Despite that bad start it is an interesting documentary.
Sent to me by my old mucker, Mo al Khalifa, “jinn of the desert”, the sheik of Old Araby!
Re: Lost Horizon!
Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2022 11:37 pm
by bob2s
TGA, that covered a lot of helicopter history, especially the part showing the loss of T/R over Sydney Harbour. I and the Pilot had that
morning flown back from a job in that same helicopter which shed a T/R blade over the harbour due to the failure of a blade retention
bolt an hour after our ferry flight from Queensland. The bolt failed due to a machine mark under the head that started a fatigue crack.
I guess somebody was looking out for me that day. Rest in Peace Jim.
Re: Lost Horizon!
Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2022 12:09 am
by bob2s
The anniversary of the accident is 56 years tomorrow, as to the cause referred to in the attachment below,it is completely wrong. Jim had very little chance of recovery due to the blade loss causing such an T/R out-of-balance condition that the tail boom extension
tube broke away from the boom and was left hanging by the T/R control cables, this allowed the tube and partial T/R to swing back and
forth thereby seriously altering the C of G.
bob2s sorry to hear you about your mate Jim. The tolerances between mechanical success and failure in aviation are so fine, and no more so than in helicopters it seems. It is doubly sad when a good friend and good pilot falls foul of something that was way beyond any mortal pilot to predict or be able to control. We put a lot of trust in the manufacturers, engineers, technical staff, mechanics and ops management and sometimes even when they all do their best, fate is the hunter, as Mr Ernest K. Gann, put it so well!
The anniversary of the accident is 56 years tomorrow, as to the cause referred to in the attachment below,it is completely wrong. Jim had very little chance of recovery due to the blade loss causing such an T/R out-of-balance condition that the tail boom extension
tube broke away from the boom and was left hanging by the T/R control cables, this allowed the tube and partial T/R to swing back and
forth thereby seriously altering the C of G.
I have just watched the longer YouTube video of the Bell crash (not the Pathe film), appended to the aviation-safety.net link and it is quite shocking in its onboard coverage of their predicament (as shown in the Horizon film), but also, not least, for the highly inappropriate use of music which was unnecessary and highly disrespectful of all the deceased I think. It is quite clear that the pilot had no tail rotor effectiveness at all, and had no hope of recovering the stricken aircraft.
I note that the Horizon video has footage of the loss of another helicopter at the Paris Airshow which killed the friend of another poster here.
The sudden and immediate control problems associated with the loss of the tail rotor, particularly in a CBD environment, are evidenced here. I was driving towards Cape Town city centre when I saw the immediate aftermath of this unfortunate crash. The pilot (ex-SAAF pilot) was highly experienced and skilled, as were all the other members of the team. A long line might have been the better choice as there was a strong South Easter blowing that day, but they had made many such deliveries in similar conditions before.
......I note that the Horizon video has footage of the loss of another helicopter at the Paris Airshow which killed the friend of another poster here. .....
Terry MacDonald's crash in the Hiller 1100 at the Paris Airshow wasn't a tail rotor failure as the commentator says but more likely was a main rotor control issue. You can see a sudden jerk in the fuselage attitude just before it goes out of control.
......I note that the Horizon video has footage of the loss of another helicopter at the Paris Airshow which killed the friend of another poster here. .....
Terry MacDonald's crash in the Hiller 1100 at the Paris Airshow wasn't a tail rotor failure as the commentator says but more likely was a main rotor control issue. You can see a sudden jerk in the fuselage attitude just before it goes out of control.
