UH-1 Restoration at the Cold War Air Museum, Engine and Transmission Removed

Work on the UH-1 being restored at the Cold War Air Museum required removing the transmission and engine so that various components and compartments could be cleaned and checked.

Removing the transmission should have been fairly straightforward, disconnect and unbolt everything, then lift it out. Some persuasion was required however, because forty years of sitting in place made it reluctant to move at first. Fortunately, we only had to use "American" persuasion, not "Russian" persuasion. No big hammers were required.

After the transmission came out, it was re-mated with the mast assembly. The mast head had been removed for transport. This delivery team at least understood the concept of bridge clearance.

Old fluids were drained and inspected, and new fluids were added and circulated. The old sight glasses at first seemed unusable, but after a good cleaning they again deserved their name.

Re-mated, the transmission and mast form a sealed system preventing inadvertent contamination. A temporary mount holds the system upright and allows it to be moved around while work proceeds.

The engine came out more readily. So far, everything that is supposed to rotate does, but bore scoping and more component inspections are on the schedule.

With the engine and transmission out and the compartments clear, teams can tackle each project independently, calling upon each other for further support as necessary.