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http://www.iaf.org.il/4446-46427-en/IAF.aspx
A few months ago, the Palmahim AFB Maintenance Squadron received a completely disassembled Bell 212 helicopter and a challenging mission: to restore it.
A special event held recently was their dead-line for the project... did they succeed?
Catatonic State"
The "Bell" helicopter, tail num. 031,
began service in the "Rolling Sword" Squadron,
until it was reassigned to the sister "Desert Birds" Squadron,
which was known then as the "Southern Bells" Squadron,
in which it was used, among other purposes, for the training of young aircrew members.
Bell 31 was used later for tests and eventually ended up in the Hazerim AFB scrap-yard.
"The helicopter was in a ‘catatonic' state", emphasizes Maj. Roei Cohen, Structure Department Commander in the base's Maintenance Squadron.
"For months, it sat in the dark and waited for us to gather all of the missing parts.
We had to find parts that aren't manufactured anymore and that cannot be found in the force anymore.
We had near to nothing and we had to use old pictures of Bells for reference".
As stated, the project was completed successfully at the last minute and the helicopter was displayed in the "Desert Birds" Jubilee celebrations.
It will soon be displayed in Palmahim AFB's southern gate and forever commemorate the legendary helicopter.
"It sometimes felt like the work continued into odd hours and there was a phenomenal connection between all of the different people from different places who volunteered to take part in the project", concluded Maj. Cohen.
"The cherry on top for me, was the understanding that the helicopter isn't a decorative item, but a legacy - the solutions we needed, the creativity we needed to harness, the ideas we had, all of these were found and resulted from the feeling of motivation and professionalism of every serviceman and woman who took part in this project".
Once again, see
http://www.iaf.org.il/4446-46427-en/IAF.aspx
for more.
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