T-Birds.....A Real Helicopter!

[SASless]

Every now and then One gets the opportunity to fly an unforgettable Helicopter....some are those you wish never to climb into ever again and those that are just sweet ol' Darlings and wind up being one you really enjoyed being around.

Among those I feel that way about is the Sikorsky S-58 and S-58T.

The rumble and snorting of the old Piston Radial coming to life is one of life's wonderful sounds.....and slinging your flight gear up into the Cockpit Window and climbing up the side of the Old Girl is a ritual that One must experience to appreciate.

A good article on some folks that are keeping the T-Birds going!

https://assets.verticalmag.com/digital/2016/v15i6/html5/index.html?page=46&noflash

[megan]

Learnt to fly helos on the UH-34 SAS, can't say I loved it at the time, trying to wrestle the thing in order to keep the other seat happy. :p Other than that, enjoyed it, a real gentleman's carriage, and ANYTHING with a radial is automatically in the GREAT category. And you did sit up there with the Gods, could eyeball a 747 driver all most.

Chaps flying the single engine Wessex in the anti sub role were not so enamoured, lack of power and problematic SAS (not you), crewroom SOP was the last man out slash the float bags following ditching.

[[email protected]]

It was good enough for H M the Queen (in Wessex guise) and does exactly what the article says - flys smoothly, lifts lots and makes you smile when you sit 14 feet up in the cockpit:ok:

26,000 hours on type is rather impressive - makes my 3000 on type look rather paltry;)

[DroneDog]

Some great pictures at the back on that magazine.