FIRST HH-43F flying in Continental US    59-1556

PHOTO  PAGE

photo (1) :  91556 carying a dummy missile during 1963 tests near Seattle, WA 
(photo by Mr. William A. Luther - received from Mr. Wayne Mutza - see also page 45 of his book "Kaman H-43: An Illustrated History" by Schiffer Publishing Ltd.)

photo (2) :  91556 after the 10 August 1969 crash into rocky Mt. Whitney, CA   (USAF photo AFFTC 3011-69)

The recovery of the airframe by Army CH-54 Skycrane  (photo received from Mr. Steve Mock)
The DATA PLATE of 59-1556 after the damage repair and the update from HH-43B to HH-43F ;
NOTE the change of the model sub-number from K-600-3 (for the HH-43B) to K-600-4  and
NOTE the acceptance date :  13 Oct 1970 
(photo taken by Mr. Jerry VanGrunsven at Laclede, ID 19 July 2003)

photo (3) :  91556  was painted in the camouflaged scheme after the re-work at Kaman, Bloomfield, CT in 1970 ; in spite of the "SEA"-scheme it was never assigned to that region.  (photo received from Mr. M.Klaver)

photo (4) :  91556  in storage at the Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ boneyard - December 1972 ; NOTE  MASDC park-code HG008 
(photo by Mr. Ben Knowles)

photo (5) :  

Two pictures of 91556 , still in  camouflage scheme , as N322WN and operated by the Washington State DNR (Department of Natural Resources). Pilot here was Mr. Dave Longnecker. Both photos were taken late Spring 1974 and were published in "Kaman Rotor Tips"  issue of  Sep-Oct 1975 (page 17) .
The DNR used 5 HH-43F's for forest fire-fighting during the Summers of 1974 to 1980 - the "2" was used to aid in the communication with the fire-fighters on the ground.   

Comment from Mr. Jay Rideout - 2 April 2007 :  "In 1974 & 1975 N322WN was still in camo with the national insignias spray painted over. The pilot and co-pilot doors and the outboard vertical stablilzers were bright yellow with the red "call" number (Rotor 2) like the silver sister ships.
Ray Albee related a story about the ferry flight from Davis Monthan about a conversation he had with Dave Longnecker during the flight. Ray and Dave were commenting on how well N322WN disapeared into the background , really highlighting the need for some high visibility markings.
Ray Albee was the pilot that I worked with in '74-'75. We took great pride having the first helitack team (helicopter, chase truck, and crew) fully operational each of those two seasons. Appreciate the information... Thank you!!"

91556 as N322WN painted in the colors of the Washington State DNR (Department of Natural Resources), at it's homebase Olympia Airport, WA on 17 April 1977    (photo by Mr. Rich Hunt)

photo (6) :  91556 as N322WN in the color-scheme of  Continental Helicopters (a lease company) - photographed at Bonners Ferry, ID in December 1990 ;  at that time the aircraft was bound to be reworked completely by Mr. Don Lederhos ' "Timber Choppers Inc."  
(photo by Mr. Brian Jorgenson)

photo (7) :  91556 as N556D  in the early color-scheme of Horizon Helicopters Inc.   - photographed at Bonners Ferry, ID in May 1992 ; NOTE that the aircraft is flown here without the outer tailblades  - in the first few years of operation by Horizon this was usual ; later-on the FAA regulations made it necessary that the original 4 -blade-configuration was used.  N556D is mainly used in the logging bussiness in Montana, northern Idaho and Washington State.  (photo by Mr. Kevin Lederhos)

photo (8) :  91556 as N556D  in the color-scheme of  Horizon Helicopters Inc. used after 2004 - photographed by Mr. Jerry VanGrunsven during logging operations near Addy, WA (the Iron Mountain) ;  NOTE the pilot - Mr. Bill Mitchell - on the left side, the best place for logging operations.

last update : 04/04/2007