Light Painting UH-1H Huey N426HF
Here’s what the camera saw just before we got started light painting the Huey.
Joannie and I are very pleased to share our cool light-painted photograph of UH-1H Huey N426HF. This was the second of two amazing projects that we light-painted in one evening at the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation (AAHF) in Hampton, Georgia.
The first one, of AH-1F “Cobra” N826HF, turned out fantastic as well! Please check it out at the link below:
Light Painting AH-1F “Cobra” N826HF
Here’s the finished light-painted artwork of AH-1F Cobra N826HF. Pretty darn cool, isn’t it?
The AAHF’s Bell UH-1H Iroquois “Huey” with registration N426HF is an iconic Vietnam-era utility helicopter. This specific aircraft is maintained in flying condition to honor Army aviation history. It often appears in flight demonstrations and airshows. It also offers rides to the public to showcase its role in medical evacuation, troop transport, and air assault.
The Huey’s cool cockpit (you can see the nose of the Cobra outside the window). I totally enjoyed this light painting experience from start to finish! So very cool!
Often seen in classic US Army olive drab livery during AAHF airshow demonstrations, the UH-1 was the first turbine-powered helicopter in the US military. The Huey became a symbol of the Vietnam War. N426HF is now part of the AAHF’s “Sky Soldiers” team, dedicated to preserving and flying historical Army aircraft.
History About UH-1H Huey N426HF
- From 1971-1988, N426HF was assigned to the 25th Aviation Battalion, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
- From 1989-2001, after a rebuild at the Corpus Christi Army Depot in Texas, the 426 served with the Louisiana Army National Guard.
- In 2002, N426HF was transferred to the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation (AAHF). AAHF restored the 426 to flyable condition and returned it to its original paint scheme.
- Sky Soldiers occasionally display N426HF with the Red Medical Cross in honor of the famous Huey Dust-Off Medical Evacuation (MEDEVAC) aircraft of the Vietnam War.
This is the area of the Huey that can carry troops, wounded, and supplies.
Light Painting Photography Trip to Florida
This was our second year in a row of hitting the road to Florida in the wintertime. This trip is a “working vacation” that finds us exhibiting our Light Painting Photography at the Cars on 5th Concourse in Naples, Florida. We exhibit at the show, as well as its charity fundraiser, “Jetport Reception” during the first weekend in February.
Here’s our Light Painting Photography booth for the 2026 Cars on 5th Car Show in Naples, Florida.
I also had the wonderful opportunity to photograph Florida’s amazing wildlife, on multiple occasions, while we’re there (I’ll probably write a post about that as well). This year, as a bonus, we also spent about a week (freezing) at Walt Disney World.
From there, we headed to Fort Myers to relax and play golf with our friends, Wayne, Sally, Pat, and MaryBeth, both before and after, Cars on 5th.
This year, we had a light painting project lined up before heading south. This was a unique project of a Piper L-4 N33579 and a Willys “MB” Jeep that we created in Carrollton, Georgia, for our EAA AirVenture friends, Ray and Melisa Fowler.
Here’s the finished light-painted artwork of PIPER L-4 – N33579 and the Willys “MB” Jeep. Pretty cool! Thank you, Ray and Melisa, for the opportunity to create this for you guys!
Wow, Just Wow!
As mentioned, before leaving home, we had one project lined up. We had no idea what, if any other projects might happen, or how long we would even be gone. It turns out that between Cars on 5th, Ray and Melisa, and the Florida wildlife, this became an epic trip for us!
We ended up on the road for a whole month, completing the photography for six light paintings, with a couple of other projects coming down the road. In addition, I was able to capture some pretty cool photographs of many birds and animals, too! Then, toss in some time at Disney World, and then fun with long-time friends, who could ask for more?!
“Steve Hinton of the East Coast”
Both of these cool helicopter projects came about courtesy of our friends Ray and Melisa Fowler. Ray, who I’m told is the “Steve Hinton of the East Coast”, seems to know everybody in aviation. He was kind enough to get us in touch with his good friend Jack McCormick. Jack is the Director for FAA Compliance at AAHF.
When I spoke with Jack about the possibility of creating something cool for the museum, he took the idea to Fred Edwards. Fred is the Director of Operations at AAHF. Fred gave it a thumbs up, and so we set it up for the following night.
Four Light Paintings in Two Nights!
The night before, in Carrollton, Georgia, we created two more cool light painting projects for Ray. The first, of an AirCam N74TV, went so smoothly that we slipped in a relatively quick second light painting of its cool Twin Rotax 912S engines!
Here’s the finished light-painted image of the AirCam 912S N74TV and quite a few RC’s too!
Here is the link to check out the AirCam’s cool light painting story.
Here’s the final light-painted artwork of the Twin Rotax 912S Engines on the AirCam 912S.
Clicking on this link will take you to the Twin Rotax 912S project.
Once we found out that we had a new project for AAHF, Joannie and I traveled to a new hotel in Stockbridge that was much closer to the airport in Hampton. Then, that afternoon, we met with Jack and Fred to take a look at the aircraft and figure out how we might set them up later that evening.
Pizza Anyone?
After the meeting at the museum, Joannie and I grabbed some great pizza at Mellow Mushroom, which was right by our hotel. It was there that we met Casey & Sharon Hill. This was just a random thing that turned out to be both entertaining and enlightening in many ways!
Casey and Sharon own a business called Historic Wings. The company has WWII Aircraft parts and also does fabrication and restoration on these cool aircraft. It turns out that Casey also knows Ray Fowler! In fact, he’s the guy who told me that Ray is the “Steve Hinton of the East Coast”! So, since Joannie and I had spent some time at Disney World on this trip, I’ll use the phrase: “It’s a Small World After All!”
One or Two?
Initially, we thought that both helicopters would be in the same light painting. However, after seeing how large they are in person (and they certainly are!), I suggested doing them separately. That meant there would be a bit of work for Jack and Fred moving them around in the dark (they are really big), but it would be worth it! By doing so, it would allow each helicopter to be much larger in the images, too.
This is the initial setup photo of UH-1H Huey N426HF. Once we turned off the lights, Joannie and I began the light painting process.
These are pretty amazing aircraft, with even more amazing histories. Both of these choppers are also airworthy! In fact, you can actually ride in them at airshows in several parts of the country! You can actually take a ride on either or both of these helicopters!
Here’s the link to find out more information – and to sign up too!
Light Painting UH-1H Huey N426HF
After getting the Huey positioned exactly where we wanted it, with the American Flag proudly on display behind her in the hangar, Jack, Joannie, and I began light painting it.
It seemed like a single pass from one end to the other with my light wand took forever!
I can tell you that this is indeed a very large helicopter, far more so than it looks from a distance. The UH-1H Huey N426HF has a total length of approximately 44 feet from rotor to tail! It’s about 14 feet tall, with a 48-foot main rotor diameter, and weighs in at about 9,500 pounds! Yes, it’s big!
This is the completed light painting of UH-1H Huey N426HF. What a fantastic opportunity for Joannie and me to light-paint her!
We took 106 images of the Huey’s light painting with our light on a long painter’s pole being used for many of them. Included in that total are the light painting images of the hangar too! In post-production, I used a total of 42 images, in 101 layers, to create the Master File.
This one, and the Cobra, are going to look absolutely amazing on metal! Come to EAA AirVenture this coming July to see them on display in our light painting booth in Hangar C!
The Movie
Click on the link below to check out the AH-1 Cobra’s “Build Video” on our YouTube channel. It’s only about a minute long, but it will take you from the beginning images taken that night to the completed artwork created back at the studio in that short time. We know you’ll love it!
Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read about our light painting passion! – M&J