Westland...
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 3:14 pm
Prompted by the high quality of their film unit in the 50's...
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Westland...
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Re: Westland...
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 4:11 pm
Re: Westland...
Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 10:32 am
FIL flew them.....frankly I find them be very ugly....
Re: Westland...
Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 11:36 am
Yes, they didn't have the graceful appearance of the Sycamore.
Re: Westland...
Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:04 pm
At one Farnborough in the mid-80s, after all the punters had gone home, we were having a glass of bubbly before catching the team coach back to west London. We realised that one of the team was missing and went looking for him - nowhere to be found. Knowing there were lots of ways by which he could get back to the hotel, we departed and on arrival at the hotel, found him holding court at the bar. "How the f*ck did you get here so quickly?" was the first question. It turned out he'd gone to see a mate of his who worked for Westland and been offered a ride to Battersea on one of their machines - an offer too good to refuse of course. it cost him a couple of rounds of drinks, though!
Re: Westland...
Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:57 pm
Thanks for the videos TGG - I missed those when you first posted them. The second video from roughly 3:44-5:27 showed 815 Squadron Wessex Mk1s on their first embarkation in Ark Royal which commenced in November 1961. The large numbers on the fuselage then were in the 30+ range. I joined them in August 65 so may well have flown one or two of those airframes shown. The fuselage numbers during my time were in the 05+ range.
- 815 Wessex Planeguard - HMS Ark Royal.jpg (18.75 KiB) Viewed 997 times
Re: Westland...
Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 5:55 pm
I clearly put this post in the wrong place C16. Glad you found it.
Re: Westland...
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:10 pm
TGG's videos prompted me to look for one on the antisubmarine Wessex and this video popped up. Ark Royal is shown at the beginning. At 1:00 to 1:13 Wessex Mk1 XM844 '02' is shown. It joined 815 Squadron in August 1961 and later, in June 1965 it was converted from a Mk1 to a Mk3. Sadly in December 1976 when on the guided missile destroyer Devonshire it took off at night near the Scilly Isles with a tailwheel deck lashing still attached. The tailwheel assembly separated from the fuselage but the tail rotor struck the Sea Slug launcher and the helicopter fell into the sea aft of the ship. Three of the four crew survived and the helicopter was not recovered.
On some shots the Guinness harp is visible on the starboard fuselage side. That stems from the relationship we had with the Guinness brand when the Squadron was based at Ballykelly in Northern Ireland. The commentary gives the impression of an all singing all dancing machine. Generally it was a great helicopter to fly but in the Far East in the antisubmarine role it could hardly pull the skin off a rice pudding. Trying to get into the hover over a calm sea in high temperatures was an art, especially at night - if you hadn't made the hover by 19,600 compressor rpm then you had to abort and use the remaining 300 crpm to climb out at 50 ft/min and go round for another try. Stick stirrers were not welcome on the Squadron!
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On some shots the Guinness harp is visible on the starboard fuselage side. That stems from the relationship we had with the Guinness brand when the Squadron was based at Ballykelly in Northern Ireland. The commentary gives the impression of an all singing all dancing machine. Generally it was a great helicopter to fly but in the Far East in the antisubmarine role it could hardly pull the skin off a rice pudding. Trying to get into the hover over a calm sea in high temperatures was an art, especially at night - if you hadn't made the hover by 19,600 compressor rpm then you had to abort and use the remaining 300 crpm to climb out at 50 ft/min and go round for another try. Stick stirrers were not welcome on the Squadron!
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Re: Westland...
Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 12:52 am
CharlieOneSix wrote: ↑Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:10 pmTGG's videos prompted me to look for one on the antisubmarine Wessex and this video popped up. Ark Royal is shown at the beginning. At 1:00 to 1:13 Wessex Mk1 XM844 '02' is shown. It joined 815 Squadron in August 1961 and later, in June 1965 it was converted from a Mk1 to a Mk3. Sadly in December 1976 when on the guided missile destroyer Devonshire it took off at night near the Scilly Isles with a tailwheel deck lashing still attached. The tailwheel assembly separated from the fuselage but the tail rotor struck the Sea Slug launcher and the helicopter fell into the sea aft of the ship. Three of the four crew survived and the helicopter was not recovered.
On some shots the Guinness harp is visible on the starboard fuselage side. That stems from the relationship we had with the Guinness brand when the Squadron was based at Ballykelly in Northern Ireland. The commentary gives the impression of an all singing all dancing machine. Generally it was a great helicopter to fly but in the Far East in the antisubmarine role it could hardly pull the skin off a rice pudding. Trying to get into the hover over a calm sea in high temperatures was an art, especially at night - if you hadn't made the hover by 19,600 compressor rpm then you had to abort and use the remaining 300 crpm to climb out at 50 ft/min and go round for another try. Stick stirrers were not welcome on the Squadron!
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Superbly filmed again. I really enjoy these videos.
Those RPM margins in hot humid conditions look wafer, thin. I take my hat off to you pilots who flew them so successfully in such marginal conditions at night!
Re: Westland...
Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 7:34 am
Some brief but great footage of the Fairey Gannet therein. Interesting to see the maintenance footage for the Wessex as well.
I note that the helicopter could carry SS.11 (TOW) guided missiles.This ubiquitous missile was used by the SADF too.
I note that the Gnome turbine is particularly praised for its high ambient temperature performance. I wonder if C16 might care to opine opine upon that?
I note that the helicopter could carry SS.11 (TOW) guided missiles.This ubiquitous missile was used by the SADF too.
I note that the Gnome turbine is particularly praised for its high ambient temperature performance. I wonder if C16 might care to opine opine upon that?
Re: Westland...
Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 9:35 am
TGG - Sorry, can't give any real insight on the Gnome as I never flew anything powered by it. However it did turn the Wessex into a really useful machine with excellent single engine performance. The twin Gnome was fitted to the RN Mk5 and to all of the RAF Wessex. On the Mk1 and Mk3 we only had the single installation of the Napier Gazelle. It wasn't that reliable and because of that in 1967 all Gazelle powered Wessex were temporarily grounded until modifications could be installed.
I seem to remember that at one Farnborough Westland flew the Gnome powered Wessex with an exhaust blank fitted to one exhaust to demonstrate the single engine performance. Bristow operated them on oil/gas support flights in the Southern North Sea until they were withdrawn in 1981 following a very tragic offshore accident thought to be due to main gearbox failure or double engine failure - little of the wreckage could be recovered so a definitive cause wasn't established.
The SS11s in those days were not fitted to antisubmarine Wessex and were the toys for the Commando role. Before the Mk5 came into service in 1964 the Mk1 was used by 848 Squadron in Borneo in the Commando role so I presume the SS11 installation shown was on one of their aircraft.
I seem to remember that at one Farnborough Westland flew the Gnome powered Wessex with an exhaust blank fitted to one exhaust to demonstrate the single engine performance. Bristow operated them on oil/gas support flights in the Southern North Sea until they were withdrawn in 1981 following a very tragic offshore accident thought to be due to main gearbox failure or double engine failure - little of the wreckage could be recovered so a definitive cause wasn't established.
The SS11s in those days were not fitted to antisubmarine Wessex and were the toys for the Commando role. Before the Mk5 came into service in 1964 the Mk1 was used by 848 Squadron in Borneo in the Commando role so I presume the SS11 installation shown was on one of their aircraft.
Re: Westland...
Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 10:45 am
I assume that this was the crash to which refer C16?CharlieOneSix wrote: ↑Sun Jan 17, 2021 9:35 am
I seem to remember that at one Farnborough Westland flew the Gnome powered Wessex with an exhaust blank fitted to one exhaust to demonstrate the single engine performance. Bristow operated them on oil/gas support flights in the Southern North Sea until they were withdrawn in 1981 following a very tragic offshore accident thought to be due to main gearbox failure or double engine failure - little of the wreckage could be recovered so a definitive cause wasn't established.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_Bris ... ssex_crash
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... G-ASWI.pdf
Re: Westland...
Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 1:02 pm
Yes, that's the one. Some years before, maybe 71/72, the Captain, Ben Breach, was involved in a Wessex crash at Cardiff Rhoose and he was badly burned in it. Although I didn't see it happen, I was having lunch there at the time having just refuelled my JetRanger. The Wessex was training on the airfield and had been refuelled 30 minutes or so before me so we stayed put until the airport fuel system was rigorously checked. It turned out that it was a control malfunction and if I recall correctly after almost 50 years he was in the hover when he crashed.TheGreenGoblin wrote: ↑Sun Jan 17, 2021 10:45 amI assume that this was the crash to which refer C16?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_Bris ... ssex_crash
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... G-ASWI.pdf
EDIT: In my logbook I've noted that the Rhoose crash was 9 September 1972 and the Wessex was G-ATCA.