Brian Dixon
Many thanks. Keep going.
ShyTorque
With respect, I have drawn my own conclusions from the thread. They are so at variance with my experience of the RAF helicopter force I was seeking further clarification. In an Air Corps Squadron I operated alongside the Wessex squadrons in Aldergrove between 1969 – 1975 and during that period, 28 Sqdn in Hong Kong. Our impression was that the RAF were limited by numerous and, to us, petty restrictions. That is not intended offensively, merely to indicate a considerable contrast with the apparent attitude of the‘90’s.
I am left in little doubt of the shortcomings of the HC2, all the more marked because the civilian Chinook of the 80’s was well regarded by pilots. I do not wish in any way to imply that those shortcomings were less serious than they clearly were and I have direct experience of a similar situation. In the early seventies the Westland Scout which, you may recall, only had one engine, suffered a problem with cracks in the power-turbine so severe that it required an ultra-sonic test by an engineer every time the engine was stopped, say every hour. We flew because the word came down from on high that we would although under several limitations.
However, even for operational flights in N Ireland, I do not recall any attempts to make an individual fly a sortie with which they were unhappy for other reasons. The implications have been that this was not the case at the time in question. I was trying to discover if there was any culture of putting pressure on pilots to undertake sorties where, in addition to the appalling problems with the aircraft, there were other elements with which they were not happy. To put it another way, perhaps more easily answerable, would there have been any doubts about operating that flight that day VFR in another type which for any reason was unable to operate IFR or were the reservations expressed about the flight purely because of the short-comings of the HC2??
Finally, for an RAF VFR passenger helicopter flight from Aldergrove to Inverness, what would have been the en route weather minima required. I appreciate ‘”clear of cloud and in sight of ground” but Met forecasts, Area forecasts and TAF’s give figures. Our civilian flights required a forecast enabling us to plan to fly at 500’ above ground and in 1 kilometre visibility. Would any such limits have applied?
Regards
Boslandew