My South American Helicopter Has A LOT More Problems Than We Thought...

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We shot over to Thouroughbred Aviation today in Lexington, Kentucky to take a look at the MD500E I bought from South America. Joe and his guys found way more issues than we originally knew about, this is gonna be a pricey repair!
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[@CleetusM]

Use code CLEETUS50 to get 50% OFF your first Factor Box and free wellness shots for life with any active subscription at bit.ly/48fuHYr

[@JOESSECRETGARDEN85]

Hell yeah brother

[@kylegazeley6192]

Early!! Lol

[@JD-tz8bp]

them chipotle queso chicken boxes are fire, also try ANY of the factors in the oven and they taste 1000x better

[@ralphazbill3547]

How are you feeling about getting that 2 seater dragster from your Aussie friends cleeter?

[@Mrpup_gt]

Mmmmmmm yum

[@snockdawg82]

Never in my wildest dreams would I imagine a scratch and dent abandoned South American helicopter would have many hidden problems.

[@CleetusM]

I’m as shocked as you are

[@Real_Richmond_510]

😂​@@CleetusM

[@west9641]

Scary thing is that it can happen to any of us when we are searching for new helicopters. Scary stuff indeed

[@FrankDBoyce]

​@@CleetusMreally feel like Car Vertical missed a sponsorship deal

[@mikehipperson]

What? No bullet holes?!

[@1337itjosh]

@14:46 You should attach the tail boom to the blue freedom helmet, and turn the Helmet into a freedom helicopter!! :D

[@glossyfpv1155]

now thats creative. hope he sees your comment.

[@HotForgeChaos]

Hell yeah brother

[@denisohbrien]

Like the Peter copter from family guy

[@ivanixxD]

This needs to happen!!!

[@chrisharding2813]

Yess

[@jeffreyrose4240]

..from corvette exhaust turbo whistles.. to a tube frame c5 corvette.. to a pro drag car... to now.... HELICOPTERS this is ny far the best channel on youtube

[@adseish]

Dude the race boats what blew me away! He is wicked af

[@MillennialFalconFPV]

The fact that you succesfully brought your viewer base from cars into manned aviation speaks volumes to you as a person, your inherent motivation, determination, and positive attitude. Keep doing good things and spreading the love for both cars and aviation.

[@halcyon_studio]

I think a lot of car guys would also be aviation guys if they had enough money

[@Nighterlev]

He still does car stuff to, he didn't immediately switch to aviation, as long as he keeps doing the car stuff his viewer base won't suddenly stop watching. That's the mistake a lot of content creators make, they think they can immediately switch over to an entirely new topic without your viewer base disappearing.

[@tsufordman]

Passion is what keeps an audience watching.

[@avoidoneu4061]

​@@halcyon_studiocould not sit in a helicopter solo let alone fly it solo

[@halcyon_studio]

@@avoidoneu4061 you must be a pretty miserable person to try and create conflict on this channel, brother

[@smithjohn3080]

"I aint never heard of the acorn trick" "You aint never met squirrel " 😂😂😂

[@joseacuna3239]

That one had me rolling 😂

[@briantruck2284]

😂

[@ronjones-6977]

So it was Squirrel that caused that cop to shoot up his own car in Florida last month. Dammit, Squirrel.

[@daviddwight5745]

Runs behind and picks up the nuts…free with every Ford

[@gregscott4479]

@@ronjones-6977 hahahahaha George could be a comedian I bet if he wanted

[@RubbishFPS]

Maybe you should add a Swiss Flag on the tail under the Venezuelan one for its original heritage to complete the list of where shes been.

[@mikewest712]

Swiss flag is a purdy flag, but they crashed it.

[@sillysongs5]

Came hear to says the same thing. It would be like a salute to all the work she's done over the years

[@LimitWHK]

Fully.get it , but she possibly had a life earlier than that too , common on aircraft

[@RailsofForney]

I don’t know if they can do that, considering it might interfere with its registration.

[@haitiano1982]

Nah the Venezuela 🇻🇪 - jungle life has a better feel. Not that swiss cheese life man. Boringggg

[@markrikkers6230]

Anyone who works at a FBO and a guy like Cleet shows up and wants it done right with cost being secondary over safety is the best customer.

[@Nighterlev]

Well with helicopters like this you can't really skip on safety, moment you do you're dead.

[@r2db]

@@Nighterlev Amen! One of the helicopters I had trained in had some improper service performed. The problem could have potentially been survivable, but decisions were made, and it took two lives.

[@bebo5558]

Like Cleetus said his family and friends are going to be in this bird, not the time to cut corners!

[@mikemakuh5319]

Wonder how or who he is scamming to pay for it all?

[@402car_kid4]

@@mikemakuh5319 What are you talking about? You know how much money Garrett makes just off youtube alone without taking into account his merch business, Freedom Factory, or channel sponsors? He doesnt need to scam to make money which is something a scammer would assume.

[@reggiecarreiro1038]

Man since Ls George joined the channel the comedic element has gone way up. I remember watching fasterproms just for him. When he blew up that motor in his truck I must’ve rewound that clip 100 times. It had me rolling.

[@randolphmahoney]

Thoroughbred Aviation is THE most professional, honest, and experienced helicopter shop in the country. You sure picked a great one - I had a damaged chine angle on my JetRanger and they sent a mobile repair team to fix it - they came in UNDER time and UNDER estimate. Fine work! I would fly a bird that came out of that shop any time!!

[@carfreak0465]

So is Arrow aviation. That old engine is going to be like brand new.

[@frankdesbaux]

Yeah. That chopper is done. I wouldn't fly in it ever.

[@tedgerstenslager2949]

@@frankdesbaux Perfect. You never will get on it anyway.

[@Idrinklight44]

This guy and heavy d are going to find out aviation and helicopters are different. Hope he understands SAFETY

[@frankdesbaux]

@@tedgerstenslager2949 As a qualified helicopter pilot. I wouldn't fly it.

[@xep5k]

Don't you just wish all service professionals would be like Joe. I would pay any amount of money to have my stuff fixed by someone with that much knowledge and confidence. America needs more Joe's.

[@pauliewalnuts240]

Dude they're out there. Theres tons of people that are experts in a specific field, certain platform, niche market, etc but they're not going to be located a few miles from your house. You might have to travel across the country and it helps to know the right people.

[@bepbep7418]

As a Joe I couldn't agree more 😂

[@jaydunbar7538]

They are out there, but they are always busy

[@jdholbrook33]

Worked on Porsche for 12 years. My customers trusted me because I always did them right, kept them informed of every step of the way and talked them through exactly what I did and what needs done. Not as expensive as a Helicopter but.. $30,000 to rebuild an engine is nothing to sneeze at. I would call myself a Joe. The service manager was very upset when I gave my notice. Went back to school and finished up my engineering degree.

[@gavincline209]

It’s part of being an A/P. It’s simple, good is good bad is bad. When you sign for peoples life ya get a bit perfectionist about things. Plus owning your own shop will help. Aviation’s a small world and reputation means 90% of it. A great physical/machine side mechanic with a bad rap is still SOL in this business.

[@jaxfljustin7216]

so this is basically the helicopter version of a $1000 facebook marketplace car deal at 3am while its raining and you are using your phone flashlight to see anything.

[@NevermoreRacing]

I love that this is being done just 45 minutes down the road from my house. My boy is going to be crazy excited when he learns that not only were you in town, but that your MD is here being built into a thing of glory. Respect brother.

[@CadeMidgett]

Joe’s comfort and ability to answer questions, especially with a camera is amazing. Absolutely seems like the guy to handle this project. Love the knowledge and energy and hopefully we will see him more on the channel with this helicopter’s journey 👍🏼

[@NerdInMotion23]

💯

[@777jones]

Incredible guy. Would be glad to see him talk for hours.

[@gordoeinstein]

"Get out, so we can get it apart" - Joe That's the kind of guy you want to work with, period.

[@figit090]

SO EXCITED! Dude, nice work on that paint job, too. This thing is already coming together well, I'm surprised to hear it running so soon! Hope to see her in person someday. 🎉 congrats!

[@alandelmas1236]

I lived all my childhood in Venezuela, I'm glad you guys are treating Conzuela like the queen she is! MD500s are the real queen of the sky over there and I used to see them fly all the time, great to see this one is having a second life!

[@dBJerry]

Air Force Sheetmetal here, I could have those rivets out in less than 30 minutes with new Cherry's installed in less than that. The part I could make in less than an hour and a half. The painting is where the time-consuming part comes in, it would take us about 4 hours to have it painted and then it would need to sit for 8 if it has L.O properties, at the least. If I had access to the bottom and I could shoot standard rivets, it would be even easier, to throw a bucking bar down there and a hand, and tap them out in 30 minutes. So, a 12-hour shift would cover it, I get roughly 50 (factoring in benefits) an hour at my rank, so, that would be roughly 600 dollars for the Air Force to have me make 1 of those interior floor C channels, for reference. The cost goes down the more that are made.

[@skullhart]

Yeah Thoroughbred is gonna get $2500 easy

[@klixxenOG]

like this post so cleeter can see this

[@DustinBenton]

Sounds like you have some job security when you get out of service

[@HangryGiant]

As a aerospace painter myself I could have that part, etched, alodined, primed and painted in 2 but you'd have to wait the 1 and half for the bake cycle to cure it first

[@kurtasee2314]

Wow u make 50 a hr in the military that's awesome , crazy lol

[@xBimmerHue]

A&P UH-60M and CH-53k mechanic here. Love the aviation content. You're genuine excitement when starting the MD put a smile on my face. You should get an A&P so you can perform you're own maintenance. Love this field.

[@ryanmeek3730]

Yeah man I'm and A&P on Uh-60 and Airbus AS-350/H-125. Totally worth it to save a little coin.

[@gabberpiet6919]

A pilot would not misspell your. I do not believe you are an aircraft mechanic who cannot spell your or use the correct version of it. Thats bs

[@slammerf16]

Either way, being a part time mech on only your own aircraft sounds like a bad idea to me.

[@ssgtcoon1]

⁠@@gabberpiet6919an A&P mechanic doesn’t always mean pilot. I know a bunch of A&Ps on ft Rucker who could never pass a flight physical in their wildest dreams.

[@duncandmcgrath6290]

He does , that’s why he’s at an MRO facility that can handle it . I’m an S guy , you crash it or let it corrode, you sign my paycheck

[@venture790]

I know Howard Hughes would appreciate what your doing with that aircraft. He’s definitely smiling wherever he is.

[@rocks-if6uh]

Dang, cleetus and squirrel and the whole freedom factory crew congratulations on the whole new record of most views for the video this is awsome. A huge thank you to Joe and his team at Thoroughbred Aviation for putting up with all of us especially squirrel and cleetus 😅. Finally to those who made the best decision to support and sponsor freedom factory and cleetus what a great combination it just feels good to see a plan come together and put smiles on soooo many faces and laughter in the air well done!!!! We thank God and all our armed forces members for all that you have done and continue to do to keep everyone safe and lets make freedom great again. Rock on!

[@siraff4461]

I really like Joe's attitude. He's got that "just do it right" vibe about him. Thats important when you're dealing with aviation. Doesn't hurt that he sounds like he knows what he's doing so well that he could build that thing in his sleep.

[@WisdomVendor1]

It is really really easy to have that attitude when you're in an industry in which all your customers have money falling out of their asses. Moron

[@brandon_doe]

You would hope someone who is as certified and professional as he is would be a “do it right” type of person lmao

[@elsancho5275]

⁠@@brandon_doe right ? Lmfao like what else would you expect 😂

[@MrDAHSIN]

Ex Marine Aviation…you better bet he’s about getting it right 👍

[@luke726]

Easy to be when it’s not your money as well.

[@C.Fecteau-AU-MJ13]

"Lightly crashed" means a whole different thing when you're buying a second hand helicopter vs a pickup truck.

[@jiminauburn5073]

It is amazing how they can repair helicopters. Seen some that were just in parts, and they are rebuilt. Had a friend have a similar helicopter crash that was described for this one. He is a helicopter pilot in Alaska. Caught the side of the mountain with the tail boom and flipped onto its side. Everyone walked away and the helicopter looked a mess, but it was repaired and is back to flying.

[@TheInfidel_SlavaUA]

yeah but this thing crashed in switzerland and to get back into the air there the approval process is equivalent to a extended colonoscopy.

[@SirFlats]

L O L this was a great response 10/10@@TheInfidel_SlavaUA

[@liam24_]

@@jiminauburn5073I live in Alaska it’s very common for pilots to crash here we have very different terrain. Kiwi pilots do well here

[@helplmchoking]

@@liam24_ As a kiwi, I can see why our pilots would be well suited. Rough terrain, unpredictable winds and minimal infrastructure is basically 80% of our country lol

[@SvdSinner]

As a car guys who loves beater cars and also has a degree in Aerospace Engineering, I'm glad to see you recognize that you don't take the same risks with a helicopter that you do with a car. One leaves you on the side of the road when it breaks, the other leaves you screaming as you plummet to your death when it dies.

[@peted5217]

Excellent Description of risk difference

[@SlayFecal1050]

I remember watching Cleetus videos a year or two ago and him joking about getting an airplane crazy to see the progression congrats guys!

[@midnightrider1827]

Everybody needs a "Joe" when taking on something of this scale. Great and knowledgeable dude.

[@Nnatti_lawn]

You’re right! Seems like an awesome dude!

[@Greg1096]

The guys at thoroughbred are amazing, they have serviced my bell 206 a few times and they do an awesome job 😊

[@Twin_Flyer]

Can you imagine the first phone call Joe got about this project? "I got some guy with a KZbin thing that want to build an MD 500??" lol

[@pseudocoder78]

I know what you mean, but also, you literally need someone like Joe. By law.

[@Twin_Flyer]

@@pseudocoder78Absolutely agree with that, way too many things that could go wrong.

[@MobWithGuns]

You can tell it’s an emotional moment when garrett is firing up the helicopter for the first time. That he’s holding back the tears of excitement/ joy that his helicopter isn’t a paperweight and that his dream is coming true. You got this G

[@utahballoonflights2716]

Who’s Garrett ?

[@MobWithGuns]

@@utahballoonflights2716 that is Cletus’s real first name

[@txpacket]

Until just now it never occurred to me that there are people who have not been around long enough to realize that Garrett is Garrett, and not actually Cleetus lol it literally never dawned on me til now 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@MobWithGuns]

@@txpacketI’ve been here since his USF Law school/ exhaust whistle days

[@MyWolffy]

I would cry my eyes out and not care

[@Jockymcbock]

I think the best part of watching this journey is knowing cleet has a vision of what he wants to acheive and we're just watching it unfold. Super exciting!

[@marvinburwash1040]

The lead chopper mechanic, just a cool dude. And any man in their right mind! Would love nothing better than to be going through what this young man is living. & That new paint job is going to make the tinted windows just pop. I just wished I could be there to see unveiling the first time it’s shown. Great stuff

[@rwdsociety2654]

The tail would look so cool on the back of the helmet at the entrance of the fredom factory and a propeller on the top. Merging the racing amd aviation into one.

[@firefly2472]

Great idea.

[@qxtankxp]

I concer

[@stuartburgess2409]

I concur too😂🎉🎉

[@BeigeYeti12345]

Sick idea

[@lharris428]

Upvote this so cleeter see's it..

[@btpeyton1]

What a guy was so excited we get it 4 minutes early!

[@Doubie.]

Cleat just couldn’t help be be premature today

[@CleetusM]

Couldn’t help myself

[@TheSharker]

@@CleetusM Got it early today!

[@georgedennison3338]

Cleetus, you're getting a TF Dragster.

[@jonathonvince561]

Wife still gets excited too. Kinda surprising. Oh the video

[@motorsport32cw]

I love watching those professional guys and listening to there imput on how these aircraft work its such great content mate. Helo is gonna look epic

[@jessemas27]

That's awesome guys. I'm both jealous of the bird and nervous about the zeros on the cost sheet for you, but this thing is awesome.

[@josephstark4944]

Love hearing Joe say this is going to be one of the nicest they’ve had. Can’t wait to see it. So glad to have Cleet out here inspiring people to get into aviation as well

[@EatMyPropwash]

Aviation is amazing. Sadly helicopter ratings are 2x what aircraft certs and ratings cost.

[@XBootlicker]

Him and Jimmy's World could save alot of Classic Air frames.

[@johnblunt1834]

Your friend Joe. He is exactly who you need on something like this. Very keen, very good, very friendly, but above everything, safety, safety, safety!

[@johnfiv842]

THE amount of knowledge Joe has on helicopters is extremely impressive hes definitely the guy to go to for helicopter repair and rehab im in Aw of his wealth of knowledge

[@fieldday500]

The shot where it was finally outside was so good. Got me fired up. The high skids, pointed nose. So clean. I'm so pumped to watch this bird come together. I'll like and comment on every video to do my part in ensuring this thing has the funding you need lmao

[@TheLikkinBranchRanch]

You are so lucky to have a guy like Joe working on this project. The dude is so calm and straight talking. He oozes confidence in his knowledge and shops skills. I cant wait for the next update. How awesome is this?!!!!!

[@TE822]

You really should put the old engine in your jet boat. That would be some good content right there.

[@AH-lw2bj]

I want to see a rotary in the jet boat... Braaaap braaap

[@imimportantright]

​@AH-lw2bj get a rob Dahm colab going asap lmao would be unreal

[@1STGeneral]

Tesla turbine powered

[@thewhitestjamal]

That motor the way it sits as a core motor (with no logs) is worth around 50k. Hard to put it in a boat and not recoup as much as he can. My guess is he’s already upside on this before he even gets the bill from Joe.

[@mattorrz759]

Looks like you got ya’ self a boat anchor brother 🤣🤣 She sounded insane on start-up 😄💪

[@nanaki-seto]

Beautiful paint scheme and 4 months from now apr 2 till July to fly is super speedy that is solid you have had it on site for what a couple weeks? your copter guys are great props to em

[@KatzeRegi]

I looked over the final report for the accident from the Swiss authorities. What stood out to me that wasn't mentioned is one of the possible contributions to the crash was that theflight handbook didn't contain performance charts for hovering outside of ground effect for the fitted equipment. At the time of the crash, the helicopter was fitted with a four bladed tail rotor (as seen on the picture with the Swiss tail number). After the crash the handbook was revised and the performance charts were added.

[@Bamabrute85]

Hell yeah brother

[@mike_t96]

Yeah, but the final report only shows some little facts, I ordered the complete file from the Federal Archive. It will be very interesting to see what more there is. I had an accident with a plane in Switzerland myself, so I know how much they don't publish... (see final report for HB-1620 in 2014)

[@gwfowler]

Yeah, I have flown a 500E with two blade tail rotor and with four blade. The four blade is quieter, turning half the RPM. The two blade gives better tail rotor authority. I did not like the four blade.

[@b2dmastersniper]

As someone working in manufacturing on a daily basis, I love the aviation approach of zero cut corners, the documentation and depth of inspection on all components is unreal.

[@stugallop4561]

Well apart from Boeing that is!! 😁😂

[@christianbuczko1481]

​@@stugallop4561i was about to say that...

[@nyalsewell]

@@stugallop4561this is the comment I hoped would be here

[@bertpulaski2492]

@@stugallop4561ooooooooo lol.

[@bertpulaski2492]

You have to have a completely different mindset in aviation compared to any other industry. Been doing it for 20 years now and I’m taking a break. The stress level will get to you. Especially for a project of this magnitude and crappy records.

[@chezitdude]

You''re an absolute madlad for actually doing this. Can't wait to see this thing in the air!

[@CLCIII]

I actually have found this very interesting. I have flown in many helicopters as Navy Hospital Corpsman stationed with 2nd Medical Battalion, 2nd Feild Forces Support Group, 2nd Marines. As Always, May God Bless you and yours! 😇

[@dmc2087]

Thank you for your service !

[@CLCIII]

@@dmc2087 Thank you! It was my privilege & pleasure. God Has Taken Well Care of me. As Always, May God Bless you and yours! 😇

[@Jimcooksfire]

Paint the tailboom safety orange and mount it with a wind sock for your home LZ

[@_JustinCider_]

Best idea yet.

[@Justanoldfart]

JustinCider, Love that tag! 😂

[@xxGwoodxx]

W idea

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

Best idea for it ever!

[@matthewgillman5198]

I love that.. "i dont like timelines". Totally understandable when your dealing with aviation. I either gets done right or it doesnt get done at all. No rushing this kinda stuff to meet a deadline.

[@cnf6045]

I’m an automotive flat rate tech, and a relative of mine is a helicopter mechanic servicing the helicopters that go out to the rigs in the gulf (before that he was a transmission mechanic, so he’s been in both worlds.). Was talking about labor times with him one day, and he said ‘oh no, there’s no book times in aviation. If I’m working on something, and going through it quick, the boss will come over and tell me to slow down, reread the procedure, whatever, even if it’s something I’ve done 50 times and know the procedure by heart. You’ve got all the time in the world.’

[@matthewgillman5198]

@@cnf6045 dont tell boeing XD

[@dacar7495]

@@cnf6045you definitely have to take your time and be through but at the same time you have to be able to make money and OEMs definitely have flat rate times to follow for a particular job.

[@lancehowlett3910]

Tell us the name of the FBO you work for so we can get the word out,your boss is what’s wrong with general aviation maintenance. Every task has an estimated man hour requirement. The A+P can justify excessive time but “slow down your costing me money” is not a valid reason.

[@chipdiamond5104]

Dude's slingin them TV dinners, now...🤣🤣

[@toddwrenn7741]

Just gotta love the enthusiasm. It’s great to see people doing what they love.

[@bdrracingdevelopment5490]

Wait June 15- June 30 means that's in time for a 4th of July reveal at a freedom factory fireworks event!!!! 😮

[@nildeen]

Freedom one being ready on July 4th would be great! 🤞

[@kidgokuxl]

Can't wait for the two seater Australian top fuel dragster to come to the Freedom Factory!

[@FYIWDWYTM69]

Cleet and squirel doing 5's 😂

[@danielpettit8059]

I was about to comment that

[@danielpettit8059]

​@@FYIWDWYTM69more like 4s

[@ShreverBeaver]

For real though!

[@Grey86]

Been waiting for 5s on the channel!!

[@timmyers3428]

Familiar Mx Facility to me, Mustang Aviation which I think is, or was in the same hangar is where my Arrow III had it's per-purchase and then Annual inspection back in 2012. Great group of folk there. Have fun and fly safe.

[@dustinmoore4024]

Wow ole Cleet getting it done!!! Attaboy!! Living the dream !! Man this guy can do anything it seems like,, gets his first plane (Cub) gets his pilot license and now on to Choppers!!- NOT easy to do folks!! Coolest guy I’ve never met

[@mike_t96]

I live in Switzerland, I'm on it💪🏻

[@mike_t96]

Forgot to say, I have a PPL myself

[@ronjones-6977]

Gute Jagd, mein Bruder.

[@mike_t96]

@CleetusM Alright, I ordered all the documents from the Federal Swiss archive concerning HB-XZG. This will take up to five weeks until I get them (they have to digitalize it first). How do I get in touch with you when I get everything?

[@mikepfaff83]

I am really interested what you'll get from the government archives. The official Swiss accident investigation report from 1994 actually says "Damage to Aircraft: Destroyed" (= "Schaden am Luftfahrzeug: Zerstört" in German). And then - 2 years after its destruction in Switzerland - the destroyed helicopter magically shows up again in the US, with "only" a hard landing and a blade strike...

[@trrrewr]

I just gotta say, Joe's shop looks freakin spotless while having like a dozen different aircraft in various states of repair/restoration. I wish I could keep my 2 car garage that clean!

[@v1rotait23]

That's takes good discipline and intention! You've got to keep on top of it, else the monster of mess takes over and consumes your garage or hangar!

[@zechsblack5891]

A long time ago I regularly delivered catered flight meals to a handful of private hangars, I had gate/door codes and would walk right into these smaller 1-5 vehicle operations and pack the meals into fridges in the hangar or pass them up to a crew member in the plane to pack away. The cleanliness is the thing that always stuck out to me from being inside those bays. Spotless white, polished floors, and the maintenance guys were actively working in the area so it wasn't just some cleanroom showroom thing. Drip a drop, wipe it up, no end of day nonsense. It had a serious impact on how I operated the kitchen, at least the catering side that I handled. We were already extra clean per industry standard, but it became like hospital clean after getting to hand deliver the food into these immaculate industrial facilities. I was always more concerned about potentially taking pilots out of action than providing a nice meal for their wealthy clients, but what's good for the goose..

[@Chewwss]

Cleetus is the only youtuber that actually tries and shows the products from sponsors, this man can do anything better than everyone !

[@WoodenCreationz]

Joe with balls of steel walking around the tail rotor!!!! Excited for the journey Cleetus!!!

[@Bac0n3510]

Well gosh dang. Cleeter got a south american chopper and an australian 2 seater top fuel dragster comin his way. This man truly is living the dream. For all of us.

[@profenick4016]

Wait when did he buy a top fuel??

[@TODD_FL44]

@@profenick4016 it was gifted from down under....video is on KZbin somewhere. Definitely gonna be sick seeing that thing at Cleetus HQ!

[@gol10dr45]

I just seen that yesterday. Wonder when he will mention the TFD.

[@michaeladkins5005]

I say mount the tailboom sticking out the wall In the shop would look really cool Just an idea instead of a big paperweight!!😊

[@jtcollins2112]

Saw Matt run the track. Now I’m in on your channel. You’re awesome dude.

[@MixedGoku]

Shout out to Joe literally the kind of guy that everybody needs in their life!

[@cmans79tr7]

28:36 - The timeless face of a man when his engine starts for the first time. Traceable back to Cavemen times with the smiles and back-slapping when man first put wheels on his ox-cart😂

[@turbocateyeS475]

Also in order its apparently been in Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Switzerland, Texas, Venezuela and then back to Florida. Shes lived a life for sure.

[@1STGeneral]

Petroleum corporate 🐦

[@JoseMartinez-np4uo]

I think that I know the owner year un Venezuela, i'm Venezuelan currently living i'm my country

[@turbocateyeS475]

@@JoseMartinez-np4uo entirely possible. I haven't seen a name anywhere for Venezuela, just the tail number that's currently on it. Had some weirdness with the tail number in Switzerland before and after the crash. But I'm still looking

[@trx350]

I used to do Helicopter Line work off an MD530F for a utility i work for. Those helicopters are awesome to do board work off of.

[@BrandySalinaHinkle]

Congratulations, thanks for sharing, you boys have fun this week. Thanks for making so many peoples' dreams come true. ❤

[@john12v]

1 hour up...and 120k views. Brother.. you're killing it. Do you remember when you would have been beside yourself when you had 120k views, great job !!! Keep lighting the KZbin world on fire !

[@recoilrob324]

Your man Joe is the REAL DEAL!! Glad that the bird is in good hands and will no doubt turn out fantastic!

[@greenmirror5555]

curious about your avionics and garmin digital stuff upgrades? Tinted windows for Florida sunshine? Whoa does that engine scream! GL GL chasing all the extra parts! Can't wait to see you flying with Paul side by side!

[@justinhommel8556]

I want a guy like this inspecting everything before I buy something. Amazing job. Even though the Heli is a turd currently, I feel confident they will turn it into a diamond. I'm sure you probably feel the same way to have confidence in the helicopter after these guys overhaul everything.

[@nickfrancis3371]

In all the years watching cleet I’ve never seen that glint in his eye and that genuine look of real excitement quite like when he fired that thing up 😂

[@CS_247]

I noticed that too. As a MD500 rated pilot myself, I know why. These machines are THE SH!T. He is gonna love this thing when Joe and his boys are done with it. Lucky b*stard.

[@chrisd078]

Im betting this one wont fire up ever due to cost constraints.

[@MikeHoncho69420]

Super fruity ahh comment 👀

[@markmitchell457]

I enjoyed the hell out of that video. Cleetus has 1. Desire to have serious fun. 2. Enough money to buy serious toys to have fun. 3. Just enough unpredictability to be interesting. Thanks Cleetus!

[@Marvinfj32]

And young enough to enjoy it for a long time in the future.

[@geeder9086]

I'm not so sure you can assume the anti-ice valve can be JB welded shut because it ran in a jungle. The last time I flew was in a Cessna 150 -- and I got carburetor ice on a severe clear day, with 95 degree OAT at 4500 feet. My instructor was wrong about the risk of carburetor icing. He always said that icing was most likely to occur in cold, wet weather, during a decent. I was doing the opposite. I had been climbing from sea level on my way to 9500 so I could safely cruise to the Channel Islands from Oxnard. I always climbed to 9500 before overflying water because it was 27 nm to reach land again after crossing the beach. That gave me enough (in most wind situations) to make back to Oxnard or to the Chanell Islands if I lost engine power. I was pretty much half way through my climb at full throttle when the engine started lugging. Being 95 OAT & a mere Cessna 150 -- it was a bit hard to tell that engine performance was falling off. I spent a good minute or 2 trying to diagnose & solve problems (fuel cutoff in on position, magneto checks, flap checks, engine oil pressure & temp) -- all while the 500fpm climb was dropping to 100fpm @ Vx of 60kias -- when all of the sudden, the engine began running very rough at about 450rpm at full throttle. I tried pulling carb heat and that just about made it die -- I had to shut off heat & arrest my climb to maintain a/s of 60kias. I began looking for landing sites & calculated about 20 minutes glide time (really about 29) if the engine went tits up. The engine was barley running at full throttle & 450RPM in level flight at 60kias. I didn't dare pull the carb heat again but noticed that I could smell loads of unburned avgas ever since it began chugging. So I cautiously screwed out the vernier for mixture control to lean it out and the engine began to respond to that positively. I had screwed it out so far that it was nearly at the idle cutoff setting -- the engine should have stalled at that altitude with the mixture pulled out only half that far. I used the pull ring to unlock the threads on the vernier so I could pull it out & push it in more rapidly and gauge the response -- the engine had gotten most of its power back & had stopped chugging -- but it shouldn't even be running in that setting. So I quickly skimmed the checklist to verify I hadn't forgotten anything. According to the checklist, I went off-script when I pulled the mixture out so far -- but that was definitely were it ran best. So... I figured that I need to retry carb heat. I did and it resulted in a good deal of rough running -- but it seems like it caused some ice to break free from the venturi because it now seemed too lean. I pushed the mixture back in and the engine picked up to where it would run normally with carb heat on. I cancelled my trip to the islands just 30 miles away and flew around for another 45 minutes while constantly checking for ice by pulling the heat on & then off. I figured that ice was forming a massive restriction and when the heat came on -- a large chunk melted further into the venturi and acted like a choke. The fact that I turned the heat off right then meant that the problem was not going away -- but another second of heat would have caused a complete engine stall. Playing with the mixture to get it running well was a key step before melting it all away -- they probably should have mentioned that in the checklist. I had learned primarily on 152's, but flew 150's more often after I got my license. I looked up icing on the 150 & was shocked to find that they DO ice up on clear, hot, humid days during long climbs. All my instructor ever said was that the 150 ices a little worse than the 152 -- but never that the event had a completely different nature. If I had not been a tune-up mechanic prior to this -- I may not have thought of trying the mixture when I knew it went chokingly rich.

[@mrblackguy6336]

Stop yapping

[@geeder9086]

@@mrblackguy6336 Yap.. yap...

[@nomadchad8243]

Im amazed you can find all these parts for the MD500, We dont have many in Canada and parts for old machines like the B204 / B205 are rare as hens teeth.

[@Lordsavesthose777]

“I was ready for it, but the punch still hurt” story of my life bud. ❤

[@Obelixr1]

Hello there, found the report... the crash was on September 11th 1994 the reason you stated was correct, it rolled over and came to rest on the left side, the report states: Aircraft "destroyed". it seems that it was fitted with a 4 blade tail rotor for noise reduction (?) (no pilot so I don't know why they stated that specific in the report). No technical defect (so it had fuel) was found. Greetings from the middle of good ol' western Germany

[@Greg1096]

I believe that was the initial report and the report stating no fuel was from the guy who repaired it, could be that they didnt figure out it haf run out of fuel until they were repairing it, since the repair report would have come after the initial crash report, not saying you're wrong but it would make sense that the later report would have better information on the cause.

[@pffyespff]

@@Greg1096 Like mentioned in comment above, there were 2 reports: a) fuel starvation case in 1992 and b) that mountainside crash in 1994

[@Greg1096]

@pffyespff the way i understood it the repair report was for the mountain crash

[@NJDEVILz86]

McFarland Rickshaw and Copter investments.....Bidens can get ya a new 1 from china for some mail in votes

[@zf4hp24]

Correct me if I'm wrong all you MD guys, but didn't the 4-bladed TR have slightly *less* authority than the two-bladed?

[@waybous]

I love how the blades catch up to the camera frames and just for a second it looks like it's still.

[@richtorgerson253]

Fantastic and congrats Cletus! Git er done bro. Be safe with that thing and most of all HAVE FUN! Major Envy buddy. 🤩❤

[@JamesRockefeller45]

Damn that old man is comfortable around that tail roter

[@CJA150179]

That shows they have been around helicopters for a long time when they can stand that close to one running at full throttle while being so calm and unfazed by it...

[@davemcmurrick7962]

likely, just hanging out an ear for possible trouble sounds.

[@DCGamer18]

It's crazy watching all the old GA guys walk around during run ups. They've been doing this shit so long it doesn't faze them anymore.

[@marvindebot3264]

Comfortable ys but very, VERY aware.

[@FwammingDwagon]

One of the only KZbin channels I have notifications on for and watch religiously, thank you brother 💪♿️

[@5695q]

Glad you have the bucks to save this bird, going to be a sweet ride when your done. The sketchy history doesn't surprise me one bit, they fixed it and sold it to someone in Venezuela expecting it to never come back North.

[@otuke1]

She sounded so good, id never Imajin she'd run that well on her first spin, nice job, well done.

[@sam-rs8wg]

Thanks for showing the serious/safety side of all this. One of the few youtubers to show how to do aviation right.

[@JABBAWOKKY]

Anyone else absolutely impressed by Cleet's knowledge and understanding of helicopters? Be safe in the sky brother.!

[@Don_Rodrigo44]

No lul he owns and operates helicopters having knowledge abt them is a requirement. Your comment is the equivalent of a participation trophy

[@joek511]

How many times I sat , love that sound. Nothing like sitting in the cockpit, hearing that turbine run up. Oil pressure, check, RPM, check,,Fuel flow, check, EPR, check. N1 , check, EGT, check, Hydraulics, check. 60 years old now, safety is first, , I never cared about me. There are people on the ground. Sitting on the porch, driving , walking, shopping in the mall. Veteran, Aviation , USN. Please be careful, if not for you, for the people on the ground. Don't let Gods' blessing become a curse

[@famousdave7219]

Honestly in better shape than I'd thought it would be. Excited to see the finished product

[@patrickgriffitts]

My dad use to fly these for the PD and every time I hear the start up it takes me right back to flying with him. Such an amazing machine.

[@Bruns873]

I love how Cletus takes us through real world life experiences and he’s not just sizing up everyone like heavydsparks does. Only 10k more subs and you finally pass that reality tv star

[@Dempdawg11]

I think they are friends but yeah I hate that guy too

[@barry2860]

Joe seems like a great guy and super knowledgeable. super interesting.

[@james34185]

That is awesome. Congrats! Those Magnum P.I. helicopter are bad ass

[@dohabandit]

Thouroughbred Aviation looks like a great A&P shop. The lifetime of knowledge / experience these guys have is invaluable.

[@OhDoctorr]

cleetus is absolutely swinging for the fences in 24 with the content. ive been watching since the bald eagle machine pull on the free way when it was uploaded. i cant believe how far this mans come and i couldnt be more proud

[@ericgrabass8134]

Congrats on the major purchase buddy hope it serves yall well🤘🏻

[@danstlaurent9907]

Sir the final paint job is going to look great. Cant wait to see and hear her.

[@ludicrous7044]

From a huge debt to a racetrack owner/Helicopter and airplane pilot and much more! He's gotten bucked off but got back on ! Now he's the Florida Superman!!😁😸

[@Woozy91]

tf you mean huge debt

[@reeks303]

He bought a whole racetrack, he owed a lot of money on it at the beginning ​@@Woozy91

[@crystalkarlson5491]

Glad to see Consuela in good hands! She'll be in the sky before we know it! And absolutely love the paint!

[@waynefisher4327]

Helicopters only have one engine. I trust a guy with a fix for discover, assemble, test, check filters, change fluids... Paint. But what gets me is tear back down inspect and reassemble again. To have the confidence to say that upfront. This guy is not messing around.

[@TheRjjrjjr]

I'm very happy for you Cleetus, congratulations!

[@gabrielgarcia4975]

I love the spare no expense attitude on the aircraft...proof of a good pilot..is a long life. Love the startup sound...love the dream..❤

[@scottsmith6932]

Congrats on your new toy. I am a helicopter mechanic by trade. At a hangar I worked at my boss had one just like it. All I can say is never get distracted on start up, He scorched (over temped) two engines. Good luck and be safe.

[@LEOhopeful]

​@@bigduphusaj162 UK military? 😂😂😂

[@NoWr2Run]

@@bigduphusaj162 Why do you think it's a " DEATH TRAP ". Are you just scared to fly in one ? Really would appreciate an honest answer because I HAVE NO CLUE ABOUT THESE THINGS, THANKS.

[@Costa-Tec]

Parabens fiquei o tempo todo emocionado, estou ansioso pelo termino e primeiro voo, parabens mesmo