Sikorsky UH-34D "Ugly Angel" YL-37 helicopter take-off
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- čas přidán 29. 10. 2010
- The YL-37 takes off after a visit to Saint Catherine School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The YL-37 is the only Marine UH-34D Sikorsky helicopter with documented service history from Viet Nam. Based out of Inola, Oklahoma, has been restored and serves as a flying museum. Visit their web page at marine73110.tripod.com/index.html
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I flew as crew/gunner in this exact 34 in 1966 HMM362
Richard, I flew with Ugly Angels in 1966 too. I arrived on orders with Lt. Mike Carley, who was KIA about 10 miles from Nui Loc Son, where I was the Forward Air Controller for Fox Company, 2/1 by 1967. Great squadron--the best! Semper fi! Virginia Senator Dick Black, Colonel (Ret.)
Thank you for your service
@@richardblack3884 my grandfather brother died in Vietnam war and we are vietnamese
My father, Dock Pegues, flew these in Vietnam as a Marine, very cool looking Helicopter
Thank you for your service. My grandfather served in the Marines and fought in Korea.
I was a gunner on the H-34s in 1965-66. We were in Ky-Ha, S. Vietnam, about 4 miles north of Chu Lai and 45 miles south of Da Nang. HMM-362 Capt. Darcy Clasen was Squadron Officer
Ron Nisbet Sr. Thank you for your service.
Get some get some....
same squadren, 1966-7 also with themin phu bai
me too HMM362 65-67
Me too. HMM-364. Ky-Ha. 65-66.
Thanks for posting this !! I used to fly these in Vietnam, and remember when we phased them out, and then I transitioned to a UH-1D...brought back some good and BAD, memories as well ..Awesome video ...!!!
Sitting in this beast,listening the engine sound,have a girl 12.000 miles away,thinking about,watching the comrades nervous faces and knowing that this is the last maybe you sitting in this helicopter alive is brutal........ vietnam times
Back in 'Nam, man...
I'm sorry that it happened but very great full to those who did their part. I have a number of friends who come from excommunist countries and their stories are savage
Thank you for that. When my son was 6 (he was born in 95) he came crying to me and said “Daddy I don’t want to go to war. I don’t want to get drafted”. Almost killed me that my son had to even think about it. I did my best to convince him he had absolutely nothing to worry about. It’s a crime that the government sent sons like mine to die for absolutely nothing. They’ve been sending kids to die every since without any victories or reasons for it but a lot of people made a lot of money doing it. Our soldiers deserve to enjoy those spoils of war and I wish I knew how to make it happen for them.
Beautiful restoration and glad to see a UH-34 still flying. Having grown up a few miles from MCAS(H) Tustin, it was a common sight to see pilots on training flights in H-34s, along with CH-46s and 53s that were based there. I will never forget my first air show at MCAS El Toro in 1966 when the Marines staged a mass helicopter assault demonstration with lots of H-34s, 46s and Huey gunships. I wouldn't be surprised if this particular H-34 had been overhead at one time or another during its USMC days. Keep on flying!
We had a ride in it one year ago. Just hearing it start up brought back a flood of memories about time spent in the old warbird with KINGBEEs. Thank you.
I was a UH-34D plane captain. We had one attached to base ops I got to fly down below in. NS Sangley Point , Philippines, 1969-70. We did SAR, shipboard recovery, etc. Good days!
No better combination than 'Rotors and Radials'. OOO-RAH !!
WOW my ears are perking up just the sound brings back so many memories.
I flew UH34D in laos for many years, I was crashed 4 times.Safe by autorotation. Thanks Sikorsky.
We were at war with Laos?
@@boathemian7694 MACV-SOG and other such operations conducted missions in Laos, Cambodia and North Vietnam, but it was all CIA top secret kind of stuff.
Lots of the SF teams that were apart of MACV-SOG, traveled in helicopters like this and not the Huey's, not too often anyways.
@@guardsmengunner yeah that was a rhetorical question, I was Marine Recon myself.
@@boathemian7694 Well, you would be surprised how many people don’t actually now that we were in Laos, my bad.
@@boathemian7694
If you've not heard of him, Jocko Willink has a podcast with King Bee pilot Nguyen Quy An (episode 259), as well as interviewing other SOG guys on previous shows.
jockopodcast.com/2020/12/08/259-when-the-call-comes-you-go-w-south-vietnamese-kingbee-pilot-capt-nguyen-quy-an/
That’s my all time favorite helicopter. Wish I could find one near me that would take me for a ride. Radial engine, pilots sitting way up front, crew in the belly. Really like how it looks as well
Brings memories , early 1967 spent a night in one of these beauties, sleeping not quite like a baby , out of the bloody rain .
That don't look ugly to me. That is awesome.
All I can think of is the old TV show Riptide when Joe Penny, Perry King, and Tom Bray would use a chopper
like this one to catch the bad guys every Friday night on NBC.
Great show. Haven't seen it in years.
That was awesome! It's amazing that these things even flew. You have to give kudos to the pilots that can master the controls of this beast.
I flew in 34's in the states in HMM-561 and in 34's in country in HMM-362 The Ugly Angels until they disbanded in August 69. Then flew with HMM-364 the Purple Foxes until October 1970. Thanks for the video
I was at MCAF Santa Ana in 1968-69 after returning to U.S. from Vietnam, HMM362/363, assigned toHMM561 until discharged 3/69
Motor sounds great on it.
Wonderful to see the whole starting sequence, including the 'gearshifting'!
Thanks latinbob!
The kast time i saw one was about 25 yrs ago. It was lifting a huge a.c. unit to the top of a new Walmart in Winchester or Tullahoma , Tennessee. Great work horses.
Wow! Wonderful takeoff with classic radial engine "throaty" sounds. And best of all, you didn't give into the temptation to play some lousy background music while this S-58/YL-37 wound up its engine and then ascends skyward.
Love how the clutch engages with these beasts.
I have an old friend who was a pilot on these and he use to tell me about the throttle (on the collective) and how you couldn't let it go as you can on most current helicopters (that I know of anyway). It was one reason he went away from the field when he was discharged. Great to see flying examples of this type!
Few people remember that the H-34s were powered by by an improved WR 1820 Cyclone engine - the same that powered B-17 bombers in WWII. For me, the ultimate H-34s will always be those flown by VNAF 219th Squadron - the legendary "KINGBEES." 'Kingbees come now', and they always did or died trying.
Great to see these ol birds still flying :-)
Gotta love the innocence of youngsters that are still learning...but then, that's what makes it all worth it, in the end......!☺
bruno640 you're still a youngster young man.
I flew a 1000 mission in that bird...The ugly agel is painted on the tail... squadron patch 68-69.. that engine took 367 bullets and still flew, I know I was in ti..
Well art do you have any extra patches that were made in Saigon from back in the day ?Yes I'm salivating a little!☺
arthur fanning that’s a great story, these are such influential aircraft and your anecdote only adds to the history. Great stuff.
@Hoy Sum The engine is a Wright R-1820-84D of 1525 hp. This type also propels B-17 Flying Fortresses and proved its reliability many times during WW II. But the bombers are equipped with turbo chargers to keep their power at high altitudes whereas super chargers are used for these helicopters. That's why a B-17 in flight sounds smooth and sonorously while the S-58s/H-34s roar and rattle like most aero radials with open pipes do.
I rode on the H-34 several times in the 60's. My big brother was a squadron commander in Vietnam.
we had this helicopter at my late father in laws funeral he was part of the squad. Miss you Bill Factor.
Excellent video!! That's not an ugly angle. That is awesome.
Last time I saw / heard one of these I was a kid in Springfield, Delco, PA. Mid-60's.
Grew up 3 Miles form where Chinooks were produced; zillions of test flights of those over my childhood home.
I'm now 64.
I flew to my unit in one of these and they resupplied us many times up in the mountains. Apparently they did better in the thin air. Valentines day 1968 same crew got shot up twice. Once went back and got another bird then returned to be shot to hell. We pulled left seater out dead, gunner was hit in leg and right seater had femoral artery cut. I was first up and all i saw was blood in the floor board about an inch deep. Never did find out how those guys did after they went out on choppers. We loved those guys for saving our bacon a few times.
Nice and robust Helicopter, 134 H34 was assembled and 166 (S58,H34 and HSS) built under license in France by Sud Aviation for the french army...One HSS "pirate" (with heawy machine gun) is preserved in flight condition from the french Navy....
I flew Hueys in Vietnam and always thought the profile of the 34 was just awful for the crew but they did a lot of good work, recip and all!!
I saw the Marine's last active 34 land at New River Air Station. They towed it out to the main gate and put it on pedestals. I heard that it's still there.
I don't know why but I'm in love with the shape of this thing.
It isn't the only one anymore. Wings and Rotors Air museum in Murrieta, CA has one under restoration at the moment. It's number is 150255 and it flew with 161 and 163 in vietnam.
Just saw this yl37 at el Reno fly in today. I stuck my head in side and the smell of history was inside. Talked to the pilot for a bit this helicopter has a battle history. Lots of bullet holes patches.
I was the crew chief on YL-47 (patches) named because of 47 bullet hole
patches painted black instead of green. YL-37 was a lemmon that was always broken down. The crew chief on 37 was Mike Ransom. My name is
Bob McCunney. My gunner was Rich Castellano.
Mike Ransom and Costello were friends of mine, I was also in their squadron 1966/7 HMM362...Was in school with Mike Memphis Tn 1965 NAS school
This is not ugly, very awesome helicopter!
That sounds awesome!!
I flew one for two years in Germany in US ARMY H34
When I got out I bought one. A German aircraft that was stationed very close to where I was stationed while in Germany
My aircraft was converted from the H 34 to a S58E I named it EGOR and flew it nearly 20 years
We crop dusted with it in California , fought wildland fires for about 10 seasons , flew it to Alaska and unloaded fishing tenders in dillingham Alaska , built power-line towers
With it at Talkeetna Alaska , flew fuel with it to gold mines near Fairbanks , hauled houses with it near Dall Creek , which was above the Artic circle in the winter , recovered 28 wrecked aircraft with it near dillingham , then flew it back to California where we made some really powerful Reno Air Race modifications to its CR R 1820 84D engine giving it aprox 2000 hp then fought wildland fires with it for several more seasons
This was the most reliable aircraft that always brought us home safely no mater the weather or conditions
I hope to find it some day and restore it back to its pristine condition that I kept it in
Dave Mahrt. EGOR
Thanks Nigel!
I did use the little ' ' because I wasn't sure what to think of it! :)
But I still have this feeling that, while there is a 'change of clutch', the engine rpm is also going down. So, well, some sort of gearchange. (^_^)
framerate is not the issue. blades bend because of the way the sensor on the video camera "scans". this camera is no doubt using a CMOS sensor. each frame of video is scanned from top to bottom. by the time the bottom region is scanned vs the top of the sensor the blade is in a different location. this causes the bending distortion. the effect is call "rolling shutter". older CCD sensor cameras have a "global shutter". each frame is captured in one global snapshot leaving natural visual results.
I bet parts are fun to find for these old birds.
Flew to many LZs in one of these bulbous nosed transport helicopters. The ones I rode in had all the seats removed, and we sat on the deck of the cabin. We called this chopper the "Seahorse", unlike what other services named them.
Were they preferred to the Hueys? Could they carry the same number of troops?
@@mebeasensei, the Marine Corps used Hueys as "gunships", with M60's and rocket pods, while using the larger Seahorse UH-34's as transports. The largest helicopter used was the CH-46 Sea Knight, which was smaller than the CH-47 Chinook which the Army used, and had twin rotors with a back ramp hatchway. Haven't the foggiest as to why the Corps chose each type for it's role, but that was how it was for us.
I'm pretty sure the rotor effects are just from the video frame rate. Watching it live it didn't look like it does in the video. And it does have a huge radial engine with a big exhaust coming out the side opposite the camera.
R 1820 -82 engine. rode one in 1966 CCN.
Had a few landings with the 34 in Vietnam....was with L 3/4 1966-67
It's just an optical illusion that occurs when the RPM of the tail rotor is close to the frame rate of the camera.
Excellent!
Scary man! You never roll backward to take off. No vis and so easy to hook the little wheel in a hole. Also what was up with that little ground yaw?
2:28 THATS WHY I LOVE THIS CHOPPER ITS THAT SOUND THAT SOUND FASCINATING TO ME
It's in th front of the heli. The round nose are two door which you can open to reach the engine.
It got the name "Ugly Angel" because it is such and ugly chopper, but it was an "angel" in the Vietnam War, doing medevac missions, transporting troops, and bringing supplies to troops. My father in law was a pilot of YL37 in 1965-66.
Awesome ,, awesome 😉,, love the radio engine,, plenty of tork
I was confused by the engine at first then I realized it had a radial engine not a turboshaft like the Huey which I believe was the first helicopter that used a turbine engine.
Wow that is so very, very cool...
I wonder how loud it is in person and when inside it
This uh-34d it still has the Wright R-1820 engine. sounds like a wwll fighter in flight as this is referred to the s-58 choctaw Sikorsky's last piston engine powered helicopter as it supplanted the Sikorsky h-19 or s-55 Chickasaw another radial engine powered helicopter. as both the s-55 and s-58 some has been converted to turbine power replacing the radial engine but different nose to house the engines the s-58t for turbine power. but this helicopter saw service in vietnam and still has the original Wright cyclone 9 r-1820 9 cylinder radial engine in it.
last time I think I saw that bird may have been Dong Ha
My grandfather was a door gunner in a Sikorsky h-34
THAT WAS COOL AS HELL
How come the tail rotor kept stopping and reversing direction?
Piston power! No turbine engine for this baby.
+mnpd3 Flying in this would be so scary to me though. If anything in that lots-of-moving-parts -type of engine would break, the whole thing would come down like a rock :o
+metelidrummer not really, auto-rotation is a good thing.
vector6977
Hmm what do you mean?
metelidrummer As long as the rotor blades keep turning at a certain RPM, the pilot will be able to make a controlled descent.
vector6977
Aa, I see. I had no idea something like that could be done :d
this is a piston helicopter, the tail rotor is linked to the engine directly.
this is normal.
+dennis trident william so many things wrong with what you just said. 1st answer me this, what is the definition of a radial engine? When you answer that I will take my apology without the sarcasm.
+dennis trident william and when your done looking that up look of the definition of an idiot.
Super & Rudolph, A radial engine has it's cyliderscylinders arranged in a circle around the crank shaft. Any piston engine is also a reciprocating engine. And, if you ignore the transmission and blade clutch, gear boxes, and U-joints, the UH34d tail rotor is connected directly to the engine. If I remember my specs correctly the tail rotor is spinning eight times as fast as the main rotor.
hobo master42 Also BTW it is a Piston Engine the Radial Engine uses pistons so it is considered PISTON ENGINE
Watching it, at any moment I was expecting one of the rotors to detach and fly away. You also have to give credit to the engineers who built this monstrosity.
Are these the helicopters SOG teams would be flown in and out of missions with duing Vietnam?
I remember this helicopter in service in Vietnam war I was so scare the engine sound when I was 3 years old.
It could have been an s 58 too now that I think more on it anyway was a cool show and that's the only time I ever seen these helicopters in use I have never seen one fly here in Canada. I would like to very much
Whoa whoa whoa..So is there an actual transmission in these beasts that have gears?
I never realized it’s just like a big ol Truck engine and it actually shifted gears into 3rd like a Truck before it took off. Wow, Helicopters have come a long way. I wonder what the reliability was Like on these dudes. Thanks for sharing.
No. It doesn't shift gears.
gearbox, no gear shift, not a truck engine, 9cylinder radial engine
Ch 19 had centrifugal clutch, Ch 34 had hydraulic clutch.
Is this the aircraft the SOG commandos refer to as Kingbee?
Nice! I have never been in a heli I just fly rc models and wish things like that I'm just building a heli as I speak here I like watching you tube flights and anything on helicopters keeps me dreaming of being a real helicopter pilot some day.
WOW - totally unexpected engine sound!
This is what the built-under licence British gas-turbine version sounds like:
RAF 84 Squadron retire the Westland Wessex
2:20 - nice sound :-)
does this bird shift gears like a truck?
It looks ugly and beautiful at the same time
this helicopter as of now is in Brewster Wa used for cherry tree drying with their other S-58 as this should of gone to Orlampa Inc. Fantisy of Flight and be in Kermit Weeks's care as he has a collection of Sikorsky planes and three s55 helicopters in storage. the Sikorsky H34 YL-38 is based in Brewster Washington being used as a cherry dryer the faa reg is n7936c
its the sound of its original Wright R-1820-84 9 cylinder radial engine 1,525 hp at the time it was a good performance helicopter most were converted to turbine power with the P&W Canada Pt6t-3 twin-pac turbine engines. redesignated it to the S-58T the early versions of the H-34 are the Sikorsky's company number S-58 they were licensed built by the British as the Westland Wessex mainly turboshaft powered than the original Wright R-1820-84 engine as this aircraft has documented history it should be left in its piston engine form. as Aircraft collector Kermit Weeks may someday aquire a S-58 of UH-34 similar to this one for his fantisy of flight attraction in Polk city Florida he has a Bell 47 / H-13 and three Sikorsky S-55 /H-19 Chickasaw helicopters. This one in your video its called S-58 or H-34 Choctaw helicopter as this is Sikorsky's last piston engined helicopter as Sikorsky and all other helicopter Manufacturers had since then went to turbine power.
Wasn't the R-1820 used in the F-4F Wildcat or was it the R-1830? My uncle flew B-17G's which had Wright Cyclones I think we're R-1850 or something like. It would have been cool to have R-2800s put on a H-34 and it might have gone 200 mph or faster.
Wow surprised how smoke free that start was. Didn't they have a Radial Engine?
I think the smoke comes from burning excess engine oil that's collected in the cylinders (not so much as to cause hydraulic lock, of course). So if the engine hasn't been sitting too long since its last run, as in this case (it was leaving after just having visited a school), there's not going to be much oil to burn and create smoke.
What a sound
excelente aeronave
How long were these babies in service for? I know some were used in The Falklands War in 1982.
First flew in 1954 and served the military until sometime in the 80's. My company used one a year ago to lift an AC unit onto a roof the cranes couldn't reach. It was the helo used in the Verizon commercials. So they're still working today.
hokanut
Anything flying after the 70's is more then likely an S-58T which has 2 gas turbine engines and a number of other upgrades instead of the old air cooled radial. They can lift a lot more and are less maintenance intensive.
kblackav8or Makes sense. Reliability is certainly a plus while lifting. Looks like we're changing out another unit on that same roof in Temecula, Ca.soon. No doubt will have to hire the helo again. I'll be sure to ask the crew.
hokanut You should give CHI Aviation a call or Helimax. This sort of thing is their specialty and they are flying more modern equipment.
kblackav8or Thanks, I'll pass that along. Sure do love watching the Choctaw fly though.
Bob: Did you ever fly one of these? The throttle return spring would give you a "Popeye" muscle on your left forearm....I think they got the spring from a battleship clutch or some other high tension application!!
YL-38 Ugly Angel is here in Brewster, Washington and is painted exactly the same.
I believe it was bought from your flying museum.
Do you know its history? Was it in Vietnam.
These two helicopters are “twins” of each other.
YL38 was assigned to HMM362,,,correct, I was there 1966/7
How does it engage the rotors at start up without stalling the engine? A viscous couple like in an automatic gearbox? Does it work it's way through some gears?
Yup, the engine-rotor clutch has a hydraulic coupling like an automatic transmission, but it doesn't have different gear speeds. There is only a single "gear ratio" between the engine and rotor (about 11.3 to 1, I think), but the nature of the clutch allows their relative speeds to vary. Once the engine and rotor speeds are in the correct ratio, the hydraulic coupling has a mechanical "lockup" which engages to provide a direct mechanical connection, for more efficient operation. The clutch also has a freewheeling feature so that it will automatically disengage if the engine speed drops below a certain point, allowing the rotor to freewheel if the engine fails. This is needed to allow a safe emergency landing via "autorotation", in which the rotor keeps spinning and the helicopter's forward speed and height are used to give the rotor enough energy to slow and safely cushion the landing.
@@colindhowell Thanks for the precise explanation - sometimes something just nags until you have the answer!
My brother flew this type of copter for 2 years in Vietnam, had many of them shot down while he was aboard,
+Tim Short I'd imagine this noise would haunt him. Hopefully in a good way.
assasing
in order to kill peapol
Where I live the county sheriff operated one of these until it was finally replaced by a Blackhawk!
Can we do a LS swap on this? Asking for a friend.
It sounds as though when it is spooling up, there are pauses in engine speed as though he was shifting gears. Is there a transmission with multiple gears to shift through like on a car in this model of helo?
Not a transmission between the engine and rotor, but clutch, you have to drop
the engine RPM to engage the clutch, also when you do a magneto check
on the engine it will also sound like that.
I think theres a 2 speed gearbox
Transmission with fluid torque converter. First stage pilot revs the engine then turns on oil feed pump to the torque converter as the converter couples you hear the engine load down and the rotor begins turning. Second stage engine revs to maximum while converter continues to speed up rotor.. Then oil feed pump is switched off and engine rpm down to high idle, as the converter drains out a direct clutch is applied the 'gear shift' noise heard, engine revs are then increased as needed for ground idle or flight. These design engineers were brilliant.
Thanks!
actually in 1951 the Kaman K-225 was the first turbine hei
Watch the video"Transitional Helicopter Flight Training (1956)" It will explain all
Google "smithsonian air and space dog of war" and there's a good article on the 34D in Vietnam.
interesting shape
nice angel
Golly! That engine is loud and noisy! I've never seen anything like that before!
can this visit my high school please?
Why does the audio sound like a speedboat? I thought these were turbine powered?
Why does the rear rotar keep stopping like that? It's like the back blades keep stalling out. Are you sure this thing is safe? I'd be concerned about that.
+CHICKEN SALAD when the rpm's of the rotors are at a certain ratio to the frame rate of the video, it creates the illusion that they're not moving. They're actually moving very fast; it's just a result of the video.
+CHICKEN SALAD It's just a video frame rate issue.
Bob Smith I don't get it. Why do the other top blades twist so smoothly, yet that back one keeps stalling out. Wouldn't that not work if they were skyborn?
+CHICKEN SALAD It's just an optical illusion. It is just a smooth as the other ones. It isn't stalling out.
Bob Smith Yeah but I watched this video 20 times and I don't get it. If the video was being recorded with a VHS style tape, not digital, then the frame rate of the video has no bearing on what is displayed because of the frames per second. But that's just my opinion. I think the tail blades were stalling out.
@ discofishing, it actually sounds like a 3 speed trans. In a world where 99% of the choppers we ever see are turbine powered, the radial sure puts a different spin [pun intended] on it.
False. Robinson puts out so many piston helicopters it would be more accurate to say 70-80%.
i read somewhere that they put b-17 engines in these
2002 Sikorsky Uh-34d Helicopter