U.S. Army Aviation Museum

The United States Army Aviation Museum, located in South-central Alabama, maintains a collection of over 160 military aircraft, including one of the largest collections of military helicopters in the world. Public galleries represent the Army's involvement in aviation from the beginning days of the Wright brothers and early combat aircraft from World War I, to the highly technological machines flown by Army Aviators today.

Jareth was able to choose which helicopter he wanted to specialize in so my favorite part of the Museum was learning about the Blackhawk. We also were able to view hundreds of hall of fame inductees, many helicopters throughout the years and history behind helicopter use in the military.

A Blackhawk in air

The UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-bladed, twin-engine, medium-lift utility helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. The UH-60A entered service with the Army in 1979, to replace the UH-1 Iroquois as the Army's tactical transport helicopter.

The Black Hawk helicopter series can perform a wide array of missions, including the tactical transport of troops, electronic warfare, and aeromedical evacuation. A VIP version known as the VH-60N is used to transport important government officials with the helicopter's call sign of "Marine One" when transporting the President of the United States. In air assault operations it can move a squad of 11 combat troops or reposition a 105 mm M102 howitzer with thirty rounds ammunition, and a four-man crew in a single lift. The Black Hawk is equipped with advanced avionics and electronics for increased survivability and capability, such as the Global Positioning System.

The UH-60 entered service with the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division in June 1979.[20] The U.S. military first utilized the UH-60 in combat during the invasion of Grenada in 1983, and again in the invasion of Panama in 1989. During the Gulf War in 1991, the UH-60 participated in the largest air assault mission in U.S. Army history with over 300 helicopters involved. In 1993, Black Hawks featured prominently in the assault on Mogadishu in Somalia. Black Hawks also saw action in the Balkans and Haiti in the 1990s. UH-60s continue to serve in Afghanistan and Iraq.