18 July 1967: For the first time, a U.S. Air Force Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giant combat search and rescue helicopter refueled in flight from a Lockheed HC-130P Combat King command and control aircraft during an actual rescue mission in Southeast Asia.
© 2015, Bryan R. Swopes
Because of the limited visual cues, the crew did not recognize that they were in a slight descent. At approximately 11:35 a.m., the Sikorsky slammed into the ocean at cruise speed. It sank almost immediately. Only six persons survived, including the pilots, Dominic Lawlor and Neil Charleton. The helicopter sank to the sea bed 200 feet (61 meters) below. It was later recovered by the salvage vessel RMAS Seaforth Clansman, along with the bodies of 17 victims.
The official investigation determined that the cause of the accident was pilot error by their failure to recognize and correct the unintentional descent while attempting to fly in conditions not suitable for visual flight. This was the worst helicopter accident in terms of fatalities up to that time.
The main rotor has five blades and a diameter of 62 feet (18.898 meters). Each blade has a chord of 1 foot, 6.25 inches (0.464 meters). The tail rotor also has five blades and a diameter of 10 feet, 4 inches (3.149 meters). They each have a chord of 7–11/32 inches (0.187 meters). At 100% r.p.m., the main rotor turns 203 r.p.m. and the tail rotor, 1,244 r.p.m. The main rotor turns counter-clockwise, as seen from above. (The advancing blade is on the helicopter’s right side.) The tail rotor turns clockwise, as seen from the left side. (The advancing blade is below.)
The S-61 has a cruise speed of 166 miles per hour (267 kilometers per hour). The service ceiling is 12,500 feet (3,810 meters). The maximum takeoff weight is 20,500 pounds (9,298.6 kilograms).
Between 1958 and 1980, Sikorsky built 794 S-61 series helicopters. 123 were S-61Ns.
© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes
12 July 1957: President Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first United States president to fly in a helicopter when a U.S. Air Force H-13J-BF Sioux, serial number 57-2729 (c/n 1576), flown by Major Joseph E. Barrett, USAF, departed the White House lawn for Camp David, the presidential retreat in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland. Also on board was a U.S. Secret Service special agent. A second H-13J, 57-2728 (c/n 1575), followed, carrying President Eisenhower’s personal physician and a second Secret Service agent.
The helicopter was intended to rapidly move the president from the White House to Andrews Air Force Base where his Lockheed VC-121E Constellation, Columbine III, would be standing by, or to other secure facilities in case of an emergency.
Major Barrett had been selected because of his extensive experience as a combat pilot. During World War II, he had flown the B-17 Flying Fortress four-engine heavy bomber. During the Korean War, Barrett had carried out a helicopter rescue 70 miles (113 kilometers) behind enemy lines, for which he was awarded the Silver Star.
Capable of carrying a pilot and up to three passengers, the Ranger was constructed with an enclosed cabin built on a tubular steel framework with all-metal semi-monocoque tail boom. The main rotor diameter was 37 feet, 2.00 inches (11.328 meters) and tail rotor diameter was 5 feet, 10.13 inches (1.781 meters), which gave the helicopter an overall length of 43 feet, 3¾ inches (13.185 meters) with rotors turning. The height (to the top of the centrifugal flapping restraints) was 9 feet, 8 inches (2.946 meters). The helicopter had a maximum gross weight of 2,800 pounds (1,270 kilograms).
The main rotor, in common to all American-designed helicopters, rotates counter-clockwise as seen from above. (The advancing blade is on the helicopter’s right.) The anti-torque (tail) rotor is mounted to the right side of an angled tail boom extension, in a tractor configuration, and rotates counter-clockwise as seen from the helicopter’s left. (The advancing blade is above the axis of rotation.)
The main rotor is a two-bladed, under-slung, semi-rigid assembly that would be a characteristic of helicopters built by Bell for decades. The main rotor system incorporates a stabilizer bar, positioned below and at right angles to the main rotor blades. Teardrop-shaped weights are placed at each end of the bar, on 100-inch (2.540 meters) centers. The outside diameter of the stabilizer bar is 8 feet, 6.781 inches (2.611 meters). (A similar system is used on the larger Bell 204/205/212 helicopters.)
Engine torque is sent through a centrifugal clutch to a 9:1 gear-reduction transmission, which drives the main rotor through a two-stage planetary gear system. The transmission also drives the tail rotor drive shaft, and through a vee-belt/pulley system, a large fan to provide cooling air for the engine.
Fuel was carried in two gravity-feed tanks, mounted above and on each side of the engine. The total fuel capacity was 34.0 gallons (128.7 liters)
Cruise speed for the H-13J was 87–98 miles per hour (140–158 kilometers per hour), depending on gross weight, and its maximum speed was 105 miles per hour (169 kilometers per hour). The helicopter had a hover ceiling in ground effect (HIGE) of 8,100 feet (2,469 meters). The service ceiling was 15,000 feet (4,572 meters).
Both H-13J Sioux served as presidential aircraft until 1962. They were redesignated UH-13J and continued in use for VIP transportation until 1967.
Bell UH-13J-BF Sioux 57-2729 is in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum National Air and Space Museum, Steven V. Udvar-Hazy Center, while its sister ship, 57-2728, is at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, along with Columbine III.
© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes
The first aircraft used was the Sikorsky S-55, a commercial variant of the military H-19 Chickasaw. It carried 8 passengers and a cargo of U.S. Mail. The mail contract actually was the source of 75% of NYA’s revenue.
As its popularity increased, New York Airways shifted to larger helicopters when they became available, adding three Sikorsky S-58s in 1956. In 1958, the fleet was changed to the Vertol V-44 tandem-rotor helicopter, a commercial model of the Piasecki H-21 Shawnee. In 1962 the turbine-powered Boeing Vertol BV 107-II replaced the earlier helicopters. NYA’s final aircraft was the twin-turbine Sikorsky S-61.
On 16 May 1977, the landing gear of a S-61L failed while on the roof top heliport of the Pan Am building in Manhattan. The helicopter rolled over and spinning rotor blades killed four waiting passengers. Broken blades then fell to the street, fifty-nine stories below, killing a pedestrian and injuring several others.
With its reputation severely damaged and fuel prices escalating, New York Airways filed for bankruptcy in 1979. It’s surviving helicopters are operated today by Columbia Helicopters, Inc., Aurora, Oregon.
© 2016, Bryan R. Swopes