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History of army helicopter flight helmets


hawkdriver
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For all interested in this subject I would recommend the "United States Army Aviation Digest", January 1989 issue, where up to four articles are published on helicopter helmets and generally head protection during helicopter operations. They are as follows:

 

● "Aviation Life Support Equipment Retrieval Program" by Maj. Peter Vyrnwy-Jones

 

● "Helmets. From Roman Chariots to LHX" by Clarence E. Rash, Gerald Johnson and John S. Martin

 

● "New Things in Old Packages? The Improved SPH-4 is Coming!" by Maj. John V. Barson

 

● "Eye Injury. A Real Threat" by John K. Crosley

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Cobrahistorian

We use the specialized Integrated Helmet And Display Sighting System (IHADSS) helmet in the Apache. The Army no longer flies Cobras, but they used SPH-4B's and HGU-56s with the helmet sighting apparatus attached to it.

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Cobrahistorian
After my time but wasn't there also an SPH-5 prior to the HGU-56? Or maybe I'm thinking of the SPH-4B?

 

Yeah, it was the 4B. I don't know about the Navy or AF, but the Army never used SPH-5. By the time I got in, it was all HGU-56s anyhow, but we still have SPH-4B stuff in the inventory.

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After my time but wasn't there also an SPH-5 prior to the HGU-56? Or maybe I'm thinking of the SPH-4B?

 

 

The SPH-5 is the civilian version of the SPH-4 or 4b marketed to civilian agencies. You normally see them in a metallic blue.

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Yeah, it was the 4B. I don't know about the Navy or AF, but the Army never used SPH-5. By the time I got in, it was all HGU-56s anyhow, but we still have SPH-4B stuff in the inventory.

 

Thanks. I was issued my SPH-4 in 1985 and an IHADSS a year later. I never really kept up on helmet development. Great video!

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Cobrahistorian
Thanks. I was issued my SPH-4 in 1985 and an IHADSS a year later. I never really kept up on helmet development. Great video!

 

Nice to see another -64 guy on here. The Hawk drivers have got us outnumbered! ;) Fortunately, they're all good guys.

 

With the advent of Block 3 Longbow, IHADSS will be a thing of the past as well. They're going to a new magnetic tracker harness that fits right on to the HGU-56, so no need for a $27,000 helmet anymore.

 

Jon

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Nice to see another -64 guy on here. The Hawk drivers have got us outnumbered! ;) Fortunately, they're all good guys.

 

With the advent of Block 3 Longbow, IHADSS will be a thing of the past as well. They're going to a new magnetic tracker harness that fits right on to the HGU-56, so no need for a $27,000 helmet anymore.

 

Jon

 

Longbow -64s would be Star Wars stuff to me. I only flew the A-model. Actually picked mine up brand new from the factory in 1986 -- 84-24296.

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Cobrahistorian
Longbow -64s would be Star Wars stuff to me. I only flew the A-model. Actually picked mine up brand new from the factory in 1986 -- 84-24296.

 

Nice! We just picked up brand new Block 2 Longbows from the factory over the past year. I'm one of those lucky few who flew D models in flight school and then had to go through the Alpha downgrade course. The majority of my hours are actually in A models, about a 200/400 hour split between Ds and As. It's been a good run, but I'm done with it as of the end of next month.

 

Jon

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Nice! We just picked up brand new Block 2 Longbows from the factory over the past year. I'm one of those lucky few who flew D models in flight school and then had to go through the Alpha downgrade course. The majority of my hours are actually in A models, about a 200/400 hour split between Ds and As. It's been a good run, but I'm done with it as of the end of next month.

 

Jon

 

Retiring or initial tour? You'll definitely miss military flying. Thanks for your service!

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Nice! We just picked up brand new Block 2 Longbows from the factory over the past year. I'm one of those lucky few who flew D models in flight school and then had to go through the Alpha downgrade course. The majority of my hours are actually in A models, about a 200/400 hour split between Ds and As. It's been a good run, but I'm done with it as of the end of next month.

 

Jon

 

 

See, that is the problem with you guys that went on with those high falutin contraptions. Had you lived in a state that pissed NGB off, you would have just stayed in legacy/modernized aircraft and flown A model aircraft your entire career and only had to put up with the Frankenhawk upgrades. Every day I walk out to the flight line, it brings a tear to your eye :crying: to see that aircraft sitting there, oldest in the inventory, older than most of the new pilots flying it, refused by other countries, and older than what we sold to China!

I'm waiting for the day that Maintenance comes out and says that there was nothing they could do for old 699, her heart finally gave out. Only the best for our troops.

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Cobrahistorian
See, that is the problem with you guys that went on with those high falutin contraptions. Had you lived in a state that pissed NGB off, you would have just stayed in legacy/modernized aircraft and flown A model aircraft your entire career and only had to put up with the Frankenhawk upgrades. Every day I walk out to the flight line, it brings a tear to your eye :crying: to see that aircraft sitting there, oldest in the inventory, older than most of the new pilots flying it, refused by other countries, and older than what we sold to China!

I'm waiting for the day that Maintenance comes out and says that there was nothing they could do for old 699, her heart finally gave out. Only the best for our troops.

 

LOL... PA is currently flying the oldest Chinook left. It started life as a 1961 A model and last I heard was scheduled for an F upgrade if it hasn't gone already.

 

FtrPlt, I finished my 8 year commitment and life's taken a different direction. Flying the -64 has been incredible, but doing it part-time was incredibly difficult to maintain any semblance of proficiency, especially living 200 miles from the airfield.

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LOL... PA is currently flying the oldest Chinook left. It started life as a 1961 A model and last I heard was scheduled for an F upgrade if it hasn't gone already.

 

FtrPlt, I finished my 8 year commitment and life's taken a different direction. Flying the -64 has been incredible, but doing it part-time was incredibly difficult to maintain any semblance of proficiency, especially living 200 miles from the airfield.

 

8-year commitment??? OUCH!!!!!!! It was only 4 when I was in :thumbsup:

 

I can see how part-time with that much distance could be problematic. You will miss it. Not sure how old you are but I'm now 48 and really regret not staying in.

 

I think I had 12 years active when I called it quits. 64's straight out of flight school -- which was a big deal in 1986. I think I was AH-64 pilot #51 and #2 WO1 coming straight from school. Back then there was no attack track. You did Primary in TH-55s; instruments in the UH-1; and then went Utility or Scout track. I went scouts so also flew the OH-58A and OH-58C.

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Cobrahistorian

You must've flown with Rick Pawluk then. :D

 

Yeah, us commissioned guys have an 8 year commitment. Flight school at this point is nearly 2 years for Apache drivers (20 months for me) but it's worth it. It's all TH-67 though. TH-67A for Primary, TH-67A+ for Instruments and then TH-67 for Basic Warfighter Skills (navigation). Then it's an immediate transition into your advanced airframe.

 

I'm still pissed I never got to fly a Huey. I requested the UH-1 transition course 3 times, but kept getting turned down until the class ended. When I went through in 2006, BWS was still split half TH-67A+ and half OH-58A/C. That ended about four classes after us. I was 3 weeks from my 33rd birthday when I had my first AH-64 flight. This shot (me in the middle) was just before I climbed in and fired her up for the first time. I actually profiled 51A in my Squadron Publishing AH-64 Walkaround.

 

Jon

 

 

8-year commitment??? OUCH!!!!!!! It was only 4 when I was in :thumbsup:

 

I can see how part-time with that much distance could be problematic. You will miss it. Not sure how old you are but I'm now 48 and really regret not staying in.

 

I think I had 12 years active when I called it quits. 64's straight out of flight school -- which was a big deal in 1986. I think I was AH-64 pilot #51 and #2 WO1 coming straight from school. Back then there was no attack track. You did Primary in TH-55s; instruments in the UH-1; and then went Utility or Scout track. I went scouts so also flew the OH-58A and OH-58C.

post-5470-1324997176.jpg

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You must've flown with Rick Pawluk then. :D

 

Yeah, us commissioned guys have an 8 year commitment. Flight school at this point is nearly 2 years for Apache drivers (20 months for me) but it's worth it. It's all TH-67 though. TH-67A for Primary, TH-67A+ for Instruments and then TH-67 for Basic Warfighter Skills (navigation). Then it's an immediate transition into your advanced airframe.

 

I'm still pissed I never got to fly a Huey. I requested the UH-1 transition course 3 times, but kept getting turned down until the class ended. When I went through in 2006, BWS was still split half TH-67A+ and half OH-58A/C. That ended about four classes after us. I was 3 weeks from my 33rd birthday when I had my first AH-64 flight. This shot (me in the middle) was just before I climbed in and fired her up for the first time. I actually profiled 51A in my Squadron Publishing AH-64 Walkaround.

 

Jon

 

The Huey was a delight to fly. I don't think it has any vices. Autos were a dream. So much rotor inertia you had to pull pitch on the way down to avoid an overspeed! Not so much in the -64. I think best descent rate in an auto was 5500 fpm

 

Trying to think of AH-64 stuff you didn't get to experience:

- when I flew the Apache, the CPG had his own step to climb directly into the front (removed after a face-plant by a COL when the step broke)

- we could still transfer fuel to balance the forward/aft tank (almost universally resulting in the #2 engine flaming out when the aft tank was pumped dry)

- chop collar was used for autos

- hammerhead/RTT was still deemed a valuable tactical manuever!

- split-S and the occassional barrell roll when nobody was looking -- a real eye-opener for 2-blade teeter-totter guys

 

Stuff I could have done without:

- pumping up the accumulator after a rash of Nr sensor failures

- 2 x CW4 IPs jettisoning the weapons pods on the ramp -- confusing the jettison buttom with the stabilator reset button

- IR crossover on any given night

- Cutway NVG's -- you missed the fullface NVGs held on by surgical tubing! Great fun to have a battery failure while NOE.

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Cobrahistorian
The Huey was a delight to fly. I don't think it has any vices. Autos were a dream. So much rotor inertia you had to pull pitch on the way down to avoid an overspeed! Not so much in the -64. I think best descent rate in an auto was 5500 fpm

 

Trying to think of AH-64 stuff you didn't get to experience:

- when I flew the Apache, the CPG had his own step to climb directly into the front (removed after a face-plant by a COL when the step broke)

- we could still transfer fuel to balance the forward/aft tank (almost universally resulting in the #2 engine flaming out when the aft tank was pumped dry)

- chop collar was used for autos

- hammerhead/RTT was still deemed a valuable tactical manuever!

- split-S and the occassional barrell roll when nobody was looking -- a real eye-opener for 2-blade teeter-totter guys

 

Stuff I could have done without:

- pumping up the accumulator after a rash of Nr sensor failures

- 2 x CW4 IPs jettisoning the weapons pods on the ramp -- confusing the jettison buttom with the stabilator reset button

- IR crossover on any given night

- Cutway NVG's -- you missed the fullface NVGs held on by surgical tubing! Great fun to have a battery failure while NOE.

 

HAHAHAHAHAA!!! I didn't get to miss out on all of those! (Although using the chop collar for an auto sounds suicidal!)

I never got the hang of the fuel transfer thing in the Alpha. Too much fuel pong went on in my cockpit. That last damn chicklet always remained elusive.

 

I never got to fly MTADS, so IR crossover was a daily occurrence. Our new birds all have MTADS, but my last year I haven't flown due to an annoying but persistent thyroid issue.

 

Fortunately my goggle time was all done with ANVIS-6Bs, although we literally JUST turned in our 1977 dated PVS-5s about 2 months ago.

 

Getting back to the whole helmet thing, I'm hoping to eventually build an IHADSS (without the guts) for my collection. I've got the visor housing from mine, complete with my artwork, but that's about it. Hopefully as parts become available, I'll be able to build one.

 

Jon

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HAHAHAHAHAA!!! I didn't get to miss out on all of those! (Although using the chop collar for an auto sounds suicidal!)

I never got the hang of the fuel transfer thing in the Alpha. Too much fuel pong went on in my cockpit. That last damn chicklet always remained elusive.

 

I never got to fly MTADS, so IR crossover was a daily occurrence. Our new birds all have MTADS, but my last year I haven't flown due to an annoying but persistent thyroid issue.

 

Fortunately my goggle time was all done with ANVIS-6Bs, although we literally JUST turned in our 1977 dated PVS-5s about 2 months ago.

 

Getting back to the whole helmet thing, I'm hoping to eventually build an IHADSS (without the guts) for my collection. I've got the visor housing from mine, complete with my artwork, but that's about it. Hopefully as parts become available, I'll be able to build one.

 

Jon

 

I found out later that my IHADSS was never reissued. It sat in the ALSE shop for a few years and eventually had the electronics cannabilized. The shell was crushed and tossed :thumbdown: The only surviving part of my helmet is the SPH-4 anvis visor we used to mount NVGs on the CPG's helmet. We ran a mixed system of PNVS in back and NVGs up front.

 

The Army must still be keeping tight control of the helmets. Guys I flew with who stayed in and retired don't even have them. They were a controlled item back in the 80s. There must be thousands of these helmets made by now. I'm surprised there aren't more gutted examples around.

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Cobrahistorian

They do turn up on ebay from time to time, usually in the $1500-3500 range. Mine was actually a 1984 contract helmet that'd been rebuilt several times.

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Fortunately my goggle time was all done with ANVIS-6Bs, although we literally JUST turned in our 1977 dated PVS-5s about 2 months ago.

 

Were those PVS-5s just in storage that your unit turned in 2 months ago or were they actually using them sometimes? Id assume these were the GM-6(V)1 COBB mount 5s?

 

I just got a 1993 dated -10 for the PVS-5 that covers the standard V1 mount and V2 offset for the Cobra. Wanted to read up on the older generation NVGs for Aviation use. Id still love to see an actual setup of the older 5s with the SPH-4 that have all the velcro, snaps and the medical tubing. Ive never actually see the goggles mounted to the helmet with that old setup, just the helmets with all the stuff on em.

 

 

I also have one of those ANVIS housings for the IHADSS I picked up last year:

OUT.jpg

IN.jpg

SIDE.jpg

 

Was offered an IHADSS once but didn't have the large sum of money it was offered at nor was I sure about the legitimacy to own as Ive heard the IR harness in them is the controlled item. I do have both style helmet bags for it though, I guess that's as close as Ill ever get.

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I just got a 1993 dated -10 for the PVS-5 that covers the standard V1 mount and V2 offset for the Cobra. Wanted to read up on the older generation NVGs for Aviation use. Id still love to see an actual setup of the older 5s with the SPH-4 that have all the velcro, snaps and the medical tubing. Ive never actually see the goggles mounted to the helmet with that old setup, just the helmets with all the stuff on em.

 

I'm trying to get a set of dummy PVS-5's and build a mock up set like what you are asking. I have the helmet, faceform, now the rest of the guts for display.

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