This Huey (now ZU-CVC)served with the USMC from 1967 till 1974 for a total of 2501 hours during which time it had 2 majors done at home in the US. The aircraft was sold via Israel Aircraft Industries to Ethiopia where it served for about 400 hours.
This Huey along with 3 others was earmarked for refit from 1989 by Agusta Bell but the project died halfway due to African financial woes.
The aircraft were purchased with a collection of 39 airplanes and brought to Johannesburg in 1997. Some of these were sold off and some rebuilt.
The Huey ser 9078 /66-16884 (TTSN 3000.00) was rebuilt from scratch at a private airfield in Johannesburg over a period of 2.5 years.
This aircraft was made fully AD and SB compliant as applied to Bell 205 manuals and not UH-1H. Records of all the components and times were traced from the original suppliers and updated.
The aircraft was sold to a buyer in Cape Town who took advantage of the brilliant new rules governing use of non type certificated airplanes in RSA.
In order to obtain a certificate to fly the aircraft still had to go through the normal process of inspection and audit by the CAA.
Additionally some 40 hours of proving flight had to be done before a operating C of A was issued.
Finally thanks to a brilliant business plan the Huey was able to take warbird lovers and curious public club members on a real Huey before only seen in movies in South Africa.
Unfortunately the opposition saw it as a threat to their businesses and created all sorts of stories to get the machine grounded. This achieved what must be a record of inspection by the CAA on one aircraft. (more than 20 in one year)
The said Huey has now flown nearly 500 hours without trouble proving its total reliability. Unfortunately all aircraft including Boeings and opposition helicopters do have snags. A few small problems which were attended to like any normal organisation were blown up into nightmares by the opposition causing the CAA to react negatively and influence the V&A management.
FACT:
The Huey has got ALL its component records (verified by CAA)
All the bulletins and mods have been done
All the proper and more maintenance has been done as per Bell and military manuals.
The second machine is nearly ready!!!!
Do any of you negative #@&%(*&#@ out there really believe that an engineer with any integrity would allow 14 people with family and kids to fly in a machine with doubtful history??
Signed,
The Hueys Chief Kennel Keeper.
[email protected]