#Huey helicopter gunship plus#
This Bell Huey Instrument comes complete with detailed Scale Model, Mango Wood Stand & Plaque plus Printed Fact Sheet featuring photo of instrument in aircraft cockpit. Manufactured by the Aircraft Radio Corp, this original and battle hardened Course Deviation Indicator carries service stamps on its rear casing and the Course Selector Knob is fully functioning.Ĭombined with an extremely detailed hand crafted and painted 1/72 or 1/48 scale model of the iconic Bell UH-1 Huey perched atop the units mango-wood display stand and with a high quality double sided printed and laminated Fact Sheet this original Vietnam War artefact would make an amazing gift for any aviation enthusiast. The ‘OFF’ Vertical and ‘OFF’ Horizontal Flags disappeared when the FM Homing circuits were functioning properly. Deflection of the pointer indicated the direction of turn (right or left) to stay on course.
The Vertical (reciprocal) Pointer centred itself when the Huey was either flying directly to or away from the transmitting station. The Horizontal Pointer indicated the strength of the FM signal being received, deflecting downwards as signal strength decreased. The ‘floating’ Horizontal and Vertical pointers adjusted up, down and left or right of the central target circle. From here the pilot would initially set the course heading. The large Course Selector Knob at the bottom right of the unit rotated the ‘paired’ Course Pointers around the outside dial representing the 360 degrees of the compass. Her war wounds will be preserved as a stark reminder of the sacrifice of our forces that fought in Vietnam.The ID-453/ARN-30 Course Deviation Indicator was located immediately in front of the command pilot’s cyclic control column below the radio compass and the Bell Huey's Artificial Horizon.Ĭomprising 2 pointers and 2 ‘Flags’, the Course Indicator enabled the pilot to follow an FM homing transmission to or from its base of origin. UH-1 609 is currently undergoing a complete restoration to her Vietnam War combat appearance as a tribute to all those who served. and dedicated at Battleship Cove on May 30, 1993. Through the extensive efforts of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 207 of Westport, MA, the helicopter was placed on loan to the USS Massachusetts Memorial Committee, Inc. Deployed back to the USA, 609 would finish her career with the 1st Battalion of the 26th Air Cavalry Squadron of the Massachusetts National Guard. Taipan 609 would support Vietnamese operating units in the Delta region until January 1972 receiving more war wounds flying tree top level missions with the 135th. Recovered and repaired back in the USA, 609 returned to Vietnam on 11 November 1969 as a member of the Taipan gunship platoon of the 135th Assault Helicopter Company operating mostly out of Dong Tam. Musket 609 continued operations with the 176th until 14 February 1969 when she took ground fire directly into her engine compartment that forced the aircraft into a hard landing. Maj Charles Kettles of the 176th received the Medal of Honor for this action and every Huey in the unit took intense fire.
As a Gunship, 609 operated with the Musket Gunship platoon as Musket 609 and supported some of the most dangerous combat missions of the war including flying to support Chump Valley on May 15, 1967. 609 served two tours in Vietnam, being first deployed with the 176th Assault Helicopter Company in 1967 operating out of Chu Lai. Built as an UH-1C version, it was converted to an UH-1M in May 1971 with the addition of a more powerful Lycoming turbine engine. Our UH-1 Huey which we call 609, was built by Bell as the 609th unit of the 1966 production year. Utilized in both insertion and extraction operations of US troops along with the gunship configuration, the Huey still is the most recognized helicopter in the world.
The Iconic workhouse and legendary symbol of the Vietnam War, the Bell UH-1 Huey helicopter was the most produced aircraft since World War II.