AEA Pilot's Guide 2020-2021 - 54

A BRILLIANT GLASS-PANEL EXPERIMENTAL HUEY
Continued from page 53

almost everyone I talk with, when out flying, has been affected
by in one way or another. It's no wonder they're still around and
will still be around for the foreseeable future."
Huey glass-panel modification
Gardner Lowe Aviation Services, an Aircraft Electronics Association member company, is a comprehensive maintenance,
service and avionics installation shop based in the Atlanta area.
As a long-established outfit with a glowing reputation, Gardner
Lowe sees a variety of aircraft move in and out of its hangars.
The Huey was already something of a standout when it arrived
at Gardner Lowe, no matter whom you talk with. The project
UH-1 D flew in under its own power, albeit with a panel full of
German-made avionics and instruments. When it left, N8379R
was sporting a complement of glass-panel displays from
Garmin, a pedestal-mounted iPad electronic flight bag, and an
indispensable array of USB power and six-pin LEMO headset
ports throughout the cabin.
Matthew Platt of Gardner-Lowe Aviation Services, located at
Middle Georgia Regional Airport in Macon, Georgia, provided a
rundown of the Huey's newly installed equipment:
*
Garmin G3X Touch system with dual GDU 460 10.6inch displays (replacing the mechanical six-pack cluster: airspeed indicator, attitude indicator gyro, altimeter,
radar altitude indicator, heading indicator, VSI).
*
Dual Garmin G5 flight instruments, providing backup
EFIS attitude indication and DG/HSI display.
*
Garmin GTN 650 GPS/nav/comm/MFD touchscreen
with WAAS in the pedestal.
*
Garmin GMA 350H digital helicopter audio panel in the
pedestal.
*
Garmin GTX 45R remote-mounted Mode S Extended
Squitter dual-link ADS-B In and Out transponder.
*
Garmin GTR 20 remote-mounted comm.
*
Garmin GRA 55 radar altimeter with corresponding GI
205 radar altimeter indicator on the pilot (right) side of
the panel.
*
Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics MD93 digital
clock with dual USB charging ports on the main panel.
*
Bose LEMO headset jacks, 10 places throughout the
cabin.
*
Stratus Power USB charger dual ports, four places.
*
iPad Air/iPad Pro 9.7-inch AirGizmos Panel Dock in the
pedestal.
*
Engine vibration detector/analyzer (an original
"ALARM" instrument, standard on the German UH-1)

on the pilot (right) side of the panel.
Instrument panel and center pedestal were fabricated
in full carbon fiber.
A former Huey pilot, Jeff Huntoon, having seen the new panel commented, "Except for the curve of the dashboard, there's
little in common with that panel versus the old Army UH-1H that
I flew." Huntoon has logged roughly 3,000 hours in rotary-wing
aircraft. However, his most recent time is in the cockpit of a 747
for a major cargo airline, an aircraft that more closely resembles the windscreen view of this modernized Huey.
Based in Germany, Huntoon offered some insight on the
country's history with the UH-1: "The Americans used the UH-1
Huey as a general-purpose utility helicopter - UH, as its name
implies - for which medical support was one mission. The
Germans did the same; however, here the Huey had a much
more involved role with EMS support. They are recognizable
to the German citizenry as fire, police or ambulance service,"
in army green with orange doors and an "SAR" (search and
rescue) inscription. Replacements were painted red and white
with "NOTARZT" (emergency doctor) lettering on the tail.
"More recently, civil EMS commercial operators fill that role,
typically in yellow-painted Eurocopters known as the Gelber
Engel (yellow angel)," Huntoon continued. At sea, the German
Navy is just now taking delivery of the first Airbus NH90 Sea
Lion naval multi-role helicopter. But the Huey's long operational
history worldwide is a testament to the American-designed UH1's strength and stability.
*

Huey, the German expat
The German-manufactured, U.S.-transplanted Huey is now
N-registered and owned by G Force Air LLC, an organization based at John Glenn Columbus International Airport in
Columbus, Ohio. G Force also operates a Super King Air 300,
Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain, Mooney M20K, American
Champion Scout 8GCBC, and a ViperJet. The UH-1 is in good
company following a long and distinguished military run. Its "experimental" distinction, though, is shared by only the lattermost
mentioned of its current stablemates.
While the U.S. registration for N8379R shows it as a 1970year model, LaFollette believes 71+46 was built in 1968. The
German company Dornier, under license from Bell Helicopter,
built a total of 352 UH-1s. They were identified as UH-1 D, but
they were not the same as the U.S.-built UH-1D models. The
"D" in the German-manufactured units stood for Deutsche/
Dornier. In fact, the German-built UH-1 D helicopters more
closely resemble the U.S.-manufactured UH-1H models.
"I like to say that the Germans took all of the faults of the
UH-1H and fixed them," LaFollette said. "These include solid
CNC machined aluminum floor panels in place of fiberglass
- 54 -

AEA Pilot's Guide 2020-2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AEA Pilot's Guide 2020-2021