To the average man or woman on the street, all aircraft sound pretty much the same, but those with the right frame of mind, who never fail to look up when they hear the sound of an aircraft overhead can recognise a particular type of machine without even having to look up to confirm their thoughts. The snarling growl of a Rolls-Royce Merlin, for example, or the bellowing howl of the Avro Vulcan, when we were still lucky enough to have one gracing our skies, are unmistakable. As is the rhythmic chopping of the Bell Huey’s rotor blades.
To entire generations raised on a diet of Vietnam movies, the distinctive sound of a Huey has become as much a part of the soundtrack of the conflict as 1960s rock 'n' roll music.
We don’t bandy the word ‘iconic’ around lightly, but the Bell Huey is precisely that and the sound of one in flight has come to represent many things to a great many people. To the North Vietnamese Army, it was the sound of trouble approaching. To the US troops on the ground, it signified that help was on the way – hold tight and reinforcements or evacuation are hopefully just minutes away. Hence, in the USA, the Bell Huey has come to be as much a symbol of war and remembrance for fallen comrades as the Spitfire or Lan…
