Can we please stop hotlinking pics?

Helo lessons here are $500/hour and that old sky crane thing looks expecially cheap to maintain.

I would get more use out of a MacGregor 65.

You don't want that. The S-55 rotor head has 84 grease zerks, each of which must be greased before each flight.

I cannot see Chris Hanson, and not think of the Booty Warrior from The Boondocks.

Appleseed said:

You don't want that. The S-55 rotor head has 84 grease zerks, each of which must be greased before each flight.

Look at this device and realize that every component on it is equally important to keeping you alive.    Helicopters is Scary.

In reply to nocones :

Appleseed said:

You don't want that. The S-55 rotor head has 84 grease zerks, each of which must be greased before each flight.

 

I don't think a lot of people know those things are powered by a giant air cooled radial engine mounted in the nose:

You may ask: "so, where is the drive shaft?"

That hump between the seats ain't no armrest:

In reply to aircooled :

When I was about 12, my father took me on a business trip to south GA where the company he ran was installing a transmission line through a swamp. They were setting all the poles with a Sikorsky helicopter. Under load that exhaust has about 12" of flame shooting out of it. That is one of the most vivid memories about that trip.

The other was a ham biscuit that was to die for. It was made with a big old slab of country ham with eggs on top and it was as big as a hamburger. Man that was some good stuff. 

Every time I think S-58, I think of Riptide's "Screaming Mimi."

914Driver said:

Build thread????

Picture unrelated 

Radial engines are cool.

aircooled said:

I don't think a lot of people know those things are powered by a giant air cooled radial engine mounted in the nose:

I knew the engine was in the snout, but I always assumed it was a turbine.  It seems both it and the S-58 were originally radials, though I guess there were a lot of conversions done once they got sold into civilian service.

I just learned a bunch of stuff I didn't know about some helicopters I never expected to ride in.

What changed is that I now feel like I need to retain memory of which ones so I can make sure I don't.

914Driver said:

AMX-R.  Did they ever get to production?

Modern Rumble Seat ?

Kaman HH-43  

No tail rotor.  Counter rotating rotors means it doesn't need one.  Really funky to see fly.  Kind of scary seeing the rotors intermix.

If it doesn't look like Airwolf , TC's chopper, or the one from every Vietnam war movie, stay out of it. 
 

pic unrelated

In reply to Indy "Nub" Guy :

I remember J. C. Whitney had a 'kit' to put the rumble seat in the trunk of a pony car.  I remember specifically the Camaro and Mustang but don't recall one for the Javelin.

Appleseed said:

Every time I think S-58, I think of Riptide's "Screaming Mimi."

 

 

This show taught me that you put your grenades in mayonnaise jars so you can drop them from higher up.

The Dog,  UH-34D, was one of the few helicopters that could fly without a functioning tail rotor. With forward motion,  the Dog would crab about 45 degrees, but remain semi-flyable. The huge side area worked like a giant rudder. The landing would be messy, but that was preferable to being shot down and captured by the VC or NVA.

preach said:

Radial engines are cool.

It's really too bad that Colorado Auto and Parts is such a subpar junkyard.