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The Prop & Rotor Issue 02 Spring / Summer 2020

Army Aviation Museum Foundation, Inc.

P.O. Box 620610

Fort Rucker, AL 36362

334-598-2508

Issue

Spring /Summer 2020

by Robert Mitchell Museum Director

Hello again from the Army Aviation Museum! Like

much of the country, we are currently closed to the

public due to the pandemic, but the staff is still hard

at work. The ground has finally been broken on the

Training Support Facility (TSF) and it’s full speed

ahead!

As you can see in the photos to the right, good pro-

gress is being made in regards to the many restora-

tions currently underway. The YUH-61 (top) just got its

first coat of paint and she will soon be ready for the

roll-out. The YAH-63 (center) will be right behind her

and as an added bonus the three barrel 30mm can-

non is off being rebuilt. The YOH-4 (bottom) is in the

final stages of restoration and will be returning to

the museum soon.

Our Foundation has also received authorization to

spend funds on the restoration of the Cessna YH-41A

Seneca and the UH-1 TOW Huey helicopters.

Although much of what we cover here is aircraft res-

torations, it is important to mention that all of Army

Aviation history and its technological evolution will

be on exhibit in the TSF. It will host everything from

uniforms, air traffic control equipment, weapons, ra-

dios, and much more. Initially, access will only be for

Soldiers in training, but recent authorization has

been granted to open the facility to the general

public on a limited basis. (Continued page 2)

Director’s Corner

TSF Progress Update

Spring Cleaning

Membership Recognition

New Flowers

AAAA Cribbins 2020

Gift Shop News

Charity Climb Donors

AAMF Climb Fundraiser

Spotlight on OQ-2 Drone

Pg. 1 & 2

Pg. 2

Pg. 3

Pg. 3

Pg. 4

Pg. 4

Pg. 5

Pg. 5

Pg. 6

Pg. 7

Pg. 2 Pg. 3

If you’ve been on the installation recently, you

may have probably noticed the ongoing con-

struction of the new Training Support Facility

(TSF) adjacent to the museum (pictured

above). Crews have erected barriers and

cleared the ground for the foundation. Things

are moving right along and the TSF is expected to be ready to open in late 2021. At right is

an artist rendering of how the TSF will appear when complete. The TSF will house approxi-

mately 100 aircraft and feature the evolution of Army Aviation, along with modern class-

rooms for training Soldiers.

WELCOME AND THANK YOU TO OUR NEW AND RENEWING MEMBERS

LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP

1SG Raymond B. Young

BG (R) Paul Bontrager

CW5 (R) Michael Nowicki

MS. Dianne Nowicki

MS. Tommie Harding

MR. Greg Barnes

LTC Donald Willoughby

SFC Peter Sorenson

THREE YEAR MEMBERSHIP

MR. Cary Rhodomoyer

COL (R) Rich Johnson

MR. John Mitchell

MAJ Michael Humphreys

MR. Arthur Mowad

MR. Edward Levi-DeRosa

ONE YEAR MEMBERSHIP

SGM (R) Richard Frye

COL (R) Michael Simmons

MR. Hunter C. Murray

(Continued from page 1)

In closing, I would like to mention that we’ve finally re-

ceived furnishings and cases to fill our much awaited

“Army Values and Heritage Gallery.” Although work has

been temporarily interrupted, we hope the gallery will

open soon for Soldiers and the public. It’s important to

see these artifacts and read the fascinating stories of

sacrifice and accomplishment by U.S. Army Aviation Sol-

diers.

We certainly hope that by the time we publish our next

newsletter things have gotten back to a normal basis

and we are once again open for public visitations and

resume Soldier training. Until next time, stay safe and fol-

low us on Facebook and our website for more photos

and stories of the Aviation Branch.

Above the Best!

SPRING CLEANING

Although the museum has been closed since

mid-March, the AAMF staff has been hard at

work outside. We took on several spring clean-

ing projects to include the installation of 50

new Legacy Pavers! After installation, the pav-

ers, which lead to the entrance of the muse-

um, were washed and re-sanded giving them

a fresh, new look.

PARDON OUR PROGRESS

Pg. 5

APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS

Pg. 4

THE GIFT SHOP

Linda Gentzyel, Gift Shop Manager

Greetings! Although the shop is closed to the

public, we’ve had lots of time for spring clean-

ing and adding new inventory. You’ll love our

updates! Our online store is OPEN so be sure to

check out all the new stuff. We will do our best

to keep you updated on any changes so be

sure to check our website often for the latest

information.

We are excited to announce the Gift Shop was

invited to the Cribbins Symposium in Huntsville

in November. We hope you will visit us there!

Stay safe and well. We hope to see you soon!

Synchronizing Across the Army Aviation Enterprise

November 16-18, Von Braun Center, Huntsville, AL

The 2020 Joseph P. Cribbins Training, Equipping and

Sustainment Symposium is a two and a half day event

that supports the entire Army Aviation Enterprise. The

Symposium attracts aviation trainers, operators, logisti-

cians, project managers, capability managers, re-

search & development and key decision makers from

across the active Army, Guard and Reserves.

U.S. Army Chief of Staff GEN James McConville, has

been invited to provide the keynote address, fol-

lowed by briefings from the Aviation Branch Chief

and other Aviation “6-Pack Plus” key leaders. There

will be many opportunities for one-on-one briefings

with PEO-Aviation project managers, Army Futures

Command Capability Managers, equipment manu-

facturers and other industry leaders in separate meet-

ing rooms. Look for AAMF Gift Shop in the exhibit hall.

AAMF & GIFT SHOP ATTENDING 2020 CRIBBINS SYMPOSIUM

Several beautiful baskets of flowers

were purchased from Pat’s Petals in

Ozark, Ala., and planted just outside

the entrance of the U. S. Army Avia-

tion Museum on May 18. We hope to

re-open soon so everyone can enjoy

them!

Everyone here at AAMF would like to say

‘THANK YOU’ to LTG (R) Richard Kenyon

who ‘showered’ the Army Aviation Muse-

um Foundation with a generous donation

to be used for the purchase of new

plants and flowers outside the museum. WWW.ARMYAVIATIONMUSEUM.ORG (CLICK ‘SHOP’)

YH-41A CHARITY CLIMB DONATORS

River Bank and Trust

Textron Aviation

Martin “Ranger” Steiner

Jan Bullinger

Lena Sadiwskyj

Jay Beaudoin

Rolf Schoelkopf

Leslie Edens

Christopher McNeil

Rep. Steve Clouse

Joe Harmon

David and Virginia Howard

Bruce Grantham

Sonja Helms

COL(R) Keith Gay

Wade Brinson

Ronald Ferrell

CWO (R) Eric Bull

Robert and April Watkins

LTC (R) Robert Hutson

John Bullinger

Dr. Arthur Missirlian

Kelley Dolan

MG (R) Richard Kenyon

Jessica Bullinger

Brent Hohbach

John Mitchell

CW4 (R) Michael Carroll

Sheila and Alain Coutu

Eugene Pawlik

Abigail Bullinger

John Haire

Catherine R. Bullinger

Dale Marsh

Linda Gentzyel

COL (R) Rich Johnson

MG (R) Mark Curran

Robert Phares

Tom Morrow

CWO Brad Foley

LTC (R) Tim Toomey

Tommie Harding

George and Sue Baum

MG (R) Lou Hennies

Wendy and John Sexton

COL (R) Chris Carlile

Anonymous Donor

The Army Aviation Museum Foundation wishes to recognize and thank the following 47

pledgers for their generous donations to our charity climb fundraiser to restore the Army’s

YH-41A “Seneca” helicopter. With their support we raised $10,320 for restoration of the

Cessna built Seneca helicopter and for use with other artifacts. We thank you!

SPOTLIGHT ON THE OQ - 2 Drone

Pg. 7 Pg. 6

Article by James Kale

Research suggests that the first U. S. military use of un-

manned airplanes came after the Army requested

Charles Kettering of Dayton, Ohio design a flying

bomb. The Kettering Flying Torpedo, later called the

‘Kettering Bug’ was built for testing — however, it had

no remote control system and was largely unsuccess-

ful and was never produced for combat.

In the late 1930s it became apparent that America

would most-likely be involved in a major war. The Ar-

my needed to train ground gunners to fire at enemy

aircraft, however, it seemed there were no volunteers

to fly target airplanes. Since the cost of using combat

airplanes for target practice would be prohibitively

high, a suggestion was made to build small radio-

controlled (RC) planes to use as targets. After a few

contract attempts, the OQ-2 was developed for Army

use.

The OQ-2 was originally a small, RC aircraft model de-

signed by Walter Righter. The design, along with its

engine design, was purchased by actor Reginald

Denny. Calling the new design, the RP-2, he demon-

strated several updated versions to the Army as the

RP-2, RP-3 and RP-4 in 1939. Following some design

changes and different model designations, the Army

placed an order for 53 drones designated as the OQ-

2. After testing, a large order was placed in 1941. The

Navy also began ordering and using them for ship-

board gunner training.

Thousands of OQ-2s were manufactured at the Radio-

plane Company plant at the Van Nuys Airport in the

Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was at this factory

on June 26, 1945 that Army photographer David

Conover saw a young woman assembler named Nor-

ma Jeane Mortenson-Dougherty, whom he thought

had potential as a model. She was photographed in

the plant, which led to a screen test for Norma Jeane,

who later became the world famous actress known as

Marilyn Monroe!

The OQ-2 is a simple aircraft powered by a two-

cylinder, two-cycle piston engine. The RC system was

built by Bendix. Launching was by catapult and re-

covered by parachute should it survive the exercise.

The drones were modular in construction so that if hit

by ground fire they could be easily rebuilt and reused.

A number of other target drones were built by the Ra-

dioplane Company, including licensed subcontrac-

tors and competing companies during the war, most

of which never got beyond prototypes. During the war,

the Radioplane Company manufactured nearly fifteen

thousand drones. In a 1950 experiment a derivative of

the OQ-3 Radioplane drone was used to lay military

communication wire. The company was bought by

Northrop in 1952. Today, an OQ-2 model drone hangs

on display in the museum from the ceiling in the main

hall.

OQ-2 General characteristics:

Crew: none (RC - Pilot on ground)

Length: 8 ft. 8 in (2.65 m)

Wingspan: 12 ft. 3 in (3.73 m)

Gross weight: 104 lbs.(47 kg)

Power plant: 1 Righter O-15 (2-cylinder gas engine)1.7

hp(5 kW)

Performance: Maximum speed - 85 mph (137 km/h)

Endurance: 1 Hour

Norma Jeane Mortenson

assembles an OQ-2 aircraft

During January and February the Army Aviation Museum

Foundation embarked on an ambitious fundraiser project to

raise $9500 for the restoration of a 1950s Army helicopter

built by the Cessna Aircraft Company. The AAMF Executive

Work Group approved a request by then foundation direc-

tor Leslie Edens and AAMF board member James Bullinger

to conduct a charity climb to help restore a YH-41A

“Seneca” helicopter sitting in storage for a half century.

The fundraiser concept was simple - have people pledge a

dollar amount towards Bullinger completing a successful

climb to the summit of Ecuador’s second highest volcano

Cotopaxi. “It was a team effort to pull this together,” Bull-

inger said about the AAMF project. “Leslie Edens started the

snowball rolling and we had help from Linda Gentzyel, Bob

Barlow, Chris Braund, Capt. Steve Floreno, and new foun-

dation director Leah Dunkle to promote our event and get

the word out. We received help from area media, used the

AAMF Facebook page and website,” Bullinger said. Many of

the AAMF board members pledged their support as well. “We had a very generous donation from Tex-

tron Aviation, the parent corporation of the Cessna Aircraft Company,” he added. By Bullinger’s Feb. 8

departure date to Quito, the Foundation had received 29 pledges totaling $7,912 and included a $5,000

pledge from Textron Aviation.

In Ecuador, Bullinger met up with his guide Estalin Suarez with AGR Expeditions, who would lead him on

three acclimation climbs before attempting Cotopaxi. Bullinger succeeded in summiting 3 extinct volca-

nos: Pasochoa at 13,780 ft, El Corazon at 15,718 feet, and Illiniza Sur at 17,267 feet. After a day of resting

and prepping gear, the pair headed to Cotopaxi on Feb. 15 to climb to a refuge at nearly 16,000 feet.

Thirty-three pledges had been received totaling $8,242. There they rested before their 11:46 p.m. start for

the summit. After 9 hours and 45 minutes of upward climbing the two crested the 19,347 foot summit on

Feb. 16 at 9:31 a.m. — mission accomplished!

“Heading to Ecuador I had two concerns, not

meeting our fundraiser goal and not reaching the

summit,” Bullinger said, “But it came together

nicely in the end. Thank you to all the people

who helped us reach our goals!” After the climb,

additional pledges came in until reaching

$10,320 from 47 pledgers on Feb. 26.

To see photos and videos, and to read more

about this adventure—visit the AAMF Facebook

page. Scan the QR code

with your smart phone for

quick access to Facebook.

Approvals are in the works

for restoring the YH-41A.

Look for it later when the TSF

opens in 2021!

A OQ-2 Drone soars

again in the museum

Climber James Bullinger stands next

to the Army’s only remaining YH-41A

Seneca helicopter in the Museum’s

storage facility. The aircraft needs

about $9500 in restoration work.

Bullinger’s guide Estalin Suarez captures a victory

photo on the summit of Cotopaxi at 19,347 feet.