NHA Historical Society

SH-60F Update

By CAPT Bill Personius, USN (Ret.), President, NHAHS LTM #46 / RW#1621

This issue's theme, "Be Ready" is appropriate for NHAHS.

This is a bit of a change from the original plan to have the project completed in June 2024, however, this timeline makes better sense now given several parts of the plan were slow to come together.

That is the bad news. The good news is that we are on track now to complete the project and have the helicopter mounted in October of 2024.

We don’t have an actual approved Dedication Date for the Ceremony yet. However, we are working toward midOctober and the birthday of the Helicopter Community.

For those of you unfamiliar, the Helicopter Community Official Birthday is 16 October 1943. This year's birthday falls on a Wednesday. So that is the goal.

By the time that you read this article, I am hoping that we have an approved date for the ceremony so check our NHAHS Website and it should be published there.

The MOU for the long-term maintenance plan of the aircraft between the Base and NHAHS has been submitted to the Region.

The paperwork (and there has been a lot of it!) has been submitted and approved! No mean feat - and NAVFAC is ready to issue all the required permits to start construction.

The Seabees have been alerted and are standing-by, and planning to help support the demolition of the area by clearing the rock and foliage at the site.

All the raw materials required for the stanchion connecting hardware have been ordered and delivered.

FRCSW has taken acceptance of the materials and started work milling out a shim plate to fit against the belly of the aircraft and fabrication of the mount.

FRCSW has taken acceptance of the materials and started work milling out a shim plate to fit against the belly of the aircraft and fabrication of the mount.

The aircraft restoration has been completed to include a custom paint job.

Some engineering work to keep the main rotor blades off the droop stops and look like they are conning has been completed.

The restoration of a MK-46 training shape torpedo is in work by CNATTU North Island to be mounted on the starboard side of the aircraft.

The restoration of a MK-46 training shape torpedo is in work by CNATTU North Island to be mounted on the starboard side of the aircraft.

Preparations for a Dedication Ceremony have started.

Brick orders for the base of the stanchion are being reviewed and finalized to be submitted in time to be installed prior to the Dedication Ceremony. To date we have over 350 brick orders…don’t go without leaving your mark on Naval Helicopter Aviation at NAS North Island…order a brick today! Get a brick for yourself, a friend, family member, loved one or fallen shipmate. You still have time to order a brick…see accompanying page to place your order.

Brick orders for the base of the stanchion are being reviewed and finalized to be submitted in time to be installed prior to the Dedication Ceremony. To date we have over 350 brick orders…don’t go without leaving your mark on Naval Helicopter Aviation at NAS North Island…order a brick today! Get a brick for yourself, a friend, family member, loved one or fallen shipmate. You still have time to order a brick…see accompanying page to place your order.

• $100 – 4” x 8” Brick

• $250 – 8” x 8” Brick

• $500 – 12” x 12” Brick

Thank you to all those who have ordered bricks and to all those who have donated funds.

Thank you to all our sponsors ,and thank you to all our volunteers to include the artisans at the Midway Hangar 805 without their help and support the restoration would not have happened.

Thank you to all of you for being patient as we just went over three (3) years on 3 February 2024 since we started this project.

I promise you… this project will be worth the wait when we are done with it.

Keep your turns up!

Regards,

Bill Personius

CAPT USN (Ret.) LTM-#46, R-16213 President

Naval Helicopter Association Historical Society (NHAHS)

https://www.nhahistoricalsociety.org/ PO Box 180578, Coronado, CA 92178-0578