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Bell 212 VH-1N US president Hueys
The pictures below are from the helicopters buro numbers 158551 to 158557, that there
were used during the 1970/80s by the US Marines HMX-1 presidential unit at Quantico, Virginia.
President Reagan pulled these helicopters out of dust balls from the bone yard in
Arizona due President Carter apparently disposed of them while in office.
They were VH-1N 's which were refurbished at Bell for Presidential use.
When the Sikorsky VH-60N Whitehawk
came along in the 1990s, they were took them back to the bone yard.
Some of these Hueys' use to be green tops. The others were called white tops.
The dog house on top is that of a Bell 214ST that has been modified to fit over top of the bleed air, air conditioning system.
The cargo door was modified later on to make the cabin a four door. This was done by cutting the cargo door in half and hard mounting the wing door in between the two halves.
These aircraft were fitted with a Sperry Ram System. This system allowed you to set in your destination coordinates and fly there hands free.
They were fitted with both AFCS and a stab bar. The interior had wall to wall carpeting, buckets seats and a wet bar.
Quite literally the limo of Hueys.
Some stories said that the DEA or CIA bought them for covert missions.
Contribution: Gregory Gough
See Also:
 Database: VH-1N in USMC
VXX Program
Bell UH-1 Huey
Sikorsky H-3
Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk
david stewart ( falmouth va usa )
Just a little more history on the VH-1N\'s. The following buro\'s were reconfigured to HH-1N\'s sometime in the 90\'s, after HMX-1 retired them to the Davis Monthan Bone Yard. They have since been serving has Search and Recuce Aircraft and no longer resemble the way they looked during thier Presidential Support Life. It would be great if someone were to try and get on of them and make a musem piece out it. 158551, 158552 (Currently at Camp Pendelton, Ca. as of July, 2004), 158553 (Aircraft was destroyed in a crash in Yuma area), 158554, 158556 (Aircraft suffered a hard landing and was stricken), 158557.
dan currie ( n. richalnd hills texas usa )
With regards to the VH-1N\'s, I had the privledge to work on all 6 ships during the SPAR program, at Bell Helicopter. 158554 was the first to receive the Sperry autopilot, and we flew it a lot to qualify it for HMX-1. I have pictures of the crashed aircraft and it was sad to learn of it\'s demise. One of our best test pilots and I worked the program thru every flight on all ships.
It will always be one of the highlights in my career to be chosen to work on the VIP ships.
dean s. leavitt ( easton massachusetts usa )
VH-1N\'s were part of the joint Army/Marine Corps presidential helicopter fleet as far back as the early 1970\'s. I was assigned to the U.S. Army Executive Flight Detachment from 1974-1977. The EFD, founded during the Eisenhower Administration, was housed @ Davison U.S. Army Airfield, Ft. Belvoir, Va., until its deactivation, under the Ford Administration in an Executive Branch cost-cutting measure. The Marine\'s HMX-1 became part of the operation after the inception of the Army\'s EFD. Either the Army or Marines were to consolidate operations and inventory under one unit. The decision was made, under Pres. Ford, (U.S. Navy veteran), to keep the Corps and bid adieu to the Army. The EFD\'s inventory included Sikorsky VH-3D\'s, Boeing Vertol VH-47\'s and Bell VH-1N\'s painted in the same livery shown in the above photo\'s. I\'m sorry to hear of their apparently undignified end. I\'ve numerous photo\'s of the mentioned aircraft and would be glad to share them.
jim ansboury ( st. petersburg florida usa )
I worked and flew on them for five years from
1971 to 1976. My helicopter, BU#158556, flew President Nixon on his
last flight from El Toro, California to San Clemente, California in
1974. The first actual presidential UH-1N\'s were BU#158277 and 158278.
We VIP\'ed out these cargo frames over an Easter week-end and President
Nixon met the French President in Martinique in, I believe, 1972. They
had the tail boom painted
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