Warbird Information Exchange

I see that Charles H Kaman helicopter pioneer died on Monday at age 91. He is the only genuine pioneer of aviation I ever met. He was working for United Technologies in the early 1940s and developed his own helicopter control system. Told that UT had already had a helicopter experimenter named Sikorsky, Kaman asked for his release from the company and set up in the kitchen of his unfinished home. I can't remember all of the things his machines did but he developed the intermeshing rotor system that eliminated the need for a tail rotor, his servo tab control system is genuinely credited as being smoother in operation than a swash plate style. Kaman developed the first turbine powered helicopter and the first remote control helicopter in the 1950s. A Kaman helicopter was the first helicopter to perform a loop when most peopel considered in an impossibility for helicopters. The Kaman H 43 Huskie was widely used at Air Force bases for rescure missions and fire fighting and saw extensive combat use in Vietnam. The SH2 Seasprite was one of the first aircraft designs to be returned to production after being shut down for several years. Charles Kaman was also an accomplished guitarist and devoloped the Ovation series of round back guitars after using his experience in aviation design to study the sound qualities and vibrations of traditional guitar designs. I worked at the Moosup, CT facility in 1983-84.

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"I can't understand it, I cut it twice and it's still too short!" Robert F. Dupre' 1923-2010 Go With God.

Sad day for aviation.
It's interesting to note that of the major American aircraft pioneers and manufacturers, Charlie Kaman was one of the last to still be involved in his company.
God speed Charlie.
Jerry

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"Always remember that, when you enter the ocean or the forest, you are no longer at the top of the food chain."

A shame, one of the last rotor wing pioneers....Young, Seibel, Piasecki and Hiller have all passed away in the last few years.

Back in the 90s I found a copy of the Kaman-published book Kaman, Our early Years at at used bookstore .

I contacted Mr Kaman's office and sent the book which he kindly autographed.
I can't recommend the book strongly enough if you're into helicopter history.

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.

The end of another local and international aviation / musical pioneer. Thanks for all the funky yet awesome looking rotocraft over the years. Hey Jerry, you think we could get this one for the show in May? Would be a nice tribute.

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Keep Em' Flying,
Christopher Soltis
Dedicated to the preservation and education of The Sikorsky Memorial Airport

CASC Blog Page: http://ctair-space.blogspot.com/
Warbird Wear: https://www.redbubble.com/people/warbirdwear/shop

Chicks Dig Warbirds.......right?

I was fortunate to fly the HH-43B/F on active duty. One association I belong to,
the Pedro Rescue Helicopter Assoc, toured the facility during our reunion in
2002. We saw that yellow -43 fly - hover, etc. Brought back many memories to
the 50 or so crewmembers that were there for the reunion. If you track any of the
Medals of Honors Airman Pitsenbarger (sp) was a PJ on one of the Pedros (-43 call
sign) in VN for the action he was awarded the MOH.
The 43 was easy to fly. The K-Max is flying various logging operations. As well as
two have been contracted for unmanned flight demos by the Marines.
Below is one of the photos of HH-43 and a practice fire at Incirlik AB, Turkey
between 1965-67.
Neil Mac

I remember when I worked in Moosup there was a locked storage section with jigs for H-43 parts. I was told they were kept because they were actually government property and they hadn't gotten any directive to dispose of them. They also told me that they got requests for parts every year from H-43 operators engaged in helicopter logging. A few years after I left they were initiating design studies for the K Max.

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"I can't understand it, I cut it twice and it's still too short!" Robert F. Dupre' 1923-2010 Go With God.

There was a logging outfit "Precision helicopter" in N. Idaho with Huskies. They sent me a nice ball cap when I asked about them.
There is one being rebuilt just west of Sandpoint...I'd stop but their driveway is littered with "No Tresspassing" signs. I may stop in anyway...

It seems for awhile, every year one would be lost while logging.
I'm not sure many are left.

_________________
Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.

I read somewhere that the only Medal of Honor awarded to a Naval Aviator actually during the Vietnam war was the pilot of a Kaman SH2 Seasprite.

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"I can't understand it, I cut it twice and it's still too short!" Robert F. Dupre' 1923-2010 Go With God.

Here's the obit that I received from Pedro Rescue Helicopter Assoc.

Charles Kaman is credited with introducing the first turbine-powered helicopter in 1951, and the first remote-controlled helicopter in 1957;
he died Monday at age 91, leaving a much longer list for his lifetime of achievements. To build helicopters, Kaman founded a corporation
that shared his name. Its H-43 Husky earned the distinction during the Korean conflict and Vietnam war of flying more rescue missions
than all other aircraft combined, according to the Air Mobility Command museum. The company's SH-2 Seasprite amassed roughly
1.5 million hours in service with the Navy. Kaman's work earned him the National Aeronautical Society's Wright Brothers Award Trophy
and the U.S Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal. He has been inducted into the National Museum of Naval Aviation's
Hall of Honor, among other distinctions. Kaman's work wasn't limited to aviation.

With his wife, Roberta, Kaman founded the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation in the 1960s, which places guide dogs with the disabled.
Kaman's guitars have been used by John Lennon, Glen Campbell and Jimmy Page. Kaman's later work included the K-Max helicopter.
Dubbed the aerial truck, the helicopter is capable of lifting and transporting three tons. Kaman was remembered this week by publications
ranging from The Wall Street Journal to Premier Guitar.

The call sign "Pedro" was one assigned to all HH-43s during VN.

That obit came from his company. It says the Huskie was in the Korean War..I don't think so.
It also seemed to indicate he originated the intermeshing rotor concept. Nothing against Mr. Kaman, but the German Flettner had it in WWII.

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.

Amazing...Obituaries and salutes posted on a guitar forum and aviation forum that I've read in the same day. Charles Kaman surely will be one of the few if not the only I will ever see who achieved that.

You are right about the Husky per se but I think Navy or Marine HOK type helos did operate in Korea if only briefly so that may be where the reference came from. As for Flettner, Kaman wrote that he developed his intermeshing arrangement without any reference to Flettner's work. (We were after all at war with
Germany at the time.) He hired Flettner after the war and found he had little to contribute to Kaman's design. A little self serving I know but that is what he wrote.

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"I can't understand it, I cut it twice and it's still too short!" Robert F. Dupre' 1923-2010 Go With God.

It's hard to find info on the Navy use of HTK and HOK....even in my main source, U.S. Navy Aircraft since 1911 by Swanborough and Bowers.

The HUK didn't fly until April, 1953...so that pretty much eliminated s that from Korean war use.
I can't find a date on the small HTK, but I can't see them using the trainers in Korea.
I can't imagine they'd put external litters on them like the Bell and Hiller MASH ships. And their lack of space (no back seat) means they couldn't be used in rescue duties.
If anyone has more details, please share them.
At any rate, the Huskie (HH-43) was not used in the Korean war as the obit seems to indicate.



If he developed intermeshing rotors independant from Flettner, then I guess we could say he invented it, a matter of word use.
But since his first intermeshing design didn't fly until 1947, that line of thought may be a tough sell since Flettners were flying earlier.
Again, I'm not taking anything away from him.
The huge majority of aviation history/warbird fans know very little of helicopter history...just trying to do my part to keep history straight.

_________________
Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.

i would love to see it in may!

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" I am a nobody in aviation, but somebody to my family."