A few weeks back, Jackie and I visited her sister and brother-in-law at their new home in Williamson, Georgia. Williamson is west of Griffin, north of Zebulon and home to the Peach State Aerodrome, a small grass-strip airport where mostly vintage and antique aircraft are hangared. There was a fly-in this particular weekend and we were planning to attend.
Jackie and her sister went to the grocery store Saturday morning. My brother-in-law Kelly and I were sitting on the back patio drinking coffee when we heard an unmistakable rhythmic, thumping sound in the sky overhead. Kelly and I looked at each other and both said, “That’s a Huey!” We jumped up, ran out into the yard and saw the olive drab bird flying over the house, headed toward Williamson. “They must be giving rides at the airshow,” I said. “I’ve been hoping they would have helicopter rides,” said Kelly. “If they are, I’m definitely going up.”
Sure enough, when we got to Peach State, there was the UH-1H Huey, along with an AH-1F Cobra attack helicopter. The birds are operated by the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation, which is based in Hampton, Georgia. Kelly and I bought our tickets for a ride in the Huey. While we waited our turn, we read a placard with the details of the bird, number 624 and named the “Lucky Star.” She was shot down and recovered three times in Vietnam. Kelly and I were seated in the right rear gunner’s seats, which meant we were facing the door openings. It was an experience I will never forget.
I have been up in a helicopter four times in my life. The first two times were in a Bell 47G2, better known as a ‘Whirlybird’. I flew in one with my father at the Southeastern Fair in Atlanta when I was seven years old and again with a friend in the mid-Nineties at Panama City Beach. Jackie and I rode in a Robinson R44 in 2016 around Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant, SC. I have always had flying in a Huey on my bucket list. I never dreamed when I woke up that Saturday morning that by suppertime I would be able to cross that one off.
There were ten of us in the Huey, along with the pilot, co-pilot and crew chief. It struck me that there were thirteen people in the Huey and what a testimony that was to the strength of these incredible machines. The pilot did a few maneuvers, laying the bird on her side banking from left to right and bringing her up and into a power stall. We flew over my brother and sister-in-law’s house. It was pretty cool seeing it and our Kia Sorento from five thousand feet in the air. After we landed we shook hands with the crew chief and had our picture taken in front of the bird. As we walked away, Kelly said to me, “We’re brothers now. We’ve flown together.”
Afterward, I began to think about the young men who had flown in the Huey under vastly different circumstances than us and how for many on the ground, the sound of an approaching Huey was the sound of an angel from heaven. I received a text from Kelly a few days later and he echoed my feelings. He said he came to realize that our ride was more of an honor than just fun. “If that girl was shot down three times, someone was in the very seat we sat in, taking and giving fire,” he said.
I went on to the Army Aviation Heritage website and found a history of the 624 Lucky Star. Turns out she has had quite a life, from military service in Vietnam, Germany, Korea and stateside with the Alabama National Guard in Birmingham. She was transferred to the Army Aviation Heritage Museum in 2004 and now flies tours. Here is the link to her fascinating full history:
There are no more helicopters on my bucket list, having been up in a Whirlybird and a Huey. I have also been privileged to fly in a 1941 Waco biplane and a 1963 Mooney with Jackie. But there are still others aircraft on the list. There is a T-6 Texan military trainer at the Aerodrome, along with a beautiful yellow J-3 Piper Cub. Just sayin’…