Last week the Premium Aerospace Center (PAC), held a ceremony to unveil the refurbishment of the helicopter among local and state dignitaries. The Ch46, HMX-1 Helicopter was in operation from 1965 to 2014, and served eight presidents during their presidential administration. Those presidents included President Richard Nixon, President Gerald Ford, President Jimmy Carter, President Ronald Reagan, President George H.W. Bush, President Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush, and President Barack Obama.
Ed Farris, President of the National United States Armed Forces Museum, was present to talk to the crowd about acquiring the aircraft, as well as what will happen to it in the future.
“This has been quite a journey. We’re out here to look at a Marine Corps aircraft that has a lot of history, but all our aircraft do. This particular aircraft served in the HMX Squadron, was part of the presidential VIP squadron for the Marine Corps, and its job was to transport VIPs, press, senators, congressmen, staff members and etc. But the history behind it is that it has been serving in the same capacity ever since the early 1970s when it left the factory,” Ferris said.
The helicopter was put in storage for about ten years. They went to Tucson, Arizona, to pick up the aircraft and flew them back to Houston. Ferris said that the museum is a living museum to preserve the history and heritage, which includes the legacy of men and women who served their country.
“We utilize our former military equipment to serve in times of disaster. We use our equipment to do high water rescue. We use our equipment to supply food, water, and clothing. We’ve been doing this for 20-some-odd years. We never really advertised it, but this is something that we have done, and we became very good at it. So when we received our aircraft, this became another tool that we could utilize in ways that you wouldn’t think. We take our aircraft out and we’d deliver food, water, whatever we needed to, and also rescue people and or move people around in times of disaster. Most of us don’t think about this until you’re hit with a disaster, and then you realize you don’t have any help,” he added.
Ed Farris, President of the National United States Armed Forces Museum.
Ferris talked about PAC and their commitment to taking up the challenge of repainting the aircraft. Ferris complemented PAC Accountable Manager Jose Gonzalez and PAC Office Manager Sumer Jones for their commitment to the project.
PAC Owner Fransisco Lona, Sen. Brent Howard, Rep. Nick Archer, and PAC owner Hector Ovalle were all on hand to celebrate the event. Those who signed up were taken on a short ride in the historical Marine One aircraft.
The helicopter will be displayed and used at the Ellington Joint Field Reserve Base in Houston for training and educational purposes.
The first group to go up in the Ch46, HMX-1 Helicopter.
