Posted on May 18, 2022
How thick was the aluminum skin of a UH-1D helicopter?
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This may sound like a strange question but inquiring young minds want to know. It's a question I'm asked as I guide tours of school children around the H.E.A.R.T.S. Veterans Museum in Huntsville, TX. We have a couple on display and I invite the children to press the hull with their finger tips to feel how little there was between us and enemy fire. Ideally, I would like to illustrate with folded aluminum foil that is approximately .02 mm.
Posted in these groups: 
Aviation
Aviation
Edited 2 y ago
Posted 2 y ago
Responses: 6
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CPT Jack Durish I don't know the answer to your question but I do know that is a cool photo!
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Not very thick and no armor though there were armor plates under some of the pilots seats.
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I am currently in a place where I occasionally fix the UH-1Y, a current version of the same aircraft, and the skin on most of the surface ranges from 0.025 inches to 0.032 inches. I can't see why they would change it much from that variant to the current version.
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PO1 Jamie Springman
That is true but there are different hardnesses, and even types, that come with each piece of metal used for different purposes. 7075-T6 will have very different characteristics compared to 2024-T3 or even 7075-0 of the same thickness. Not that any of the different metals would stop a bullet shot at it.
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