21-23 January 2024 Roadtrip Reno Update
Bill Personius and I left Sunday January 21, 2024 on a Road Trip to Siller Brothers Helicopters, Yuba City, California, then over Donner Summit in the Central Sierra Nevada Mountains to Stead (AFB) Reno Airport, Reno, Nevada, returning via Donner Summit to Sacramento, California before making the final leg back to San Diego, Ca on Tuesday January 23, 2024.Â
Our stop at Siller Brothers Helicopters, long time operators of Ex-Navy Sikorsky H-3/S-61 and CH-54A/SK-64E Skycrane Helicopters. Our visit was hosted by former MAJ Dave Thiessen, USMC a Siller Line H-3 Pilot and Ron Sarver, former USMC CH-53E Crew Chief and Siller Brothers Crew Chief and Mech. Dave Thiessen is soon to be a Skycrane pilot. They both gave us a comprehensive tour of their facilities including a walk through their boneyard of former H-3 Helicopters, all Air Force HH-3s and one Coast Guard HH-3.
From there it was a trip to Reno Stead Airport to collect a former Navy Mark-46 Torpedo Shape from the Gyrodyne Museum, Reno, Nevada and Peter Papadakos https://www.gyrodynehelicopters.com/  and then back over the Sierras to Sacramento.
We completed the final leg back to San Diego from Sacramento on Tuesday January 23, 2024. On Thursday morning, January 25, 2024 the Oordanance Training Group Shop immediately next to the NHA building accepted our torpedo, lifting it out of the truck. They will handle the full restorations of this Mark 46 Shape including painting it to look like a War Shot.
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