Huey over fairhope

Vietnam veteran and movie star in the air over Fairhope: A 1964 Bell UH-1 Huey helicopter flies across Mobile Bay and the eastern shore late Tuesday afternoon. Captured about 400 feet up, the helicopter moves at a ground speed of 112 knots or 128 mph. After going up for sale at a government surplus auction, a Washington state company specializing in helicopter sales buys the aircraft and extensively refurbishes it. The company then makes it available for use in air shows and movies including Xmen, Only the Brave and Kong, Skull Island. In researching the aircraft’s background, company leaders discover that it served in the 119th Aviation Company of the 52nd Aviation Battalion, which was based at Camp Holloway in Pleiku, Vietnam during the 1960s. The aircraft is currently registered to an owner in Mobile.

The Huey, as it’s called, is the first turbine-powered helicopter to be used by the US military. Hueys are deployed in Vietnam starting in March, 1962. They’re used for air assault, general support, cargo transport, medical evacuation, ground attack and search and rescue missions. Rockets, grenade launchers and machine guns are among weapons found aboard Hueys. Different variations of the UH-1 are produced, with other versions offering greater speed, travel and lift capability. Out of about 7,000 UH-1s serving in Vietnam, more than 3,000 would be destroyed, along with 1,151 pilots and more than 1,200 crew members killed. Photo shot from Fairhope, roughly half a mile from the aircraft…