Early helicopter aerobatics - US Army Silver Eagles and Helicopter Square Dance Team
Thread Starter
Early helicopter aerobatics - US Army Silver Eagles and Helicopter Square Dance Team
Couple of questions and thats about the US Army Silver Eagles and the Helicopter Square Dance Teams of the 1950s and 1970s
Did they ever come close to performing any form of aerobatics as such or was it strictly formation flying?
Or did aeroabtic flying come with the AAC Blue Eagles?
Cheers
Did they ever come close to performing any form of aerobatics as such or was it strictly formation flying?
Or did aeroabtic flying come with the AAC Blue Eagles?
Cheers
Semi-rigid....underslung rotor systems (Bells....) do not like "Aerobatics".
Army Regulations would not allow "aerobatics" as they are known today.
Torque Turns, steep turns, are about all that could be done back then.
Army Regulations would not allow "aerobatics" as they are known today.
Torque Turns, steep turns, are about all that could be done back then.
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Swindon, Wiltshire
Age: 74
Posts: 279
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The US Army Square Dance team had Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaws which were quite heavy with non-rigid rotors, so no way could they carry out the agile aerobatics that today's Lynx helicopters can. They even collided one with disasterous results - it's all in the book "Dancing Rotors"by Harry E.(Ned) Gilliand Jr. (look on Amazon)
The Silver Eagles were also equipped with OH-58A's.....but flew the OH-6A for self evident reasons.....the OH-58A was simply not suited for the task....very few tasks really as compared to the OH-6A. The Kiowa's were sent elsewhere in short order.
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: In a Hangar
Posts: 67
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The Blue Eagles started out back in the early 70's in Bell 47s. My Dad was one of the Engineers for the 1973 season. Formation flying and torque turns no actual aerobatics.
Is there someone out there who can tell me what they find attractive in helicopter "aerobatics"? The sound of several helicopters in formation can be impressive but other than that throwing a helicopter around the sky does not impress me at all, and can hardly be compared to the attractiveness of aerobatics by a fixed wing formation, ...... or am I on my own here?
