More detail on this person: My father died of secondary bone cancer after originally being
diagnosed with colon cancer. He fought a two year battle with cancer before it took him. This information was last updated 05/18/2016
Please send additions or corrections to: HQ@vhpa.org VHPA Headquarters
Return to the Helicopter Pilot DAT name list
Return to VHPA web site
Date posted on this site:
01/11/2025
Copyright © 1998 - 2024 Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association
Following my fathers two tours in Vietnam (24 months total) he attended and graduated from the Naval
test pilot school at Patuxent River Maryland (where I was born). After leaving the Army, my father
went to work as a test pilot. He worked on every major helicopter program of his time. Upon leaving
the Army, he flew test for Lockheed on the Cheyenne prototypes at Edwards Air Force Base, where he
was also checked out on multiple fixed wing aircraft. During this time and for a period of time
afterward, it is rumored that he flew F104 starfighters and U2 spy planes for the CIA. He also flew
test for the CIA on a stolen Russian Kamov KA-6 (I believe it to be this model, however I could be
wrong, I even have a picture of it taken in Texas during test).
Followng his work at Edwards, Morrie took a job flying test for Sikorski Helicopter in Conneticut.
He did many jobs for Sikorski including training other pilots to fly their exceptionally large
helicopters as well as testing on the S-60 blackhawk. It was during this test program that it is
rumored that he was the first man to complete several aerobatic manuvers in a helicopter including a
roll, loop and split ess. Durring a training mission in Brazil when my father was training
Brazilian pilots to fly CH-53's, he crashed in the jungle and was unable to get out for many weeks.
During this time, he befriended a former Nazi SS officer from World War II who was hiding in the
jungles of Brazil (I'm not sure which one it was, but my father later saw this man on televison
being prosecuted for war crimes at the Hague). Sensing a great opportunity, Morrie left Sikorski
and moved to California (mostly to please my Mother) and turned the failing YAH-64 program into a
winner. Hughes was widely considered the underdog in this competition and was sure to loose to the
much larger and more experienced Bell Helicopter and their YAH-63. After flying test on the rough
edged AV01, AV02 ships, Morrie helped the engineers identify and eliminate some problems, and
Hughes promoted him to Manager of Experimental flight test and eventually Manager of production on
the Apachee program for Hughes and then McDonnell Douglas.
In 1984 Morrie went to work for the Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm group (MBB) developing the
Euro-Copter "Tiger" attack helicopter. By 1986 prototyping at MBB had been completed and Morrie went
to work at Atlas Aviation in South Africa where he helped complete the Rooivalk prototype and
testing program. Morrie was also involved in several other avatiation programs including Ratheon's
fly by light control system and the Aermacchi MB-339 jet trainer. According to my fathers friends,
he was highly regarded in the Aviation industry and very well known.
From: Morrie E. Larsen Jr.
I am the younger brother of Morrie E. Larsen. I found the brief write up about his death in St.
Maries Idaho. Actually I managed to spend some fishing time with him before he was diagnosed with
cancer.
He was commissioned a second lieutenant from the Oregon State University ROTC program, 1966.
He was very closed mouthed about his activities after the war. I have my own suspicions given he
seemed to disappear every time there was a crisis somewhere in the world. Guess all I will ever know
is that he was an outstanding pilot and put significant work into the weapons guidance system of
both the US Cherokee and the South African Puma.
His ashes are buried at the Willamette Cemetery near Portland Oregon, a military cemetery. Sure
would like to know more about who he was and stories of the men who served/worked with him.
Sidney A. Larsen at slvrshadowblue@yahoo.com