Even today, it’s still an attractive design. It really doesn’t look that obsolete. Sikorsky is one of the GREATS in helicopter design. ‘Great catch.’ Hope it gets back into the air.
I picked up N111VA in Sanford Florida in May 1993. Vertical aviation had zero timed the aircraft, and I flew her up to Anchorage Alaska to become part of the fleet at Crystal Creek Lodge, out near Dillingham Alaska, where I worked as a pilot and fly fishing guide. The trip took 50 flight hours. VA was a really sweet machine. It's great to see that Kermit now owns the her, because I know she'll be well cared for. Interestingly, I now live in Bartow Florida, it's almost like she's stalking me.
My father was a Sikorsky crew chief. He did the ground testing on the very first one of these off the line. The first S-58 also. Too bad he passed away in 2011. He could have given you some stories!!!
Flew the "C" and "D" models of the H-19 in flight-school. (Does that date me?) Later flew was qualified in the Garrett TSE-331 turbine conversion.Only helicopter I ever flew that you could do a touch-down auto-rotation without pulling collective at the bottom; just "flinch and flare"!!
Check out Kermit acquiring two more helicopters, and their arrival at Fantasy of Flight in these videos... czcams.com/video/VV--D1Qleqw/video.html czcams.com/video/b3sH7HAaV7E/video.html
The former New York Airways helicopter. Glad to hear she will be back to flying condition. The late Captain Perry H. Young Jr. was the first black commercial helicopter pilot and former Tuskegee Airmen pilot that flew the S-55 for New York Airways. Neat peace of history on this ship.
id did research on this one that was a former Aris Helicopters s-55 as the comment says whoever was flying it leaving out of LA leaned the mixture out too much and it quit they tried to restart the engine as they did a perfect autorotation and landed in a school yard and clipped a tree which took the blade tips off the main rotor. if this were to fly again like the blue s-55 the P&W R-1340 will need to be overhauled before this one will be a ride operation. it still has the original rotor transmission fairings in place but missing the tail rotor driveshaft fairings. as i see this one and the ex turbine one flying for ride operations.
Very COoL. One of my favorite heli models... It was years before I realized there was a GIANT (beautiful) RADIAL mounted in the front... Of course this was way before the internet ;)
Kermit Weeks got two more S-55s this year since they arrived in April from Reno Nevada. one airframe an ex turbine powered one the blue one has corrosion as the radial engine and parts will be going to them i believe the blue one is at the golden hill facility the ex turbine one was temporarly stored in the museum hanger. this S-55 Chickasaw and the blue one has the P&W Wasp R-1340 9 cylinder radial engine. the later variants for the rescue missions the navy and marines called forna more powerful Wright cyclone 7 R-1300 7 cylinder radial engine making 800 hp. the r-1340 was 650 hp. the blue s-55 is an earlier straight tail variant with the inverted v stablizers. this one and the ex turbine is a sloped or drooped tail version as fof's long term plan is to get this one and the ex turbine one operational for ride operations for people to tour fantisy of flight and possibly Orlando.
I looked at the other video on the other two s-55 Weeks got since april as the back landing gear has not been removed from this one as the other two were removed. it looks like the transmission and tail rotor driveshaft fairings are missing the rear tires oversized. i would take the rear landing gear wheels off the blus s-55 and put them on this machine. i seen a video on Airplane mart.com 's channel a s-55b that one is turbine powered. with the exhaust out the tips of the clamshell doors. the other video i seen on this same s-55b is the rotor blade tracking done on it. the S-55 or military H-19 chickasaw is alwasy a forever classic helicopter.
James, actually there are two that are normally based there in the summer. I fly one of them, probably the one you saw. They work for that orchard. You should have stopped! Lots of people do. They are an odd sight beside the road there.
Way cool. By the time I enlisted in the Army, these birds were all phased out in favor of the UH-1. It's good to see these grand old birds being saved from the scrap heap.
I know a guy that has 1 S-55 and one H-19 Conversion sitting in a field rotting away next to a semi truck trailer filled with spare parts and engines and all that. Have some pictures of them too. Would have loved to see them fly but they needed ALOT of work
If these S-55s will be ride operation helicopters could it be possible to visit schools with them so the kids can look at the helicopters. as one does so with a Sikorsky s-58 Uh-34d as there is a video of it visiting st cathrene school.
I was wondering if you guys could answer a couple of Sikorsky 55 questions. The helicopter came with two different engines, a P&W 1340 and a Wright 1300, but the smaller Wright engine was a lot more horsepower. Why? I know when they tried to get 700HP out of the P&W 1340 in the DHC3 Otter, the engine lost some reliability. Was the higher HP Wright engine still reliable.
N111VA had the 1340. When I picked the aircraft up from vertical aviation technologies in 1993 they gave me the choice of either engine. They said that the 1340 didn't have as much power, but was smoother and more reliable. The 1300 was a 7 cylinder engine, so each cylinder was doing more work, and the engine was rougher and therefore harder on the transmission input quill. The 1340 did a great job for us in Alaska.
It would seem every body who is interested in engineering of most sorts is an heavy metal music fan ! That’s why they always play this type of Muzak. Not required ok
Even today, it’s still an attractive design. It really doesn’t look that obsolete. Sikorsky is one of the GREATS in helicopter design. ‘Great catch.’ Hope it gets back into the air.
I picked up N111VA in Sanford Florida in May 1993. Vertical aviation had zero timed the aircraft, and I flew her up to Anchorage Alaska to become part of the fleet at Crystal Creek Lodge, out near Dillingham Alaska, where I worked as a pilot and fly fishing guide. The trip took 50 flight hours. VA was a really sweet machine. It's great to see that Kermit now owns the her, because I know she'll be well cared for. Interestingly, I now live in Bartow Florida, it's almost like she's stalking me.
We had some good times in this ship, Bob.
@@danielmichels1687 Amen brother!
Really appreciate the work and flying you guys do. Listening to machinery is o.k. with me, no need for crappy, monotonous music. Cheers.
Still my favorite chopper. Embodies the essence of 1950’s helicopters...
My father was a Sikorsky crew chief. He did the ground testing on the very first one of these off the line. The first S-58 also. Too bad he passed away in 2011. He could have given you some stories!!!
Robert Worcester and I would have loved to hear his stories! Sorry about your loss.
Love the sound of the old S-55
Always loved the old Sikorsky
Flew the "C" and "D" models of the H-19 in flight-school. (Does that date me?) Later flew was qualified in the Garrett TSE-331 turbine conversion.Only helicopter I ever flew that you could do a touch-down auto-rotation without pulling collective at the bottom; just "flinch and flare"!!
Check out Kermit acquiring two more helicopters, and their arrival at Fantasy of Flight in these videos...
czcams.com/video/VV--D1Qleqw/video.html
czcams.com/video/b3sH7HAaV7E/video.html
The former New York Airways helicopter. Glad to hear she will be back to flying condition. The late Captain Perry H. Young Jr. was the first black commercial helicopter pilot and former Tuskegee Airmen pilot that flew the S-55 for New York Airways. Neat peace of history on this ship.
I used to fly in the s-55, as a passenger in the Air Force to remote radar sites.Glad to see this baby added to Kermit's collection.
id did research on this one that was a former Aris Helicopters s-55 as the comment says whoever was flying it leaving out of LA leaned the mixture out too much and it quit they tried to restart the engine as they did a perfect autorotation and landed in a school yard and clipped a tree which took the blade tips off the main rotor. if this were to fly again like the blue s-55 the P&W R-1340 will need to be overhauled before this one will be a ride operation. it still has the original rotor transmission fairings in place but missing the tail rotor driveshaft fairings. as i see this one and the ex turbine one flying for ride operations.
Very COoL. One of my favorite heli models... It was years before I realized there was a GIANT (beautiful) RADIAL mounted in the front... Of course this was way before the internet ;)
Love the H-34's and S-55 too Kermit. Hope to see you soon my freind.
Barry
Kermit Weeks got two more S-55s this year since they arrived in April from Reno Nevada. one airframe an ex turbine powered one the blue one has corrosion as the radial engine and parts will be going to them i believe the blue one is at the golden hill facility the ex turbine one was temporarly stored in the museum hanger. this S-55 Chickasaw and the blue one has the P&W Wasp R-1340 9 cylinder radial engine. the later variants for the rescue missions the navy and marines called forna more powerful Wright cyclone 7 R-1300 7 cylinder radial engine making 800 hp. the r-1340 was 650 hp. the blue s-55 is an earlier straight tail variant with the inverted v stablizers. this one and the ex turbine is a sloped or drooped tail version as fof's long term plan is to get this one and the ex turbine one operational for ride operations for people to tour fantisy of flight and possibly Orlando.
I looked at the other video on the other two s-55 Weeks got since april as the back landing gear has not been removed from this one as the other two were removed. it looks like the transmission and tail rotor driveshaft fairings are missing the rear tires oversized. i would take the rear landing gear wheels off the blus s-55 and put them on this machine. i seen a video on Airplane mart.com 's channel a s-55b that one is turbine powered. with the exhaust out the tips of the clamshell doors. the other video i seen on this same s-55b is the rotor blade tracking done on it. the S-55 or military H-19 chickasaw is alwasy a forever classic helicopter.
I saw one of these parked next to a house on Highway 20 in Washington State. It blew my mind.
James, actually there are two that are normally based there in the summer. I fly one of them, probably the one you saw. They work for that orchard. You should have stopped! Lots of people do. They are an odd sight beside the road there.
Nice!
Way cool. By the time I enlisted in the Army, these birds were all phased out in favor of the UH-1. It's good to see these grand old birds being saved from the scrap heap.
I know a guy that has 1 S-55 and one H-19 Conversion sitting in a field rotting away next to a semi truck trailer filled with spare parts and engines and all that. Have some pictures of them too. Would have loved to see them fly but they needed ALOT of work
Whereabouts are the S55 and H19?
Great chopper but when are we going to see the P 38. Only 5-7 flying. Great to see a local one. It's on my bucket list. Same with the F6F Hellcat.
If these S-55s will be ride operation helicopters could it be possible to visit schools with them so the kids can look at the helicopters. as one does so with a Sikorsky s-58 Uh-34d as there is a video of it visiting st cathrene school.
Im looking to the Mechanics corner on both his Sikorsky's
Pity about the drumming , it spoilt it .
I love this helicopter, it is one of my favourites. Is it still airworthy? I wrote an article about it on my website.
ÓTIMO HELICÓPTERO !! BRASIL OK
I was wondering if you guys could answer a couple of Sikorsky 55 questions. The helicopter came with two different engines, a P&W 1340 and a Wright 1300, but the smaller Wright engine was a lot more horsepower. Why? I know when they tried to get 700HP out of the P&W 1340 in the DHC3 Otter, the engine lost some reliability. Was the higher HP Wright engine still reliable.
N111VA had the 1340. When I picked the aircraft up from vertical aviation technologies in 1993 they gave me the choice of either engine. They said that the 1340 didn't have as much power, but was smoother and more reliable. The 1300 was a 7 cylinder engine, so each cylinder was doing more work, and the engine was rougher and therefore harder on the transmission input quill. The 1340 did a great job for us in Alaska.
It would seem every body who is interested in engineering of most sorts is an heavy metal music fan ! That’s why they always play this type of Muzak. Not required ok
I wonder what a rig that driver has is worth?
Music junked video
Never heard of a P-38 Hellcat, thought it was the lightning
+Tom Ballard I'm assuming he meant a P-38 and a Hellcat.
Tom Ballard. He's talking about two different aircraft.
"Airplane,"?????????????? 🤨🤨🤨🤨😒😒😒
Stupid music....