I don't know if there is an interest for structural repair work here or not.

We do work on a lot of cool stuff here in Montana. They may not have flaps, but their still considered aircraft. Helicopter repairs actually make up a good portion of the business.

The last week or so I've been reassigned from the Cessna 180 to this UH-1H. The boss and I riveted these new T Caps in this morning.

There is one on either side of the aircraft, and they are a major structural component. The T cap runs from just forward of the lift beam -basically the front end of the forward "Hell Hole" aft to where the center deck makes it's angular transition upwards. (Aft end of the "Hell Hole") The forward two feet or so of the T cap can not be seen in the pictures. The T transitions to a flat section for the length of the forward "Hell Hole"

In the pictures, they are the yellow primed pieces. Quite a bit of disassembly required. The engine deck and side decks are removed. They are actually some pretty interesting composite panels with titanium top skin and aluminum honey comb inside.
The aft lH and RH Fuel lids are removed and the cells protected and taped over. (The bladders are pushed downward slightly out of the way) The AFt Center Fuel Bladder is removed.



The forward center white section that you see in this picture is where the transmission mounts, directly over the lift beam pictured.



The Center Deck and Engine are installed above this area.



The forward tailboom skins take a lot of heat and eventually have to be replaced. We riveted these new skins on Monday.
Tuesday I was back on a Cessna control surface and riveted up the rudder in the wooden box by the ladder.



The dark interior of a tailboom.

20NM three barrel Gatling guns were never mounted on Hueys but were mounted on one wing store on two of our Cobras. They shook so bad that they warped the titanium and honeycomb stress panels you are working on. We had to give the 20mm back to the F4 drivers.

The gun was great for danger close work because the rounds had exploding heads. You could walk the sparkles in safely. The bad thing was back seat's door came open and the intercom was inoperable so long as it was firing.

I don't know if there is an interest for structural repair work here or not.

I find it very interesting, I know nothing about it at all. Looks like a cool job.

I think its super cool.

If I decide I want a 180 my plane will go to Stevensville, MT.

Great pictures Rich! I enjoy them as I am in AME school and we will be working on a bell 205. We are doing riveting projects right now, almost done. And I also have to reskin my C180 rudder after a moose had fun with it.
David

We just retired our last one this week. Sad day!




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Yes Cam, sad. You guys have better helicopters now, but more troops, including myself, have been scooped up out of Indian country and saved from death or capture by Hueys than by any other aircraft. I expect that record will stand awhile.

I hope the record stands awhile - quite awhile!

Nice work by the way.
Chris C

Just curious why that T-cap needed replaced. Is it a timed item, or AD?

I spent a number of years as a CC on UH-1H/Vs. I'm the one sitting on the edge of the deck. This was up at the Golden Coyote exercise in the Black Hills a couple months before Iraq invaded Kuwait.



The guy laying on the ground managed to do this to my bird while we where over in the Dessert.



Sorry for the small pics, they come up fine in my album and I guess I'm not smart enough to fix it.

The T cap is not a time life item. To my knowledge there is not an AD either.

This particular location, (The forward center deck section directly above the fuel cell and forward of the firewall) does not have provisions for draining. Water and moisture accumulate and if it is not taken care of creates a corrosion condition that compromises the structures integrity.

In this particular aircraft, a repair attempt had been previously made, but it was now time to address it fully.

This H model is also undergoing other maintenance while in our shop and will leave with a new paint job as well.

I bet you have a ton of stories. Would love to see more pictures. I'm sure it's a minor deal to get them full size.

Thanks for your service to our country, you and the many many others on this site who have sacrificed and served have my deepest respect. I for one am extremely grateful for the safety and security that my family and I enjoy.

I'm on my phone right now but I'll load some more pics when I get the chance.

nefj40 wrote:Just curious why that T-cap needed replaced. Is it a timed item, or AD?

I spent a number of years as a CC on UH-1H/Vs. I'm the one sitting on the edge of the deck. This was up at the Golden Coyote exercise in the Black Hills a couple months before Iraq invaded Kuwait.



The guy laying on the ground managed to do this to my bird while we where over in the Dessert.



Sorry for the small pics, they come up fine in my album and I guess I'm not smart enough to fix it.

Fixed it for you. Next time go to your album, click on the photo and then in the upper right corner click img URL. Copy that link and then paste into the [IMG]paste here [IMG]