UH-1H Iroquois
ICAO UH1The Huey: the most recognisable helicopter ever built, and still working. Live UH-1H positions.
Flying right now
Live · 30s
No UH-1H Iroquois is transmitting ADS-B at the moment.
Military aircraft are not obliged to broadcast, so this happens regularly. The count refreshes every thirty seconds.
Airframe
- Manufacturer
- Bell
- Role
- Utility helicopter
- Class
- H1T — Helicopter, 1 turboshaft engine
- Crew
- 2 to 4
- First flight
- 20 October 1956
- In service
- 1959
Operators airborne
Nothing of this type is up right now.
About the UH-1H Iroquois
No helicopter is more recognisable than the Huey, and much of that is the sound — the two-blade rotor produces a distinctive slap that carries for miles and became the defining noise of the Vietnam war. More than 16,000 of the family were built.
The single-engine UH-1H is the classic version, and it is still in service with a long list of smaller air forces across Latin America, Asia and Europe. Colombia, Taiwan, the Philippines, Greece and others fly them decades after American units moved on.
A great many have also had a second life fighting fires. Converted Hueys work for state forestry agencies across the western United States, and those aircraft are among the most likely to appear on this feed.
Callsign prefixes
- COPTER
- State firefighting and law enforcement
- ARMY
- Military utility flights
How to recognise it
- —A two-blade main rotor — the source of the characteristic slapping sound.
- —Skids, a long thin tailboom, and the familiar tapered cabin with sliding doors.
- —A single engine above and behind the cabin; the twin-engine UH-1N has a wider deck.
Common questions
+ Why does a Huey sound like that?
The two-blade semi-rigid rotor generates strong blade-vortex interaction, particularly in a descending turn, producing the loud rhythmic slap the type is famous for. Helicopters with more blades are much quieter.
+ Is the UH-1H still in military service?
Yes, with numerous smaller air forces in Latin America, Asia and Europe, though it has left front-line American service. Many surviving airframes now fly for firefighting and law enforcement agencies.
+ What is the difference between the UH-1H and UH-1N?
Engines. The H is the single-engine classic Huey; the N is the twin-engine development, which the US Air Force still uses for missile field security. Both have their own page here.