Helicopters

T

teamemmenracing

Senior member
 West of edinburgh
Probably of no interest to anybody on here but Ive got to get it off my chest ....

Just read that the police helicopter that went down in Glasgow was operated by Bond Helicopters ......
From on scene reports its sounding like there was a mechanical failure, possibly gearbox .....

In recent times Bond lost 2 helicopters in the North Sea, or 1/3 of their fleet ......

When are these peoples maintainance procedures going to be investigated ...?
 
As reported in the Sunday Independent.....The twin engined EC135 Type 2 variant has been the subject of two recent European Aviation Safety Authority emergency air-.worthiness directives.....stiffness in the main rotor actuators....and in May last year a crack detected on parts of the main rotor hub shaft which could lead to the loss of the helicopter. This problem was first reported on a helicopter operated by Bond Air Services for the Scottish Air Ambulance Service. Something Very Strange is going on!!!
Regards John Duggan aka The hairy angler.
 
We have a EC 135. It's actually a pretty good machine (other than the rotor blades turning in the wrong direction) Will be interesting to get the full report.
 
Citation 650 said:
We have a EC 135. It's actually a pretty good machine (other than the rotor blades turning in the wrong direction) Will be interesting to get the full report.
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Forgive the stupid question but does that cause the opposite of lift?
 
Sketchley said:
Citation 650 said:
We have a EC 135. It's actually a pretty good machine (other than the rotor blades turning in the wrong direction) Will be interesting to get the full report.
Click to expand...

Forgive the stupid question but does that cause the opposite of lift?
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As an aero engine designer, I'd be interested in some clarification!
 
Sketchley said:
Citation 650 said:
We have a EC 135. It's actually a pretty good machine (other than the rotor blades turning in the wrong direction) Will be interesting to get the full report.
Click to expand...

Forgive the stupid question but does that cause the opposite of lift?
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I don't know anything about helicopters, but I imagine if the rotor didn't produce lift, it wouldn't be a helicopter
 
No-US rotorcraft main rotors turn CCW, so you have to use left anti-torque pedals for yaw control. European helicopter blades usually (OK, always turn CW) so right pedal pressure is required to keep it straight. It's all the same.
 
Citation 650 said:
No-US rotorcraft main rotors turn CCW, so you have to use left anti-torque pedals for yaw control. European helicopter blades usually (OK, always turn CW) so right pedal pressure is required to keep it straight. It's all the same.
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I'm a helicopter engineer....and even I never noticed that! But then our seaking helicopters were an American design so it's probably just confused me. Any idea why they are different?
 
Now I understand, I thought you meant the EC 135 was in the habit of rotating the wrong (as in the opposite way it was designed to) occasionally, that seemed wrong, very wrong.
 
Woots said:
Citation 650 said:
No-US rotorcraft main rotors turn CCW, so you have to use left anti-torque pedals for yaw control. European helicopter blades usually (OK, always turn CW) so right pedal pressure is required to keep it straight. It's all the same.
Click to expand...

I'm a helicopter engineer....and even I never noticed that! But then our seaking helicopters were an American design so it's probably just confused me. Any idea why they are different?
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Not a clue - just different. Your steering wheel is on the right & Americans on the left.
 
Oh that's clear now. Aero engines are the same, some manufacturers design for clockwise rotation, others are the opposite.

All the same at the end of the day, provided everybody concerned knows which way it's going!
 
teamemmenracing said:
Probably of no interest to anybody on here but Ive got to get it off my chest ....

Just read that the police helicopter that went down in Glasgow was operated by Bond Helicopters ......
From on scene reports its sounding like there was a mechanical failure, possibly gearbox .....

In recent times Bond lost 2 helicopters in the North Sea, or 1/3 of their fleet ......

When are these peoples maintanance procedures going to be investigated ...?
Click to expand...

As a former Aircraft Engineer, fixed and rotary, some things just happen that are beyond maintenance pick up. I worked for the RAF and then British International Helicopters (Now defunct and contracts absorbed by Bond/ Bristows years ago).

For the amount of hours they clock up the Super Pumas Operated by Bond are "safe". In the UK the schedules and inspections are robust but sometimes things you cant see or have never failed before break. Likewise with Eurocopter, they are just a bit newer and have less hours so haven't had that many issues.

We learn from it and watch for it in the future. No corners are cut at Bond or any other UK operator...its just not worth the penny pinching.

Will be nice to find out what occurred with our Heli..known as SP99. (Thats now my business)

As for the contra rotation for US/ Euro.....worked on Seakings and SK76 and Puma/ Super Puma and never even thought about. You learn something new everyday :thumbsup:
 
My cousin got a phone call just as he was getting ready for work on Saturday morning. They told him not to come in as the helicopter he pilots had been crashed into a pub.
 
scotty597 said:
teamemmenracing said:
Probably of no interest to anybody on here but Ive got to get it off my chest ....

Just read that the police helicopter that went down in Glasgow was operated by Bond Helicopters ......
From on scene reports its sounding like there was a mechanical failure, possibly gearbox .....

In recent times Bond lost 2 helicopters in the North Sea, or 1/3 of their fleet ......

When are these peoples maintanance procedures going to be investigated ...?
Click to expand...

As a former Aircraft Engineer, fixed and rotary, some things just happen that are beyond maintenance pick up. I worked for the RAF and then British International Helicopters (Now defunct and contracts absorbed by Bond/ Bristows years ago).

For the amount of hours they clock up the Super Pumas Operated by Bond are "safe". In the UK the schedules and inspections are robust but sometimes things you cant see or have never failed before break. Likewise with Eurocopter, they are just a bit newer and have less hours so haven't had that many issues.

We learn from it and watch for it in the future. No corners are cut at Bond or any other UK operator...its just not worth the penny pinching.

Will be nice to find out what occurred with our Heli..known as SP99. (Thats now my business)

As for the contra rotation for US/ Euro.....worked on Seakings and SK76 and Puma/ Super Puma and never even thought about. You learn something new everyday :thumbsup:
Click to expand...




Im sure that thats all true and ok ........
Its just that in any other industry, when there is an incident, its investigated ..... When there are 2 incidents involving loss of life, there is generally a major investigation ...... When there are 3 ....... Eveybody gets involved ....
 
Believe me...ANY incident such as a heavy landing or even more menial things such as inadvertent operating of a hoist etc is investigated, with often severe consequences, I assure you that these events will be v heavily investigated but these things take time.
 
Mowflow said:
My cousin got a phone call just as he was getting ready for work on Saturday morning. They told him not to come in as the helicopter he pilots had been crashed into a pub.
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He must feel fortunate not to have been the pilot on the day, although I'm sure he's pretty distressed...
 
Mowflow said:
My cousin got a phone call just as he was getting ready for work on Saturday morning. They told him not to come in as the helicopter he pilots had been crashed into a pub.
Click to expand...

Sh1t. Not a great way to hear about a day off :(
 
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