Thanks for including the location in the description! Im from Eastern wa and only clicked the thumbnail cuz i knew it had to be filmed somewhere near me
They're reliable enough, the main issue is just the lack power. Most small helicopters will still use piston engines due to their relatively low complexity, cost, and pretty good fuel efficiency, though once you start getting into anything larger than a twin seater, its turbines all the way.@@stijnvandamme76
We were flying those in Thailand out of Udorn RTAFB in 1962. USMC, HMM 261, MAG 16, AKA HAM'S 16 Pack Rats. It was a tent city at that time. I was a mechanic on one and few quite a bit as the crew chief. We never started one without a big fire extinguisher nearby. Big balls of fire used to belch out sometimes. Mine went down in 1962 in Laos. The pilot shut down the engine at 5,000 feet due to lost oil pressure. He did a fairly good auto-rotation, but we bounced pretty hard. I had to do an engine change in a rice paddy. Another chopper flew in an engine stand/hoist and another one brought in an engine. It was a mess. I was in a lot of pain, later, I found out that I had crushed four disks in my back.
My father flew these birds with several squadrons out of New River MCAS and was in SE Asia at the roughly the same time..1962-63. IIRC he was based at an airfield in the Mekong delta that had been a Japanese airfield in WW2.
There was an old Vietnam Vet that owned one near here. That old helo looked like it was held together with ratchet straps, tarp straps, and duct tape. The vet flew it for hire as a sky crane/transport and would fly it into the local flight breakfast every so often. He usually came screaming in at treetop level just over the hangars, do a 180 while stopping and drop it onto the ground. Once he had his fill of chatting and breakfast, he would take off and put on a show for everyone flying sideways in circles, backwards in circles, hammerhead turns, ect. before heading back home.
@@robertfeiring8335 cheers fur that, I did a flying experience trip in an R22 and he had to use a flat blade screw driver and a pair of long nose pliers to get it to start! Needless to say it was a scary flight.
@Alex Berkman They'd usually start better if they weren't left - but the SC engines also had a habit of eating exhaust valves that was bordering on a hobby - due to something referred to as a Parts Recovery Turbine. Oh, and there was little issue of the cowl flaps stalling out the wing.. Still at least it wasn't a Napier Sabre - that thing had to be started every 20 minutes in cold weather - leave it to a cold soak start, and you'd smash the thing to bits - the sleeve valves would seize in cooler temperatures if the engines weren't kept warm. Plus these old things had the equivalent of a choke (manual mixture control) and we aren't talking about a Triumph 6 here.. That's a lot of metal to coax, and a lot of cold metal to steal heat. Plus it looks like there is some drag on the motor when it starts, I'm not sure that's what should be happening, I seem to remember the engines are started clutched from the blades but I don't know..
That helicopter may be close to 70 years old. It may in fact have been flying in the Korean war! I can't tell you how satisfying it is for me to see that old timer running that well (after a cold start) and lifting off like a champ. Great design and engineering never go out of style. PS, I'm 63 and in the morning, I start like that too. But once I'm warmed up I'm good to go!
The H-19 flew in Korea. The H-34 was basically an upgrade from the H-19. If they had R-2800s in the front, my best bet would be it could have flown at 145-170 mph if given that big an engine. The R-2800s powered P-47 Thunderbolts l, F-4U Corsair and F-6F Hellcats. Sorry to see what might have but did not with this rotor monster.
I noticed the exhaust pipes were shaking for a while and then I would hear a faint ticking sound both happening for a while before the combustion and rotor started each time. Before noticing all of that that I thought the pilot was waiting a long time to let the starter system recover. No, he was at it but the thing wouldn't kick to life. :)
@@charlieross-BRM I thought the clutch was engaged and that was why the engine was having a hard time. The blades turned immediately upon starting so, maybe?
When these went in for a major overhaul, they were flown from Okinawa to Japan. That was a stretch for one to fly if it was in top condition. Also, parts that were well worn or near their time change limits, tires, transmissions, etc. were canned from other helicopters, so it was risky. They had to put a fuel tank in the cargo compartment and use a hand pump and do in air refueling by standing on the landing gear to make the trip. They also burned a LOT of oil, had to stand on the landing gear and pour it in from a bottle. It was all over water and not a fun trip. The pilot did not want to slow down much when that was going on. Seems like 50 to 80 kts was considered slow by the pilot. Out on the landing gear, that seemed like 200. I don't think that would be allowed today. The good part was getting to fly in a like new helicopter on the way back. They really did a great job on them.
My father flew on HSS in his early career in the french navy until the late 70's just before they were replaced by the Westland navy Lynx . I was 3 years old the first time he put me in the cockpit during a visit of the base and the smell of the mix of oil and gasoline has never quit my souvenirs .
My father put me in the cockpit of an A-6 aboard CV-41 back around the same age. Couldn't see nothing but dials in my face. I wondered how the sailors moved around so quickly when you had to climb up to get through hatches from compartment to compartment. :-) Some of his pride in that aircraft has carried on to me to this day as well.
@@filipinowhiteboy Harold was actually based on a Sikorsky S-55, and is the Coast Guard variant with the pontoon floats. I couldn't resist the joke for this video 🤣
@@Puffie40 Nahh it's a fair one. I saw the white heli and I immediately thought of the same character....course, I haven't seen Thomas the Tank engine in over 20 years so I'd forgotten the name of the chopper until you mentioned it.
Another thing I remember from the old days. I went back to Thailand ten years later after our government had turned some of the SH-34's over to the Thai air force. I noticed that some techs were working on a transmission and were trying to get the rotor head off. They were really struggling to get the Jesus nut off. They were using a hammer and chisel. They had succeeded in making a lot of little dents and chips, but it was not loose at all. It was hard to keep from laughing, they had no clue how tight that nut was. I asked them why they weren't using the hydraulic wrench and they said "what wrench?" It took awhile for us to find it, it was all packed up in the hangar, they never knew what it was for. I got it working and it took two of them to put it on the rotor head. It was a beast. Even with the hydraulic wrench it took a 6 ft breaker bar on it to get the nut loose. We weren't supposed to memorize the torque, had to always look it up to be sure, but the torque on it was 3,500 foot pounds. It was sort of important that it not fall off.
Are the rotors direct drive from the engine? I see them turning while cranking. Also, does the crew check for hydraulic locking on the radial before starting?
Steve you have a fantastic line of stories about these choppers. Ever thought about teaching at a college level or even just uploading stories on RUclips? I think you would be a major hit based on your story telling skills
@@gordonquickstad They have a hydro-mechanical clutch to connect the engine to the rotors. They have to very carefully use the starter to turn the engine through a few revolutions before they start.
@@tx4runner459 I taught electronics, instrumentation, avionics, and weapons courses for over 20 years in vo-tech, college, and at Lockheed Martin. Had a varied and interesting career. Posted a lot of stories on FB. May get them put in a book one of these days.
For those who don't know, those choppers were powered by a Wright R-1820 Cyclone nine cylinder radial. Which is the same engine which among others powered the Douglas DC-3 and the Boeing B-17. And yeah, that sound puts a V-8 to shame.
@@jamielacourse7578 Igor Sikorsky might have been Russian but he fled the country after the first world war and settled in the USA where this helicopter was made. So no, the S-58 wasn't Soviet made.
When I was in college I worked for a guy that had a few of the S-58’s (H34’s) that he used to get WW II aircraft out of the swamps of Florida. I rode in one once, the noise was deafening, we headed out to set A/C compressors on a rooftop. Unfortunately the intermediate gearbox failed and the aircraft made what a call a controlled crash on the roof of the building. One of the main gear went through the roof. The gearbox was replaced, aircraft lifted off the roof and flew it back home. Interesting experience.
I hear ya. In the early 90s right out of HS I worked the flight line at a municipal airport. We had all kinds of aircraft including jets out of there. By an order of magnitude these were the LOUDEST aircraft I ever dealt with. When we had a crew from St Louis Heavy Lift show up to install new AC on the mall a mile away even with my muffs it was deafening. When they returned to land for the day I made sure and wore plugs AND muffs. Insane.
I was at Davis Monthan in 1978. At the boneyard, there was a pile of radial engines 2x as big as a house. They were chopping off engines off that model of helicopter that had them hanging like bug eyes off each side of the engine (Choktaw?) Edit..airframe. Mojave helicopter
obsolete professor I was there once, an incredible place. The guy I worked for had a few F4u’s a Bell 47 and other stuff I can’t remember. He ended crashing, at an air show flying an old WWII bomber that he had refurbished, he was a neat guy.
Back in the early 60's one of those passed over our farm, constantly missing and backfiring. My father commented that they needed to get it tuned up. Next morning, on the bus to school, saw that it had crashed into a pine forest a few miles away. Iirc, the trees broke the fall and no one was killed. Kept a piece of its honeycomb as a memento for years.
@@ianshiell3597 No, that is definitely a radial engine. The earlier S58s used a Wright 9-cylinder radial engine (Wright Cyclone, maybe?) mounted in the nose. A later improvement added twin turboshaft engines, commonly called a Twin Pack. The Twin Pack nose is slightly longer, more squared off, and has two square air intakes just below the cockpit windshield. It also doesn't have the quad exhaust pipes on the left side of the nose.
@@ianshiell3597 this is not a gas turbine engine, you bloody dolt 😂😂 How can you mistake a reciprocating engine and a turbine engine?!. I garantuee you, $50 worth, that there is not a turbine engine *in the WORLD* that clatters, clanks and clunks like this engine does!!! Not a gas turbine, Not a steam turbine, Not an electric turbine, Not ANY turbine. But i can take you to just about any country in this world, and find you a multitude of reciprocating, *piston* engines that all sound like this. But if you ever hear a turbine engine sound like this, you have about 5 seconds left to live if you don't start running soon as you hear it. Cause that b¡tch is about to *explode.*
The Westland Wessex is a British-built turbine-powered development of the Sikorsky H-34. It was developed and produced under licence by Westland Aircraft. One of the main changes from Sikorsky's H-34 was the replacement of the piston-engine powerplant with a turboshaft engine.
First time I watched Full Metal Jacket, seeing these surprised me. I was used to seeing the Westland version over Northern Ireland and Huey's in Vietnam documentaries.
I haven't heard that sound in about 40 years. My A&P school had one of these old Sikorskys. It wasn't flyable, but every so often the instructors would let us pull it outside the hangar and crank up that radial.
Let me relay an S-58 story from a friend of mine who did two tours in Vietnam, the viewers can decide if its accurate, but my friend was always a real straight shooter when it came to aircraft stories. When they got the very first turbine engine Huey's in Vietnam, they tried to sling load a artillery piece not sure which one, the Huey was on the verge of over torquing and over temping and generally having a hard time, but the same sling load on the S-58/H-34, he said the Wright radial engine would snort pop and growl, but the ole Choctaw would pick it up and fly away with it, like it was nobody's business.
I cant imagine the Huey was designed to sling load anything more than mayybe a jeep in a pinch or fuel drum or two honestly, but I really dont know. Two blades says its not designed to lift much more than itself utilizing rapid rotor acceleration. they were made to dump soldiers, grab a few, and be gone as quickly as possible. This friend of yours probably witnessed some strictly controlled 19 year olds doing some important military research one slow afternoon in the jungle
Point of order: Old cars NEVER started like that. That helicopter starts like an old tank! Lot of American tanks, in WWII, had radial engines. Radial engined combat vehicles, off the top of my head, included the M3 Lee, M4 Sherman, M18 Hellcat, and several others.
For tanks, the radial Wright R975 was causing supply problems and the majority of Sherman tanks were delivered with the Ford V8, GAA. Other Sherman tank engines include the General Motors "twin" diesel 6046, and the Chrysler 30 cylinder, multi-bank, A57.
@@agoodchristianpilot159 THe Wright Curtis R 1820 is American built but the Shvetsov M-25 is a licensed production of the Curtis 1820 and is built in Russia. It very well may be pretty much the same engine.
In 1976, a mechanical contractor I worked for, took over their part from a bonding company and helped to finish the first 20 story condo. Redington towers on Redington Beach in Florida. The general contractor had finished with the Crane and it was gone. We still had two cooling towers and a chiller plant, some pumps and pipe to go to the roof. We used a Sikorsky similar to this to make the five picks. What an experience for a young man. We were far away enough from the road but needed a drop zone if there were any issues. So we had to close off a long stretch of Beach for any unforseen emergency. The prior planning or prejob the Pilot had with us was impressive. And took safety seriously. Went off with out a hitch. The sound of that engine brings back some memories. That was a good work horse. * Peace Out *
As a Recon Marine in the mid 60's I static line jumped out of a UH34 (military designation for this helo) several times. Looking at this video reaffirms that it was a good idea to get out of that rattletrap as soon as possible!
I was working with the 3rd Marine Division Recon on Futenma Okinawa back in 61 and 62. I was a mechanic on the UH34 and we dropped a lot of them off using the ropes in the Jungle. We were also supporting Air America in Thailand.
I saw an old movie with Ernest Borgnine in it, I dimly recall it was “The Flight of the Phoenix” where a crashed plane in the desert with two fuselages was reconstructed into a single fuselage with one engine. The thing I remembered was this engine started from something like a shotgun cartridge which acted in place of a starter motor. Part of the excitement was they had a limited number of cartridges. It’s called the Coffman Engine Starter which was common in aircraft in WW2.
Yeah, but you don't get to FEEL it when it's on video. The vibrations in the ground you feel through your feet and that pounding on your chest is most memorable.
Could not agree more! My Wife thinks I'm nuts when I run outside shouting "Round Engines, Round Engines" . We get a few B25's, B26's, DC3's and even an occasional B17 and B29 here in Palm springs area. All of them will get me out on the patio. (3 x to Oshkosh)
My old platoon sergeant worked on these in the day. He said you would run the engine up for a good while before pulling pitch. Apparently a colder engine(winter ops) could stall pretty easily on takeoff.
I was living in Chesapeake Virginia in the late 1950s as a young kid and I vaguely remember seeing a B-36 Peacemaker low heading Langley AFB in Hampton Virginia My best guess now was air controllers had to bring them down around Norfolk Municipal Airport and Norfolk NAS and the air traffic supervisors at NAS Norfolk and Norfolk Municipal Airport had to be told in advance they were being brought in through active air space for whatever reason. But that big monster scared the Dickens out of me! The H-34'S,in my opinion we're just as loud. Just think how many widows would shatter if both B-36's and H-34'S flew in tandem formations one behind the other! Insurance companies would go bonkers!
The most likely reason for this is that the engine in the helicopter was mounted with the cylinders horizontal. When radial engines are used in aircraft, they are mounted vertically, so there is always at least one cylinder pointing directly down towards the ground, or near enough. These lower cylinder(s) collect oil when the engine is not in use, and some always seeps past the piston rings and gets into the combustion chamber. This is why they always rotate the engine a few times with the ignition off before starting, to clear the oil from the lower cylinders and redistribute most of it, preventing hydraulic locking from occurring when the engine starts up. But even so, there is always some excess oil in the lower cylinders which burns off in the first few minutes after starting, hence the smoke produced. If the engine is mounted with all the cylinders horizontal, then this doesn't happen - the oil can't pool in just one cylinder, doesn't seep past the piston-rings, so you don't get much of it into the combustion chambers, hence the lack of smoking on starting or shortly afterwards.
I was an instructor in the H-13. Big noisy rig that threw carbon chunks at night. A rotor blade came loose and it bounced & vibrated like the dickens. Maintenance couldn't find the problem. On the test run it went into ground resonance, flipped on its side & thus ended the life of one CH-34. Thank God no one was hurt. For those who like "high pucker factor" situations this can be a scary bird.
It will out live if they start making main rotor blades. They are only good for 3200 hours. A lot of the blades laying around are junk do to poor storage, corrosion gets pretty bad.
These types of helicopters were always my favorite just from a design standpoint. It's so cool when you see rich people buy these and deck them out. Makes me wish I won the lottery.
I remember when I first found out what type of engine was used in this model......it took my mind a few minutes to actually believe it....then I thought about the engineer who first proposed this idea and how amazing his mind must have been.....
I’ve flown a couple of times in DC3’s with two of those clattering buggers.... happy in the knowledge if they both stopped clattering... it might glide a bit and land a bit hard... whereas, if the fire went out in an S58 it would come down like Wylie Coyotes Acme anvil.... 🙄
My dad was an aviator in the U.S. Coast Guard 1955 to 1975 when he retired. This aircraft was one of the first helicopters he flew. He disliked it intensely as he was always aware if he came in too hard he and his crew would burn.
My father (in the aerospace industry) would say to me when young. The word Sikorsky…with a smile on his face. Only later know how profoundly Sikorsky played a roll of our helicopter evolution.
I took a job drying cherries with one of these old girls. I earned every cent that year but looking back I have to say that it really made me a safer pilot. That thing has the busiest cockpit of anything I've ever seen and really prepared me for when things go south with today's automation. A workload that makes some panic now was a easy time in her 😆
@@NilsFerry I wish it was but it's not..... It's actually flying over the farm row after row drying cherries after the rain to keep them from splitting. Small farms can get away with blowing from the ground. But there's a point where it's not fast enough and helicopters are cheaper. It's been a while but a few hours can make or break the price they get. It's one of the few jobs for low time pilots and it's actually kind of fun at first. But not something most want to make a career out of.
In spite of the rough sound, they fly quite well. You have to remember that the engine has no flywheel, so will run quite ‘lumpy’ at idle. Once it’s up to speed and driving the rotors it’s surprisingly smooth.
chalo colina . The engine is started disengaged from the rotor system. Once the engine is started and warmed sufficiently, the pilot engages the rotors. It is during this process with the rotors not engaged that the engine sounds so rough.
So, I got out of the Army in 1977 where I crewed on the UH-1H (V) Huey Dustoff helicopters. I couldn’t believe my eyes and ears when in 1983, I witnessed the startup of those Wright R-1820 Cyclones on a LA County Sheriff search and rescue Choctaw (H-34). However, over the years They upgraded to the S-58T, Sikorsky H-3 and currently, the Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma (Airbus H-125).
I got medivac'ed in 84 out of Azusa canyon by the Sherriff dept on that craft. Went to an airshow in 87 at Dougherty field & they had mothballed her for parts by then and got a glimpse of it behind the fence. The crew liked the radial engine, if you lost a jug, she'd get you home... lose a turbine, land Now
What a heap of @@@@. What the heck, plenty of great aircraft wasting away and someone thought this derelict piece of crud needed to dispose of a few more good people. Yearly inspections, really, with what a broom stick!
Yes, it sounds like one of those hotted up cars that the owners think is so cool when it idles very barely going but only sounds to me like it's sick as a dog. You feel like you only have to look at it too hard and it'll stall.
@Glenn Heiselman blasphemy to speak the name of Mustie1 and he who shall not be named in the same sentence. Your penance is to binge watch all Scotty Kilmer videos.
These left the Navy the year I joined in 1970. A quite reliable piece of equipment. It's airframe was mostly made of magnesium. You were issued parachutes in case of an engine fire. The magnesium would catch fire and that was that.
@@VMCAviationVideos I was in one that flew out of Grosse Ile, Michigan. We caught on fire and had to do a forced landing at St Clair County Airport, just north of Detroit. The fire was in the rear where the radios were, so we lost the radios, I tried to put out the fire and couldn't do it. I told the pilot to land ASAP, but he kept flying because he wanted to sit down at the airport. I was afraid we were going to lose the entire tail cone. Somehow, the fire went out on it's own.
About 20 years ago I worked at a mall that was getting a new rooftop air conditioner installed. They did it via air lift with a pistion S58. The sound and sight was impressive. The owner of the company said the piston powered craft could outlift many of his turbine powered craft.
When the Brits bought the S-58 and started to build it under license in 1961 they called it the Wessex and fitted 2 turbines instead of the radial. The movie Full Metal Jacket was filmed all in England and features the Royal Marines Wessex .
The S-58 that were modified for the turbine engines became S-58t. The main rotor blades had abrasion strips installed. The added torque to the tail rotor blades required the addition of the abrasion strip to stiffen the blade.
@@garyanderson7520 The s-58t was a civilian US conversion with a P&W Twin-Pac, unlike the British model which had mounted two de Havilland Gnome engines.
There's a non-turbine version up at the South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum in Doncaster. I was quite surprised that they made them with radial piston engines in the nose like that. It's non-air-worthy at the moment but they have it opened up so you can see the engine properly.
When I was working offshore in the Caspian (Azerbaijan) early 2000s, there were loads of these old helicopters still flying crew out to rigs and platforms.
This is literally the helicopter I drove past everyday near Brewster in Washington state. This is the exact landscape I remember seeing every day in the summer too.
What is interesting the same asymmetrical profile was used on the mrb for the s-55, s-58, h-3, s-61 and skycrane. The blades were basically just enlarged.
In 77' I had an amazing privilege of being a passenger on an S-58. The pilot knew it was my first helicopter ride and "hot dogged" a little.... Taking off like a roller coaster... I'll never forget that experience! #losangelessherrifs 😄
Reminds me of the ole H-34s. Reading the comments, I remember the first time I had to launch the plane, flames flew out the pipe and it was burning. I grabbed the extinguisher, ready to go and the pilot was screaming and waving not to do it. I LEARNED a lesson that day.
I imagine a bickering old couple is in the cockpit "I told you to plug it in last night, Henry!" "I know, Martha!" "You're flooding it, Henry!" "Be quiet, Martha!!!"
It was an improvement in the "chopper" when they swapped the Radial for a turboshaft engine. Though they had to also put in a 500 lb (?) weight to counteract the shift in the centre of balance.
I can remember as a kid back in the 60's we could hear these coming a mile away. We used to live very close to Camp Geiger and would ride our bikes to the end of the road to see them land on the parade field. Our dad was a crew chief for the "Ridge Runners" HM-365. You could always tell their squadron. They had mean slanted eyeballs on the engine cowling.
My dad was in HMM 365 also in the 60's. I remember the evil eyes, they painted them on in VN, had something to do with superstition in the orient. I remember going to the flight line in Tustin where the Helicopter's were stationed at El Toro MCAS, the ground shook when they were running. The blimp hangers are still there, if you've never seen them up close, you should, they are gigantic, and made of wood. I remember when the Marines got the first CH53A's, my dad was one of the factory trained crew chief's and later was maintenance chief of HMH stationed at El Toro. (I think he was in all of the units at one time or another)
I was in one in 1970. The engine stopped when we were flying over the Irish sea. The Irish pilot asked us all to get out and pushed. Paddy did and fell 500 feet in the sea. He survived but he lost his bottle of whisky
Needs a bit more choke and a few light pumps in the accelerator when turning the ignition, once it kicks over go half choke until you get a smooth idle and slowly push the choke in.
@@EricTViking Just need the match the revs and double clutch it with a gentle push of the gear stick allowing it to find its own way or just grind it until you find it.
I remembered that line before I even saw the bottom line explanation! Everyone there was pretty worried when they realized the guy whose idea it was was a designer of balsa wood airplanes! BTW it's spelled Phoenix, like the Arizona city. 👍
Around 1993, I had the opportunity to fly on one of these in Sierra Leone after landing at the airport. Age has dulled my memory, but I seem to remember we had to use the helicopter to fly from the airport to an area near the US Embassy. The flight route took us over a large body of water. When we left a week or so later, we had to use the ferry, as the helicopter crashed a few days after our trip and everyone was killed. I remember thinking "this is awesome, a bit insane, and definitely crazy, when they handed us inflatable life vest and that helicopter started up.
I crewed an H-34 like this one in the mid 70s for EPA, air sampling. Easy helicopter to work on. Lots of grease fittings to lube before each flight. Checking the nitrogen in the rotor blades too was something I had never heard of, but had to be done before flight also. It flew fantastic. Yes it was LOUD, but reliable. Best experience was flying in formation of 2 of these from St. Louis to Vegas, got to see the earth as never before, especially when you fly over the Grand Canyon, WOW. It was a real workhorse in Nam.
I would love to fly over the Grand Canyon with an S-58. The only time I flew as a passenger on an S-58 was from Manhattan to JFK Airport many years ago.
I helped tear one of these apart and scrapped it years ago. The old radial engine was cool. Also learned that the main rotors are filled with nitrogen and have a gage on the end showing the internal pressure to let you know if the blades are cracked.
These are prominent in spring during cherry season. They use the downforce of the air to "DRY" the cherries. If they do no, the cherries will split, which ruins the fruit. It is cheaper to use these heli's than any other method. The hillsides some alive with these just after each rain.
Lack of smoke may have been due to bottom cylinder draining via spark plug removal and a prior start on that day. I am a carpenter, NOT a mechanic but that is my best guess. Good to see one of those old machines still flying. I advise anyone interested in these machines to watch the videos of Sikorsky junior’s recent visit to Fantasy of Flight.
@@michaelmcdonald3057 They are a superb example of form following function AND looking good, at the same time. N.B. The Westland Wessex is reportedly a turboshaft development of the original piston-engined aircraft; as opposed to a licence built version of the later Sikorsky turboshaft helicopter. I do not know why the RN went that way but it may have been done in order to have a slightly smaller machine.
Flight mechanic on C-119 D model had 3350 ci eng wif 3 fluid drive turbos🤠put out one hp per ci. 3350 hp. It was sumpen in th day. It replaced a 4360 n had more hp.👍
Reminds me of the time my family was stationed in Germany. I was waiting for my parents to come back to our Volkswagen Beetle outside one of the buildings at Frankfurt-Rhine Main close to a Helipad with 3 S-53s parked there. I watched as a Flight Crew walked up to one of the S-53s and checked it over, started it up and flew away. It was exciting to watch. It was in late 1962 when I was 5.5 years old.
The Sikorsky S61 was used as normal passenger transport in one part of the UK up until 2012. It was amazing to be part of that experience, now gone forever.
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Great looking heli and that eng sound just wow.......
Thanks for including the location in the description!
Im from Eastern wa and only clicked the thumbnail cuz i knew it had to be filmed somewhere near me
@@FadedAir P
@@JamesLee-sd3fk huh lol
Die Mi4 hatte nie solche Triebwerksstartprobleme 1968
Starts like a regular radial: "no, no, no, no, maybe, yes, no, no, yes, yes, no, definitely now!"
Excellent description, that is perfect haha!
Like my wife
Andrei Bata
Like starting an old ‘50’s & ‘60’s V-8 on a Very Cold Morning!!!
@@bewarethehorsemen and my sister
this is why you don't see the co-pilot at the controls when starting the engine. He's down underneath turning the hand crank!🤣
Pre-turbine helicopters are just impressive on a whole different level
Not sure I would want to fly along in them tho.
They're reliable enough, the main issue is just the lack power. Most small helicopters will still use piston engines due to their relatively low complexity, cost, and pretty good fuel efficiency, though once you start getting into anything larger than a twin seater, its turbines all the way.@@stijnvandamme76
@@stijnvandamme76 Agreed lol. I'm all for starting up and using old heavy equipment.. but absolutely not an old helicopter
I want my helicopter to sound like a muscle car and I don't care if it performs " worse " it makes me happy. :)
@@BauregardSenior87your funeral brother…all the power to ya
We were flying those in Thailand out of Udorn RTAFB in 1962. USMC, HMM 261, MAG 16, AKA HAM'S 16 Pack Rats. It was a tent city at that time. I was a mechanic on one and few quite a bit as the crew chief. We never started one without a big fire extinguisher nearby. Big balls of fire used to belch out sometimes.
Mine went down in 1962 in Laos. The pilot shut down the engine at 5,000 feet due to lost oil pressure. He did a fairly good auto-rotation, but we bounced pretty hard. I had to do an engine change in a rice paddy. Another chopper flew in an engine stand/hoist and another one brought in an engine. It was a mess. I was in a lot of pain, later, I found out that I had crushed four disks in my back.
Wow, what an interesting story, Thanks Steve❗️
Thank YOU for Your Service!!
My Dad was there in Udorn Operation Mill Pond USMC He set up tent city, also worked on these .
@@kmathers101 Sounds like we may have been there at the same time. I have a few pictures left if you're interested.
My father flew these birds with several squadrons out of New River MCAS and was in SE Asia at the roughly the same time..1962-63. IIRC he was based at an airfield in the Mekong delta that had been a Japanese airfield in WW2.
There was an old Vietnam Vet that owned one near here. That old helo looked like it was held together with ratchet straps, tarp straps, and duct tape. The vet flew it for hire as a sky crane/transport and would fly it into the local flight breakfast every so often. He usually came screaming in at treetop level just over the hangars, do a 180 while stopping and drop it onto the ground. Once he had his fill of chatting and breakfast, he would take off and put on a show for everyone flying sideways in circles, backwards in circles, hammerhead turns, ect. before heading back home.
It reminds me of the *_dark water in this video_* ruclips.net/video/Tl5oHZrIZo0/видео.html&.gjaua
That guy sounds awesome
🫡🫣
@@snjert8406 might depend on the breakfast...
❤❤❤
After all these attempts I would be volunteering to stay on the ground and film lol
😳
@@VMCAviationVideos Agree!
for a radial, thats a normal start. Nothing to worry about at all
@@robertfeiring8335 cheers fur that, I did a flying experience trip in an R22 and he had to use a flat blade screw driver and a pair of long nose pliers to get it to start! Needless to say it was a scary flight.
Slow start certainly doesn't inspire confidence; even if it is normal. Not the fast getaway vehicle to choose during the zombie apocalypse.
Given the radial engine, it would be more appropriate: "Sikorsky starts the engine like an old Sherman tank" :D
Read about the Sherman engine ! Fascinating design with old truck “blocks” used to simplify manufacture.
You mean an old Stuart tank.
It works!
@@jefftheriault7260 or both
@@jefftheriault7260 M4 and M4A1 Shermans had radial engines.
Over the years as the helicopter evolved, the engines and pilots have switched places
Underrated and
Bruh Bhagvan the rotar engine behind the cockpit also theres a stairway for below room , funny comment tough
Now it’s just the pilots just smoke, cough and shake 🤣
The cockpit was in front of the engine even in WW2 helicopters.
nice one
Should really be called: "radial engine starts completely normally"
Exactly
Beat having to go crank that damn thing like they used to do on radials.
Goldeneye...
@Alex Berkman They'd usually start better if they weren't left - but the SC engines also had a habit of eating exhaust valves that was bordering on a hobby - due to something referred to as a Parts Recovery Turbine. Oh, and there was little issue of the cowl flaps stalling out the wing.. Still at least it wasn't a Napier Sabre - that thing had to be started every 20 minutes in cold weather - leave it to a cold soak start, and you'd smash the thing to bits - the sleeve valves would seize in cooler temperatures if the engines weren't kept warm.
Plus these old things had the equivalent of a choke (manual mixture control) and we aren't talking about a Triumph 6 here.. That's a lot of metal to coax, and a lot of cold metal to steal heat. Plus it looks like there is some drag on the motor when it starts, I'm not sure that's what should be happening, I seem to remember the engines are started clutched from the blades but I don't know..
It reminds me of the *_dark water in this video_* ruclips.net/video/Tl5oHZrIZo0/видео.html&.qonua
That helicopter may be close to 70 years old. It may in fact have been flying in the Korean war! I can't tell you how satisfying it is for me to see that old timer running that well (after a cold start) and lifting off like a champ.
Great design and engineering never go out of style.
PS, I'm 63 and in the morning, I start like that too. But once I'm warmed up I'm good to go!
Haha, yes, I know the feeling in the morning.
I to am 63 and I to start like that and I slowly plod through the day taking frequent sleeps also stopping for food etc.
The H-19 flew in Korea. The H-34 was basically an upgrade from the H-19. If they had R-2800s in the front, my best bet would be it could have flown at 145-170 mph if given that big an engine. The R-2800s powered P-47 Thunderbolts l, F-4U Corsair and F-6F Hellcats. Sorry to see what might have but did not with this rotor monster.
This particular one was built in 1957 (serial number 58-534). Not quite 70 years old.
I remember them when they used to use them to snatch up the Mercury and Gemini space capsules.
Rotor blades to engine 'You gonna start this thing or WHAT?!' Engine ... "SHUT UP, I'M TRYING."
I noticed the exhaust pipes were shaking for a while and then I would hear a faint ticking sound both happening for a while before the combustion and rotor started each time. Before noticing all of that that I thought the pilot was waiting a long time to let the starter system recover. No, he was at it but the thing wouldn't kick to life. :)
xD
@@charlieross-BRM I thought the clutch was engaged and that was why the engine was having a hard time. The blades turned immediately upon starting so, maybe?
@@firebpm4977, I worked on these back in the 90's and there weren't any clutches involved to prevent the engine from engaging the transmission.
"I think I can, I think I Can. I THINK I CAN!" LOL
*Co-pilot after third attempt “Wait.. We’re going to FLY this now?”
No! We need to wait until VIP come
Haha👍
hello
No. Helicopters don't fly. They're so ugly the earth just REPELS them!
It reminds me of the *_dark water in this video_* ruclips.net/video/Tl5oHZrIZo0/видео.html&.ddpza
When these went in for a major overhaul, they were flown from Okinawa to Japan. That was a stretch for one to fly if it was in top condition. Also, parts that were well worn or near their time change limits, tires, transmissions, etc. were canned from other helicopters, so it was risky.
They had to put a fuel tank in the cargo compartment and use a hand pump and do in air refueling by standing on the landing gear to make the trip. They also burned a LOT of oil, had to stand on the landing gear and pour it in from a bottle. It was all over water and not a fun trip. The pilot did not want to slow down much when that was going on. Seems like 50 to 80 kts was considered slow by the pilot. Out on the landing gear, that seemed like 200. I don't think that would be allowed today.
The good part was getting to fly in a like new helicopter on the way back. They really did a great job on them.
What the...
You should absolutely write a book!
If it's still leaking, it's still running
isn't Okinawa in japan ???
@@dexterthompson1809 Now it is. Back then, no. It's still over 4 hours of flight time with no good landing spots.
I had a 68 Plymouth that used to start like that. It was scary enough to drive on the ground. Couldn't imagine flying in it.
👍
That's the answer.
I had a '70 Plymouth that sounded about like that when it was idling cold and I flew it...all the way to traffic court
@@21wdwrkr LOL. I feel your pain.
My '72 Plymouth (well Hillman actually, but was also sold as a Plymouth) sounds nothing at all like that at all, it's really sweet.
My father flew on HSS in his early career in the french navy until the late 70's just before they were replaced by the Westland navy Lynx . I was 3 years old the first time he put me in the cockpit during a visit of the base and the smell of the mix of oil and gasoline has never quit my souvenirs .
👍
My father put me in the cockpit of an A-6 aboard CV-41 back around the same age. Couldn't see nothing but dials in my face. I wondered how the sailors moved around so quickly when you had to climb up to get through hatches from compartment to compartment. :-)
Some of his pride in that aircraft has carried on to me to this day as well.
I see Harold the helicopter is very cantankerous when he wakes up.
frankie right? :D
I was gonna say, I never realized Harold was based on a real helicopter....let alone an American one.
@@filipinowhiteboy Harold was actually based on a Sikorsky S-55, and is the Coast Guard variant with the pontoon floats. I couldn't resist the joke for this video 🤣
@@Puffie40 Nahh it's a fair one. I saw the white heli and I immediately thought of the same character....course, I haven't seen Thomas the Tank engine in over 20 years so I'd forgotten the name of the chopper until you mentioned it.
@@filipinowhiteboy Same here XD
Another thing I remember from the old days. I went back to Thailand ten years later after our government had turned some of the SH-34's over to the Thai air force. I noticed that some techs were working on a transmission and were trying to get the rotor head off.
They were really struggling to get the Jesus nut off. They were using a hammer and chisel. They had succeeded in making a lot of little dents and chips, but it was not loose at all. It was hard to keep from laughing, they had no clue how tight that nut was.
I asked them why they weren't using the hydraulic wrench and they said "what wrench?"
It took awhile for us to find it, it was all packed up in the hangar, they never knew what it was for. I got it working and it took two of them to put it on the rotor head. It was a beast.
Even with the hydraulic wrench it took a 6 ft breaker bar on it to get the nut loose. We weren't supposed to memorize the torque, had to always look it up to be sure, but the torque on it was 3,500 foot pounds. It was sort of important that it not fall off.
Great story!
Are the rotors direct drive from the engine? I see them turning while cranking. Also, does the crew check for hydraulic locking on the radial before starting?
Steve you have a fantastic line of stories about these choppers. Ever thought about teaching at a college level or even just uploading stories on RUclips? I think you would be a major hit based on your story telling skills
@@gordonquickstad They have a hydro-mechanical clutch to connect the engine to the rotors. They have to very carefully use the starter to turn the engine through a few revolutions before they start.
@@tx4runner459 I taught electronics, instrumentation, avionics, and weapons courses for over 20 years in vo-tech, college, and at Lockheed Martin. Had a varied and interesting career. Posted a lot of stories on FB. May get them put in a book one of these days.
A real shame we didn't get to watch/hear the full sequence from start to full rpm... that cut just sucked.
Agreed
@Superb Media Content Creator the original site somewhere on youtube?
How can a website be on youtube?
@Ryan Ripley I bet you think I'm clever too.
@@samschellhase8831 Nice, thank you.
Probably took a couple of hours
For those who don't know, those choppers were powered by a Wright R-1820 Cyclone nine cylinder radial. Which is the same engine which among others powered the Douglas DC-3 and the Boeing B-17.
And yeah, that sound puts a V-8 to shame.
i didnt know, know i do!. thanks.
Good soviet transportation! Just gotta get her going!
@@jamielacourse7578 Igor Sikorsky might have been Russian but he fled the country after the first world war and settled in the USA where this helicopter was made.
So no, the S-58 wasn't Soviet made.
Sounds like a Granada Cosworth with no exhaust ,
Did not know that. Radial engine to Rotary blades...lol
When I was in college I worked for a guy that had a few of the S-58’s (H34’s) that he used to get WW II aircraft out of the swamps of Florida. I rode in one once, the noise was deafening, we headed out to set A/C compressors on a rooftop. Unfortunately the intermediate gearbox failed and the aircraft made what a call a controlled crash on the roof of the building. One of the main gear went through the roof. The gearbox was replaced, aircraft lifted off the roof and flew it back home. Interesting experience.
I hear ya. In the early 90s right out of HS I worked the flight line at a municipal airport. We had all kinds of aircraft including jets out of there.
By an order of magnitude these were the LOUDEST aircraft I ever dealt with. When we had a crew from St Louis Heavy Lift show up to install new AC on the mall a mile away even with my muffs it was deafening.
When they returned to land for the day I made sure and wore plugs AND muffs. Insane.
Interesting story, Thanks!
I was at Davis Monthan in 1978. At the boneyard, there was a pile of radial engines 2x as big as a house. They were chopping off engines off that model of helicopter that had them hanging like bug eyes off each side of the engine (Choktaw?) Edit..airframe. Mojave helicopter
obsolete professor I was there once, an incredible place. The guy I worked for had a few F4u’s a Bell 47 and other stuff I can’t remember. He ended crashing, at an air show flying an old WWII bomber that he had refurbished, he was a neat guy.
I have see that video.
Once the old bird gets warmed up it runs beautifully.
Have 800 hours in the H34. Flew many helicopters. The H34 was the best handling of them all. Remarkable machine.
Where did you fly the H34?
Back in the early 60's one of those passed over our farm, constantly missing and backfiring. My father commented that they needed to get it tuned up. Next morning, on the bus to school, saw that it had crashed into a pine forest a few miles away. Iirc, the trees broke the fall and no one was killed. Kept a piece of its honeycomb as a memento for years.
Interesting
starting a radial is like waking up a grumpy old man
Do u no wot a radial engine is? This is a gas turbine which I suppose goes round and round like the little cells in your hedd!
@@ianshiell3597 No, that is definitely a radial engine. The earlier S58s used a Wright 9-cylinder radial engine (Wright Cyclone, maybe?) mounted in the nose. A later improvement added twin turboshaft engines, commonly called a Twin Pack. The Twin Pack nose is slightly longer, more squared off, and has two square air intakes just below the cockpit windshield. It also doesn't have the quad exhaust pipes on the left side of the nose.
@@ianshiell3597 this is not a gas turbine engine, you bloody dolt 😂😂
How can you mistake a reciprocating engine and a turbine engine?!.
I garantuee you, $50 worth, that there is not a turbine engine *in the WORLD* that clatters, clanks and clunks like this engine does!!!
Not a gas turbine,
Not a steam turbine,
Not an electric turbine,
Not ANY turbine.
But i can take you to just about any country in this world, and find you a multitude of reciprocating, *piston* engines that all sound like this.
But if you ever hear a turbine engine sound like this, you have about 5 seconds left to live if you don't start running soon as you hear it. Cause that b¡tch is about to *explode.*
👍
The Westland Wessex is a British-built turbine-powered development of the Sikorsky H-34. It was developed and produced under licence by Westland Aircraft. One of the main changes from Sikorsky's H-34 was the replacement of the piston-engine powerplant with a turboshaft engine.
First time I watched Full Metal Jacket, seeing these surprised me.
I was used to seeing the Westland version over Northern Ireland and Huey's in Vietnam documentaries.
I haven't heard that sound in about 40 years. My A&P school had one of these old Sikorskys. It wasn't flyable, but every so often the instructors would let us pull it outside the hangar and crank up that radial.
Nice
Let me relay an S-58 story from a friend of mine who did two tours in Vietnam, the viewers can decide if its accurate, but my friend was always a real straight shooter when it came to aircraft stories. When they got the very first turbine engine Huey's in Vietnam, they tried to sling load a artillery piece not sure which one, the Huey was on the verge of over torquing and over temping and generally having a hard time, but the same sling load on the S-58/H-34, he said the Wright radial engine would snort pop and growl, but the ole Choctaw would pick it up and fly away with it, like it was nobody's business.
Interesting
I cant imagine the Huey was designed to sling load anything more than mayybe a jeep in a pinch or fuel drum or two honestly, but I really dont know. Two blades says its not designed to lift much more than itself utilizing rapid rotor acceleration. they were made to dump soldiers, grab a few, and be gone as quickly as possible. This friend of yours probably witnessed some strictly controlled 19 year olds doing some important military research one slow afternoon in the jungle
v old viet vet saw nva move a tank barrel on bicycles
‘ol Huey was slanging some weight
@@tuckergary1516 what?
Point of order: Old cars NEVER started like that. That helicopter starts like an old tank!
Lot of American tanks, in WWII, had radial engines. Radial engined combat vehicles, off the top of my head, included the M3 Lee, M4 Sherman, M18 Hellcat, and several others.
For tanks, the radial Wright R975 was causing supply problems and the majority of Sherman tanks were delivered with the Ford V8, GAA. Other Sherman tank engines include the General Motors "twin" diesel 6046, and the Chrysler 30 cylinder, multi-bank, A57.
Or just an old plane, in general. I fly an Antonov often (in Flight Simulator and Xplane lol) and it starts the same way. Prolly the same damn engine
@@scottskinner577 antanovs are russian...
@@agoodchristianpilot159 THe Wright Curtis R 1820 is American built but the Shvetsov M-25 is a licensed production of the Curtis 1820 and is built in Russia. It very well may be pretty much the same engine.
@@scottskinner577 No, it isn't, and you aren't starting an engine, you're playing with a toy.
My favourite helicopter since "Riptide". "Screaming Mimi"
Love that sound!
I was thinking the same thing! And it started just like Screaming Mimi did, too! I wonder if the pilot had to hit the instrument console as well.
It reminds me of the *_dark water in this video_* ruclips.net/video/Tl5oHZrIZo0/видео.html&.zxswa
@@tundrajt I guess so. Probably it's a standard gimmick 😄😉
It reminds me of the *_dark water in this video_* ruclips.net/video/Tl5oHZrIZo0/видео.html&.yiaga
ruclips.net/video/8qMmE7wQg3o/видео.html
In 1976, a mechanical contractor I worked for, took over their part from a bonding company and helped to finish the first 20 story condo. Redington towers on Redington Beach in Florida.
The general contractor had finished with the Crane and it was gone.
We still had two cooling towers and a chiller plant, some pumps and pipe to go to the roof.
We used a Sikorsky similar to this to make the five picks. What an experience for a young man.
We were far away enough from the road but needed a drop zone if there were any issues. So we had to close off a long stretch of Beach for any unforseen emergency.
The prior planning or prejob the Pilot had with us was impressive. And took safety seriously. Went off with out a hitch. The sound of that engine brings back some memories. That was a good work horse. * Peace Out *
👍
That sounds like how I feel getting up in the morning.
Haha 👍
It reminds me of the *_dark water in this video_* ruclips.net/video/Tl5oHZrIZo0/видео.html&.upnla
It reminds me of the *_dark water in this video_* ruclips.net/video/Tl5oHZrIZo0/видео.html&.tcvga
As a Recon Marine in the mid 60's I static line jumped out of a UH34 (military designation for this helo) several times. Looking at this video reaffirms that it was a good idea to get out of that rattletrap as soon as possible!
Haha, I guess😁
I was working with the 3rd Marine Division Recon on Futenma Okinawa back in 61 and 62. I was a mechanic on the UH34 and we dropped a lot of them off using the ropes in the Jungle. We were also supporting Air America in Thailand.
I saw an old movie with Ernest Borgnine in it, I dimly recall it was “The Flight of the Phoenix” where a crashed plane in the desert with two fuselages was reconstructed into a single fuselage with one engine. The thing I remembered was this engine started from something like a shotgun cartridge which acted in place of a starter motor. Part of the excitement was they had a limited number of cartridges.
It’s called the Coffman Engine Starter which was common in aircraft in WW2.
Classic. There's simply no sound on the planet like a radial.
Yeah, but you don't get to FEEL it when it's on video. The vibrations in the ground you feel through your feet and that pounding on your chest is most memorable.
Could not agree more! My Wife thinks I'm nuts when I run outside shouting "Round Engines, Round Engines" . We get a few B25's, B26's, DC3's and even an occasional B17 and B29 here in Palm springs area. All of them will get me out on the patio. (3 x to Oshkosh)
AAHKLEE for me it’s the Corsair! I just love that Pratt and Whitney r2800 twin wasp radial, no sound quite like it
@@AAHKLEE dude. If I hear a radial it doesn't matter if I'm in the attic. I will make it outside in 2 seconds flat
Glad I'm not the only one that's basically goes bat shit crazy for radials. 😆
Exhaust looks like he’s chomping on cigars
😁
This is why Sikorsky was the most brilliant helo visionary of all time. If there was a way to make a barn fly, Sikorsky could find it.
Yup, I agree!
My old platoon sergeant worked on these in the day. He said you would run the engine up for a good while before pulling pitch. Apparently a colder engine(winter ops) could stall pretty easily on takeoff.
I love these old S-58s. Theyre like old gram-pas. "Ill start when Im damn good and ready". A lot of character.
It reminds me of the *_dark water in this video_* ruclips.net/video/Tl5oHZrIZo0/видео.html&.apfda
It reminds me of the *_dark water in this video_* ruclips.net/video/Tl5oHZrIZo0/видео.html&.kleoa
I was living in Chesapeake Virginia in the late 1950s as a young kid and I vaguely remember seeing a B-36 Peacemaker low heading Langley AFB in Hampton Virginia My best guess now was air controllers had to bring them down around Norfolk Municipal Airport and Norfolk NAS and the air traffic supervisors at NAS Norfolk and Norfolk Municipal Airport had to be told in advance they were being brought in through active air space for whatever reason. But that big monster scared the Dickens out of me! The H-34'S,in my opinion we're just as loud. Just think how many widows would shatter if both B-36's and H-34'S flew in tandem formations one behind the other! Insurance companies would go bonkers!
Well, thats the most smoke-free radial Ive ever seen start, reluctant or not
True...every radial start I've seen blows a cloud of burnt oil.
True! Maybe there is no oil left....
True, was a AE flight mechanic at EAFB 58-62 and they all smoked a bit,just wonder how this eng was mounted?
The most likely reason for this is that the engine in the helicopter was mounted with the cylinders horizontal. When radial engines are used in aircraft, they are mounted vertically, so there is always at least one cylinder pointing directly down towards the ground, or near enough. These lower cylinder(s) collect oil when the engine is not in use, and some always seeps past the piston rings and gets into the combustion chamber. This is why they always rotate the engine a few times with the ignition off before starting, to clear the oil from the lower cylinders and redistribute most of it, preventing hydraulic locking from occurring when the engine starts up. But even so, there is always some excess oil in the lower cylinders which burns off in the first few minutes after starting, hence the smoke produced.
If the engine is mounted with all the cylinders horizontal, then this doesn't happen - the oil can't pool in just one cylinder, doesn't seep past the piston-rings, so you don't get much of it into the combustion chambers, hence the lack of smoking on starting or shortly afterwards.
@@lloydevans2900 More like 20° tilt from vertical position in airplanes, but I agree likely position not to produce burnt oil as you explained👍
Still a graceful old bird, once she wakes up.
haha, yes
I have been out with a number of girls like that!
It reminds me of the *_dark water in this video_* ruclips.net/video/Tl5oHZrIZo0/видео.html&.ozkqa
I was an instructor in the H-13. Big noisy rig that threw carbon chunks at night. A rotor blade came loose and it bounced & vibrated like the dickens. Maintenance couldn't find the problem. On the test run it went into ground resonance, flipped on its side & thus ended the life of one CH-34. Thank God no one was hurt. For those who like "high pucker factor" situations this can be a scary bird.
That sweet beast will out live us all.
Yep, I bet it is already older than most of the people watching this!
@@1howtoplace Good one LOL.
@Route 66 Texas
I am actually really glad to be wrong on this, I'd rather that than reading some young folks lolling at it!
Wait until I get my hands on them.
It will out live if they start making main rotor blades. They are only good for 3200 hours. A lot of the blades laying around are junk do to poor storage, corrosion gets pretty bad.
These types of helicopters were always my favorite just from a design standpoint. It's so cool when you see rich people buy these and deck them out. Makes me wish I won the lottery.
👍
In my head I heard the "Rip Tide "theme song start playing. waiting for Nick and Cody to go running to the old pink flying MeMe!
Now we just need some grenades in mason jars to toss out of the windows. 🤔
Need to paint s mouth on that thing
So did I.😂
Wow you are the first person Ive met that has heard about RipTide! lol I used to watch it because the nerd was named Murray
Paint the mouth with teeth and tongue as well.
I remember when I first found out what type of engine was used in this model......it took my mind a few minutes to actually believe it....then I thought about the engineer who first proposed this idea and how amazing his mind must have been.....
The old is priceless. Almost 70 years and still running in good condition. That's what we call the good old days.
CH-47, used by all nations around the world, is scheduled (including upgrades) for Over 100 years before phase out.. maybe ;
Trusty old workhorse
If I was booked to fly on this, heard it trying to start..... I would hide in the terminal toilet till it had gone.... 😳
Why? 's just a radial engine, they take a few goes to get going sometimes.
I’ve flown a couple of times in DC3’s with two of those clattering buggers.... happy in the knowledge if they both stopped clattering... it might glide a bit and land a bit hard... whereas, if the fire went out in an S58 it would come down like Wylie Coyotes Acme anvil.... 🙄
@@iancharlton678 Not really, autorotation's a thing too. Helicopters can glide =P
BazilRat .... some Helicopters can autorotate like a sycamore leaf, gently swirling down to the ground..... others can’t 😳
@@BazilRat u wouldn't make it with this one
The fact it doesn't start up right away, it's why it's so perfect for what it's designed for.
It reminds me of the *_dark water in this video_* ruclips.net/video/Tl5oHZrIZo0/видео.html&.hrkwa
It reminds me of the *_dark water in this video_* ruclips.net/video/Tl5oHZrIZo0/видео.html&.qhvua
My dad was an aviator in the U.S. Coast Guard 1955 to 1975 when he retired. This aircraft was one of the first helicopters he flew. He disliked it intensely as he was always aware if he came in too hard he and his crew would burn.
My father (in the aerospace industry) would say to me when young. The word Sikorsky…with a smile on his face. Only later know how profoundly Sikorsky played a roll of our helicopter evolution.
It reminds me of the *_dark water in this video_* ruclips.net/video/Tl5oHZrIZo0/видео.html&.ypfda
It reminds me of the *_dark water in this video_* ruclips.net/video/Tl5oHZrIZo0/видео.html&.ydmia
...and in the establishment of the much-mourned Pan American Airways.
I took a job drying cherries with one of these old girls. I earned every cent that year but looking back I have to say that it really made me a safer pilot. That thing has the busiest cockpit of anything I've ever seen and really prepared me for when things go south with today's automation. A workload that makes some panic now was a easy time in her 😆
Is "drying cherries" some kind of metaphor or military expression?
@@NilsFerry I wish it was but it's not..... It's actually flying over the farm row after row drying cherries after the rain to keep them from splitting. Small farms can get away with blowing from the ground. But there's a point where it's not fast enough and helicopters are cheaper. It's been a while but a few hours can make or break the price they get.
It's one of the few jobs for low time pilots and it's actually kind of fun at first. But not something most want to make a career out of.
It reminds me of the *_dark water in this video_* ruclips.net/video/Tl5oHZrIZo0/видео.html&.iuhoa
@@southjerseysound7340 Fascinating, I didn't know that!
In spite of the rough sound, they fly quite well. You have to remember that the engine has no flywheel, so will run quite ‘lumpy’ at idle. Once it’s up to speed and driving the rotors it’s surprisingly smooth.
It has like a 40 foot flywheel.
chalo colina . The engine is started disengaged from the rotor system. Once the engine is started and warmed sufficiently, the pilot engages the rotors. It is during this process with the rotors not engaged that the engine sounds so rough.
👍
It's great how the engine (once started) didn't even seem like it was working hard to get off the ground, a pretty chill take off really.
Brought back memories. I worked at Orlando Helicopter Airways in Sanford, FL in the 70's. It was great job and learned a lot from my Boss Jeff Small!
So,
I got out of the Army in 1977 where I crewed on the UH-1H (V) Huey Dustoff helicopters. I couldn’t believe my eyes and ears when in 1983, I witnessed the startup of those Wright R-1820 Cyclones on a LA County Sheriff search and rescue Choctaw (H-34). However, over the years They upgraded to the S-58T, Sikorsky H-3 and currently, the Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma (Airbus H-125).
I got medivac'ed in 84 out of Azusa canyon by the Sherriff dept on that craft. Went to an airshow in 87 at Dougherty field & they had mothballed her for parts by then and got a glimpse of it behind the fence. The crew liked the radial engine, if you lost a jug, she'd get you home... lose a turbine, land Now
Joe Kurtz Good for you. Those Pratts are almost guaranteed to work even when you lose a jug.
I bet every aluminum casting on that helicopter has 20 cracks in it. When it flies in front of the sun you can probably see light bleeding thru it.
I think its 21
Bill Wit You’d be wrong, there’s annual inspections for a reason.
@@whackyjinak4978 IDK i guess vote for sniff and blow.
@@whackyjinak4978 Shit, tell that to the former soviet union pilots that flew us around Afghanistan.
What a heap of @@@@. What the heck, plenty of great aircraft wasting away and someone thought this derelict piece of crud needed to dispose of a few more good people. Yearly inspections, really, with what a broom stick!
Jeez that sounds good when it finally catches - in car terms, almost like it has a really aggressive cam profile. What a machine
Yes, it sounds like one of those hotted up cars that the owners think is so cool when it idles very barely going but only sounds to me like it's sick as a dog. You feel like you only have to look at it too hard and it'll stall.
Mustie1 could get that smoothed right out. Clean the points and the carb and she'd kick first time every time.
You forgot the Marvel Mystery Oil.
Some fluid film on that baby
And it would purrrrrr
@Glenn Heiselman blasphemy to speak the name of Mustie1 and he who shall not be named in the same sentence. Your penance is to binge watch all Scotty Kilmer videos.
Mustie would use two stroke gas from a zoom spout Oiler! This was a 100% normal start by the way.
Seemed pretty normal. There weren't even any flames coming out of the exhaust pipes.
yes and very little smoke for an aircraft engine. Most folks have no clue why aircraft engines smoke so much
@@3RTracing I think it's a warm start.
Riley Kitchen good observation. Rings are seated.
@@cvcoco no I imagine what was cut was the runup and mag check.
@@3RTracing It doesn't have smoke likely because it run just before the shot, oil didn't buildup.
These left the Navy the year I joined in 1970. A quite reliable piece of equipment. It's airframe was mostly made of magnesium. You were issued parachutes in case of an engine fire. The magnesium would catch fire and that was that.
Interesting
@@VMCAviationVideos I was in one that flew out of Grosse Ile, Michigan. We caught on fire and had to do a forced landing at St Clair County Airport, just north of Detroit. The fire was in the rear where the radios were, so we lost the radios, I tried to put out the fire and couldn't do it. I told the pilot to land ASAP, but he kept flying because he wanted to sit down at the airport. I was afraid we were going to lose the entire tail cone. Somehow, the fire went out on it's own.
About 20 years ago I worked at a mall that was getting a new rooftop air conditioner installed. They did it via air lift with a pistion S58. The sound and sight was impressive. The owner of the company said the piston powered craft could outlift many of his turbine powered craft.
When the Brits bought the S-58 and started to build it under license in 1961 they called it the Wessex and fitted 2 turbines instead of the radial. The movie Full Metal Jacket was filmed all in England and features the Royal Marines Wessex .
The S-58 that were modified for the turbine engines became S-58t. The main rotor blades had abrasion strips installed. The added torque to the tail rotor blades required the addition of the abrasion strip to stiffen the blade.
@@garyanderson7520 The s-58t was a civilian US conversion with a P&W Twin-Pac, unlike the British model which had mounted two de Havilland Gnome engines.
@@georgecross1109 what is interesting there are still sud aviation blades still floating around.
Was about to ask about the FMJ copter... Thanks for the info!
There's a non-turbine version up at the South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum in Doncaster. I was quite surprised that they made them with radial piston engines in the nose like that. It's non-air-worthy at the moment but they have it opened up so you can see the engine properly.
I used to fly one of them and the Whirlwind (on huge floats with a max speed 70kts! interesting in the north of Scotland with regular 70+ knot winds)
Nice. The only time I was on a S58 was as passenger flying from Manhattan to the JFK airport aboard a New York Helicopter S-58.
gosh you must go back further than me then!!
When I was working offshore in the Caspian (Azerbaijan) early 2000s, there were loads of these old helicopters still flying crew out to rigs and platforms.
This is literally the helicopter I drove past everyday near Brewster in Washington state. This is the exact landscape I remember seeing every day in the summer too.
It reminds me of the *_dark water in this video_* ruclips.net/video/Tl5oHZrIZo0/видео.html&.givua
As a retired firefighter for Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford Connecticut, it warms my heart to see a video such as this. Yes, Igor knew a good thing!
That’s sweet! I’m a restorer up at the New England Air Museum and whenever I have some free time I get into our H-34. Igor was a genius.
What is interesting the same asymmetrical profile was used on the mrb for the s-55, s-58, h-3, s-61 and skycrane. The blades were basically just enlarged.
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I rode in a Sikorsky S55 and it was the loudest thing I’ve ever been inside of.
In 77' I had an amazing privilege of being a passenger on an S-58. The pilot knew it was my first helicopter ride and "hot dogged" a little.... Taking off like a roller coaster... I'll never forget that experience! #losangelessherrifs 😄
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Reminds me of the ole H-34s. Reading the comments, I remember the first time I had to launch the plane, flames flew out the pipe and it was burning. I grabbed the extinguisher, ready to go and the pilot was screaming and waving not to do it. I LEARNED a lesson that day.
That engine startup must give that pilot such.. encouraging and sure feeling it'll keep going and not stall out midflight.
Haha
Wow that was great to see modern footage of one start, and actually fly! Thanks for the share.
Glad you enjoyed it
Igor: "whew, thought we were going to need to pop out the jumper cables again"
Haha 👍
Or the starting handle
That’s one of my favorite helicopters. Always liked the way it looked.
I imagine a bickering old couple is in the cockpit "I told you to plug it in last night, Henry!" "I know, Martha!" "You're flooding it, Henry!" "Be quiet, Martha!!!"
Haha, Awesome!
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It was an improvement in the "chopper" when they swapped the Radial for a turboshaft engine. Though they had to also put in a 500 lb (?) weight to counteract the shift in the centre of balance.
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I can remember as a kid back in the 60's we could hear these coming a mile away. We used to live very close to Camp Geiger and would ride our bikes to the end of the road to see them land on the parade field. Our dad was a crew chief for the "Ridge Runners" HM-365. You could always tell their squadron. They had mean slanted eyeballs on the engine cowling.
Where is Camp Geiger?
@@VMCAviationVideosEast coast Jacksonville NC. New River Air Station is next door.
@@Brian-hd4rf Ahhh, Ok
My dad was in HMM 365 also in the 60's. I remember the evil eyes, they painted them on in VN, had something to do with superstition in the orient. I remember going to the flight line in Tustin where the Helicopter's were stationed at El Toro MCAS, the ground shook when they were running. The blimp hangers are still there, if you've never seen them up close, you should, they are gigantic, and made of wood. I remember when the Marines got the first CH53A's, my dad was one of the factory trained crew chief's and later was maintenance chief of HMH stationed at El Toro. (I think he was in all of the units at one time or another)
I built loads of these as Airfix model kits when I was a kid. One of my all time favorite helicopters then and now. 🤗
As you can hear it's in good condition.. Get onboard!
Anytime
I was in one in 1970. The engine stopped when we were flying over the Irish sea. The Irish pilot asked us all to get out and pushed. Paddy did and fell 500 feet in the sea. He survived but he lost his bottle of whisky
Pardon ?
Needs a bit more choke and a few light pumps in the accelerator when turning the ignition, once it kicks over go half choke until you get a smooth idle and slowly push the choke in.
Or push it over a cliff for a bump-start 😂
@Rob Yeh, you just keep it is 2nd gear and the revs up until the flat spot disappears.
I start my weed wacker the same way.
@@frankbob6664 they are a bugger to get into reverse though.
@@EricTViking Just need the match the revs and double clutch it with a gentle push of the gear stick allowing it to find its own way or just grind it until you find it.
Beautiful silhouette of a helicopter. Smokes like an old train. Radial engine from B-17
I’m going to fire one cartridge with ignition off to clear the carburetor.
NOOO, I Forbid It.😅
“Flight of the Phenix”.
I remembered that line before I even saw the bottom line explanation! Everyone there was pretty worried when they realized the guy whose idea it was was a designer of balsa wood airplanes!
BTW it's spelled Phoenix, like the Arizona city. 👍
@@Beezlie727 I remember that scene well. I had shivers up my spine, what if that last but one cartridge failed... all hanging by a thread!
@Mickey Finn ...and how happy he was the next day finding his superior dead in the sand. No trial for disobedience.
@@Beezlie727 ...not Phenix, like Phenix City, Alabama.
Phoenix, but who's counting
Around 1993, I had the opportunity to fly on one of these in Sierra Leone after landing at the airport. Age has dulled my memory, but I seem to remember we had to use the helicopter to fly from the airport to an area near the US Embassy. The flight route took us over a large body of water. When we left a week or so later, we had to use the ferry, as the helicopter crashed a few days after our trip and everyone was killed. I remember thinking "this is awesome, a bit insane, and definitely crazy, when they handed us inflatable life vest and that helicopter started up.
It reminds me of the *_dark water in this video_* ruclips.net/video/Tl5oHZrIZo0/видео.html&.tvvna
I crewed an H-34 like this one in the mid 70s for EPA, air sampling. Easy helicopter to work on. Lots of grease fittings to lube before each flight. Checking the nitrogen in the rotor blades too was something I had never heard of, but had to be done before flight also.
It flew fantastic. Yes it was LOUD, but reliable. Best experience was flying in formation of 2 of these from St. Louis to Vegas, got to see the earth as
never before, especially when you fly over the Grand Canyon, WOW. It was a real workhorse in Nam.
I would love to fly over the Grand Canyon with an S-58. The only time I flew as a passenger on an S-58 was from Manhattan to JFK Airport many years ago.
I helped tear one of these apart and scrapped it years ago. The old radial engine was cool. Also learned that the main rotors are filled with nitrogen and have a gage on the end showing the internal pressure to let you know if the blades are cracked.
That seems like remarkably advanced technology for 70 years ago. If cracked and losing pressure, I imagine they were simply scrapped in theatre. ?
These are prominent in spring during cherry season. They use the downforce of the air to "DRY" the cherries. If they do no, the cherries will split, which ruins the fruit. It is cheaper to use these heli's than any other method. The hillsides some alive with these just after each rain.
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You can even hear the guy stomping on the throttle like it's a 1956 buick.
UNDERRATED XD
It even sounds like he forgot to open the choke the first try.
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Lack of smoke may have been due to bottom cylinder draining via spark plug removal and a prior start on that day. I am a carpenter, NOT a mechanic but that is my best guess. Good to see one of those old machines still flying. I advise anyone interested in these machines to watch the videos of Sikorsky junior’s recent visit to Fantasy of Flight.
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I was confirmed in my belief these old birds were radial engine powered. Coolest looking chopper ever made!
@@michaelmcdonald3057 They are a superb example of form following function AND looking good, at the same time. N.B. The Westland Wessex is reportedly a turboshaft development of the original piston-engined aircraft; as opposed to a licence built version of the later Sikorsky turboshaft helicopter. I do not know why the RN went that way but it may have been done in order to have a slightly smaller machine.
Wonderful how it transforms from a cranky old sputtering tractor into a beautiful humming flying machine.
Jesus, that’s an old bird. I can see why they put turbines in em. Still very cool, all the same!
to much vibration. causes failures and airframe fatigue.
McGrubis that’s an issue with all rotorcraft/prop driven aircraft. Doesn’t matter what kind of engine they have.
Flight mechanic on C-119 D model had 3350 ci eng wif 3 fluid drive turbos🤠put out one hp per ci. 3350 hp. It was sumpen in th day. It replaced a 4360 n had more hp.👍
Old and beautiful
Isn't that why they do maintenance to avoid failures🤨
50000 parts flying in close formation
Yup 😁
I like "Helicopters don't fly, they're so ugly and contrived, they're repulsed by the ground."
And each part bought from the lowest bidder.
Not just loose parts flying in formation, they were held in formation by a thin skin (and prayers)
...held together by a thin film of oil.
One the best choppers ever built!
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Reminds me of the time my family was stationed in Germany. I was waiting for my parents to come back to our Volkswagen Beetle outside one of the buildings at Frankfurt-Rhine Main close to a Helipad with 3 S-53s parked there. I watched as a Flight Crew walked up to one of the S-53s and checked it over, started it up and flew away. It was exciting to watch. It was in late 1962 when I was 5.5 years old.
"Jolly Green Giant" I believe they were referred as...like a big ol' grasshopper. Favorite for me, hands down!
The most dragonfly looking aircraft ever made!
We used to. call.them loud pissed off grasshoppers lol
@@tomsmith5216 I could see that as well!
It reminds me of the *_dark water in this video_* ruclips.net/video/Tl5oHZrIZo0/видео.html&.pvwja
It reminds me of the *_dark water in this video_* ruclips.net/video/Tl5oHZrIZo0/видео.html&.icfga
Just remember to put it in neutral at red lights to prevent it from stalling like a 1981 Dodge Aspen.
Haha, YES. 👍
The Sikorsky S61 was used as normal passenger transport in one part of the UK up until 2012. It was amazing to be part of that experience, now gone forever.
Sounds like a top-fueler running!
Nice!
Yeah really high compression!
It reminds me of the *_dark water in this video_* ruclips.net/video/Tl5oHZrIZo0/видео.html&.vyeza
A real "workhorse" helicopter! I've placed a few cooling towers on the top of skyscrapers with these in my career as a pipefitter!
WOW good for you!
Nice 👍
Imagine rolling up to an airstrip to see a helicopter, but you can't help but to notice it sounds very much like a cammed out LS engine.
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