I was a mechanic on the H34 when I was in the Marines from 1960 to 1964. That was one really noisy helicopter. The transmission made almost as much noise as the engine. The engine was a fuel and oil hog. We had one engine fail with a piston frozen in the cylinder. It tore the cylinder loose from the mounting lugs and the connecting rod and manifold system was all that was holding it on the engine and in the cowl. It was just banging up and down and throwing oil all over. We could hear it coming back to base, in Udorn Thailand, a mile away.
@@LA-ep2nr Wright R-1820. We could only run them for 500 hours before an overhaul was required, the same engine on a fixed wing plane was good for 2,000. It was easy to change the engine due to the quick disconnects and four bolt mount. We removed a lot of things to save weight because the H-34 was under powered. The twin turbine mod was a huge improvement. The thing I hated the most was the rotor head. It had about 150 zerk fittings that had to be greased with a hand pump after every flight.
@stromsky58 I never counted them, also it's been 60 years since I worked on them. We also went around two times to make sure we didn't miss any. It just seemed like 150 when doing it in the hot sun in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, sometimes while being shot at.
I got to ride in the copilot seat in one of these at the Kissimmee airport in the winter of 2004. The pilot brought it down there from Washington state to have the propeller blades overhauled. He was required to put flight time on the blades before a full return to service. I was a current fixed wing CFI at the time and got to know him while working on the flight line at an FBO next door to the prop shop he was frequently at for a couple weeks. He offered me a ride after the blades were reinstalled and I jumped at the chance. He did some autorotations and some other funky maneuvers and I will remember it the rest of my life. Nice guy. Great pilot.
Who remembers a TV series in the 80's called 'Riptide' and 'Mimi' the S-58T I believe? I tell that was such a memorable part of my childhood and possibly the reason this design has had a special place in my heart all these years.
Darren-Edward Oneill first thing i thought of when i saw the thumbnail was Riptide. second thing was John Plaster's book on MACV-SOG as the south vietnamese pilots would fly these when inserting the special forces lead recon teams into Cambodia and Laos for operations. i guess the pilots liked the durability of the engine as well as the fact it was mounted below them it gave them an added measure of protection from ground fire.
In the late 1970s, in northern Saskatchewan, a pilot landed his S-58 in La Ronge to drop off a technician of some sort. The passenger was sitting beside the pilot. The pilot kept the engine running and the passenger climbed down the side of the helicopter to the ground but didn't make it all the way. The pilot couldn't see him, but felt that he'd allowed more than enough time for the tech to get clear, so he added power and took off. They were out over Lac La Ronge at 1000' when the pilot saw the passenger's hands desperately grabbing the sill while trying to climb back into the helicopter. A great story for the pub, but terrifying to live through.
@@Nexalian_Gamer He was on the built-in ladder from the flight-deck to the ground. I don't think he was dangling, in that he had four points of contact with the ladder. I don't know why the helo wasn't fitted with a mirror so the pilot could observe anyone climbing up or down the ladder. Nor do I know why the pilot didn't wait until he could see the passenger walking away, but everybody makes mistakes and this one is the pilot's.
I saw one these when I was a kid back in 1964. We lived in the Wire Mountain 1 housing area on MCB Camp Pendleton in California. My dad was a Gunnery Sergeant at the time. Anyway, I was out playing by the garages when I hear and see this Marine Corps S-58 Sikorsky helo coming down. I watch it as it lands on the grassy area nearby. I believe they were having some technical issues. I thought it was cool that it dropped down in my proverbial backyard. So, my curious dumbass runs up to greet the crew! I say hello to the crew but one of the men who was outside of the aircraft warns me off and to stay back, which I did. After several minutes, the S-58 lifts off and flies away. That crewman was actually friendly but stern for my own safety. This was just prior to the Marines (my dad among them) being deployed to Vietnam a year later in 1965.
@@sidv4615 He and his men were among the very first military personnel deployed to VN after President Lyndon Johnson ordered an increase of U.S. presence there on the heels of the Gulf of Tonkin situation. They were sent to the DMZ as part of Operation Starlite in Van Tuong, South VN. They were in the 3rd B, 3rd Marines (I beleive). They made an amphibious landing to link up with other Marine elements (the 1st B, 7th, 2nd B, 4th, 3rd B, 7th and 12th Marines) in country. Dad returned in 1966. When he drove upto the house in a yellow cab, us kids saw that it was him arriving back from his last stop in Okinawa. He was dressed in an Hawaiian shirt with blue jeans and brown penny loafers. He was carrying a huge stack of gift boxes for the family. When we ran up to him yelling "Daddy, Daddy", he flipped out, threw the boxes and hit the deck yelling curse words at us and to never come running at him! I learned later that he'd seen Vietnamese kids strapped with explosives run up to military personnel and set them off killing many of them. He never spoke about Vietnam or Operation Strarlite or Korea (Inchon) or Bougainville (WWII) until he was well into his mid 60s and 70s! When he finally talked about VN, he said the amphib landing went south a bit and they got turned around fearing they were sitting ducks but they persevered and were able to link up with the other Marine elements there. He was tight lipped about anything else. He was a changed man for sure. One thing I know for certain is that he had a very strong dislike for any kind of oriental cuisine. I hope I addressed your question sufficiently. Be well.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!!!!! for not playing a bunch of stupid music in the background like so many other aviation videos! The sound of the aircraft itself is music enough!!
I agree! Too many times a good video is ruined because a producer thinks he will be the next Cecil B. Demille by adding overly loud Thump Thump Thump music!
I was privileged to fly an Army version of this in '65 doing crash rescue at the Army Aviation Center. Flies beautifully and auto rotates like a dream. It was originally owned by the navy and used with a sonar ball. Engine was supercharged and could pull 52" on manifold pressure producing 1300 HP if I remember correctly
WITHOUT 130 OCTANE FUEL ANYMORE, PULLING 52 INCHES WITHOUT SEVERE DETONATION IS IMPROBABLE. It can still be flown with 100 octane lowlead , but Write 1320 manifold pressure is greatly reduced. I loved that old bird!
Except for Liberty Bell 7 which had a premature hatch ejection. Filled with water and they couldn't lift it. Sank to the ocean bottom and was finally recovered in 1999. Gus Grissom almost drowned. He later perished on the Apollo 1 pad fire. RIP Gus.
Last round motor S-58 I worked on was N408A some 40 years ago, converted most to S-58T P&WC PT6 Twin Pac. To paraphase the Apocalypse movie "I love the smell of round motor oil in the morning"
We had the military version of this Chopper when I was in Germany with the U.S Army back in the 60's... I still remember how rough sounding that engine was after start up on a cold early morning over there...
Thanks for this video . As a former Marine and UH34D crew member in Vietnam it brought back some good memories and a few not so good too . Would love to take one more flight in one before they go to the bone yard .
I know right, it's unique looking sure but one of the best looking helis imo, same option on modern/classic cars, space age cars are cool but they look so identical
As a kid in the Boy Scouts, we went on a trip to a boneyard, these things were amazing to crawl through. The size and smell of these things were a little boys dream.
I was a helicopter mechanic and crew chief on this type of chopper when I was in the Marine Corp. I was in from 1/10/61 to 11/20/64, the last 2 yrs. I was stationed in Hawaii, and flew quite a bit in the belly.
It had a hydraulic/mechanical clutch. To start the rotor, oil was pumped into the clutch and when the engine shaft and transmission shaft speed were almost equal the mechanical clutch was engaged. The way it was engaged was to reduce the engine RPM below the transmission/rotor shaft RPM then quickly increase the engine RPM to engage the mechanical clutch. The clutch had a ball and ramp type of clutch that would only engage in one direction. The oil in the hydraulic clutch was then pumped out. The mechanical clutch balls were used to disengage the engine shaft from the rotor transmission shaft if the aircraft had to auto-rotate. I was a mechanic in the Marines from Jul 60 to Jul 64. Flew a lot of hours in them.
@@stonecutter3172 You have some great hearing. I used to worry when they did that RPM dip. If the mechanical clutch didn't engage, I had a lot of work to do. A lot. It was a low-failure item unless it took a bullet.
My dad flew a few of those. He was in the Coast Guard 1955 to 1975. He told me all the crew were aware and terrified of the avgas; if they went down hard they'd burn. He hated flying it; said it was the loudest machine he flew.
@@sidv4615 In the Philippines; landing a Grumman Albatross in waters so rough he took green water over the windscreen and killed both engines. Landing UP a Japanese WWII airstrip, having lunch, and trading with the people who came out of the jungles for blowpipes, which he still had when he retired. On Annette Island having an engine on an Albatross almost depart the aircraft on takeoff. In Miami having to chase the planet Mars because the duty officer thought it was a flare?
Even though it's a radial (piston) engine, those old buckets have still to this day the quietest tail rotors in history.. in smaller piston helos the tail rotor noise is very prevelant that they almost drown out the engine noise .. Most notable example the Hughes/Schweizer 300B, has always had a similar sound as its big sister, the Hughes/MD 500 series.. . Only difference is the 300 you can hear that piston engine once its right above you..
Old workhorse, radial, asked a rescue pilot about this at an air show about the turbine airframe upgrade powered. He pointed to the one I rode in ,being mothballs, He said, that radials, lose a jug. it'll get you home, lose a turbine, you go down , really fast. I was medevac by old radial powered back in 84' - stretcher ride🚁🏥 My first flight , and have never flown fixed wing ....yet
One of these landed in the parking lot of a local shopping mall several years ago and stayed there a couple days until they finished some sort of repair that needed done.
Totally awesome sounds great once it warmed up.looks great and powerful too you done an excellent job great take off too the clouds look amazing .great landing too Beautiful helicopter too.Thank you so much for your videos and everything you do..
Nice to see them still flying. Was 1989 the last time I flew the E model. I trained on a 206 and never had any helicopter piston time until I climbed into one of these old girls. Great video thanks for posting.
Beautiful!!! That remembers me to my childness in Germany; were the US Army did fly the: Sikorsky H-19; CH-34; CH-37; Bell 47 and Cessna Bird Dog. Simply fantastic sounds!!!
A group of us were passing a hard standing where a Westland Wessex had just taken off. It was about 20 foot in the air was there was literally a huge CLUNK, the Wessex came straight down and bounced once. No fire, no engine, the rotors slowed and various Royal Navy personnel came sauntering over like their choppers fell out of the sky every day. I liked the Wessex.
One of my favorite aircrafts! Beautiful flight, very good video work! At shutdown, I heard the RPM'S increase a bit, which means the engines fuel/air mixture is correctly set!
Having been fixed wing FLYNAVY, this video is really nifty! Seeing your airspeed readout at zero and not stalling out, yeow and unnatural by my training and experience. Love to learn rotary wing. The 125 naysayers above must "fly" RC A/C only.
I get to fly this in Arma 3. I made my own SAR textures for custom missions too. Love it, sounds just like this, which is the reason for viewing this. Cool video. Thanks.
Someone in my county has got two of these parked outside of their property except they have been reduced to nothing but scrap. Still, pretty neat to see.
Back in the early seventies there were half a dozen S58’s and an S61 we used for rig moves and crew transfers up in Inuvik. Heck I thot they were old then.
Spent Summer of 75 in a tent 30 NE of Tuktoyaktuk running a SHORAN navigation beacon. Were supplied by Hueys and jet rangers. In 71, I worked on 34s in the Army in Germany when we shrink wrapped a bunch to ship to the the South Vietnamese. Engine startup sound was amazing.
My hockey coach was killed in one of these, 50 years later I had a chance meeting with his son who was 2 years old at the time. What a moment that was. A real reality check. RIP Mr Boudreau.
Love the sound of that radial engine, much better than the turbine sound they stuck in them in later years. Nice to see the old girl still has it in her. Thank you for posting and God Bless from Florida.
Geez, I thought my '97 Mitsubishi Pajero sounded ropey when I started it but this is nuts. I love helicopters but after hearing that start up I would be bricking it if I was a passenger.
That 34 had USMC in RVN. It has a recip engine. Some were converted to a twin jet engine platform. I heard these were good ? I was a 53CC in RVN & RNVN, 1972/73. Semper Fi. Twist & turn, Crash & Burn.
Steve Eaton The conversion had a Pratt & Whitney PT6 twin powerpack, which was a well proven piece of kit, and is still in use, but the S58T was not a great success. I was with Bristow Helicopters at Aberdeen in the 70’s, when we couldn’t gate enough S61s to meet the need for aircraft in the rapidly expanding North Sea oil ecxploration. The company purchased some S58Ts, but they were unpopular with pilots, engineers and passengers alike. We had two cases where the cabin door detached over the North Sea! Not very nice for the passengers.
I honestly had an eargasm and even a visual-gasm ... This is one of the top ten iconical chopper. Huey, MD 500, Bell 206, 212, 222, SeaKing, CH46, R44, MIL MI2, MI 26, ...
