kind of O/T

Sat Dec 27, 2008 10:19 am

Anyone know of a place that will overhaul an HGU-55? I tried Flightsuits and they had no interest...

thanks
jim

jfhar43@aol.com

Sat Dec 27, 2008 10:49 am

Jim:
Isn't the HGU-55 the current/modern grey-color helmet?
If so, Flight Suits just overhauled mine a few weeks ago.
Was not cheap, but it is nice to get the 'old shoe' back in good form.
VL

Sat Dec 27, 2008 11:02 am

Yes...thats the one, I should have finished that by saying since I didn't buy it from them originally they didn't want to overhaul it. The one I have is in great shape, just needs new leather and comms. I can see a new one in my future I just don't want two of them.

Jim

Sat Dec 27, 2008 11:39 am

You may want to ask FSuits who else would overhaul it.
I'll check some other sources for you.
VL

Sun Dec 28, 2008 12:08 am

Jim;
You might try these guys:

http://www.aviationhelmets.com/

They're in Hartford, CT and I know that they have overhauled other types of helmets in the past and they sell the HGU-55.
Jerry

Sun Dec 28, 2008 8:59 am

I bought one from Govt Sales (same as Aviation Helmets) some time ago, and was very pleased with their service; however, when it needed rebuilding recently I was able to buy all the parts required, including electronics, from Oregon Aero (not everything is listed on their website). It only took a couple hours to swap everything out, less drying time for the glue.

You can get leather/glue from an auto upholstery shop (or have them do it), and, while I painted mine myself, you can get the people who do motorcycle tank painting to do a cool scheme...

The Oregon Aero liner/ear cups are way, way more comfortable than the stock parts.

Sun Dec 28, 2008 9:23 am

I have my original SPH-4 that was issued to me when I was in Aviation Maintenance. Last time I looked at it, (not that I am terribly ugly - just fat) the earphones were shot and fell out hanging on by the wires. Any leads on where I could get the stuff to restore my old -4?

Sun Dec 28, 2008 9:41 am

The oregon aero liner indeed is much better then the standard one. As for replacing the leather edgeroll, you really need to have a pro do that. Stitching it isn't all that easy if you haven't done it before!

Sun Dec 28, 2008 10:45 am

Now why would a B-17,24.,25 driver think he would need a bone dome ? Are we suffering from delusions of granduer ?

Give me a call, I may be able to help you.

Sun Dec 28, 2008 11:43 am

What specifically do you mean by "overhaul"?

Do you want a new leather edge roll? Replacement of the chin and nape straps? Replacement of the snaps and other hardware? There's a pretty wide variety of things to fix up on a HGU-55.

The "snap-in" edge rolls are an easy replacement to the leather that you can do yourself -- the helmets come from Gentex with the edge roll sewn and glued in. The sew/glue method will last much longer, but outside of the military I haven't seen the replacement edge roll kits that *arent* the snap kind.

Mon Dec 29, 2008 12:04 pm

Ha! have you seen my landings!? just kidding...no delusions of granduier...I need a BD for my Cassutt. Thanks for the leads!

Jim