eBay Helicopter

Wally Garlock served in the U.S. Army as an armored personnel carrier mechanic. He was not an aircraft mechanic and he was not trained as a pilot. However, when Wally retired from the Army, he used his VA benefits to satisfy a childhood dream to learn to fly. He obtained his SEL fixed-wing private ticket at Mitchell Aero in Milwaukee. He then maxed out his benefits to train in a Bell 47 to obtain a rotorcraft add-on rating at Omni Flight in Janesville, Wisconsin. Out of cash, his helicopter adventures went dormant for a time.

Using skills learned in the Army, Wally became an auto mechanic and auto restoration specialist. He opened his own business, Silver Lake Auto Center, in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, and began to flourish. In the ’90s, Wally finally had enough money to return to helicopters, renting Robinson R-22s for recreational flights around the Milwaukee area. Having heard that the Army was in the process of selling Vietnam-era helicopters as surplus, Wally started researching the Army’s primary helicopter trainer, the Hughes TH55A Osage. Then came the fated sighting. Wally saw an eBay ad for a scrap TH55 that had been released from the Davis-Monthan mothball facility. It was only a hull, without an engine, main rotor transmission, tail rotor transmission, main rotor blades, or tail rotor blades. It also had no logs. Undeterred, Wally concluded that this would be a great restoration project. He purchased the scrap hull and brought it to a corner of his automotive shop to embark on its restoration.

To complete his project, Wally eventually acquired two more wrecks, obtaining an engine, main rotor blades, tail rotor blades, and the requisite transmissions. In addition, he purchased many new parts necessary to make his project airworthy. One of Wally’s employees at Silver Lake happened to be an A&P mechanic with IA privileges. He was able to inspect and sign off Wally’s work.

A short 14 years after purchasing his eBay project, Wally completed the TH55A and painted it in period-correct Army trainer colors. The result was stunning. Wally’s attention to detail and flawless work resulted in a pristine ship that looked like it just came from the factory. Wally first flew N49WG in 2023. After everything was shaken out, Wally then flew a little down the road to Oshkosh, where he won the Best Warbird Helicopter, the Silver Wrench, and Judges’ Choice awards at AirVenture 2023.

Just this past year, Wally replaced the tail rotor blades and updated the exhaust on his ship. It is displayed at AirVenture this year in the Warbirds area, drawing the attention and praise of many Vietnam-era helicopter pilots. To the man, they marvel that the TH55 ships they flew at Fort Rucker never looked that good.