Huey Helicopters

UH-1, Iroquois, Huey, Bell 204, 205, 412 Helicopters

The �Huey� as these helicopters are collectively (and sometimes mistakenly) known as, is actually a long series of helicopters made by Bell from the late 1950�s until contemporary times. Purists hate lumping all these helicopters together as the UH-1 shares little in common with the model 412 except appearance. These helicopters are all turboshaft powered (some versions have two engines).

Without getting into the nuances of these helicopters, all have found great homes in the bush. These helicopters are primarily used for firefighting, but they are used for practically everything else imaginable too. If you see a photo of a helicopter landing at the North or South pole with intrepid and strapping explorers bounding from its doors, chances are great it is one of the �Huey� helicopters.

The Bell 412 with four-blade, composite rotor system.

The "Huey" helicopters are hugely expensive when compared to smaller piston-powered helicopters and very few are privately owned. In other words, these are serious �working� helicopters that are typically owned by companies instead of individuals. They are not typically used as training helicopters.

Classic Huey image from the Viet Nam War.

The Iroquois helicopter was used at various Canadian Armed Forces bases to provide a light transport and search-and-rescue ability. 118110, seen here, was flown by 417 Squadron at 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alberta. 417 previously flew Canadair CF-104 Starfighters and took over the CH-118s from Cold Lake Base Flight in the early 90's. The Iroquois was phased out in favour of the Bell CH-146 Griffon helicopter.

The Iroquois pictured at the top of the page was operated by 417 Squadron at 4 Wing Cold Lake and spent most of its time ferrying supplies and personnel from the base to the facilities on the Primrose Lake Evaluation Range.

Watch this Huey UH-1 helicopter on firefighting duty in Big Bear Lake, California, USA. It's a sight to see.