The new CHP "H-20"
July 23, 2018
For the last couple of years, the CHP helicopter (Hi, Monty) with the new paint scheme has been crisscrossing overhead on its way to here and there. It's not often that I prefer anything new, you get used to how things are, and personally, I like things to stay as they are unless a grievous injustice is occurring. I was never a huge fan of the CHP's former paint scheme. It wasn't quite a grievous injustice, but it was just a little to stripey and blocky for my taste.
Of course, when I saw the new paint scheme, I was a little put off because - errr - of the change from what was, but I quickly decided that this paint was FAR better than the last paint. It's much cleaner, and in a way it reminds me of the paint scheme Rothman's F1 motorcycles sported int the 80s and 90s. Anytime you use a royal or midnight blue in your paint scheme, you're upping your game. Come to find out, this is not just the old Eurocopter AS350B3 with a new paint job, but an entirely new Airbus H125 (see, there we go again... Airbus) with a bunch of new everything.
Besides the paint, there were some fundamental changes to details in the fuselage and the addition of a new FLIR, spotlight, and a bunch of different antennas. Even the cargo hook looked a little different, so all of the that had to be changed out as well. I also decided to open the rear door a bit like I did for the Cal Fire Hueys. It's a little more work, but worth the time. If someone wants a version with the door closed or open even wider, it won't be too much trouble.
N974HP was finished and uploaded to henry1.com today. I really like how it turned out. I'll be uploading the others N numbers throughout the week.
-Eric
