Blade tape still not Rain-Proof?

[Wessex Boy]

I recall the Wessex struggling in heavy rain as it tended to lift the blade-tape resulting in a curious whispering noise and a bit of vibration....

Saw a Merlin come over low this afternoon and assumed he was mucking around near the lake and then bu**ered off, when I took the dog for a walk later on I came across this in a field next to the Nene:

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p219/atkinsjs/IMAG0960.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p219/atkinsjs/IMAG0961.jpg

The crewman explained that it was a bad case of tape lift and was awaiting an engineer to arrive by road. It departed later, but the whisper could still be heard

It strikes me that there must be a better solution than tape, and surely in the 23 years since I was on Wessex a better solution must be available?

Also the fact that the engineer had to come by road, in my day another cab would have been despatched with said engineer, obviously things have changed somewhat!

I think the crew were regretting putting down on the busiest dog-walking path in Thrapston...!

[diginagain]

The tape is probably a Westland product. Quite possibly their best-selling line...................

[airborne_artist]

The tape is probably a Westland product. Quite possibly their best-selling line...................

Hewlett Packard et al reckon to sell printers at/below cost, and make their money on the inks. I hear that Westlands do much the same, except they don't sell their hardware cheap.

[ShyTorque]

The best use I found for blade tape was protecting the paint on the sills of my new car, from heels scuff marks. :ok:

[NutLoose]

Do be serious Wessex Boy, they still are having to seal the nose panel on the
Puma with bodge tape and they still haven't solved that little puppy. :E

[ShyTorque]

Nutloose,

Give 'em time, the Puma HC1's only been in service for 41 years! ;)

["They'll never last, made of plastic, not up to the job, haruumph.. etc"....as opposed to other aircraft like the mighty Spitfire, which was in service for less than 20 years despite being upgraded many, many times].

[Misformonkey]

'Sacrificial' is the key word. Titanium wears through in short order so prolonging the life of the blade with the tape is still the only way. When you add up all the CTF's for T&V you would have to do per blade change it is the best current solution even if it's not the quietest.
Admittedly an additional removable titanium strip if only down the worst of the wearing portion would be a better fit in all senses but i don't see that happening anytime soon.

[sycamore]

A `sharpened` Teflon/Bakelite knife to cut the tape,a roll of `speedtape` to cover the end,and a long piece of parachute cord for Seaking crews whose windscreen wipers don`t work( attach to wipers ,run it around thru` cockpit ,NF pilot waggles it )..Is there no ingenuity out there these days...?

[Wessex Boy]

I bet you can't free off a starter solenoid with a hearty slap with the side of the fire axe, nor clean the crackers with a fire extinguisher fired into the intake whilst the engine is spun up with the cocks off anymore either.....

[Wessex Boy]

Just found out that it only made it as far as Stanwick (5 miles) and will be overnighting there!

[PlasticCabDriver]

I bet you can't free off a starter solenoid with a hearty slap with the side of the fire axe

As long as you don't hit the Main/Acc drive relay by mistake....

[ShyTorque]

I bet you can't free off a starter solenoid with a hearty slap with the side of the fire axe, nor clean the crackers with a fire extinguisher fired into the intake whilst the engine is spun up with the cocks off anymore either.....

Probably don't need to.....

[Wessex Boy]

Quote:
I bet you can't free off a starter solenoid with a hearty slap with the side of the fire axe, nor clean the crackers with a fire extinguisher fired into the intake whilst the engine is spun up with the cocks off anymore either.....
Probably don't need to.....
These modern cabs just don't have the 'character' of the old girls...

[John Eacott]

I thought a chock was a better choice for the solenoid ;)

Civvie blade tape on my 206's would last forever, biggest problem was getting the old stuff off and cleaning the leading edge to take new tape. Makes great protection for the perspex screens where the wiper blades sit, stops the blades chafing the plastic in flight.

[Pegpilot]

Like an initial poster on this thread, I was in the vicinity photographing our avian friends when the Merlin approached Stanwick yesterday. Now I only fly gliders, but to even my untrained ear it sounded mighty rough, with a low frequency thumping noise overlaid on the usual racket - I think I'd be contemplating a change of underwear in similar circumstances. Funnily enough, I ended up landing in a field half a mile away a couple of years ago. Link to my pics from yesterday HERE - I knew that new 500mm lense would be useful for something.....

Cheers all

Peg

Stanwick Helicopter Landing - a set on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pegpilot/sets/72157630067560536/)

[Al-bert]

nor clean the crackers with a fire extinguisher fired into the intake whilst the engine is spun up with the cocks off anymore either

Fire extinguisher? You were lucky, we made do with a fire bucket! :sad:

[NutLoose]

Yup.. remember the old Wessex with fondness, I often wondered who came up with some of the quick fixes, I mean can you imagine the scenario,

"bugger, the engine won't start"
" I know boss, you crank it and I'll fire the extinguisher up the engine, that's bound to fix it"



I wonder why they moved the Merlin? After all they had made the decision to land on as a precautionary, it wasn't of going to have got any better if it hadn't been looked at, unless they were repositioning closer to a pub, now that would make sense.







2 inches of right pedal. :E

[Rigga]

Possibly...repositioning to the map reference they said they were at...?

[Kitbag]

Thanks for the pics Pigpilot. Any idea who the blonde bint was?

[Wessex Boy]

They made the local news...but obviously didn't admit to the Islip Visit!
My guess is the re-positioning was to put them near the Courtyard Hotel...

BBC News - RAF helicopter makes a 'precautionary' landing in Stanwick (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-18352683)

I wander what the banging and clanging noise was?

[OA64]

Surreptitiously hiding Merlins all over the country so that the Navy won't get their hands on them?

[airborne_artist]

Any idea who the blonde bint was?

Not sure, but on her right and standing closest to her is R** B***, which is about par for the course ;)

[Pegpilot]

Hi Kitbag

The "blond bint" as you so eloquently put it was the brand new owner of the field they visited. Shame the estate agent didn't tell her about about the aerial fly-tippers.....

[NutLoose]

I bet she was disappointed, she probably bought the field hoping to get one of the last Starfighters, and all she got was a Merlin...