Omega Owners Forum

Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: the alarming man on 08 May 2012, 20:21:56

Title: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: the alarming man on 08 May 2012, 20:21:56
ffs this is a long standing problem as 4 guys died in kent (i think it was 2008 or 2009)  when their chopper came down in a field




http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/aviation/9253065/Air-ambulances-grounded-over-safety-fears..html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/aviation/9253065/Air-ambulances-grounded-over-safety-fears..html)
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: aaronjb on 08 May 2012, 20:32:35
Never fly in anything where the wings are going faster than the fuselage...
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: the alarming man on 08 May 2012, 20:48:46
that is a damn good idea...at least also if it has wings it might have two engines...what the chances of both of them going tits up??... :y
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: aaronjb on 08 May 2012, 20:53:45
It's an old saying .. but there's some truth in it.

Still it's not good that a service which is - to those who end up needing it - a life saver will be grounded :(
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: Lazydocker on 08 May 2012, 20:58:00
Old news though... They grounded our local ones 2 weeks (or more) ago for a whole 3 hours while they were inspected ;)
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: Vamps on 08 May 2012, 22:16:50
I think OP suits his profile name, they were only grounded for inspection......It's headlines like that which will cause panic and create a greater demand for their services........ :D :D :D
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: the alarming man on 08 May 2012, 22:27:11
well i think one falling out of the sky...is one too many....especially as the crew died
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: Vamps on 08 May 2012, 22:28:27
well i think one falling out of the sky...is one too many....especially as the crew died

I quite agree, that is why they were grounded for inspection...... :y :y
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: the alarming man on 08 May 2012, 22:32:15
NO about eight years ago a euro copter crashed killing the crew...it was a flying aumbulance..one on board was a friend of mine..it was thought originally they were mucking arround and hit power cables...but after a re investigation mechanical failure was the cause
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: Dishevelled Den on 08 May 2012, 22:53:57
Never fly in anything where the wings are going faster than the fuselage...


Having been caught in a nasty thunder storm over SW Germany in an AAC Gazelle many years ago I can identify with that. :o

I knew things were serious when the previously chatty pilot became very silent and although the tension in the aircraft was palpable, the edge was taken off this by the delightful WRAC Captain accompanying me as she sought solace in what she thought was to be her final moments in this life by getting as close to me as possible. ;D ;D - but she was  :-* :-* :-*.


Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: Kevin Wood on 08 May 2012, 22:57:22
Helicopters.. They only fly because they are so ugly the earth repels them. ;D
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: MaxV6 on 08 May 2012, 23:12:21
kev, that might apply to a wessex, or some other ungainly lump, but Airwolf....   i mean, come on.......   you KNOW you like it really.....   
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: Kevin Wood on 09 May 2012, 10:13:49
kev, that might apply to a wessex, or some other ungainly lump, but Airwolf....   i mean, come on.......   you KNOW you like it really.....

Aargh. Can't  stop humming the theme tune now. Make it go away! :o
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: ngrainqey on 09 May 2012, 18:27:15
LOL at kevin! i liked the bit where they twizzled that knob to jam incoming missiles :P looked like he was trying to tune the radio in if you ask me :D
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: aaronjb on 09 May 2012, 18:28:18
kev, that might apply to a wessex, or some other ungainly lump, but Airwolf....   i mean, come on.......   you KNOW you like it really.....

Aargh. Can't  stop humming the theme tune now. Make it go away! :o

I can't remember it .. but due to that I now have the Knight Rider tune stuck in my head. Gah!
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: ngrainqey on 09 May 2012, 18:29:47
specially for you lot... the extended version :P ....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTb_5oPqCys
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: aaronjb on 09 May 2012, 18:34:12
Argh! Damn you  :P

Still, in the side bar - Street Hawk! Who else remembers Automan?

Ah, 1980s nostalgia.
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: ngrainqey on 09 May 2012, 18:40:06
 ;D ;D ;D
robocop will be coming up soon... but for the meantime...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvkKX035484
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: ngrainqey on 09 May 2012, 18:47:54
not very obvious what its from with the intro...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68I3j2luW64&feature=relmfu
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: ngrainqey on 09 May 2012, 19:01:32
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3sZfPSSNVg&feature=related
sorry cant help myself :P i just love the films this is from  ;D
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: ngrainqey on 09 May 2012, 19:10:26
oh go on then...im sure im going to get moved to "alex's special needs thread" lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b2Mbl_QhGo
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: tigers_gonads on 09 May 2012, 22:34:37
Never fly in anything where the wings are going faster than the fuselage...


Having been caught in a nasty thunder storm over SW Germany in an AAC Gazelle many years ago I can identify with that. :o

I knew things were serious when the previously chatty pilot became very silent and although the tension in the aircraft was palpable, the edge was taken off this by the delightful WRAC Captain accompanying me as she sought solace in what she thought was to be her final moments in this life by getting as close to me as possible. ;D ;D - but she was  :-* :-* :-*.


Back in 88, me and some lads hitched a ride back to Laarbruch from Guterslow in a chinook.
One of the lads had the wonderful idea of me sitting on the open ramp of the chinook faceing backwards for the flight home with only a couple of pieces of webbing to hold me in.
Great idea I thought as we gently climbed up and headed west .................... until one of the jockeys who was flying the thing had a wonderful idea  :y Instead of flying gently back he deceided he was going to fly around every lampost, tree, electricity pylon and bloody mole hill he could find  :'( :'(

NOT BLOODY FUNNY (well I didn't think so anyway)  ::) ::)
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: aaronjb on 09 May 2012, 22:48:16
Never fly in anything where the wings are going faster than the fuselage...


Having been caught in a nasty thunder storm over SW Germany in an AAC Gazelle many years ago I can identify with that. :o

I knew things were serious when the previously chatty pilot became very silent and although the tension in the aircraft was palpable, the edge was taken off this by the delightful WRAC Captain accompanying me as she sought solace in what she thought was to be her final moments in this life by getting as close to me as possible. ;D ;D - but she was  :-* :-* :-*.


Back in 88, me and some lads hitched a ride back to Laarbruch from Guterslow in a chinook.
One of the lads had the wonderful idea of me sitting on the open ramp of the chinook faceing backwards for the flight home with only a couple of pieces of webbing to hold me in.
Great idea I thought as we gently climbed up and headed west .................... until one of the jockeys who was flying the thing had a wonderful idea  :y Instead of flying gently back he deceided he was going to fly around every lampost, tree, electricity pylon and bloody mole hill he could find  :'( :'(

NOT BLOODY FUNNY (well I didn't think so anyway)  ::) ::)

A year earlier and I'd have been there. 'course, I'd have been 9..  ;D
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: Dishevelled Den on 09 May 2012, 22:49:04


Back in 88, me and some lads hitched a ride back to Laarbruch from Guterslow in a chinook.
One of the lads had the wonderful idea of me sitting on the open ramp of the chinook faceing backwards for the flight home with only a couple of pieces of webbing to hold me in.
Great idea I thought as we gently climbed up and headed west .................... until one of the jockeys who was flying the thing had a wonderful idea  :y Instead of flying gently back he deceided he was going to fly around every lampost, tree, electricity pylon and bloody mole hill he could find  :'( :'(

NOT BLOODY FUNNY (well I didn't think so anyway)  ::) ::)

I hated flying in the Chinook; rotary wings operating in such close proximity - one to the other - I could never accept as being totally safe. ;D

I can still feel the shuddering of the bastids to this day.
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: Kevin Wood on 09 May 2012, 23:15:02


Back in 88, me and some lads hitched a ride back to Laarbruch from Guterslow in a chinook.
One of the lads had the wonderful idea of me sitting on the open ramp of the chinook faceing backwards for the flight home with only a couple of pieces of webbing to hold me in.
Great idea I thought as we gently climbed up and headed west .................... until one of the jockeys who was flying the thing had a wonderful idea  :y Instead of flying gently back he deceided he was going to fly around every lampost, tree, electricity pylon and bloody mole hill he could find  :'( :'(

NOT BLOODY FUNNY (well I didn't think so anyway)  ::) ::)

I hated flying in the Chinook; rotary wings operating in such close proximity - one to the other - I could never accept as being totally safe. ;D

I can still feel the shuddering of the bastids to this day.

So can my window frames.. living, as I do, 10 miles from Odiham. ::)
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: Vamps on 09 May 2012, 23:51:41
I used to work on 'Wasps' and remember flying vividly, as a passenger, going into Auto Gyration mode......that was an experience....... :D :D
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: tigers_gonads on 10 May 2012, 07:24:47
I used to work on 'Wasps' and remember flying vividly, as a passenger, going into Auto Gyration mode......that was an experience....... :D :D


Never done that but I have been sat in the front of a hercules when its carrying out a tactical landing.
Nige will tell you the gorry details but it involves coming quite high and and just as you get very close to the end of the runway, you stick it on its nose and point it at the runway threshold (only pulling up at the very VERY last rather minute)  :'(
I can see the funny side now but at the time, it was just another jockey that I could of given a dry slap too  :-X :-X :D :D
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: Entwood on 10 May 2012, 18:01:16
I used to work on 'Wasps' and remember flying vividly, as a passenger, going into Auto Gyration mode......that was an experience....... :D :D


Never done that but I have been sat in the front of a hercules when its carrying out a tactical landing.
Nige will tell you the gorry details but it involves coming quite high and and just as you get very close to the end of the runway, you stick it on its nose and point it at the runway threshold (only pulling up at the very VERY last rather minute)  :'(
I can see the funny side now but at the time, it was just another jockey that I could of given a dry slap too  :-X :-X :D :D

What you describe there is actually a "Kai San" approach ... named after the place in Vietnam it was designed for ... come in high enough to avoid small arms fire (around 1200 ft normally) until almost above the approach end of the runway which is inside the protected perimeter of the airfield, push over to 60 degrees nose down, aiming 500 ft down the runway, the power is at zero thrust, gear down, flaps 100%, speed touchdown plus 10 knots. As the aircraft descends the speed will rise by about 30 knots, at 50 feet raise the nose to 5 degrees climb, but leave the power at zero thrust, the speed will wash off as the aircraft attempts to climb, at the right speed the pilot just touches down neatly, if it's a short runway select max reverse thrust and hit the brakes  .. hard ... 135,000 lbs of aircraft will stop from 120 knots in about 1000 feet.

Teaching points that the student pilots have trouble with initially ...   not getting close enough to the runway before pushing over, and "chickening out" and flaring to early.... the first point makes the approach path more shallow and leaves you vulnerable to small arms fire for longer, the second means you are too high with too little power which can lead to a heavy landing.....  :(

There are all sorts of tactical approaches... each for a different scenario... doing them in anger concentrates the mind ... teaching them or practising them actually came under the heading of good fun ....  :)
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: tigers_gonads on 10 May 2012, 18:14:35
60 degree's nose down ?

I'd have gone for closer 89.9  ;D ;D

Got to admit, I was always amazed at how you lot could throw the herc around  :)

Had a few hairy moments when out and about in HRH's toys but as I grew a little wiser, I remembered to look at the aircrews faces.
If they looked happy and where chatting away, I knew I was in safe hands and everything was ok  :y

But when they go silent and start looking at each other as they did on a flight out of goose bay back in 89, think of your family  ;)

I'll stick that experence on here later  :y
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: Kevin Wood on 11 May 2012, 13:06:04
As the aircraft descends the speed will rise by about 30 knots..

Plenty of drag then? :o Try that in a glider and you'd be through VNE with about 800 feet to go, and landing in the next county, I reckon. ;D

Do you ever use sideslip? That's pretty effective for dumping height in a glider. Perhaps a little too effective in a herc? :-\
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: Entwood on 11 May 2012, 16:52:00
As the aircraft descends the speed will rise by about 30 knots..

Plenty of drag then? :o Try that in a glider and you'd be through VNE with about 800 feet to go, and landing in the next county, I reckon. ;D

Do you ever use sideslip? That's pretty effective for dumping height in a glider. Perhaps a little too effective in a herc? :-\

Drag .. gear down, flaps 100% = oodles of drag  :) .. often used with large amounts of opposing power when dragging in at low level for airdrops.

Sideslip in a herc is verboten ... it can and will kill you exceedingly quickly ... herc can suffer from a thing called "finstall" ...  the fin is a very large vertical aerofoil due to the low speed handling requirements... if you get it sideways and it stalls then you have no way of getting it back, you end up pirouetting very quickly ... not a recognised manouvere in any circumstances ... we used to demonstrate it in the simulator, never saw anyone recover .... :(
Title: Re: AIR AMBULANCES GROUNDED
Post by: ngrainqey on 12 May 2012, 18:24:01
urm while we're on the subject of flying planes, can somebody suggest which flight sim is best to run on windows, ideally with helicopters in  ::)
thanks
alex