Info needed on Bell Huey

[woodyd]

I'm writing a novel with the Vietnam war as background. I need to know what technical problem could be serious enough to cause a Huey pilot to land during a routine flight? I need the Huey to be grounded for about two minutes maximum while the pilot or a crew member fixes something. Possibly a hatch coming loose?

[apacheguy]

Could be a Chips Main Transmission light, then the crew chief checks the plug when they land and sees that there's no chips? Had a similar issue in a 58 once...

 

If you check the UH-1 dash ten, any emergency procedure that requires you to Land As Soon As Possible might be a candidate for your book. There's more than a few of them.

[Gomer Pylot]

Two minutes? I don't think so. I don't recall anything that would cause me to land, and then take off again so soon. It takes a lot longer than that to check chip plugs, and you would have to shut down to check them. Shutdown and restart takes more than 5 minutes without doing anything else. I think you need to rethink your scenario.

[A-aron]

Someone needed to take a sh*t?

[Flying Pig]

I sat in ours for a few minutes and tried to think....

 

Caution light showing the "External Power" access door is not closed. That's located on the left side aft fuselage where the tailboom mounts to the fuselage.

Maybe the pilot looked over the nose and saw the nose hatch for the battery compartment was shaking in flight and wanted to make sure it was locked?

Edited June 27, 2014 by Flying Pig

[apacheguy]

Two minutes? I don't think so. I don't recall anything that would cause me to land, and then take off again so soon. It takes a lot longer than that to check chip plugs, and you would have to shut down to check them. Shutdown and restart takes more than 5 minutes without doing anything else. I think you need to rethink your scenario.

Yeah I glossed over the 2 mins thing. Are there weapons on this bird or is it a slick huey?

[Nearly Retired]

I'm with A-aron. Physiological need. Someone has to take a bad leak. Just don't have him land on a riverbank and get out while it's still running. That sh*t'll kill ya!

[aeroscout]

A birdstrike from a bird small enough not to break the windscreen, but big enough to restrict visibility. Land and wipe it off. Keep it running and clean it off enough to be able to see through it again. Just a 2 minute window cleaning like a New York city traffic light squeegee job.

[Flying Pig]

A birdstrike from a bird small enough not to break the windscreen, but big enough to restrict visibility. Land and wipe it off. Keep it running and clean it off enough to be able to see through it again. Just a 2 minute window cleaning like a New York city traffic light squeegee job.

maybe a VC could come up and spit on his window and the pilot and his enemy could share a moment together......like the germans and the british celebrating christmas together in no mans land during WW1?

[Wally]

I'm writing a novel with the Vietnam war as background. I need to know what technical problem could be serious enough to cause a Huey pilot to land during a routine flight? I need the Huey to be grounded for about two minutes maximum while the pilot or a crew member fixes something. Possibly a hatch coming loose?

 

You would need to provide more information for me to provide a coherent answer. "Routine" might be anything from a combat insertion to... well , about anything. From a pilot's point of view, coherency might also vary by specific location- are you in "indian country" and where? (I Corps or IV Corps for instance, were very different), time of day and point in the war. I flew with a guy who landed to pick up a souvenir (it turned out to be trash) at night in the vicinity of a shoot'em-up.

From the maintenance (broke helicopter needing quick repair) you might ask the question here:

http://www.vhcma.org/