The Cavanaugh Museum today & the Collings UH-1E photos

[viking73]

Well I made the trip to the Cavanaugh Museum today and it was a blast. I hadn't been there since 2005 so I was glad to be back.

Here's some shots of the static displays:











The C-7 was neat to get in and walk in the cargo bay:





There was a rather tired looking "B" model Huey parked in one hanger:







The real highlight for me of course was getting to ride the Collings UH-1E. It made me feel a little more connected to my father who was a nurse at a MUST hospital in Phu Bai and flew out with the Dustoffs on occasion during his tour in 1968. He never talked about his tour much and wish he would have told me more about his time in Vietnam before he passed away in 2003...













My boy had a great time too! He was a little nervous at take-off but was doing okay by the time it was over.





It was a wonderful day all around that started out with a trip to the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas (more on that in another post).

Nice to meet you RickH! You and the rest of the Collings guys were great. Hope you come back to the DFW area again soon. Thanks for a very memorable day.

-Derek

[Gary Norville]

Who's the big, heavy, large, oversized, did I say large guy on the left side of the Huey.

Yes Rick I live in a glass house and I have a stone in my hand.

The Huey needs to visit New Smyrna some day.

[RickH]

Thanks Gary ! What can I say, I figure if you're good at something, you stick with it ! BTW what's for dinner ?

Derek, glad you got to fly with us, and glad your son liked the window seat ! We're appreciate you flying with us and that you were able to make a connection to your father's service. It is, after all, an "experience flight "!

[JimH]

LOL...whos the girl in white?

[RickH]

Key word is "girl", Jim. Just another reason why old men go to jail !!

[Ztex]

Ha!

Jim you have been on the road tooo long!



Looks like a great day! The weather was perfect!

Sorry I couldn't make it over to Addison this weekend...too much going on at home..


Z

[N3Njeff]

Question...................The Collings Huey ever going to make it out on the East coast or is it just for the mid-west????

[RickH]

Our big issue is grinding time on the 540 main rotor blades. They are hard to come by and expensive to boot. When new, the 540 rotor blades are only good for 1200 hrs. We started with 500, so we are trying not to put a lot of cross country time on it. We would have to truck it to the east coast and then set up multiple events before we brought it back home. Not impossible but very difficult to put together.

[N3Njeff]

Our big issue is grinding time on the 540 main rotor blades. They are hard to come by and expensive to boot. When new, the 540 rotor blades are only good for 1200 hrs. We started with 500, so we are trying not to put a lot of cross country time on it. We would have to truck it to the east coast and then set up multiple events before we brought it back home. Not impossible but very difficult to put together.

Gotcha, Just wonderin. I still want a ride in a Huey. its #1 on my ride list and has been in that spot for a very long time!!!!

[RickH]

There was a rather tired looking "B" model Huey parked in one hanger:

That tired "B" model Huey was part of the main focus for this event. It is the only known surviving aircraft of Navy squadron HA(L)3, they are known as the Sea Wolves, a name given to them by the enemy. They worked in Dets of two helicopters, always forward deployed in the delta, providing support for the Riverine forces on the boats.



http://www.seawolf.us/index.asp

Really great bunch of heroes. These guys make up the most highly decorated Navy Helo Squadron in Viet Nam. We were honored to fly with them.

[CAPFlyer]

Hey Rick,

Why'd you guys leave early? I went by early Sunday afternoon (about 2:30pm), the place was a ghost town and the 2 volunteers I found said you guys left Saturday night.

I'd really been hoping to meet you and see the Huey.

[viking73]

There was a rather tired looking "B" model Huey parked in one hanger:

That tired "B" model Huey was part of the main focus for this event. It is the only known surviving aircraft of Navy squadron HA(L)3, they are known as the Sea Wolves, a name given to them by the enemy. They worked in Dets of two helicopters, always forward deployed in the delta, providing support for the Riverine forces on the boats.

http://www.seawolf.us/index.asp

Really great bunch of heroes. These guys make up the most highly decorated Navy Helo Squadron in Viet Nam. We were honored to fly with them.

Good info. Rick, I didn't know that. Thanks for the link.

[RickH]

CAP, we didn't leave early. The Huey left right on time on Sunday, about 11:00 am. Cavanaugh's event was a one day event on Saturday and we flew until they closed down.

The museum was really quiet on Sunday morning and they don't open untill 11:00. We needed to get the Huey home at a reasonable time because one of the pilots had to catch a flight to Newark out of IAH. His real job is flying for Continental.

Sorry we missed you.

You'll have another shot next year as the OV-10 Bronco Association wants us back for their 2009 event. The Cowtown Warbird Roundup at Meacham has moved to April 23-26.

Viking, happy to pass on their story.

[CAPFlyer]

Okay, your original message said November 8-9 and there was nothing on the Cavanaugh website about the event nor on the Collings website, so I was unable to confirm when you guys were leaving. I guess the guys there didn't arrive until after you were gone and figured you'd left Saturday night after the event.

[mustangdriver]

Both Hueys are sweet. Rick do you work on the CF one as well as the jets. It looks up to your high standard