The big Bell 'Huey' helicopter appeared to ferry up from the Sunshine Coast and was spotted making fuel stops at Rockhampton and Mackay Airport (pictured below) while ferrying to the Whitsundays.
VH-UHE will reportedly completing a contracted heavy-lift role before it will be used for tourist joyflights.
Research reveals that VH-UHE - dubbed 'Eagle One' - has previously been operated out of Bankstown Airport in Sydney with 'Huey Downunder' also on tourist joyflights.
VH-UHE 'Eagle One' (Serial number 66-16301) is a 1966-built machine and was purchased by Patrick Soars in Houston, Texas in 2007 and has had a long and proud history in the US Army seeing service in the Vietnam conflict (in a training and utility role), Gulf War I and finished her life with the Texas National Guard and Texas Search and Rescue Services.
The airframe was rescued from perhaps a fate of spare parts and was dismantled and rebuilt to the zero time condition you see today with the help and assistance of Australian Native Landscapes Pty Ltd and HeliAust Pty Ltd. This icon of the Vietnam War is perhaps the greatest example of her type in Australia, set in the livery of an American Army VIP transport 'slick' she has been restored to the highest of airworthy standards.
'Eagle One' is a living reminder of the brave and dedicated crews that rode this magnificent machine into combat.
Photos taken by Lee Holloway and 'AC' ©️
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