US Navy Sikorsky MH-53E Sea Dragon Preflight - Start Up - Takeoff from Tri-Cities Airport 10Apr23

#usnavy #MH53SeaDragon #aerowephile
Departure from Tri-Cities Airport (KTRI) of a US Navy Sikorsky MH-53E Sea Dragon from squadron HM-12. The crew performed pre-flight maintenance on their Sea Dragon before loading up to depart. The pilots made a nose standing aggressive take off and headed back to their home base at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.
My thanks to the MH-53E crew for their generous hospitality.
Please visit www.aerowephile.com for more aviation photos and videos!
10Apr23

[@antikoerper256]

Thats a badass coloring scheme! Much love, respect and thanks for the service to all US servicemen and women, past or present, from your humble NATO ally - Bulgaria

[@user-vj2vm2wz3o]

I loved the Words of Sikorsky when he was asked many years ago "How Does a helicopter fly" His answer was, by beating the air into submission!

[@RMechAlloy]

Wow! They should call this one "Blackout".

[@jadefalcon001]

Everyone loves a Little Giant ladder! Love mine. Makes me smile that this crew uses one, too.

[@rollyherrera623]

Gotta love these big boys toys! A fine machine!

[@waydetahtawy319]

👍Really badass flying machine 🚁

[@AgricultureTechUS]

Robotics have advanced so far! Truly inspiring and exciting!

[@michaelwalsh1078]

thank you very much from Cork , Ireland...............what a machine !!! and sound

[@AEROWEPHILE]

Thanks for checking out my video Michael. That Sea Dragon is a beast. Cheers!

[@llamashockz]

great to see another corkman out and about, always one of us to be found somewhere

[@patriot0919]

Good luck during the war with that much time for preflight.....

[@guidoclaerhout6620]

Prachtig dat helicoper Guido dank u !!!!!

[@jonimestas9692]

WOW! Just WOW!!!

[@sebastianomagagnini8778]

Spectacular, a beast and that black color is perfect

[@AngelinaTP]

Amazing helicopter

[@doylebrockman8225]

Beautiful.

[@Milepost1965]

Magnificent, (BEAST)..👍👍👍

[@felixmusic_tattoo]

Una Maquina Increíble☺

[@chimichangapoops6244]

Great video, thanks again. 👍

[@AEROWEPHILE]

Appreciate you checking out my video. Lots more to come. Cheers!

[@mikesahle1193]

Thank you 🙏 for your service 🇺🇸🚁👍👏👏👏👍🎥

[@psjasker]

That is impressive. The crew is relaxed but professional. Gladdens this taxpayer’s heart.

[@avalanche9026]

It’s a beast.

[@jimmybishop8251]

That beautiful sound of a 53

[@paulsawyer2326]

That is one big bird! Should be called The Beast.

[@MmBeeA]

One heck of a dragon fly boys... lovely to see

[@ishudimpi3871]

Amazing

[@skywarp1]

Great capture of this big boy. That color scheme reminds me of the during the days of the Korean War.

[@mohammedcohen]

...worked at the Sikorsky facility in WPB For 14 years (1986 - 2000) used to see 53s doing lift tests with huge concrete blocks - after the big layoff of 2002 the built the first Kilo model there prior to tests and acceptance by the USMC

[@organicgene9494]

Awesome catch, subscribed

[@AEROWEPHILE]

Thank you very much! Appreciate you checking out my videos. Cheers!

[@jeremystapleton6405]

Worked under skycranes and chinooks this is a fucking beast

[@ShearonNewsom-fy1rb]

Beautiful

[@basketballspinner]

Tri-Cities Airport, I know where that is. They have a total of four gates. What an experience.

[@rosechannel9321]

Very nice job done by Helicopter. Thanks. KHB LHR

[@rafalemarine5063]

Magnifique machine 👍 . Hélicoptère de légende 💪💪

[@phillipalben7458]

Can’t imagine the rotor wash this beast generates. NICE!!!

[@easttnrailray5685]

Very Cool

[@tacoenvy]

That's a big ol girl

[@paulprigge1209]

Yeah I thought the CH 47 was big. It

[@Tuanang-fn1xl]

@@paulprigge1209 g

[@RameswarKashyap-kc3bu]

​@@paulprigge1209😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢

[@jrawenlyngdoh9986]

​

[@icebluecuda1]

Lol. Quite the crew chiefs

[@hishifuku4687]

迫力がありますね！

[@MarcosmiguelLopez]

😮😮😮 Es una máquina increíble

[@haydenwittig8877]

Dont mess with US cheers from Australia.

[@robertsalanon2909]

C·est magique , un superbe Hélico !!....

[@AEROWEPHILE]

Yes, it certainly is a fabulous machine. Cheers!

[@barefootbob1269]

That is one bad ass machine!

[@yzmoto80]

When I was living in Stratford, about a half mile from Sikorsky Airport, the best cheeseburger on Earth, was across the street from Sikorsky on the corner of Access rd. and Main St. For the locals…Lordship Blvd, Long Beach, etc. You know ! 😎

[@kokemeister6]

Clean

[@leightonwhite8041]

Beautiful looking bird ❤

[@DSTsucks]

Thanks for the great video. I live in Henry County and this Sikorsky flew directly over my house at 2,000 ft (according to Flight Aware) on the way to and from Bristol.

[@AEROWEPHILE]

You are very welcome. I had an absolutely fabulous time with the crew. Cheers!

[@seangelarden9543]

Remember standing in front of these when they came on to take the Marine detachment for training at Gitmo

[@oscaraguirre602]

Hi good nigth,,, its time to enyoy with this great video,,, AMAZING HELICOPTER,,, thanks of share your video,,, congrautlations, your friend Oscar de Playa del Carmen Q R México,,, so long,,,

[@overbank56]

What a beast!

[@user-du3lf5qg8b]

I live on a large South Texas ranch way out in the brush country. There is a somewhat nearby rancher yet far to my South who comes in by helicopter. Reminds me of the days in La Grange there in Warrenton near Fayetteville when famous heart surgeon DeBakey would fly over us on the way to his ranch. We would all say amongst ourselves, "There goes DeBakey".

[@74amills]

You wouldn't want to be in a hurry waiting on this.

[@kultursender6507]

Sehr schön!

[@AEROWEPHILE]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@michaelvaughan8486]

The use to drag some sort of mine sweeping line in the water at NAS Whidbey mostly at night pretty bad ass to see them in action ! Glad their on our side ! Go Navy

[@AEROWEPHILE]

I agree. Go Navy! Thanks for sharing your memory of the Sea Dragon. Cheers!

[@RVBob]

We never towed at night. That was against NATOPS.

[@OneCatFamily]

How I miss this...

[@JavierReyes-kc6zr]

Very Good 👌

[@topturretgunner]

Wow. That is a big helicopter

[@chrisdean8235]

I only fly RC Heli's, but just wondering why the tail fin on this chopper was designed with that prominent slant to it? What is the advantage?

[@MiketheNerdRanger]

That is one big mother of a helicopter; even the tail rotor is massive

[@tamsacne6915]

What a monster - so cool -

[@senoseno1076]

🎉 GOOD LACH

[@MythRsR1979]

Glad the heavy chopper in Call of Duty DMZ doesn't take this long to get in the air :D

[@olafwalbrecht3311]

Super Aufnahmen und die Lackierung 🤗🤗👏🤝🤝

[@bigredc222]

Cool bird.

[@helicopterovirtual-msfs6254]

Fantástico.

[@Herby7800]

what a giant!

[@ioanbota9397]

Realy I like this powerful helicoptere

[@TSeck911]

My first duty station was HM-12 back in 76 when the squadron was the largest in the Navy. It eventually split into three squadrons, HM-12, 14 and 16. I was a plank owner in 16 and we eventually supplied the birds that went into IRAN to attempt to rescue the hostages. Until you actually get close to these machines you have no concept of how big and powerful they are.

[@nasirzainal6309]

😊😊

[@dbarnes544]

I did two tours in HM. HM-12, 14, 16. Lot of good memories there. Many hours flying those birds. RH 53s, MH 53s.

[@Bholakumar-pp5nr]

Y

[@duanepierson4375]

RH-53D

[@dbarnes544]

Flew the RH 53D, MH 53E

[@spawntez]

reminds me of my marine infantry days at Pendleton. Thank you

[@AEROWEPHILE]

Thank you for your service to our country. I really enjoy hearing the memories that veterans share about these machines. Cheers!

[@skyteam8561]

สวยงามมาก

[@AEROWEPHILE]

👍👍Thanks for watching. Cheers!

[@samandbritt224]

Like for the Food City Dirt Race decal on the sponson. These guys got their priorities right!

[@AEROWEPHILE]

I presented those Food City 500 decals to the crew after the race in victory lane. They were really excited to get them. I was surprised to see them on the Sea Dragon the next morning. They said they had to clean off all the grime on the sponsons in order to apply the decals. Cheers!

[@Defence.Update]

like skies monster

[@SathishKumar-qh9sj]

I love congrats Rahul je❤

[@vantonymccutcheon4518]

That's big ol girl sea dragon 🐉🐲 helicopter 🚁 😍🇺🇸♥️♥️🤗🤗👌🏾🔥

[@mylo2619]

Ok who else that has over 400 tow hours and 2000 plus flight hours were looking at the droops😂😂😂😍😍😍

[@RVBob]

How many ppl looked up droop stops on Google just to know what you were talking about. 😆

[@johnosbourn4312]

So, what color is this aircraft painted in, David? It looks like either Gloss Black, or Sea Bue.

[@AEROWEPHILE]

It's painted Black. Depending on the light, it does have a blue tint. Apparently its the only Sea Dragon painted black. All the rest are that Navy gray color. Cheers!

[@johnosbourn4312]

@@AEROWEPHILE Thanks, my friend.

[@seagrave7336]

That black paint gives this bird a higher level of bad assary!

[@andrewneill9873]

Looks like it's a lady flying her too. That's mega cool!!! ❤❤❤

[@jasonallison5121]

Another beautiful East Tennessee morning

[@davidhockenbery8423]

That's bad ass

[@ScrotusXL]

"Angria" cool callsign for CDR Andrea 😂

[@ShearonNewsom-fy1rb]

Wow

[@user-em9du6bf3k]

Thank youfom kingdom

[@AEROWEPHILE]

You’re welcome. Cheers!

[@user-em9du6bf3k]

@@AEROWEPHILE I am not

[@AEROWEPHILE]

@@user-em9du6bf3k Not what?!?

[@mattgreven7615]

what's inside the large stubby winglet kinda pods on either side? storage? Fuel? or are they just for aerodynamics?

[@AEROWEPHILE]

The wings you see on both sides are called “Sponsons”. They are enormous because they are almost entirely used for fuel storage. They can hold about four times the fuel of a typical CH-53 Super Stallion. The MH-53 can hold 2,277 gallons of fuel which gives it extended range. Hope this answers your question. Cheers!

[@mattgreven7615]

@@AEROWEPHILE thanks!

[@militarycentralofficial]

it's the most impressive helicopter ever made darling

[@icegiant1000]

Uhg! 5 minutes of watching it just sit there. Go already!

[@AEROWEPHILE]

Everything comes to him who waits. Cheers!

[@jesseslade3084]

Helicopter she is huge

[@giovannyramirez9232]

Elegante este Elicoctero saludos mis Respetos 🇨🇷🇨🇷🇨🇷🇨🇷🏳️

[@AEROWEPHILE]

Thanks @giovannyramirez9232 for watching my video of this fantastic helicopter. Cheers!

[@giovannyramirez9232]

@@AEROWEPHILE muchas gracias saludos mis Respetos si muy Elegante Ese Elicoctero de Costa Rica 🇨🇷🇨🇷👋 saludos 🏳️

[@erikbunty2016]

This is one heluvacopter.

[@JB-257]

What kind of sign is that guy making?

[@joelouden6592]

Are those two protrusions up front just below the nose rear-view mirrors?

[@AEROWEPHILE]

Good guess! You are correct Joe. Those are mirrors the pilots use to look behind them. One of their primary jobs is to pull a sonar sled across the surface of the ocean searching for submarines. The mirrors allow the pilots to watch the sled as they pull it. Hope that explains things. Cheers!

[@joelouden6592]

@@AEROWEPHILE Thank you. I thought maybe they could be some sort of sensors but it's even cooler that they're mirrors.

[@SchusterJames]

LOL, not submarines - sea mines and the gear they are towing

[@duanepierson4375]

@@AEROWEPHILE the sleds are used against Mines. The Sun hunting is done w/ dipping sonar and/or sonar buoys out of smaller helicopters such as H-2s, H-3s and now a days H-60s & H-92s.

[@RVBob]

​@@AEROWEPHILEThe MK105 sled was a magnetic mine influence sled. It has nothing to do with sonar.

[@matthewthomas0330]

TMP Pearlescent Azteking? & NCC -1701 - CVN Yes? 😃

[@user-yd7ed6lr8h]

❤❤❤❤

[@mr.badboy7978]

নিশি আপার অভিনয়টা আমার কাছে এত ভালো লাগে, কি বলবো বুঝতে পারছি না ।

[@mahadehasankhan8536]

Hi. My. US. Navy.😊.

[@TJ-USMC]

"Hogs Forever"

[@ecrusch]

That thing is a freakin whopper!

[@AEROWEPHILE]

You are correct Sir. And Loud!! Cheers!

[@rohitnautiyal7090]

I can probably still get up there and do a daily inspection

[@johnpritchette8082]

I was in HM-12 from '86 to '90. I ran the PR shop.

[@AEROWEPHILE]

Thank you for your service to our country! I’m sure you have some great stories from your time in HM-12. Cheers!

[@dasmin0710]

If Darth Vader had his own helicopter, this would be it....

[@350ZEASZE]

Hilarious… dude rolls out the gas truck in cargo shorts and a Tommy Bahama shirt while Rambo crew chief is in full battle gear. Lol.

[@hiker64]

What's that thing on the strut out in front, is it some kind of FLIR ?

[@RVBob]

There is nothing on the front strut. Two tow mirrors on each side of the nose and a refueling probe on the fwd right side but nothing on the front strut.

[@tanpengjoo7205]

MADE IN USA ALWAYS POWERFUL N BEAUTIFUL

[@jesseslade3084]

Helicopter good girl

[@LuanNguyen-uf6zj]

❤👍👌💪💪👏👏🙌