This Saturday, June 23rd, the New England Air Museum will host its first annual Helicopter Day. The world-class museum will have over twenty helicopters and ancillary equipment on display, including a number of airframes which have heretofore been in long-term storage. Several exhibits will be open to the public to climb inside, and experts will be available to further explain the aircraft and their operation. The helicopters involved in the event will vary from the massive, 25,000-pound Sikorsky CH-54 Tarhe, sometimes called the Skycrane, to the tiny, single-seat Benson Gyrocopter, similar to the one which James Bond flew in the motion picture You Only Live Twice. There will also be a U.S. Navy drone, and an award-winning man-powered helicopter, amongst many other helicopters to explore. The list below shows the aircraft which the museum plans to provide for the event, and a map which follows shows their locations within the facility.
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NEAM 1st ANNUAL HELICOPTER DAY |
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| Map # spot | Open cockpit | Aircraft | Note |
| 16 | Yes | Bell H-13 Sioux | M.A.S.H. type aircraft |
| 1 | Yes | Bell U-1B Iroquois | Vietnam Workhorse – Gunship Configuration |
| 16 | Bell AH-1S Cobra | Vietnam Combat Veteran | |
| 15 | Benson Gyrocopter | Similar to James Bond’s ‘Little Nellie’ | |
| 9 | Doman (Prototype) | Sikorsky R-6 w/ Doman rotor head | |
| 10 | Doman YH-31 | ||
| 15 | Gyrodyne QH-50C D.A.S.H. | Anti-Submarine Warfare (w/ control panel) | |
| 15 | Gyrodyne XRON-1 Rotorcycle | ||
| 16 | Yes | Hiller OH-23G Raven | Observation & Transport |
| 16 | Hughes OH-6A Cayuse | Vietnam Combat Veteran | |
| 2 | Kaman K-225 | Counter-rotating rotor prototype | |
| 3 | Kaman HH-43F Huskie | With fire bottle | |
| 4 | Yes | Kaman SH-2F Seasprite | Anti-Submarine Warfare |
| 13 | Kaman K-16B | Tiltrotor Prototype (test platform for the wing mechanism) | |
| 16 | Kaman K-MAX | 1/10 Scale Model K-MAX helicopter | |
| 11 | Sikorsky R-4B Hoverfly | First used by military in WW II China-Burma-India Theatre (supply delivery/Casevac) | |
| 6 | Sikorsky H-5A Dragonfly | Painted in Sikorsky Corporate Colors, Search & Rescue, made famous in the movie “Bridges of Toko-Ri” | |
| 7 | Sikorsky LH-34D Seabat | Antarctic service | |
| 8 | Sikorsky XH-39 | Speed record holder – (first heliocopter with a turbine engine and retractable landing gear) | |
| 12 | Yes | Sikorsky HH-52A Seaguard | Rescue record holder |
| 5 | Pod only | Sikorsky CH-54B Tahe | Flew with the CT Army National Guard |
| 14 | AeroVelo ATLAS | Sikorsky Human Powered Helicopter Competition winner | |
| 17 | Bell OH-58 Kiowa | CT Army National Guard | |
In addition to the helicopters at the event, former Sikorsky test pilot Kevin Bredenbeck will give a presentation titled X2 Technology: Sikorsky Door Step into The Future at 1:00pm.
Richard Mallory Allnutt's aviation passion ignited at the 1974 Farnborough Airshow. Raised in 1970s Britain, he was immersed in WWII aviation lore. Moving to Washington DC, he frequented the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, meeting aviation legends.
After grad school, Richard worked for Lockheed-Martin but stayed devoted to aviation, volunteering at museums and honing his photography skills. In 2013, he became the founding editor of Warbirds News, now Vintage Aviation News. With around 800 articles written, he focuses on supporting grassroots aviation groups.
Richard values the connections made in the aviation community and is proud to help grow Vintage Aviation News.
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