Flying in the North Sea...

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CharlieOneSix
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Re: Flying in the North Sea...

#21 Post by CharlieOneSix » Sat Oct 30, 2021 6:38 pm

Pontius Navigator wrote:
Sat Oct 30, 2021 5:08 pm
....
.....The RAF never liked the Sproule net said it was only good for scooping up bodies.
Was it a question of not invented here?
The Sproule net was invented in the UK by Lt Cdr John Sproule, a Fleet Air Arm helicopter pilot in the 50's. I'm friends with his son who works in the aviation industry. After all John's adventures in gliding and early helicopters he sadly died when as a pedestrian he was in an accident with a vehicle in Shoreham-on-Sea.
SprouleNet.jpg
Here's John in a Meise glider
John Sproule Meise glider.jpg
The helicopter pilots' mantra: If it hasn't gone wrong then it's just about to...
https://www.glenbervie-weather.org

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FD2
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Re: Flying in the North Sea...

#22 Post by FD2 » Sun Oct 31, 2021 8:42 pm

The Sproule Net was a good idea in its day when the aircraft couldn't lift very much and double lifts were unlikely because that would have meant a third crewman operating the winch (plus pilot and man on wire) = very heavy for a Dragonfly.

The idea was later put forward as the Dacon Scoop, which caused a good deal of bother when the oil companies wanted to use is as a primary rescue aid when the sea was out of limits for the conventional rescue techniques used by the safety boats for the pax and crew of a ditched aircraft. I won't go into it now as it was covered here some years ago.The issue is probably still rumbling on! :D ;)))

https://dacon.no/rescue/products/dacon-rescue-scoop/

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