More photos from Oshkosh

A few more photos from AirVenture (Oshkosh 2011).

First one is the award that Seawolf 324 won.

The Judges' Choice - Helicopter award.

Next is a photo of the crew of three that prepared, cleaned, flew and crewed the helicopter for two weeks.

Left to right, Ray Reinders (Marine Vietnam Vet, weapons expert, manufacturer, and good co-pilot).

Larry Clark, (Army Vietnam Vet, pilot), and Scott Curtis (Army - post Vietnam Huey crew chief) OAS lead mechanic and Seawolf 324 mechanical expert.

Another great air-to-air photo of Seawolf 324 shot by the EAA photographers.

Photos from Bill Gius

Bill Gius, EAA Warbirds Co-Chairman, sent some of his photos of Seawolf 324 taken during the AirVenture show in Oshkosh, WI.  We parked the Huey on his lawn for a BBQ dinner party one evening.  Some great photos taken late in the afternoon, and at sunset.

Seawolf 324 back home.

Here is a photo of Seawolf 324, a UH-1B, back in the hangar at Show Low airport (KSOW) with all the other UH-1H Restricted Category "Super Huey" fleet.  Guns and rocket pods were removed and packed inside for the flight back from Oshkosh.

Some more photos from Oshkosh.

Air-To-Air photos shot by EAA from a Cessna 210 over water.  More to come later from EAA.

Instrument panel photo on the flight home.

Show center, on the 500 ft. line from the crowd during the afternoon Warbird show.  M-16 barrel in photo.  Gun hanging on back of pilot armored seat.  Rocket sight is down, in front of pilot.  Flex sight for mini-gun is stowed up on left side.

Lift off from the Warbird display area.  Leaving to go fly in the afternoon air show.  The OH-6 was the only other warbird helicopter at Oshkosh this year.

Left to right,  John Boucher (owner of Seawolf), Larry Clark (pilot), Charlie Johnson (Seawolf), Mike Connelly (Seawolf), Gary Kratz (Seawolf) and Scott Curtis (Seawolf crew chief).

Oshkosh Report

Flying in the big afternoon Warbirds airshow.

 Bill "Charlie" Johnson and Mike Connley are all smiles after a low level gun run in the marsh grass along a lake near Oshkosh.

 Charlie Johnson signs the nose door of 324 with Mike Connley looking on.

Mike Connley speaks to the crowd around Seawolf 324.  This is typical of the crowds around the helicopter everyday, all day, when it was on display.  People were forced to move back behind the lines when the airshow started each afternoon so we could start up and fly from our parking spot.

Seawolf 324 at night.

This photo was shot at 10:00 pm in total darkness.  The camera lens was open for several minutes while the photographer walked around the helicopter with a flashlight "painting" the various parts with light.  A strobe light was set off inside the cabin.  Very special !!!

Oshkosh - AirVenture Update

Cleaning up the helicopter for the judges.

Ray on top cleaning the rotor head.

One of the air-to-air photos shot by EAA.

The Seawolf helicopter has been a big hit here at the show.  A large crowd is always around the aircraft everyday.  Many Vietnam vets, telling war stories, talking to each other and taking photos.  Several Seawolf vets have signed the inside of the nose door.  Charlie Johnson and Mike Connley will fly in the airshow as door gunners tomorrow.

We were judged yesterday by the Warbirds group who were very excited about this aircraft.  The judges left and brought back their boss to see the helicopter.  Then an hour later another group of judges arrived and told us they were instructed to come see Seawolf.  Awards will be announced Saturday night.

We have flown one air-to-air photo shoot, with another planned for Friday.  A big article is being written for Sport Aviation magazine.  We were on the cover of the show daily paper Tuesday with a nice article in the Monday paper about the helicopter and the "Brown Water" Navy.

Watch for another photo to be posted today.

Oshkosh EAA AirVenture 2001

We're here . . .

All cleaned up and on display at Oshkosh!

Madison, WI today...Oshkosh tomorrow

We have made the trip from Arizona to Madison, WI with no problems from the Seawolf 324 gunship.  We carried the rocket pods and guns inside to reduce drag and improve gas mileage.  Today we installed the guns and rockets and got the aircraft ready for the final 60 miles to Oshkosh tomorrow morning.

It was very hot and humid this afternoon.  Here are a couple of photos . . . more to come!  

Departure Day to Oshkosh AirVenture 2011

Leaving today for the 1100 nautical mile flight to Oshkosh.  Route of flight will take us to Taos and Raton, NM, Lamar, CO, McCook, Hastings and Freemont, NE then to Madison, WI where we will re-install the rocket pods and mini-gun.  The external weapons are being carried inside the cabin to reduce the drag.

Hope you will stop by and see the helicopter at AirVenture 2011.

Ready to leave for Oshkosh

Maintenance test flights are completed and the aircraft is running great and smooth.  Installing the armament items inside and exterior.  In the photo here you can see the empty rocket pods installed.  We have dummy rockets plus the door gun mounts, the dummy M60 and .50 cal guns, and a mini gun for the left side.

Hope to see you at EAA Air Venture 2011 (July 25 to 31).

Seawolf 324 will fly again....and go to Oshkosh AirVenture 2011

UPDATE

Seawolf 324 has been in storage since last July here in Show Low, AZ inside the Overseas Aircraft Support hangar.  The transmission was removed and overhauled.  Yes, they found several things wrong inside that caused us to abort our trip to Oshkosh last year.

This year we are putting it back together and doing routine maintenance and inspections.  We plan to fly it around the local area for about 10 hours to make sure everything is good to go.  Then we will put the Huey on a trailer and haul it to Wisconsin.  Jet A fuel is almost $6.00 a gallon average, with some airports as high as $8.80 a gallon.  Also flying the helicopter cross country puts hours on the components, especially the rotor blades which are becomming very hard to find.

We need a set of rocket pods and a mini gun, plus some other armament items.  If you know where we can buy any helicopter gunship items, please let us know.

At Oshkosh EAA AirVenture 2011 the show will devote one full day to the Centennial of Naval Aviation with many Navy warbirds, including Seawolf 324, flying and on public display.  This year the show is July 25 to July 31.

Below are some photos taken today showing the current status of Seawolf 324.



Seawolf 324 is back home.

The recovery crew returned to Lakeside last night, about midnight, with Seawolf 324 on the trailer. Disassembly and loading at Angle Fire, NM went smooth using a local boom truck. Guns and rockets were removed to keep the overall width within highway limits.

The crew reported many waves, horns and people taking photos during the drive back to Arizona along Interstate 25 and 40 through Albuquerque.

Here are some photos taken this morning at Overseas Aircraft Support during the unloading.

Dave Renner operating the boom truck to lift Seawolf 324 while the trailer is driven forward.

Now Seawolf 324 is tucked in with the bigger UH-1H Super Hueys along the edge of the OAS ramp. All the guns and rockets have been removed and stored. Next step, remove the transmission and find the source of the vibrations that ended our trip to Oshkosh.

July 25, more photos

First photo was taken at Show Low Airport in Arizona just prior to departure. Seawolf with all guns and rockets, ready to depart for Oshkosh.



This photo was taken at the landing site near Black Lake, just south of Angle Fire, NM. Diana sitting in the cockpit, Scott sitting in the crew seat taking a break. At this point we are trying to troubleshoot our high freq. vibration problem. Transmission oil lines and hydraulic pump lines have the highest vibration levels.

During the long cross-country flights, the dual M60 and .50 cal door guns were removed and stowed inside so we could fly with doors closed.

Here is the bucket slowly filling as we drain the transmission oil. If you look closely you can see a few of the "cow pies" that were all around and under the helicopter.

The rancher's pasture we landed in was by chance located near the home of Larry Holst, who is a Vietnam Vet, has been around helicopters all his life, loves the Huey, and came to help us within minutes of landing. He loaned us one of his vehicles to use and helped in so many ways over the next several days. Where we landed there is no cell phone coverage, so we went over to Larry's house to use his phone. He even came out during the night to check on the helicopter.

Angel Fire airport is at an elevation of 8,380 ft. The site we landed at was slightly higher, around 8,700 ft. Heavy rain every afternoon with low clouds and cool temperatures.

The helicopter will be loaded on a trailer and returned to Arizona this week.

July 24 The End for this trip.

Here is a photo of the helicopter sitting in a rancher's pasture where we landed near Black Lake, NM. Black Lake is about 8 miles south of Angel Fire, NM airport where we were heading after hearing some strange noises from the transmission area. The noise got worse, so we parked the bird here.

After several ground runs to try and locate the problem, and talking to home base back in Arizona, they sent us a hydraulic pump. This morning it arrived by plane and we installed it right away. The next ground run resulted in the same vibrations and noise, plus we got a XSM CHIP LIGHT on the Master Caution Panel.

So the trip to Oshkosh and AirVenture 2010 ends here today. The UH-1B will ride home on a trailer and the crew has also returned, some by ground, some by air.

To all the Seawolves who we wanted to meet along the way, and who were going to fly with us in this restored gunship, I am very sorry that we had to end the journey today. But better safe, on the ground, to be repaired to fly another day.

Larry Clark

Leaving for Oshkosh.

Ready for departure tomorrow morning for Oshkosh.

Radios on the left side of the pedestal are the modern ones we use to fly the helicopter. Those can be removed when we put the helicopter on display.


All spit polished and ready to go.

July 21 UPDATE

Here are some new photos taken today. First, in the hangar, Ray and Scott are installing the gun kit mounts.



This photo taken outside on the ramp. More gun mounts being installed. Notice the DUAL M-60 machine guns and loaded rocket pods.
Here is the mini-gun is mounted, dual M-60s and rocket pods on the port side.

More flying today, doors open, gunners in the seats and final configuration. The good news, we move Seawolf 324 to the airport hangar and the floor is dry under the helicopter....NO LEAKS in any of the systems. The bird is ready to leave for Oshkosh on Friday morning.

Route of flight, Show Low to Albuquerque, to Raton, NM, to Lamar, CO, to McCook, NE for overnight. Then Saturday to Kearney, NE and Fremont, NE. Sunday Ames, IA and Oshkosh, WI.

July 20 update.

More of the gun kit has arrived. Some parts are being painted.

Mounted on the helicopter for flying tomorrow and new photos.

July 16 Update

Out flying Seawolf today, just to put some hours on the engine and make sure everything is working OK. Getting ready to leave next Friday for AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI.

Photos by Scott Curtis.

More of the gun kit arrives on Monday (rockets, mini gun, etc.). Will be taking some high res. air-to-air photos next week with all the armament installed.

July 14 Update

Only 11 days until we arrive in Oshkosh for AirVenture 2010. Show starts on Monday, July 26 with the Seawolf being one of the featured aircraft in the Warbirds in Review segment.

Photos below of the replacement (only 800 hours since new) T53-L-13B engine now installed in Seawolf. First ground runs completed to set the idle, adjust the bleed band, IGV, droop cam, RPM beep range etc.

Left side of engine.

Right side of engine.

Puddles of oil under the helicopter. More leaks to fix!