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

[@rollyherrera623]

Gotta love these big boys toys! A fine machine!

[@RMechAlloy]

Wow! They should call this one "Blackout".

[@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

[@Cradly858]

lol

[@jimmybishop8251]

That beautiful sound of a 53

[@imdoobie80]

Great aircraft. I had a lot of fun in the back of the CH-53E, and those pilots were awesome, too.

[@RickLancaster-w2x]

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!

[@rafalemarine5063]

Magnifique machine 👍 . Hélicoptère de légende 💪💪

[@richarddepledge960]

last training I did with Americans. Was CSAR from Mildenhall Uk. Climbing up a rope ladder into the back of MH53. Daytime. Then at night! quite an experience. the noise fumes and downdraft. Plus the fact there was no safety line. All good fun back in the day. Amazing helicopter. Aircrew and heli pilots has to be the best job in the world. Nice video.

[@AEROWEPHILE]

Hey @richarddepledge960, That's some amazing memories of your time with the MH-53. Glad you got to share them with us. It's an amazing helicopter! This helicopter was just retired to the Valiant Air Command museum in Florida. Hope you get to see it there one day. Cheers!

[@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.....

[@dasmin0710]

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

[@PurpleDreki]

Simple minded.

[@coleycole2381]

​@@PurpleDreki Its ok we'll still let you comment little guy.

[@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

[@AngelinaTP]

Amazing helicopter

[@avalanche9026]

It’s a beast.

[@sebastianomagagnini8778]

Spectacular, a beast and that black color is perfect

[@jadefalcon001]

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

[@rosechannel9321]

Very nice job done by Helicopter. Thanks. KHB LHR

[@waydetahtawy319]

👍Really badass flying machine 🚁

[@guidoclaerhout6620]

Prachtig dat helicoper Guido dank u !!!!!

[@robertsalanon2909]

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

[@AEROWEPHILE]

Yes, it certainly is a fabulous machine. Cheers!

[@organicgene9494]

Awesome catch, subscribed

[@AEROWEPHILE]

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

[@chimichangapoops6244]

Great video, thanks again. 👍

[@AEROWEPHILE]

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

[@RayBecker]

That bird is Gorgeous!! Wow. Look at that Helo.

[@MmBeeA]

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

[@phillipalben7458]

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

[@MiketheNerdRanger]

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

[@jonimestas9692]

WOW! Just WOW!!!

[@Milepost1965]

Magnificent, (BEAST)..👍👍👍

[@jeremystapleton6405]

Worked under skycranes and chinooks this is a fucking beast

[@orlinrapalo6997]

Me gustan sus videos

[@overbank56]

What a beast!

[@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,,,

[@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.

[@leightonwhite8041]

Beautiful looking bird ❤

[@psjasker]

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

[@traceybonds8794]

😅

[@barefootbob1269]

That is one bad ass machine!

[@bdogjr7779]

Wow《☆》Does Food City sponsor the NAVY?? Interesting paint scheme. Nice filming✌🏼😎☯️

[@AEROWEPHILE]

This Sea Dragon made the pre-race flyover at the Food City 500 NASCAR race at Bristol Motor Speedway the day before this video. I met the crew in Victory Lane, and the pilot asked for some race decals for his helicopter. I was happy to provide him with two Food City 500 decals, which he placed on the Sea Dragon the next morning. It was a thrill to be there and capture their departure from Tri-Cities Airport. Cheers!

[@bdogjr7779]

@AEROWEPHILE 《☆》I see😁🤳I'm guessing it was a brand New Helicopter that needs grey paint eventually unless the black is for specops✌🏼😎☯️

[@texSetter412]

カッコイイ。 日本で、４０年前にアメリカ軍のCH-53は、エンジンが２つだけでした。 毎月、空母が来航すると飛んできて、シーキングとかカマンとかも、写真に撮ってました。 今、日本では、沖縄にスキューバダイビング旅行したときに、時々見かけますね。 厚木と横田には、今は、殆ど見かけません😊。

[@MichaelSonnier-d6z]

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".

[@seangelarden9543]

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

[@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!

[@michaelamack1767]

@@AEROWEPHILE I was in HM-12 and 14 from 1976-1979. I was a Plane Captain on the RH-53D. When transporting in the C-5, the drop tanks and the pylons had to be removed to fit them in the C-5. The main reason that the MH-53E has the enlarged sponsons is so they can be loaded faster in the C-5, or the C-17. Two fit in the C-5. Only room for one in the C-17.

[@IngoWalter-dh3vk]

Cool Video 👍 Thank vou and many greetings from germany 🇩🇪

[@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!

[@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 ! 😎

[@felixmusic_tattoo]

Una Maquina Increíble☺

[@skywarp1]

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

[@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

[@MaxLemm-g8q]

Rotors❤437 love u

[@erikbunty2016]

This is one heluvacopter.

[@mikesahle1193]

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

[@kultursender6507]

Sehr schön!

[@AEROWEPHILE]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@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!

[@bigredc222]

Cool bird.

[@MarcosmiguelLopez]

😮😮😮 Es una máquina increíble

[@MichelleLewis-en5rq]

Great video

[@paulsawyer2326]

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

[@olafwalbrecht3311]

Super Aufnahmen und die Lackierung 🤗🤗👏🤝🤝

[@trashyturboguy1517]

I've personally inspected 100's of these main and tail rotor blades using various NDT methods.

[@T410ce]

That is cool…I read somewhere that newer models have a built in Nitrogen testing system; in which they look for a pressure drop after filling the hollow rotors, is that true?

[@trashyturboguy1517]

@T410ce You're talking about the IBIS system. If there is a pressure loss within the spar, a small amount of Strontium 90 is exposed and detected, alerting the pilot of the issue. This has been around since the 70's. Older blades with aluminum or titanium spars use a BIM indicator, if a spar is cracked, the resulting pressure loss changes the color of the BIM to red indicating a problem.

[@OneCatFamily]

How I miss this...

[@tamsacne6915]

What a monster - so cool -

[@MythRsR1979]

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

[@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?

[@ishudimpi3871]

Amazing

[@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!

[@topturretgunner]

Wow. That is a big helicopter

[@senoseno1076]

🎉 GOOD LACH

[@haydenwittig8877]

Dont mess with US cheers from Australia.

[@Herby7800]

what a giant!

[@SathishKumar-qh9sj]

I love congrats Rahul je❤

[@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.

[@JB-257]

What kind of sign is that guy making?

[@kokemeister6]

Clean

[@MikeMcAuliffe-g2f]

Purty bird. Been a long time since I've seen one.

[@jasonallison5121]

Another beautiful East Tennessee morning

[@BenjarpholPracsakul]

Thank youfom kingdom

[@AEROWEPHILE]

You’re welcome. Cheers!

[@BenjarpholPracsakul]

@@AEROWEPHILE I am not

[@AEROWEPHILE]

@@BenjarpholPracsakul Not what?!?

[@Trump145]

Beautiful

[@vuthy2172]

No.

[@олегстенин-о6я]

for some reason the Sikorsky turbines are spaced out on the sides, look at mi 6 - they are in the center where the flow from the blades is not so strong🤷🏻‍♀️

[@patrickdornadic4279]

Bonjour appareil magnifique

[@nickpage4333]

Having never flown in a helicopter that was impressive

[@canaldoaviao7789]

Linda Aeronave

[@puddlejumperfishing7395]

this same MH-53E just landed in Florida.

[@AEROWEPHILE]

Correct. This MH-53E Sea Dragon is being retired to the Florida Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum. Glad I was able to document its visit to the Tri-Cities for the Food City 500 NASCAR pre-race flyover. Cheers!

[@matthewthomas0330]

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

[@basketballspinner]

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

[@JavierReyes-kc6zr]

Very Good 👌

[@steve-rr3nq]

I served in HM-12 to become AMCM aircrew and plane captain, before going to HM-14.

[@AEROWEPHILE]

Thank you for your service to our country. I'm sure you have some great stories from your time with those squadrons. Cheers!

[@74amills]

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

[@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

[@ScrotusXL]

"Angria" cool callsign for CDR Andrea 😂

[@HumbertoSanchez-cx7id]

Señores cuando enciende el avion

[@tanner165]

What are those big "cheeks" for on the sides? IS it solely for the landing gear and its systems? Seems like a lot of space.

[@AEROWEPHILE]

Hey @tanner165 - Those big “Cheeks” you are referring to are called sponsons. There are there to provide an aerodynamic fairing for the main undercarriage legs to retract into. They hold some auxiliary electronic equipment bays. They also help provide lateral stability if the Sea Dragon has to ditch into water. But their most important purpose is to hold lots and lots of fuel. These sponsons each contain two fuel tanks.with a total fuel capacity of 3,200 gallons, which will increase both aircraft range and loiter time. Hope that helps explain things. Cheers!

[@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!

[@NicholasJSimon]

The Sikorsky MH-53E Sea Dragon is a large, heavy-lift helicopter primarily used by the U.S. Navy for mine countermeasures, heavy transport, and general helicopter missions. Watching a preflight, startup, and takeoff of the MH-53E at Tri-Cities Airport provides a detailed look at the steps involved in preparing such a massive helicopter for flight.

[@hishifuku4687]

迫力がありますね！

[@dennishunter7253]

Is it the new electric motor, no emmisions

[@ecrusch]

That thing is a freakin whopper!

[@AEROWEPHILE]

You are correct Sir. And Loud!! Cheers!

[@morriewyatt6234]

While I enjoyed the video, I was also a bit disappointed. 4:59 the engines are silent, 5:00 they are up and running. I was waiting to hear the slowly rising hum of the turbines as they bring N1 up, before introducing fuel and lighting off into a throaty growl then getting down to business, spooling up to operating speed. Same thing again at 6:20. The refuelling tanker driver begins walking toward the Sea Dragon to top off the tanks (while the engines are running no less) and a second later seen driving off into the distance. Finally at 7:48 the rotor skips instantly from stationary to spinning. Those instants where the Sea Dragon transitions by stages from a stationary piece of art to a machine that means business (with a capital B) are all sadly absent.

[@AEROWEPHILE]

Unfortunately you just can’t please everyone. Including all that footage would have doubled the video runtime. And someone would then post a comment with the time stamp for when the Sea Dragon starts rolling… 🤷🏼

[@skyteam8561]

สวยงามมาก

[@AEROWEPHILE]

👍👍Thanks for watching. Cheers!

[@jesseslade3084]

Helicopter she is huge

[@sailorman8668]

It was mentioned in the video description that 'the pilots made a nose standing aggressive take off'? Actually, the nose was pitched down a maximum of 15 degrees during take off, which does NOT constitute 'a nose standing aggressive' manoeurvre at all.

[@Gilles45]

You're absolutely right... the person who wrote that knows nothing about helicopters!

[@AEROWEPHILE]

OK sailor man. If you want to argue with what the Navy pilot told me he was going to do on takeoff, then have at it. I was there when it happened. And it looked and sounded cool. Cheers!

[@AEROWEPHILE]

@@Gilles45 I find your lack of faith disturbing. €{:

[@duanepierson4375]

As a Sikorsky Crew Chief for the past 40 years, that Takeoff was mild. On company 2nd flights it was common for Sikorsky pilots to stand her on her nose & go at a 45 degree plus angle. Setting on the jump seat between the pilots it seems like the whole windscreen is full of flight field. On flight in an early production MH-53E, 162506(?) we where on a navy pilot training flight at Calverton LI, after doing a bunch of touch and gos around the pattern, the Sikorsky pilot, Dave told me to Sit Down! He then asked the tower for “Field Clearance,” at that point he stopped in front of the two hangars w/ F-14s & A-6s, w/ less than 6,000 lbs of fuel on board, then he pulled the collective full up. As we blasted off the ground at 4500 FPM, he then stomped on the left pedal, unloading the tail to free up power for the main rotor. As we hit 5000 feet he pitched the nose way down and we hauled butt past the rapidly emptying out hangars. The Tower said “Nice!” And the navy pilot said, “That’s not in NATOPS.” Good times! 😊

[@Gilles45]

@@AEROWEPHILE Hey there, Mr helicopter expert, still want to argue that the takeoff was "agressive"? I find your lack of knowledge disturbing! 😂😂😂

[@douglasnorby4006]

Rotor wash?!

[@AEROWEPHILE]

What you talking about Willis?!?

[@davidhockenbery8423]

That's bad ass