It turns out that the terms “round-to-it” and “barn find” are infinitely linked. Someone has the foresight to purchase an interesting or historic project with the intention of restoring it when they get “around-to-it.” For various reasons, family obligations, health concerns, money, or time, the project owner never gets around-to-it and, in this case, an aircraft or helicopter gets pushed into a corner of the yard. The owner may pass, and the project is then inherited by well-meaning friends or relatives and the “round-to-it” cycle starts again. Eventually, the decision to part with the item is made and it is at this stage where the restoration project enters the realm of “barn find.”

Recently, Doug Scroggins of Scroggins Aviation Mockup and Effects of Las Vegas, Nevada, made an incredible barn find of ten 1940’s/50’s vintage helicopters. Scroggins Aviation Mockups and Effects is a leading supplier of cockpit sections, full-scale commercial and military aircraft helicopters, and cabin interiors for the motion picture and TV industry. The company’s work has most recently been seen in Dunkirk, Flight, Jurassic World, and Sully, along with Captain America: Civil War, Deadpool 2, and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. “I’m always in the market for interesting, historic aircraft. Having an inventory of classic helicopters helps us expand our offerings to entertainment production companies,” said Doug Scroggins.

Before Covid, Scroggins had heard about some potential Vietnam War-era helicopters stored in a yard in the Southwest. “A gentleman in the UK had mentioned that a pair of Piaseki CH-21s could be seen on Google Maps. I did some searching and could see the tails of the two H-21s poking over the fence on Google Maps Street View. I was busy with some movie work and time just slipped by.

“Then I received a phone call while I was in Hawaii on set,” Scroggins said. “The person on the other end said, ‘I hear you’re the helicopter guy. I may have some helicopters available if you’re interested.’ I started asking questions and when he gave me the location, I got very excited. He sent pictures the same day. I could not believe it – this is the same yard I had seen a few years back. I had no idea what was in there.

“The caller said he represented the late owner’s family, and they were looking to sell all of the helicopters and associated parts as a lot. There were also some seven or eight fixed-wing aircraft, L-13s and PT-26 hulks, that were committed to another buyer. Wait! ‘Helicopters, as in many, to be sold as a lot? He had my attention,” Scroggins said.

 
After seeing photos and traveling to Deming, New Mexico, Scroggins made a deal to acquire a pair of rare 1947-vintage Piasecki HRP Rescuers, two Piasecki HUP Retrievers also with an addition cockpit section, three Piasecki H-21 Workhorse (known as the “Flying Banana”), a 1945 Sikorsky R-5D Dragonfly, and an even rarer Sikorsky R-6 Hoverfly.

This collection of vintage helicopters was acquired by Cecil A. “Smoky” Harper. He was born in Ringgold, Louisiana, in March 1930, and joined the U.S. Navy in 1948, at the age of 18. While ported in California, he met JoElla Johnson, with whom he would marry and raise a family of three girls and a son. Harper started his helicopter collection while living in Oroville, California, in the mid-1960s. He purchased the HRPs and the Sikorsky R-6 in 1964. He made a test hop in the R-6, hovering it until the ignitor failed and without a second on-line, he made a pretty hard landing. While collecting aircraft and helicopters, Harper was driving dirt track race cars and owned a company called Cobra Unlimited from the mid-1970s to mid-1980s. At one race, his car began to smoke badly before the engine finally blew, and he gained the nickname “Smoky.”

In 1965, Harper moved the family to Gila Bend, Arizona, where he continued to grow his collection with the addition of CH-21s, an R-5, and more. Between 1987 and 1989, Harper moved the family and his collection to Deming, New Mexico, where he intended to retire and form a non-profit museum focused on returning the helicopters to the air while he operated an aircraft parts business. To earn a daily living, Harper was a construction foreman on jobs such as the Central Arizona Project that today delivers water to nearly 6 million people. He retired from the union in March 1995, and sadly passed away seven months later on Oct. 24, 1995.

 
Harper had an adventurous life and had acquired more than a dozen historic aircraft and helicopter projects. Unfortunately, health issues robbed him of the opportunity to get around-to-it and restore the vehicles that intrigued him. For 28 years, Harper’s collection of airframes and parts sat in his compound at the Deming Airport. When control of the collection passed down to his daughter and granddaughter, they sought the opportunity to pass on these rare relics to someone who could help Harper’s vision become a reality, even if on a different level. With that, Harper’s “round-to-it" became Scroggins’ “barn find.”

What was found in the barn?

The rarest helicopters in Harper’s collection were the Piasecki HRPs and the Sikorsky R-5D and R-6. All three types were pioneering helicopters that emerged from World War II.

 

The Piasecki Helicopter Corp. was based in Philadelphia, Pa., and its HRP “Rescuer” was the first American-built helicopter that could carry a substantial payload. The company built 20 HRP-1s (Bunos. 111809-111828 with the order for 111834-111848 cancelled) with fabric covered fuselages. Rotor diameter is 41 feet each and length of the HRP is 83 feet, 4 inches (49 feet, 6 inches with rotors folded). Nicknamed the “Flying Banana,” the HRP was powered by two 550hp (at 2,200 rpm) Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN-1 radial engines and could carry ten passengers plus a crew of two. HRPs had a maximum load of 6,900 pounds with a useful load of 1,843 pounds, which was quite a bit in 1947 helicopter terms.

Scroggins recovered two HRPs, one is Buno. 111814, and the second, possibly an ex-Coast Guard example, is yet to be identified. Buno. 111814’s first assignment was with VX-3 in late 1947, then HMX-1 in mid-1948 to mid-1949, when she went in for overhaul. In spring 1950, HRP ’814 was assigned to VX-1, and returned to overhaul at NAS Lakehurst, N.J., on April 1, 1952. This was followed in October 1952 with an assignment to HU-2, also at Lakehurst, then with Det 32 on board USS Tarawa from Oct. 20 to Nov. 26, 1952. The end of November saw ’814 transfer south to NAAS Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The last entry in 111814’s logbook is on July 15, 1954 when she arrived at NAF Litchfield Park, Arizona, for storage and final disposition.

 

Of the first 20 HRPs delivered to the Navy, three were assigned to the U.S. Coast Guard, Bunos. 111821, 111823, and 111826. HRP ’826 crashed in Spring 1951, while the other two flew on into the mid-1950s. Buno. 111821 was stored in early 1955, thus the second HRP recovered by Scroggins is possibly ’823 as it flew into mid-1956 before being stored.

Of note, in summer 2011, the Classic Rotors Museum at the Ramona Airport in Southern California, acquired an HRP from Smoky Harper’s yard in Deming. After completely restoring it, this HRP is now on display at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. Unfortunately, its identity is unknown. Two additional HRP airframes are held by the American Helicopter Museum and Education Center in West Chester, Pa., which brings the surviving total of HRPs to five airframes.

 
Sikorsky R-6

The Sikorsky R-6 Hoverfly is a redesigned version of the company’s mid-World War II R-4B helicopter. Seating a pilot and observer with the capability of carrying a litter patient on externally mounted stretchers, the R-6 featured a 235 hp Franklin O-405-9 radial engine, somewhat of an improvement over the R-4’s 200 hp Warner R-550-3 radial engine. The cockpit was given greater visibility over the R-4 with the addition of a glass bubble canopy and forward area.

The R-6 recovered by Scroggins Aviation is serial number 43-45526, which was license-built to Nash-Kelvinator. During World War II, Nash-Kelvinator switched from building Nash automobiles and Kelvinator refrigerators to producing Hamilton-Standard propellers (158,000 propeller assemblies and 85,000 spare blades), 17,000 Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radial engines, and 193 Sikorsky R-6/HOS-1 helicopters. R-6s could fly at a maximum speed of 80 mph (69 knots) and had a useful load of 232 pounds, and although that’s not much of a load in today’s helicopter world, the type did make an outstanding scout and observation platform.

R-6 43-45526 was accepted by the Army Air Forces on Sept. 19, 1945. On Jan. 25, 1946, this R-6 was transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Brooklyn, N.Y. Her, the R-6 was redesignated an HOS-1 and gained the Coast Guard serial number of 75621. While at CGAS Brooklyn, at the end of March and beginning of April 1946, a rescue hoist and related equipment were installed adding to the versatility of the little helicopter.

Her career at CGAS Brookly lasted only until April 15, 1946. On this day, 75621 was transferred to the Navy at NAS Norfolk, Va. Serving with the Navy, 75621 was assigned to participate in Operation Crossroads, the test of two nuclear weapons that took place during July 1946, at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. During the month of July, 75621 made 12 flights, often more than one per day, with a Cmdr. Wood at the controls.

 

When the atomic bomb tests were over, 75621 was delivered stateside to resume service with the Coast Guard, arriving at Coast Guard Air Station Seattle, Wash., on Aug. 18, 1946. On Sept. 1, 1947, HOS-1 75621 had its main rotors removed and the aircraft stored in a hangar until Feb. 28, 1948, when she was transferred to CGAS San Francisco, California. While at San Francisco, this helicopter was robbed of its tail cone, tail rotor shaft, generator drive, voltage regulator, and other parts, which were installed on HOS-1 75614. The parts donated to 75614 were then removed from 75616 and installed into 75621 returning her to flight status on May 28, 1948. At this point, 75621 had flown 47.1 hours total time.

Flying in the San Francisco Bay Area saw 75621’s utilization go up dramatically, as on June 2, 1949, this HOS-1 had flown a total of 83.5 hours. Also on this day, 75621 was stricken from the Coast Guard inventory. Sold surplus in early 1950, 43-45526 was given the civil registration of N69089, with the restriction that the registration was “valid only when owned and operated by Roy Patton.” From there the helicopter’s civil service trail goes cold until it turned up in Smoky Harper’s collection. Rescuing this helicopter brings the number of survivors of this type to six.

Sikorsky R-5D

Although numerically earlier than the R-6, the Sikorsky R-5D (later designed the H-5D) Dragonfly, serial number 43-46656, found in Smoky Harper’s yard was delivered the following year. R-5D 43-46656 was accepted by the Army Air Forces on Oct. 23, 1946. This Dragonfly spent its entire career in the Texas area training new helicopter pilots with assignments to Kelly, Randolph, San Marcos, and Waco among others. Its last posting was at Laughlin AFB, Texas. During its career, 43-46656 was landing near the scene of an F-84 crash 15 miles southwest of Wickenburg, Ariz. Touching down, the R-5D rocked forward, then back on the tail wheel, which collapsed. The tail rotor contacted the ground, breaking the blades and twisting the tail cone. While in military service, 43-46656 had two other incidents that caused damage to the tail as well. Eighteen other examples of the R-5D exist and this, the 19th, will be restored by Scroggins Aviation and offered to a museum after being used in a film.

Piasecki HUPs

Two complete and the cockpit section of another Piasecki HUP Retriever were recovered from the Deming, New Mexico, yard. HUP-2 Buno. 128550 was accepted by the Navy on Sept. 17, 1952, and spent its first three years flying with HS-2 from Ream Field in the San Diego, Calif., area. In September 1955, the HUP was transferred to NAS Alameda, Calif., and then shipped to NAS Atsugi, Japan. She returned stateside aboard USS Coral Sea (CV-43) in April 1961 and was assigned to HU-1 at Ream Field. In September 1962, Buno. 128550’s service career ended, and she was flown to NAS Litchfield Park for storage and final disposition. On March 28, 1963, she was stricken from the Navy’s inventory with 1,796 hours total flight time. Scroggins plans to offer this HUP-2/UH-25B to a museum for static restoration.

The second complete HUP/UH-25B, Buno. 130064, and the cockpit section of Buno. 128574 will both join Scroggins Aviation’s inventory for future use in film and TV productions. Buno. 130064 was accepted by the Navy on Oct. 26, 1953, and was assigned to the Naval Reserve at NAS Glenview, Ill. In June 1957, she flew west to for overhaul at San Diego, before going to NAS Alameda from where she was shipped to the 14th Naval District at NAS Barbers Point, Territory of Hawaii. On paper, 130064 was assigned to HU-1 at Ream Field, but she was flying with HU-1’s Det. 1 at NAS Oppama, south of Yokohama on Tokyo Bay, Japan. On April 30, 1961, she was operating aboard the cruiser USS Saint Paul (CA-73), and then joined the carrier USS Midway (CV-41) in July 1961. The Midway brought her back to the U.S. West Coast in October 1962, and she was flown to NAF Litchfield Park for storage. With 2,018 hours total time, Buno. 130064 was stricken on March 28, 1963. What’s the most intriguing aspect of this HUP are the five harness markings under the port side cockpit window. One has to wonder about the stories of the five people rescued by this Piasecki Retriever?

 

Piasecki H-21

The final trio of helicopters acquired from the Harper cache were versions of the U.S. Army H-21C Shawnee. The earliest of the trio, H-21C, serial number 52-8645, was delivered on Sept. 1, 1955. This Shawnee has an executive interior and is thought to have flown Army General Staff officers and may have provided support to the White House staff as well. This helo is up for adoption by qualified museums. H-21C 55-4172, delivered on Dec. 17, 1956, and like 52-8645, Scroggins is looking for the right museum that would be interested in preserving this airframe.

The third H-21C is 56-2134, delivered on Dec. 12, 1957, saw service in Vietnam with the 121st Assault Helicopter Company, known as the “Soc Trang Tigers.” On Jan. 17, 1964, PFC Loye T. Christmas of Jacksonville, Fla., was serving as a gunner aboard 56-2134. The helicopter was ferrying troops near Can Tho in the Mekong Delta, when PFC Christmas was struck by ground fire and killed. One of the vertical stabilizers still has its Soc Trang Tiger head artwork that has survived to this day.

 

Scroggins feels that HRP 11184 certainly deserves to be restored and displayed at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida, as the Flying Banana is the progenitor of today’s Navy rotary wing fleet. As for the other airframes, what were once Smoky Harper’s “round-to-it” projects have received a new lease on life, either as eventual museum displays or to be seen in future movies and TV productions.


Barn Find Helicopters

Piasecki HRP Rescuer

HRP-1               111814

HRP-1               unknown, possibly ex-U.S. Coast Guard

 

Piasecki HUP Retriever

HUP-2              128550

HUP-2              128574 Cockpit section

UH-25B 130064 To be restored for film work

 

Piasecki H-21

CH-21               52-8645

CH-21               55-4172            To be restored for film work

H-21C               56-2134

 

Sikorsky Dragonfly

R-5D                 43-46656          To be restored for film work

 

Sikorsky R-6 Hoverfly

(Nash-Kelvinator, Detroit, Michigan)

R-6A                 43-45526