Piasecki H-21 restoration

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15 years 2 months

Posts: 258

The Helicoter Museum is finally starting work on its ex-ALAT H-21 tandem rotor with cockpit and cabin section now in the Conservation hangar undergoing a thorough survey.This 1956 aircrsft served in the Algerian conflict of the late 1950s and nearly ended Its days on a firing range.In the Mnths to come a search will be on to find missing parts like the cyclic columns and a set of blades if anyone has any leads.

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Member for

19 years 5 months

Posts: 9,821

A recent FlyPast mentioned a current Canadian restoration being made up of sections of 3 airframes. I would imagine they would have some spares.

Rotor blades might be tricky...years ago I was told that many surplus units were cut down and used as windmills. I have absolutely no idea how accurate that is.

There is still an airframe in a private salvage yard across the highway from Puma Air Museum in Tucson. They might have the columns.

Also, Classic Rotors in California has the only airworthy example...They might help with blades (likely time expired), although mailing them to the UK might be difficult.

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14 years 11 months

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Don’t know if blades are interchangeable with the H-25, but there’s one of those sitting in a business park in Rotterdam... doubt the owners would want to part with it/them though.

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19 years 5 months

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H-25 (better known by its Navy designation HUP) blades would be too short.

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18 years 10 months

Posts: 4,796

Local yard... been trying to catch someone actually on the premises now for about 5 years...

https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/1013372_10200760415485515_853199452_n.jpg?_nc_cat=108&_nc_eui2=AeFmTlXuNpuZWEK2szM_0jc8-M6RG7Zy9eZ-SyOO79FDU6oVcig1x3pL4MfidVylg4QXR7N4NaKEdXaw6JIJb3yQLuCQD6kv1tgmKphALH1BYQ&_nc_pt=1&_nc_ht=scontent-lax3-1.xx&oh=42ff9bb0605345d3b2c60fc6746e85f5&oe=5D47FDDC

I know Pan Am operated some Vertol 107s but that looks like a generation earlier... Did they have Piaseckis ?

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19 years 5 months

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It wasn't Pan Am...it was New York Helicopter Airways.
They famously flew from the Pan Am building. Some were operated under contract to Pan Am.
They started with S-55s and then had Piasecki/Vertol 44s (civil H-21s) with donut floats on the wheels. Then they operated turbine Boeing Vertol 107s, finally Sikorsky S-61s.

After that organization went bankrupt, a successor airline flew aircraft painted in Pan Am markings...Westland 30s (remember them?) and Bell 222s...but not from the Pan Am building, its helicopter was closed after a crash.
I don't know to what extent Pan Am was involved with the organization.

History of the helicopter maker is: PV Engineering Forum which became Piasecki then became Vertol which was bought by Boeing.

The firm has built tandem rotor helicopters for 70 years, its first, the HRP (USN-talk for Helicopter Transport Piasecki) was the largest and most capable helicopter of its day, so it has quite a record.

Ah, I remember them having the Vertol 107s, I didn't know they went back beyond that. The Pan Am building accident was an S-61L that rolled on to its side if I recall and some blade wreckage ended up on the street below; several people died.

Incidentally, if anybody is in Philadelphia and has time on their hands, there is an excellent helicopter museum at Brandywine Airport near West Chester - numerous exhibits including the locally-built H-21 and HUP-2 - well worth a visit.

And I must get myself down to Weston-Super-Mare one of these days...

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19 years 5 months

Posts: 9,821

Both museums are excellent.
Sadly, many enthusiasts have neglected helicopter history, with otherwise knowledgeable people knowing nothing of them other than possibly being able to identify the Sea King, Wessex and Huey.

Luckily, in fairly recent times there have been some good books published on early helicopter history.

I find Piasecki particularly interesting, starting as it did during the war with a handful of people. The state of helicopter technology being what it was, they were learning new aerodynamics and building technology from the ground-up (as opposed to an airplane builder which "only" had to refine already well known principles).
Like several other fledgling firms, Frank Piasecki was based in Philadelphia, hence the location for the American Helicopter Museum.

In the 1990s, I sent Mr. Piasecki a nice photo of a H-21 to sign, which he did. He also included an autographed copy of his firm's history. A nice man.
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15 years 2 months

Posts: 258

ZRX61....That H-21 in Arizona seems to have a non standard main undercarriage and a vertical exhaust pipe....self driving or towed ??
i recall there were a number of H-21s in the yards in thst area but most if not all now gone.

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18 years 10 months

Posts: 4,796

ZRX61....That H-21 in Arizona seems to have a non standard main undercarriage and a vertical exhaust pipe....self driving or towed ??
i recall there were a number of H-21s in the yards in thst area but most if not all now gone.

It was towed to a friends place, then the deal fell through & it was towed back. It's in Rosamond Ca.