I have my Dad's old helmet and I want to restore it. Well, really I just want to bring it back to "functional" condition. I certainly would never repaint it.

 

The visor is gone and the knob to adjust it is also lost.

And I remember that back in the 1970s Dad removed the headphones as he was going to try and use them with a HAM radio project.

 

So...

I was able to buy a new visor, but I am not sure exactly what knob and hardware is needed to hold the visor.

 

- Does anyone have a picture of the proper knob and the hardware that goes under/over the visor? Any chance anyone has an extra one of these somewhere?

 

- What is needed to replace the earphones? I see ear cups on ebay and I think there were springs too that went under the cups? And how did the speakers mount in the cups?

 

If anyone has detailed pictures of the items above I'd love to see them!

 

Thank you,

Carl

 

 

Here is a picture of the missing ear cup area. Can anyone date this helmet from that tag?

Carl,

I maybe able to help.My problem is photos.I can put the parts together for the visor knob and and the comms. PM me and we can discuss it.

Bob

I should also add that I will need a mike and boom, and the cord has been cut off the helmet. I'd like to replace that stuff too.

Did he use the helmet at a project as well? I dont recognize those foam looking pieces at the front cheek area of the inside that would be forward of where the ear cups were. Same for that glue looking residue where the proper ear cups would be attached. If you already got a visor, it will have to be the early APH-5 style since this had the earlier visor housing with the metal stops. Def a nice project to work on, was your father in the Army in the early 60s or a different branch?

Dad was in the Army Air Corps through to the USAF. He did well in flight school and was held in the USA to be an instructor during WW2. He flew T6 Texans, P40 Warhawks, P38 Lightnings, P-51 Mustangs and other stuff. At the end of his career he took helicopter training and said it was the hardest thing he did after 10k+hours in planes. In confidence, he actually told me that he thought they passed him in helicopters because they knew he was on the way out to civilian life. ;-) Eventually high blood pressure knocked him out of the air reserve.

 

The blue/green foam was something silly I did as a teenager, trying to replace the earcups. I'll have to remove that and clean up the glue residue.

I repaired my dad's APH-5 and another one a years ago. Send me a PM

Thanks to 72PSB, I was able to find the parts I needed and I reassembled Dad's old APH-5 today.

Thanks Bob!

I have one question:

The visor itself seems to fit perfectly, but apparently I don't know where or how to assemble the copper/brass spring clip. It was getting in the way.

Does anyone know exactly how this is supposed to be mounted? And is there supposed to be one on each side? (I only have one.)

 

Here are a few shots of the assembled helmet!

 

Looks great, thats an excellent tribute to your dad and you did a great job restoring it!

 

 

Thanks Mariner!

 

Hey, is it possible to date the helmet using the the S/N in the first picture, or the contract number?

I'm guessing it is pretty early as Dad was out before 1960.

Looks really good! Definitely, something to display in your home and show all who visit you! You did a great job, thanks for sharing!

Hunt

Carl,

Helping you get it done was my pleasure. A fitting remembrance of your father.

Bob

Thanks everyone!

For the record, here's Dad in a P-40

 

 

And in a P-38

 

Sadly, we have no pictures of him in a helicopter.

 

Thanks to 72PSB, I was able to find the parts I needed and I reassembled Dad's old APH-5 today.

Thanks Bob!

I have one question:

The visor itself seems to fit perfectly, but apparently I don't know where or how to assemble the copper/brass spring clip. It was getting in the way.

Does anyone know exactly how this is supposed to be mounted? And is there supposed to be one on each side? (I only have one.)

 

If I recall, the clip is located on the middle visor screw, under the visor with the end tip pointed towards the visor. It helps keep the visor from binding up in the track...

 

Nice job with the helmet...and the posted pics of your father...

Vintage, I've really enjoyed the evolution of the story of your Dad's helmet. And mega kudos to 72psb for his part in the finale. Great photos too !

 

Lynne

I thought you guys might enjoy this...

I found this card Dad received when he competed his helicopter training:

 

And here is the back, it is pretty strange! But this must have mean something to the pilots at the time.

A tip in case it helps anyone else: The pictures above show a replacement visor I found on ebay. The original visor has a rubber strip on the bottom edge, to protect the pilots face from the possibly sharp edge of the visor. I found I was able to remove the rubber strip from the original visor by gently pulling it away. I installed the rubber strip on the new visor with Weldwood contact cement. The cement was very messy, but after it dried it was easy to cleanup the mess with Xylene. The Xylene did not damage the visor at all.

Now on display with rubber trimmed visor.