Latest news from the restoration project

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March 2019:

Over the last 2 display seasons our Huey has been well armed, but 2 pieces have been missing. But now the team have finally taken possession of a pair of 7 shot LAU Rocket Pods. The team can now start the fabrication of the  TK2 (Temporary Kit 2) mounts to fit the pods to the bird, we will also begin the process of moulding the replica 2.75" 'Mighty Mouse' Hydra Rockets so that the aircraft sits fully armed on display. This year will see Bird 18 finally on display as a fully fledged 'Gun Ship'.

Both pods are U. S. military spec, 1976 dated, manufactured by Harvard Interiors Div, Harvard Industries Inc. St. Louis, MO.

January 2019:

A very Happy New Year to all our supporters. We have a number of planned jobs to complete ready for the next display season and we are not hanging around in making a start with the team beginning the very first weekend of the new year. 

October: 

Event listings for 2019 already being added, check the 'Events' page regularly for further updates. Several new photos added to the 'Restoration' and 'Display' galleries.

TK2 update: 

The restoration team are now working on the TK2 (Temporary Kit) set up for the rocket pod system.  

At two recent military events in the UK the team managed to find the first few pieces.

One seller had 2 practice Mighty Mouse Rocket war heads which we will cast so we can make full size replica rockets. The same seller also had three of the suspension lugs that screw to the tops of each rocket pod and then hung under the TK2 kit. Just one more to find now which shouldnt be to hard.

A second seller had a complete Mighty Mouse 2.75" rocket in very good condition complete with its firing wire attached, a perfect to display to the visiting public at events.

Just goes to show if you know what you're looking for it can still be found locally.

NEW EMAIL - NEW EMAIL - NEW EMAIL: 

The contact email address for the Bird 18 team has changed, the updated email link is available on the 'Contact' page. If you have the old email address saved on a device please take a moment to update it.

July 14th: 

Final touches have been completed in preparation for our annual big display  at the War and Peace Revival Show in Kent. The team have completed the transformation of the exhaust doghouse, fitting of the top antenna and replaced the old collective head with one of the correct period. After a wash down and cleaning of the windows etc the bird was rolled back in to the hanger ready for its transport to the show ground.  

May - June:

In preparation for this years show season the team have made great progress in the restoration of the MAG36 bird. Most notably they have obtained and fitted the correct rear vent single port exhaust cowling (doghouse), a correct period Collective Control head for the Chief Pilots position has been obtained and fitted and a total of 4 period crew seats have now been installed.

April 28th:

The fabrication and installation of the M60 door mounts has been completed. The mounts along with the weapons ammunition tins were replicated directly from original photographs provided by a VMO-6 Veteran.

Follow us on FACEBOOK:

You can now follow MAG36-UK by clicking the Facebook button at the bottom of any of this websites pages, once redirected to your FB page simply click 'Join Group.'

January 21st:

The MAG36 crew held their first main work day of the year. Good progress made on preperations for converting the exhaust housing, tail rotor hub assembly fitted, M60 mounts measured up ready for fabrication along with a host of much smaller tidy up jobs.

2018 onwards:

The team have a number of jobs to complete to get the aircraft looking how they want it to look for next season. Main jobs include the re-positioning of the exhaust to make it a single port rear venting system and the locating, fabrication and fitting of the M60 machine guns and 2.75" rocket pods to give it that all important gunship look.

December 2017: 

Operation 'Relocate' was successfully carried out on Saturday 2nd December. The Mag36-UK team transported the aircraft from its temporary storage location in Dorset to its new secure storage in deepest Kent with the support of several 'Rolling Thunder' members. The new premises are secure, dry and warm and will allow the restoration to continue in relative comfort over the winter months. Thank you to Polar Helicopters at Manston Airport in Kent for accommodating us.