Carson Helicopters grave yard - Perkasie Heliport PA

[VH3D]

Hi All,

Back in February I had the pleasure to visit Carson Helicopters grave yard. This must be the largest gathering of Sikorsky Jolly Green Giant in US They have 5 or 6 S-61s in pristine condition in the hangars, but the hangars were off for photography.
I'm happy with the stuff that I've got there.







They even have KLM Helicopters remains that crashed back in the 70s in the North Sea.












More shots from this visit can be seen here: https://flic.kr/s/aHskxNGQfE

[Stratofreighter]

Interesting indeed,
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1601/263 ... 1ab0_c.jpg .

Why did the remains of the accident that befell Sikorsky S-61N PH-NZC at
http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=786
back in May 1974
end up in the United States and not in a European scrap yard, to be, well , scrapped ?

[VH3D]

I have no idea why, but there are also hulks of S-61s that had crashed in Brazil.
My only guess is that they were trying to put their hands on any S-61s they could get for the parts.
Those 61s in the hangar look amazing.

[Gonzo]

Nice pictures, like the picture of te cockpit!

[Koen L]

Cool report!

[XL446]

Excellent news that you were able to visit their storage area. I tried to do so in 2009 but wasn't given permission. Presumably because I asked on the spot - perhaps you arranged access in advance?
On the other hand, I could've taken all the photos I wanted in the hangar, but didn't have a very-wide-angle or a flash on me, so didn't.
I should be back in the area in 2019; hopefully the a/c will still be there then.

[VH3D]

We were trying to arrange the visit in advance, but were told NO. We were driving from Willow Grove museum to Reading museum and Perkasie is almost on the way. We've decided to stop anyway. When we were trying to find somebody to ask for permission we saw two older gentlemen coming out of one of the hangars. We asked them for permission to check the grave yard. They said that only (I think his name was Joe) can give us that permission but he's not in (left for lunch). When we were walking back to our car we saw Joe walking back from his lunch. Explained that we are aviation enthusiasts and would like to walk around to take some pictures. He said "No problem, go ahead". We were trying to push our luck and asked for pictures inside of the hangars. He said "No photos in the hangars".
To be honest, I would rather have pictures of the 6 yellow and blue S-61s inside of the hangars then those 32 in the field.

It took us almost 2 hours to walk from frame to frame and positively ID each hulk. We were walking in ankle deep water and mud At the end it was worth it.
We had to call Reading museum to hold the door for us as we were running late Thankfully they were waiting for us. At Reading airport you need to have escort, as the birds on display are on the active ramp.
All the Su-25s from Reading are either gone or packed to 5-6 containers in the place where they were previously parked.

Here is the log of the stuff that we were able to ID

Main hangar:
N4263A CH-3/S-61R Carson Helicopters titles, immaculate in yellow (c/n 61551)
N448JS S-61 DoS blue/white colours (c/n 61428)
N352DH S-61 DoS blue/white colours (c/n 61161)

On the field:
1_98__ SH-3 either USN or USMC, white colours, defied identifying
151548/01 SH-3 (USN)
151532 SH-3 (USMC)
PT-HJL S-61 (61813), bare, reg on plate in cockpit
(149000) SH-3A (USN) sprayed 61-074 on the side and c/n plate reads "serial A2-201"
PT-HJK S-61 (61812)
65-12800 CH-3E (61575)
N6981R S-61L (61453)
63-9686 CH-3 c/n 61518 on plate "May 1964"
USAF Sikorsky CH-3 63-9690 / 60 CH-3 cn 61522
62-12576 CH-3B, serial noted in two places on the frame
PT-HJA S-61 (61774)
148989/720 SH-3 (61063)
"64-507th Wg" (64-14226) CH-3 (61529)
149720 SH-3 (61137)
(1475??) HH-3 in full USCG c/s, totally devoid of serial or c/n. 1475 is a guess based on USMOOS. A cockpit plate reads "serial A7-136"
64-14223 CH-3
PH-NZC S-61 KLM Noordzee Helikopter, upside down wreck
1433 HH-3F USCG
1485 HH-3 bare, not in USCG c/s
64-14230 HH-3 'HH029' c/n 61533
(151529) S-61A c/n 61232 (N8170V). The c/n plate was read off, and this should clear up an USMOOS entry, as both 61232 and 61074 were positively identified and photographed, and are not even next to each other.
63-9683 CH-3C c/n 61515, "March 1964"

Take care,
Rafal

[Zim-pix]

Is the old Danish S-61 also at this location??

Regards,

Kim Zimmermann
www.ZiM-PiX.com

[VH3D]

Is the old Danish S-61 also at this location??

There were 3 Danish S-61s in one of the hangars.

[Zim-pix]

There were 3 Danish S-61s in one of the hangars.

Thanks for the info. Do you know the serials of the 3 S-61??

Regards,

Kim Zimmermann
http://www.ZiM-PiX.com

[VH3D]

Unfortunately no. They were packed in one of the hangars which was off limits for us.

[ehusmann]

Main hangar:
N352DH S-61 DoS blue/white colours (c/n 61161)

On the field:
62-12576 CH-3B, serial noted in two places on the frame

These are interesting... 62-12576 is mostly quoted as being 61.161, a CH-3B. The one that used to be preserved in Allentown. The FAA registry indeed gives N352DH as being 61.161 as well, but as a SH-3H.
Even more interesting, the FAA registry als gives 61.161 as c/n for N1048Y, the civil registration for 62-12576. So the same helicopter is registered twice with the FAA!!!
Something does not add up if you saw them both! Did you check either for the c/n your self?

FAA for N1048Y
FAA for N352DH

Erwin

[VH3D]

Hi Erwin

N352DH was ID'ed reading the N number on the fuselage. It was parked in the hangar so we didn't have access to check the s/n plates.
62-12576 was ID'ed from the Sikorsky plate in the cockpit and another plate inside of the cargo bay.

Keep in mind that Carson did a lot of work for the 'spooks', so everything is possible

[ehusmann]

So in the end both c/n are questionable, with the 62-12576 a little less so if you ask me...
It is just extremely interesting that both are actually at the same site, if only both could be checked.

But thanks a lot for the list in any case.

Erwin

[VH3D]

To add fuel to the fire, there is third heli active in Oregon flying with the same c/n N1048Y.

There is a chance that N352DH is 61145