The museum has a
great collection of helicopters for the fans of rotary wing
aircraft. Here are some of the helicopters on display.
One of the lineups of helicopter at the museum.
Another angle looking down the row.
Bell AH-1S Cobra from the Arizona Army National Guard. Despite the major difference in appearance, 80% of the Cobra parts are interchangeable with the UH-1 Huey. The began production in 1966 and are still serving the US Army, USMC and a number of foreign militaries.
Kaman SH-2F Seasprite of HSL-31 based at North Island NAS, California. The Seasprite's main duties are anti-submarine missions from destroyers and frigates. Production began in 1962 and the remain in limited service in the US Navy. They are also used in a number of other countries.
Piasecki/Vertol CH-21C Workhorse under restoration. The Workhorse was the primary assault transport in the early days of the Vietnam War. The were replaced with the UH-1 Huey and the CH-47 Chinook.
Bell UH-1F Iroquois from the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, California. This was the first prototype of the UH-1F variant. The "Huey" began military service in 1959 and are still flown by the US and many other countries.
Sikorsky UH-19B Chickasaw of the 534th Air Defense Group at Kinross AFB, Michigan. Production deliveries began in 1951. The Chickasaw was used by every branch of the US military and by several foreign militaries.
Kaman HH-43F Huskie of the 42nd Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron at Luke AFB, Arizona. The twing rotor design of the Huskie eliminated the need for a tail rotor, however, the angle of the blades made it almost impossible to approach the helicopter when the blades are turning. The proved to do well with rescue and firefighting missions.
Sikorsky HH-3F Pelican of the US Coast Guard. The Pelicans served the USCG fron 1967 to 1994, saving 23,000+ lives and rescued over 65,000.
Piasecki/Vertol CH-21C Workhorse of the 93rd Tranportation Squadron based in South Vietnam. While providing an assault transport to carry 20 troops, the Workhorse was very vulnerable to ground fire and was later replaced with the UH-1 Iroquois and the CH-47 Chinook.
Piasecki HUP-3 Army Mule of HU-1 at Atsugi NAF, Japan. Designed for the US Navy for a light utility helicopter, it was also used for anti-submarine patrols and search and rescue. The designation changed in 1962 to UH-25C.
Sikorsky CH-54A Tarhe of the US Army 273rd Aviation Company. While the official name is the Tarhe, it is more commonly called the Skycrane. They served the US Army from 1962 through the early 1990s. Many are in use today for firefighting and heavy lift in construction.
A pair of Sikorsky Dragonfly helicopters. The yellow one is an H-5G and the gray one is an H03S-1. The Dragonfly was the seconf production helicopter for the US, beginning in WWII for search and rescue. The last ones were retired in the 1960s.
Sikorsky MH-53M Pave Low IV of the 20th Special Operation Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Florida. While the MH-53 served for search and rescue and special operations, it lacked all weather capability until the Pave Low system was added, giving night vision and other capabilities. They entered military service in 1967 and the USAF phased them out in 2008.
Sikorsky CH-37B Mojave of the 90th Transportation Company based at Illesheim, West Germany. The Mojave was designed to be a heavy lift helicopter for the US Army and USMC. Production began in 1956 and the Mojave served the US Military until the early 1970s.