a fantastic site going about all things helicopter & particularly the Hueys. Here's the link: http://hueyfanclubuk.weebly.com/

When the date was fixed we turned up for the start of proceedings after a journey through some very heavy rain thinking there was no chance of any of the collection being pushed outside, gladly we were later proved wrong when the Loach went for a little jolly in the much improved weather! I can highly recommend getting yourself booked on one of the open days as it allows for a much more personal interaction with the helicopters & their crew than at airshows, details of future events can be found on their website: http://www.huey.co.uk/

So here we go with a nice set of snaps I took during the day (in-between talking with a number of the crew about the helicopters!)

Firstly Westland Wasp XS570 which was rescued from HMS Plymouth before the scrap-man got to it
XS570 (445)

G-NWAA made a quick appearance at the event, the Huey team do a lot of fundraising the charity, for some reason my camera didn't like the yellow!
G-NWAA

A selection of snaps of the beautiful G-UHIH, 72-21509. 'Huey 509'
G-UHIH (72-21509)
Viewed From Above

G-UHIH (72-21509)
Left Hand Side of G-UHIH

G-UHIH (72-21509)
Right Hand Side of G-UHIH

G-UHIH's Tail
Tail

Vietnam Era Military Clothing With G-UHIH
These two guys turned up in Vietnam era clothing, it would have been rude not to take a snap next to the Huey!

G-UHIH's Cyclic
Cyclic Of The Huey

G-UHIH's Overhead Panel
Hueys Overhead Panel

G-UHIH's Cockpit
G-UHIH's Cockpit

Bench-Seats In G-UHIH
Rear bench seats in the Huey

US Flag Helmet On G-UHIH
US Flag Painted Helmet

Helmet On M60
US Flag Helmet On Top of M60

G-UHIH's DataPlate
Data Plate

M18 Smoke Orange
M18 Smoke Orange fitted to G-UHIH

129th Aslthel Co 'Bite And Strike'
129th Aslthel Co. 'Bite And Strike'

Miss Jo Art On G-UHIH
Nose Art on G-UHIH

One Of The Many Bullet Holes In G-UHIH
One of the bullet hole repairs in G-UHIH, these go right the way through the heli!

As I mentioned before they took the Loach G-OHGA up for a spin in the afternoon, here's some shots from that little flight.
G-OHGA (69-16011)
The Loach Leaves the Hangar

G-OHGA Being Towed Out Of The Hangar
It's A Bit Muddy...

G-OHGA Starting Up
Firing the Loach up

G-OHGA (69-16011)
Into The Hover

G-OHGA (69-16011)
A few poses for the camera

G-OHGA (69-16011)
Another Pose

G-OHGA (69-16011)
Flying a Quick Circuit

G-OHGA (69-16011)
Just About To Set Down On the Pad

A few final images of other interesting bits around the hangar
Willys Jeep
A Willys Jeep

Willys Jeep
Another Willys Jeep

Tractor Tug
The Tractor/Mover/HeliMover

UHF AM Radio
UHF AM Radio Set

H34 Tail Section
H34 Tail Section

Many Thanks To Those Who Organised The Day!

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