Northwest Helicopters--Where Hueys get reborn

[67N20]

While on vacation in the Pacific Northwest last month, I was able to visit the usual warbird junkie sites (Flying Heritage Collection, Historic Flight Foundation,and Museum of Flight-including a tour thru Boeing Bee). Also on my list to visit was Olympic Flight Museum at at Olympia Regional Airport as they have a Huey that was in my Vietnam unit (116th Assault Helicopter Co) the same time I was there-being a maintenance guy, I probably worked on it at one time or another. Thru WIX's Brad, I found out the Huey wasn't at the museum, but at Northwest Helicopters, also located at the airport and he graciously offered to give me and my family an early Saturday morning tour of their shop. During the tour I learned that Northwest Helicopters is the largest Huey "rebuilder" in the US and has somewhere around 80 Hueys awaiting resale. Prices run from around $250K for a "stripped" H model to $3 million for a loaded version with a glass cockpit and leather interior. Here are a few pictures from my tour:

Huey's final resting place. Occasionally a movie or TV company will buy one of these for use in a set.


This one is being slowly picked apart, eventually it will end up with the others in the above photo.


The following 6 shots are from their warehouse where most of the inventory is stored. Northwest buys them from governments that are selling them off. I wonder how many are Vietnam vets?












Northwest Helicopters works on more than Hueys. This is the shop for the "smaller" helicopters.


The Huey shop.






Lots of stuff in outside storage.


I want to thank Brad for giving us a tour, I had no idea there were this many Hueys in one place or that there was such a demand for them.

[JohnB]

Neat. It looks like they've taken over from the Garlick firm from Montana.
A neighbor who collects military vehicles has a Huey in the Seattle area, I wonder if it's there?

Other exciting helicopter news....notice the Huskie in photo 4. I'd really like to see more of those fly.

[B-17 guy]

I swear, if I ever hit the lottery I'm gonna learn to fly the huey and other warbirds and buy a few.....

[Fouga23]

I want one

[SaxMan]

If those airframes could only talk....

I imagine they'd be saying "What the heck am I doing lying here on my side, and where is my tail boom?"

[Pogo]

For my money, Bell made helicopters an art form. Always thought they were the prettiest dang flying things ever!

GREAT post, 67N20, thanks!

[Speedy]

"WELCOME TO MEXICAN BOB'S HELICOPTER EMPORIUM AND SPIRITS BOTIQUE."

As Brad is fond of saying...."Brian built that hangar just for me."

[ZRX61]

I'm looking for photos of one particular Huey they have.... 68-16261/N443YB (assuming it's still there?)

[RobertWL]

67N20,

I passed your post/pictures along to my dad, who also served in the 116th AHC as a door gunner. He's curious about you, when you were there etc. I would've PMed you, but I couldn't find my original login name and the board doesn't allow 'newbies' to PM. Anyway, drop me a PM if you get sometime, and I can trade e-mails for you two.

[Ken]

Will people look back on this one day and yearn for these airframes like some look back now on Cavalier or On Mark?

[airnutz]

Other exciting helicopter news....notice the Huskie in photo 4. I'd really like to see more of those fly.

Ditto that, but they'd need to find some low-time or remanufactured rotor blades for that to happen.

[67N20]

67N20,

I passed your post/pictures along to my dad, who also served in the 116th AHC as a door gunner. He's curious about you, when you were there etc. I would've PMed you, but I couldn't find my original login name and the board doesn't allow 'newbies' to PM. Anyway, drop me a PM if you get sometime, and I can trade e-mails for you two.

Check your PM

[67N20]

I'm looking for photos of one particular Huey they have.... 68-16261/N443YB (assuming it's still there?)

Unfortunately I only have a couple of pictures with the SN viewable, 68-16261 isn't one of them.

[ZRX61]

Will people look back on this one day and yearn for these airframes like some look back now on Cavalier or On Mark?

Maybe people will be looking back & wondering why the hell more weren't saved, the way people look back at fields full of WWII *junk*.

.... or there could be the Huey version of the Mustang Gathering where 75+ restored ones all show up in the same place... Imagine that noise....

[JohnB]

Will people look back on this one day and yearn for these airframes like some look back now on Cavalier or On Mark?

I'd imagine they'll be like C-47s or various military Twin Beeches. They'll work for a living for a long time and we'll take them for granted, then one day they'll be rare.
(I can still remember the 70s ,,,not long ago...when Stearmans, AT-11s and TBMs were almost free).