US Army transfers 40 UH-1s to US Air Force
FORT RUCKER, Ala. --- The Army transferred six of 40 UH-1 Iroquois helicopters to the Air Force May 6 in a ceremony at Lowe Army Heliport for use in the Rotary Wing Qualification Course, which the Air Force uses to train its helicopter pilots.

The Air Force students begin flying either T-37 Tweets or T-6A Texan IIs, both fixed-wing aircraft, at several Air Force bases and then come to Fort Rucker for their rotary-wing training with the Huey.

The reason we stayed with the Hueys is because theyre tough, theyre durable and they are the perfect transition from a T-6A or a T-37. We move on to the MH-53 Pave Low, which is 45,000 pounds, or the MH-60K Black Hawk, which is 23,000 pounds or so, and we have M-model Hueys as well, said Air Force Maj. Larry Walker, program manager for undergraduate helicopter training at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas.

There are two phases of training during RWQC, which the Air Force calls blocks. Each block is three months long, and the first block is the initial contact phase.

Block I, the initial phase, is where they basically learn how to fly emergency procedures, transition and they (learn) helicopter instruments, said Walker. In Block II, students learn how to perform missions using low-level navigation, low-level flying, load operations and to fly using night-vision devices in formation.

Before the transfer of the Hueys, the first phase of training was done using Army regulations. The students would then have to switch to Air Force regulations during Phase II. Now the students will be taught using Air Force regulations, or instructions, throughout RWQC.

The Army is transferring a total of 40 Hueys to the Air Force. The goal is to transfer six per month until Oct. 1, which was the deadline given to Fort Rucker by the Department of the Army, according to Col. Howard Killian, chief, Aviation Center Logistics Command.

According to Walker, the Air Force will use 24 of the Hueys for training at Fort Rucker. Sixteen of the aircraft will be used for spare parts, and 12 of those 16 will be used to start a Huey 2 line.

I think (were saying goodbye to the Hueys) with a bit of nostalgia, to say the least, but (we have to) to facilitate the rest of the modernization and transformation planning, said Killian. The quicker we can facilitate this moving to the Air Force, the quicker were going to get things like the Light Utility Helicopter.

Killian said the Hueys took a lot of time, money and personnel to keep them operational. Therefore, the transfer will also save the Army money. What Hueys the Air Force does not take, the Army will have destroyed, he said.

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