Quote Originally Posted by Ron Eagle Elk View Post
Eric,

Like you and Parnelli, I spent a great deal of my life in one of our beloved "Huey's". They were our main mode of transportation into and out of battle in Viet Nam, and as Parn said, those unarmed Dustoff birds saved countless lives.

Nothing matches the thrill of going into an LZ, standing on the skids of a Huey. When the bird flares a bit you just jump from whatever height your at. The last friendly sound you hear is the whomp whomp of the Huey's rotor blades as they fade in the distance.

Something about those grand old birds just makes ya feel safe.

REE

P.S. I don't think I ever rode in a Huey that had the seats in it. That looks different.
We had them we just left them stowed at FARP unless you were flying in the C'n'C bird hauling ash and trash. Pain in the *** when you are trying to move from gunner station to gunner station. Never stood on the skid going into an LZ because I was hanging onto the butterfly handles of a M60 Delta.

I was primarily attack helicopter and Scouts at that, so I didn't get to haul you guys much. The few times I did well I have all of the respect in the world for the infantry no matter what branch!

The Huey flies a lot like it looks. Solid and will not surprise you when you are at the controls. The Black Hawk is a good bird, faster, more agile and can carry more cargo over a longer range. However, the Black Hawk, even today, is nowhere near as reliable as the UH-1H model of the Huey. The Black Hawk electronic engine controls will bite you quick. The engine failure rate is now down to about three times that of the Huey with it's mechanical/analog engine controls.

Wish I could have got you guys a front seat ride in a Cobra. You know that feeling you get as your feet leave the high dive board and you begin to accelerate through space downward toward the water with nothing around you but space? That is what a front seat ride in a Cobra is like all of the time. You are in a nice flight and all of a sudden the guy in the backs seat (pilot) rolls the Cobra over upside down. He pulls back on the controls until the aircraft's nose, and yours, is rushing straight for the ground. You are screaming, he is singing and the aircraft is groaning. He pulls up about 50 feet off of the ground, says "That was fun" and all you see is teeth in the mirror that lets you make eye contact with the pilot. Cussing at him will get you the most hair raising nap of the earth flight back to the home LZ you can imagine with him laughing all the way.