Here Comes the New CH-53K King Stallion

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FD2
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Here Comes the New CH-53K King Stallion

#1 Post by FD2 » Tue Sep 29, 2020 6:42 pm

The CH-53E has been updated - very impressive!




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Re: Here Comes the New CH-53K King Stallion

#2 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Thu Oct 01, 2020 7:01 pm

Wow, talk about heavy lift but at a big price too at +- $125 million per machine.

The design features three 7,500 shp (5,590 kW) engines, new composite rotor blades, and a wider aircraft cabin than previous CH-53 variants. It will be the largest and heaviest helicopter in the U.S. military. The USMC plans to receive 200 helicopters at a total cost of $25 billion.
CH-53K Stallion
The CH-53K will have over twice the lift capacity and radius of action of the CH-53E, and a wider cargo hold to allow it to carry a Humvee internally. The CH-53K will feature new stubby composite sponsons to cut overall width, resulting in a narrower footprint for shipboard operations. It will also be equipped with a new composite rotor blade system, with technology similar to that found on the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. The CH-53K will use the General Electric GE38-1B engine, selected over the Pratt and Whitney Canada PW150 and a variant of the Rolls-Royce AE 1107C-Liberty used on the V-22 Osprey.


https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/pr ... opter.html
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Re: Here Comes the New CH-53K King Stallion

#3 Post by CharlieOneSix » Fri Oct 02, 2020 8:31 am

I've posted this before but it bears repeating.....
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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Re: Here Comes the New CH-53K King Stallion

#4 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Fri Oct 02, 2020 8:35 am

Yikes, a fuel probe blade strike!

Are fuel probes meant to be frangible in contact with a helicopter blade?
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Re: Here Comes the New CH-53K King Stallion

#5 Post by ian16th » Fri Oct 02, 2020 9:04 am

We never dealt with choppers in my time but the brass probe ends were designed to break off, and they usually stayed stuck in he drogue.

Their were quite a few displayed as desk trophies on 214 Sqdn. and I think each Crew Chief had one at home.
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Re: Here Comes the New CH-53K King Stallion

#6 Post by CharlieOneSix » Fri Oct 02, 2020 9:06 am

The CH-53E pilot nearly took off the top of the cockpit as well! That reminds me of the accident many years ago in the North Sea - must be very early 70's - when a Bristow S61 approached the drilling ship Glomar North Sea to land. He was more than a bit fast and in the flare the tailwheel caught in the deck netting. The S61 slammed forward and down onto the helideck and the main rotor blades took off the top of the cockpit but more importantly they severed the two speed selects (throttles) and the switch panel in the cabin roof. The engines could not be shut down. The passengers and co-pilot evacuated the helicopter and because the ship's Captain wanted the crippled machine off his deck the S61 Captain took off on his own and landed in the sea some considerable distance away. He abandoned the helicopter - the S61 being an amphibian - and was picked up by the ship's boat.

If my memory serves me correctly the S61 then motored around the North Sea for several hours, occasionally getting too close to comfort to the Glomar North Sea. I can't remember whether the S61 survived or whether it turned turtle and sank. In hindsight they should perhaps have turned fire fighting hoses on and flooded the engine intakes whilst the helicopter was on deck - but that would have blocked the deck and the ship's Captain was against that idea! The Glomar North Sea now lies on the bottom of the South China Sea, where she sunk during a typhoon.

EDIT: My memory isn't too bad - it was 1973. Here's the ASN detail of the accident. The S61 did roll over and sink.
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/70829
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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