The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

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CharlieOneSix
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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#241 Post by CharlieOneSix » Sun Nov 22, 2015 1:36 pm

Not exactly helicopter photos but there are some Wessex 1's on the second one......

HMS Ark Royal in the Indian Ocean somewhere in early 1966 - 50,786 tons on the move!

Ark-Royal-Indian-Ocean.jpg

Leaving Singapore on 24 April 1966 enroute to Gan and then the Beira Patrol before turning for home and arriving at Ark's home port of Plymouth on 13 June.

Leaving-Singapore-26-April-1966.jpg
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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#242 Post by hico-p » Mon Nov 23, 2015 1:50 pm

Here's a shot I took overhead ... launching Gannets
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... experience is the knowledge that enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.

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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#243 Post by FD2 » Sat Nov 28, 2015 10:47 pm

The Fate of G-BEID

Now in service with British International Helicopters, after British Airways Helicopters had been flogged off because it was 'not core business',
G-BEID was inbound to Sumburgh, Shetland on the 13th July 1988 with nineteen passengers, when an uncontrollable fire occurred in the main gearbox area which spread rapidly and caused first a number one engine fire warning followed shortly by one from number two engine. Three minutes after the first fire warning a controlled ditching was carried out 29 miles north east of Sumburgh and the aircraft evacuated. Fifteen minutes later the engines and main gearbox collapsed into the cabin and about an hour later the remains of the aircraft split apart and sank in about 300 feet of water. It's all here in the AAIB report:
https://www.google.co.nz/url?sa=t&rct=j ... wDGTmKphIA

Here is a grainy photo of the burning wreckage taken from one of the rescue helicopters (from the AAIB report) - the dark object on the left is probably the radome - the main gearbox and engines are somewhere in the cabin by now:

G-BEID burning off Shetland.jpg
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Well done Ian and crew in a very difficult situation! ^:)^

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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#244 Post by FD2 » Sat Nov 28, 2015 10:57 pm

FLIGHT SAFETY

It's important that we all remember to wear suitable clothing when flying. These shoes are obviously completely inappropriate and may damage to aircraft floor.

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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#245 Post by FD2 » Sat Nov 28, 2015 11:10 pm

COLLISION AT SEA

There were several instances of collisions between carriers and escorts when the carrier had to turn into wind for launch and recovery of aircraft and the escorts had to take up new places on the carrier screen. This one occurred on the 22nd November 1975 off Sicily when the guided missile cruiser USS Belknap passed under the angled flight deck of the USS John F Kennedy. Luckily most of the crew were turned in resulting in the comparatively low fatalities of seven in Belknap and one in Kennedy. The collision reduced Belknap from this:

USS_Belknap_(CG-26).jpg


to this:

USS_Belknap_collision_damage.jpg
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Belknap_(CG-26)

Sorry there are no helicopters in these photos - someone in Belknap's 'LAMPS' SH-2 Sea Sprite probably took the top photo!

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Now that's my kind of rescue.......

#246 Post by CharlieOneSix » Tue Dec 08, 2015 2:46 pm

sar.JPG
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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#247 Post by 500N » Tue Dec 08, 2015 6:42 pm

C16

That could be used as a great Caption photo ! :D

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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#248 Post by Capn Notarious » Mon Dec 14, 2015 11:20 pm

Quote: "That could be used as a great Caption photo".

She'll be right mate, I got a fan on her.

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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#249 Post by 500N » Mon Dec 14, 2015 11:41 pm

Capn

Where did you pick up Aussie idioms ?

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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#250 Post by CharlieOneSix » Mon Dec 21, 2015 9:26 am

I've found more photos in a box in the loft whilst looking for something else - mostly repetitive of earlier ones but one or two maybe worth posting. This was the photo that headed up the Culdrose calendar for 1965:

CUCal1965.jpg
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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#251 Post by CharlieOneSix » Mon Dec 21, 2015 9:37 am

This is the S61N that British Caledonian Helicopters started its offshore support venture with from Aberdeen in 1980 - no contracts, we sat it at Aberdeen and touted for work. BCAL took over Ferranti Helicopters in April 1979 and having flown out of Schipol for several years on a contract with KLM we used our friendship with them to lease PH-NZI and re-register it as G-BHPU. I always felt that not repainting it in BCAL colours showed a lack of commitment and indeed it was months before work of any substance came our way.

This helicopter is now N623CK and is still flying, now with the Croma Corporation in Oregon.

G-BHPU.jpg
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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#252 Post by CharlieOneSix » Mon Dec 21, 2015 10:00 am

This is BCAL Helicopters S61N G-BIHH with MW in the RH seat and yours truly in the other one with my hand winding up the speed selects. HH came with us from BCAL to Bristow upon the takeover in 1987 and in 1993 it was exported to Court Helicopters in South Africa. It is now N408HH and owned by EP Aviation in Illinois. This company was formerly known as Blackwater Security and its main areas of operation are in Afghanistan and Iraq........!
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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#253 Post by FD2 » Mon Dec 21, 2015 10:06 am

500N

Is that an entry for the caption competition?!

;)

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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#254 Post by CharlieOneSix » Mon Dec 21, 2015 10:28 am

This S61N G-BFPF was leased by us from Court Helicopters in South Africa during the early days of BCAL Helicopters and returned to them in January 1989. After various guises it now operates as N906CH for CHI Aviation (formerly Construction Helicopers Inc) of Michigan. It is now a S61 Short, having had the fuselage plug removed - just over 4 feet IIRC - in the area of the cargo door you can see here behind the cockpit. It has almost certainly been modified with Carson rotor blades which give increased perfomance over and above the original Sikorsky blades.

G-BFPF.jpg
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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#255 Post by FD2 » Mon Dec 21, 2015 10:39 am

CharlieOneSix

I was going to say that MW and you look so young but I then realised that it must have been taken about 30 years ago! Great machine the S61N. I remember that Agusta came up with an idea for a 'Silver' which was the Sikorsky H3A/S61A(?) fully updated with decent engines and technology but the same tried and trusted (but shorter) original cabin. The extended fuselage was not really required as we never flew with more than 19 pax so the companies wouldn't need to employ cabin attendants. The idea never really 'took off' sadly...maybe two were built for the Malaysians as the AS-61N-1.

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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#256 Post by CharlieOneSix » Mon Dec 21, 2015 10:44 am

In 1982 we were looking at the Chinook for our operations and this was the artwork for our calendar. In the event this never made it into the calendar, nor did the actual aircraft ever enter service with us - the British Airways Helicopters disaster off Shetland in November 1986 signalled the end for that type in the UK.

BCAL-Chinook.jpg
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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#257 Post by CharlieOneSix » Mon Dec 21, 2015 10:53 am

Hi FD2 - yes, that photo was taken in early 1981I think - when I was a mere youngster of 37! The dark hair has long gone to be replaced with a silver grey, even more so than when we last met up c.2007. Last I heard of MW he was in Hong Kong but like us he must be retired by now. In that box in the attic was a B/W picture of a S61 being towed into Aberdeen harbour - taken from behind but it must be the one you ditched. I'll give it to you when we see you later this year.
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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#258 Post by FD2 » Mon Dec 21, 2015 6:19 pm

CharlieOneSix

Many thanks. Yes - that would be the late India Delta.

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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#259 Post by FD2 » Tue Dec 22, 2015 4:58 am

On the 4th September 1980, five weeks after ditching in India Delta, the company, hoping that lightning wouldn't strike twice, tasked me to fly Armand Hammer and his wife from Aberdeen to Kirkwall, Orkney. The next day we would fly them along with Margaret Thatcher and her entourage from Kirkwall to the Flotta Oil Terminal and back after a tour of the facility. Hammer was either a great example of capitalist business success or a traitor and conman, depending on your point of view - well worth a Google for the different opinions about him! At the time he owned Occidental Petroleum - operating Flotta Terminal and the Piper and Claymore platforms. Piper would tragically feature in the news in 1988:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piper_Alpha
but meanwhile he was busy looking for investment from the government.
Here is G-BFFK parked at the Flotta Airfield out of the way of the fixed wing arrivals from Aberdeen:

Flotta visit G-BFFK.jpg
Flotta visit G-BFFK.jpg (61.02 KiB) Viewed 776 times




And the people in question outside the aircraft:

Flotta visit 1980.jpg
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It was very distasteful for her to fly in a British Airways 'state owned' aircraft but I believe no Bristow machines were available and we had the Oxy contract anyway. No doubt she wouldn't have wanted to upset Hammer by questioning his plans!

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Re: The Ever Growing Helo Photo Thread

#260 Post by FD2 » Tue Dec 22, 2015 5:08 am

WATER LANDINGS

More water work - this time S61N G-ASNM in its British European Airways Helicopters livery on the Thames practising rejected take offs onto water. The aircraft were finally all repainted by the mid 1970s in their British Airways Helicopters paint scheme. November Mike was ditched at 0020 on the morning of 15th November 1970 some 52 miles north east of Aberdeen en route to the Staflo rig. The two crew and one passenger were in a liferaft for two hours or so before a ship picked them up. The aircraft was never recovered.

G_ASNM in Thames water ops.jpg

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