"E-bay Meat"
Above is the former 118th Thunderbird UH-1H
69-15022 sitting gutted and
stripped in the bone-yard of AeroSource (www.rotorparts.com)
in Navarre, FL. President and owner Rob Hall said, "I have
never put a helicopter "hull" on E-bay before, but decided
to try it once." Although she has been treated fairly roughly,
she still proudly wears her pitot cover.....although in tattered
shreds!
(Photo courtesy Rob Hall)
(All Photos above courtesy Rob Hall)
UH-1H, 69-15022 didn't just spend a short
time in the 118th Thunderbirds. It came to the unit practically
brand-new with 22 hours in March of 1970. Then, over the next
11 months she averaged over 100 hours per month until being transferred
out of the unit to the 7/1 Cav with 1287 hours total time on the
aircraft....almost 1/2 her total flight time!
The probable reason the aircraft was transferred
out of the 118th to the 7/1 Cav was she had over so many hours
of flight time. All the aircraft in the 118th transferred to the
VNAF in March of 1971 were to have 500 hours on them or less.
The US
Army Goldbook shows the history of 69-15022 through her Stateside
service up to 1975 with the 187th Infantry Bde somewhere in the
Northeastern United States. What happened to her after that date
is unknown. However, most likely she served somewhere with distinction
until ending up near the white sand beaches outside Pensacola,
FL. May she rest in pieces!
