What Kind of Helicopter is this?

[SengaB]

I finally shot these remains of a helicopter at SFB today. Any idea what it was? It looks like a Russian MI-2 Hoplite.
http://www.nycaviation.com/hosting/copter.jpg
http://www.nycaviation.com/hosting/coptera.jpg
http://www.nycaviation.com/hosting/copterb.jpg
Senga

[Tom_Turner]

Senga - Sikorsky S-55.

Still a nice catch though; shame there isn't more of it left.

Tom

[SengaB]

Tom to the rescue!
Wow I would have never guess it was a Sikorsky!
Yes would have been nice if they left a little more of it together.

I wonder when it was last intact.
Senga

[cancidas]

senga, don't forget that sikorsky was founded by Igor Sikorsy, a russian.

[SengaB]

I didn't know that either :)

Senga

[Andriy]

senga, don't forget that sikorsky was founded by Igor Sikorsy, a russian.

ukrainian :!:

[cancidas]

oops. i was close though, do i still get a prize?

[AndrewM]

I've got a S-55 that sits right outside my office window here at CPM everyday.

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0875923/L/

[727C47]

think I saw that whirlybird at big Bear in the 80's...

[Derf]

I have a shot of a couple of them!
http://www.longislandwallpapers.com/photos/74115684-M.jpg

[SengaB]

PizzaPolli, Nice shot there does that one still fly? It looks like it just rolled off the assembly line.

Thats a lot of Junk there Fred :)
What airport is that?
I'd rather have the front that the middle.

Senga

[AndrewM]

PizzaPolli, Nice shot there does that one still fly? It looks like it just rolled off the assembly line.

Thats a lot of Junk there Fred :)
What airport is that?
I'd rather have the front that the middle.

Senga

That particular S-55 was the first helicopter to fly paying passengers back in 1953 for New York Airways. There is a web site dedicated to N111VA:

http://www.s-55.net/

The helicopter was in flying condition until this past October. The owner decided he was going to fly it back east to put in a museum but before he got there he ran into some problems.

Here's what happened:

Every month or so they would come out, fire it up and let it run a bit. Whenever they ran it though it would backfire continuously and it never quite sounded right. Nevertheless they decided they were going to fly it off to Arizona to get work done rather than flatbed truck it there.

They took off on a Saturday afternoon from CPM and while they were still over the runways lost power. Somehow they recovered though but instead of returning to the field they pushed on. It never made it above 400 ft and ended up coming down in an elementary school parking lot 8 miles away. No one was hurt but the rotor blades hit a tree and had to be removed. It was trucked back to CPM and now it sits waiting for its replacement blades and then maybe the trip back east; this time on the back of a truck though.

-Andrew

[Derf]

Thats a lot of Junk there Fred :)
What airport is that?...............

Chandler AZ.... or Was Chandler AZ
More on a thread here
http://www.nycaviation.com/forum/viewto ... t=chandler (http://www.nycaviation.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5167&highlight=chandler)

[SengaB]

Thanks foe the info PizzaPolli/ Derf.

PizzaPolli, were will it be going when it goes back east?

Senga

[AndrewM]

Thanks foe the info PizzaPolli/ Derf.

PizzaPolli, were will it be going when it goes back east?

Senga

I'm not sure. It believe it was a museum in the mid-atlantic somewhere. I'll ask the owner next time I see him.

-Andrew

[SengaB]

Ok thx would that be cool. I sure would like to get one of these under my belt while it still operating. For some reason the one I got at SFB doesnt really do it for me :)

Senga