Tag Archives: helicopter

Seasprites Don’t Show Up Too Often

The first time I ever heard of the Kaman Seasprite was in the 1980s when Airfix released a new kit of the SH-2F variant. I thought it was a cool looking model but I wasn’t very aware of what it was used for. It was already getting towards the end of its time in service with the US Navy with the SH-60B Seahawk becoming the platform for shipboard helicopters. A few export programs went forward but these were not particularly successful.

I am not sure whether I have ever seen a Seasprite for real prior to visiting Evergreen at McMinnville. They have a corner that is stacked with helicopters. A Seasprite is one of the collection and I was pleasantly surprised to see it. Given the number of airframes they have in this corner, everything is jammed together. This made it hard to get a nice angle on the Seasprite but I was able to get a few shots anyway.

This Needs a Few More Bits

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Erickson’s facility at Medford was the home for this Skycrane while I was there. A team were working on it and, I imagine, they were getting it ready for the coming fire season. At this point, though, it was still in need of a few parts. It looked a bit lacking but I suspect the process of adding the remaining elements to get it back into an airworthy condition was not going to take that long. Hopefully by now she is back in the air and working hard.

HeliJet S-76s in Two Locations

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The Sikorsky S-76 is not a new design any more although it does continue to be upgraded. When I first saw the type in the 80s, I was taken with the elegance of the airframe and also the size of it. It can carry a substantial number of people. This is the reason the HeliJet chose it to operate their service from the waterfront in Vancouver to Victoria I imagine. I have seen them in service a number of times but I have never gone down to their heliport by the water to try and shoot them.

While I was at Brockton Point, a couple of their departures and arrivals came by. These were a bit far away but still worthy of a shot. This wasn’t my only chance though. When we were at Vancouver International, one of the S-76s arrived at the HeliJet facility there. It flew low and slow past where I was standing so I was able to grab a few extra shots of these sleek type. I would love to take a ride in one sometime to see whether it is as smooth as it looks.

An Old School Cobra

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The Cobra is still a big part of Marine Corps aviation with the Zulu model the current favorite as it replaces the previous Whiskey models. However, the Cobra started out life as an Army attack helicopter. While they are long retired from Army service, old examples still are airworthy and one of them was performing at the Olympia air show. I was rather pleased to see it when it initially arrived and then it performed a flying display alongside a Huey.

A lightly loaded Cobra is still an agile beast and this one was being thrown around with some zeal. Unfortunately, the sky was rather overcast so the shape was a bit disguised by the shadows but it was still great to see the narrow fuselage combined with the broad chord rotor as it thrashed its way around the display. What a cool looking machine.

The Only Airworthy Huskie

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This one is about as rare as something gets. If you are the only airworthy example, the only thing that is going to beat you is the only example at all. The Kaman Huskie is a neat little helicopter. It features the Kaman intermeshing rotor design which removes the requirement for a tail rotor and results in a pretty compact configuration. These used to be in widespread service with the US forces. Now they are scrapped or in museums.

This one lives in Olympia and it comes out to fly at their annual air show. Apparently, there are only about 14 hours left on the rotor blades and there are no more blades so the flying is rationed carefully to get a few more years out of her. Kaman’s rotor blade design includes control surfaces on the blade so these are not a simple item.

Seeing her towed out was a lot of fun and I was delighted when she taxied out and took off for the display. What a fascinating shape and something genuinely different. I was so pleased, even if the light was rather sketchy. A cloudy Huskie is better than no Huskie at all.

Erickson Super Puma

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Erickson is a company that you certainly associate with helicopters but normally you would think about the Skycrane. They also use airframes from other manufacturers. This Super Puma was sitting on their ramp at Medford. I’m not sure whether it is used for heavy lift work, firefighting or a bit of both. It was not what I expected to see though!

PG&E Heli Lift Training

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I miss the amount of helicopter shooting I used to do. Every once in a while I come across a help in action and I feel like it is a little victory. One time it was the local sheriff’s department practicing line work and that showed up here. On this occasion, I was coming away from an interview I had done for a GAR feature. I was at Yolo County airport in California. As I drove down the road, an MD500 was hovering over the field next to the road.

I pulled off a short distance away to see what was going on. PG&E is a local power company and they appeared to be running a training program for they power line teams. They were hooking up transmission components and moving them a short distance to another team that then unhooked them. This process continued as they moved items from place to place giving the ground teams practice with the various items.

There was a strong breeze and a bit of gustiness so the pilot was working quite hard but, since everything was at ground level, I suspect it was a lot easier than if this was at the top of a pylon. He wasn’t the one getting the training, though, by the look of it. I watched for a while and from a couple of different angles and then left them to it. I hope the class was successful.

Stalking the Jollys (Or Are They Stalking Us?)

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A combat search and rescue element is usually included in Red Flag. The HH-60 Pave Hawk is the usual resource used whether from the locally based unit or from a visiting outfit. When you are set up for the jet action, the helos don’t tend to come anywhere near you. They depart perpendicular to the runways and then head off on course. Two things were different for me on this visit. At one point Paul and I were checking out some other areas when the Hawks launched. We were pretty much directly in the flightpath so we got a good look at the pair as they flew over and headed off to the ranges.

The other change was that on both days we were there, they turned early and flew out directly over our location at the Speedway en route to their exercise are. I hadn’t seen this before. I was surprised the first time and even more so the second. I assume this was good luck on our part to have them come so close but maybe they were actually following us rather than the other way around?

I’m Glad He’s Waving Because the Alternative…

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I was directly under the flightpath of an HH-60 Pave Hawk as it headed out on a mission. Looking up at the helo as it passed over, it was possible to see the feet of the crewman/gunner. What I didn’t realize until I looked at the photos afterwards was that he was waving at me! I wish I had waved back. Given the large weapon mounted to the side of the airframe that he uses in action, I am glad that waving is what he chose to do!

I’m Sure They’re Not Looking at Me

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What does it say about having a guilty conscience that you immediately wonder whether you are the person being watched? Police helicopters come in all shapes and sizes. Some are hand me downs from the military. Others are old civil types. Some departments have the budget for modern types. It varies wildly. I was out shooting in Las Vegas when this helicopter came heading straight for me. Admittedly, he was coming from a long way off and I was really just in his path but, as I pointed the camera up at him, I couldn’t help but think that he was looking at me looking at him. Did I do anything wrong? I don’t think so. He kept going so I was probably okay.