SE-JLY

Information

This aircraft was constructed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries in 1973 and it was handed over to the Swedish Navy on 31 May 1974. In all, a total of eight Kawasaki-Vertol 107s and fourteen Boeing-Vertol 107s were operated by the Swedish Armed Forces. As the Swedish Armed Forces Helicopter Wing were established, 14 Vertol 107s remained. The type was eventually decommissioned after originally serving since 1964, and Y-70 became the last one to fly. It made the very last landing of a Vertol 107 in the Swedish Armed Forces on 1 March 2011.

Modified to a combat aircraft
Y-70 was one of four Vertol 107s (04065, 04068, 04070 & 04071) that were heavily modified for tactical troop transports in Nordic Battle Group ’08, but the resource was never used. Read more about the history of Y-70 at 04070.

A flying museum helicopter
As Y-70 made its very last landing in 2011, it landed at the Aeroseum Aviation Museum in Gothenburg. The helicopter is now formally owned by the National Swedish Museums of Military History (SFHM), but it is organized under the Aeroseum Foundation. The helicopter had some hours left on it, which were offered to Aeroseum for flying displays.

On 26 January 2013 Aeroseum established a subdivision called “2 Helikopterdivisionen”, which is Swedish for the 2:nd Helicopter Division. This was the original name for the naval aviation Gothenburg division that was founded back in October 1959.
The 2:nd Helicopter Division of Aeroseum is responsible for maintaining Y-70 in an airworthy condition. The aircraft is being cared for by a number of volunteers and veterans.

The devoted crew brought Y-70 out of the mountain and made ground runs each summer in order to keep the aircraft in a good condition. It made spectacular ground-runs and taxied back and forth during the Helimeet flight show in 2015.

The helicopter obtained its civil registration, SE-JLY, on 4th of August 2016, following years of hard work. It qualified as the largest-ever helicopter in the Swedish civil helicopter register at that time, and it was the only civil Vertol 107 in Europe.