Had Rutan designed the B-17...

[Captain Canada]

Wow....thanks for the links, Franco !

Love them Chinooks...great job on getting the Chinook recovered, can't wait to read into the sites a little more ! Did I mention how much I love Chinooks ? One of these days, I'm going to pack up the kiddies and go down south to watch them fly again. Do they ever do displays ?

Great job on that Chinook painting as well.....you can almost see them moving !

[OldHooker]

Thanks Alvis!      Will look forward to seeing your 1/48 version!

Capt:  Thanks!      Don't go on the Go-Go or Hillclimber sites if you have something to do, like work... or somewhere to go, like to bed!        Generally, they'll be Chinooks displayed at Military type airshows, and some civilian shows.    Ft. Campbell sent one down to attend our last reunion at Redstone Arsenal (Huntsville, Alabama), letting people go through it and talk with the crew.





~


Former Go-Go Pilot Barry Ellis checks out the front office in the visiting "D" Model.


Barry was AC on "Easy Money" in late December '67, during an attack being waged on a section of thatched huts where some wicked 37mm fire was coming from, when a 7.62 round came through the right side cockpit window and hit Barry in the face.    The impact tore his nose off and evacuated his left eyeball.    The other pilot, who was also a trained Medic, was in the back treating the Flight Engineer, who'd got hit at the beginning of the run (see below), but Barry somehow managed to fly to a nearby Special Forces Fire Base, where he was evacuated to Japan.  As you can see from the photo, Barry had some good reconstructive surgery, and all that's really noticable, is his "still" left eye.


He was known in the Unit for the last comment he made, to the Gunners after the first gun-run (he was hit during the second run)... after taking a series of hits down the belly of the aircraft:"We pissed 'em off that time, boys!"

Below is one of the bullet patches from that day, taken during the restoration... one of the rounds came within an inch of hitting the front ADF Loop Antenna Fairing, and this relic came from that vecinity.  





This was our third Reunion photo.  (Clarence Hall (front row/far left), was one of the Crew Chief's on "Co$t of Living"... he Crewed an H-13 in Korea.... and a P-47D in WWII)

I apologize if I'm posting too many pictures, but I like sharing these little bits of history, that almost never was.    I made a promise to the group that I would put "Guns A Go-Go" on the map, so the Men who lived and died with them might never be forgotten.  

Thanks for making me feel at home here!  

Take care,
Frank

[elmayerle]

Y'know, that makes me wonder what you could do along those lines today starting from a MH-47F or MH-47G and using off the shelf equipment from the Apache and such.

[lancer]

Frank,
Don't apologise for posting the pics. They're very welcome as is the history. Especially as you were there and lived it. I'm fasinated with it.
BTW, that patch on the main group photo is really bloody cool.

[OldHooker]

elmayerle: I've always thought a kitbash of an MH-47, with modern day armament, would be an intimidating display!    I'm waiting to see if Trumpeter comes through with their 1/35 Chinook in September.



I assembled a photo history section on the website, in the "Pictures" link, with over 338 very rare photos surrounding unit activities.     Anyone who's considering doing an ACH-47 version of  the upcoming kit, here's the best reference material available.      http://gunsagogo.org

Take care,
Frank

[John Howling Mouse]

HoLEEEEEEEEEEEE Keerap!!!   I just looked at your artwork links, Frank.  I kept thinking, "Wait a sec, this isn't the same guy on What If, is he?"

"We're not worrrrrrrrrrthy!"

Fantastic vision you have there and a style that's incredibly inviting to the viewer.

Wow!

     

[Captain Canada]

Geez.....I can't stop looking at your sites and thinking 'must build Chinook' ! I stole all the bits from my gunship kit for my Merlin CSAR bird.

I'm thinking it would look good with two stubs on each side, with the rocket pods firing downward a wee bit.......Also, I've got a little Huey kit that has the 40mm nose turret.

I'm also thinking of grafting a Merlin nose section onto a Chinook frame, and using the rotors from a pair of kits, to make an EH competitor for Boeing.

Graet sites, buddy.......and no need to apologize, I'm sure I speak for more than a few of us to say thet we're honored to have a 'guns a-go-go' pilot among us !

 

[Jschmus]

Hmmm.  AMH-47E, anyone?  Stubs on the forward fuselage for the newer Hydra pods, or even the laser-guided rockets used on the Fire Scout drone.  Swap out the Brownings for the new-build .50-cal GAU-19.  You could make the chin turret compatible with multiple systems for different support missions - the Mk. 19 grenade launcher, M-197 or XM-301 20mm cannon, or even one of those stabilized sniper rifle mounts for precision shooting.  Okay that last one was a little out to left field (trying to picture this massive helo with a Barrett hanging off the chin).

[Ollie]

Yeap, can never have too many pilots around, and that's chopper pilot #2 there, me being the first!

     

[Captain Canada]

me being the first!

Yeah, but you fly a whimpy little R-22........The Hooker flies a real machine ! One of his rotor blades beats the all-up of your whole bird !



But we still love ya, Ollie ! And GO CANADA !

[lancer]

Yeap, can never have too many pilots around, and that's chopper pilot #2 there, me being the first!

   

Yeah, but Frank flys REAL choppers......

[Ollie]

I R-22s, R-44s and Bell 206s.

They are all real choppers mind you.  All of them you can own and not become instatly broke!

Cannot say the same for a Chinook, however how cool they are.  I'm due to fly the 44 pretty soon, lemme check in me logbook...

...
...
...
...
...

Oy, in a week!



Woo-hoo!

 

[OldHooker]

Infact, it's probably a bit more challenging to maneuver than a Chinook.... If I tried to loach around in the R-22, I'd be all over the place!!       "not real"?... just try hanging about 50ft off the ground in a hover in an R-22, and see how REAL it all becomes!      B)

Also Ollie, you continue to be the "Active" pilot on board... as I hung my wings up for good about 6 years ago.  

Take care,
Frank

[Ollie]

Oh yes Frank.

The 22 is quite a beast.  The 44 Ravens are even worst with the hydraulic controls, you just think about moving to the left and you are there...  I prefer the Astro in hover, but I'd go for the Raven on long trips, they don't vibrate at all.

And about the 22 at 50' in over, that puts you OGE, which is hard to do in the summer, even with just one guy aboard!

 

Will do Frank...

What part of the States are you in?

   

[OldHooker]

Oh yes Frank.
......
And about the 22 at 50' in over, that puts you OGE, which is hard to do in the summer, even with just one guy aboard!

True to point, which would elevate the "P" factor into the red!     Bet you couldn't convince that pilot it isn't real!            

I got to watch (thank God) a Test Flight in one of the "A" model Chinooks, after just taking the bird out of the maintenance shop...... failed to check the SAS Ports! (which were taped for a repair that required painting) :dum:     For the next minute and a half, that aircraft was very near what Tom Hanks would refer to as "Gimbal Lock", several times!!!!   ~   But for God's gift of "The Touch" to those two pilots, did that crew survive... and two flat tires was the only damage to the Chinook in the end!     Each of the three man crew had wet himself.... and that's not meant as a joke, but almost as a humbling acknowledgment that they each came V E R Y near the edge that day.... and they KNEW it!      

My big problem in an R-22 would be over-controlling it, I already figured that out, but would be a blast to knock around in once you got the hang of it!  

I am in the state of North Carolina, about 70 mi NW of Ft. Bragg.

Take care,
Frank