Cracked blade whilst shooting off road race

[mickjoebill]

According to photographer on board a blade was cracked by a rock thrown up whilst tracking an off road vehicle participating in a race in March this year.
2 inch crack in one of the rotor blades on a R44.
Is damage to helicopters from rally cars a rare event?

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8100/8581203493_462c8a9c44_c.jpg

Mickjoebill

[Efirmovich]

I have never heard of it,,,,, Fortunate though that the blade would be an insurance claim unlike many other R44 blade faults ! ;)

E.

[hihover]

Insurance claim?? Only if the helicopter was being operated safely and within the flight rules governing the flight.

MJB - Don't think I've ever heard of a similar incident in the last 35 years.

HH

[Hughes500]

Like to see a photo of that as there would be a very large dent and or a puncture mark then a crack ! If just a crack would suspect that it is a blade fault nothing to do with a rock !

[blakmax]

I'm with H500. Dents, scratches even tears maybe, but a crack? If there is no obvious damage, then it is highly unlikely that the crack is due to stone damage. I'd love t know where it was located. Skin, spar, root section, tip trailing edge???

Blakmax

[chopjock]

Insurance claim?? Only if the helicopter was being operated safely and within the flight rules governing the flight.

Are you sure about that?

If you self fly hire and break some rules, damaging the heli in the process, the owner will still be covered, surely?

[topendtorque]

Seen a few stones thrown up by horses hooves, do bits of damage over the years. Wild horses are difficult at best and tenuously dangerous most all the time often necessitating really up close and personal activity.A proper ar**hole of a job, and it is often the people organising are extraordinary slow with payment.

But for chasing rally cars around, gee whiz, with the quality of the cameras that are around these days if one needs to get that close then, the only comment is the operation is deserving of every bit of stone damage. Pity one didn't smack the pilot in the gob for good measure.

[hihover]

Chop - every insurance policy I have had, has wording that protects the underwriter (as far as possible/sensible) against someone breaking the flight rules or operating unsafely/negligently, and subsequently claiming for damage arising from that operation.

It is unrealistic to expect anyone to underwrite an aircraft without such protection.

Now, how much flexibility there is in the policy and how far the underwriter is prepared to wriggle will vary from case to case, and will almost certainly be proportional to the size of the claim.

I am not sure how SFH works but I suspect that protection for the underwriter is still there. It might be worth getting hold of the policy and reading it thoroughly - very dull reading but could save some heartache.

HH

[Freewheel]

Geez TET, do you need to get that close to shoot 'em?

The horses I mean.:ooh:

[topendtorque]

No, shooting them is easy, perhaps the easiest of all ferals as they tend to run straight, start form the rear and work forward. what I am talking about is mustering them into a portable yard, wild brumbies. No more than half fuel, absolutely no pax and be prepared to work the collective very quickly to dive right in beside the leader in the smallest hole in the timber, sometimes the shadow works well, but it is extremely fast and hard, (difficult).

Sometimes, like the camel you can put your shadow in beside the last in line, usually a young one, it will break sideways over the shadow, then the others follow, hey presto everything now at ninety degrees from before.

Donkeys, tedious, bloody tedious all day and it's up close and personal as they are a stubborn animal. Unless you have a Jenny on heat, then you have about forty Jacks following her at the gallop, every which way and all with very noticeable high expectations.

[blakmax]

Hey TET

Reading your assessment of chasing various life forms across the NT, how do you spend your spare time? Strangling chooks? :-)}

Take care or the reports of cracks and blades may relate to the position of these items and parts of your anatomy!

[mickjoebill]

More info from the photographer.
They were "pretty low" following a 900hp trophy truck off road and so "there were lots of rocks being kicked up pretty high"

The crack was not noticed until they inspected the blades after the flight.
(or the pilot did not communicate any problem to the snapper during the flight)

The crack was one to two inches in length on the underside and toward the end of the blade.

The inspection was done on landing, the pilot also pointed out a new crack in the windshield.


Mickjoebill

[SuperF]

"They were "pretty low" following a 900hp trophy truck off road and so "there were lots of rocks being kicked up pretty high"

Ahh, climb or fly further away! any pilot that continued to fly through that **** in my helicopters would be down the road, and they know it. No picture is worth that much.

for all you guys that think that you would "just" claim insurance on it,
1. check the price of your blade,
2. check your excess,
3. and then maybe ring your insurance broker and ask them how much your premium will go up, after a claim.

work out the difference, you may find that its not worth claiming on, so just go and buy another blade yourself.

[blakmax]

MJB

Did the photographer take any photographs of the crack?

Also The crack was one to two inches in length on the underside and toward the end of the blade. Was it on the leading edge or trailing edge?

Regards

Blakmax

[topendtorque]

Strangling chooks? :-)}

No they have a charmed life around here, but not because "I" wanted them here, the remaining one which lived for some time used to struck around the joint like King Faroot, bail up any visitors or backpackers she didn't like and was named Julia. Thing is she had a pointy beak, red hair and a fat arse. She choked down about the time Julia got her head chopped off.

Still a bit of a worry these blessed blades, no clues yet?

[Peter-RB]

I find it very difficult to believe that this actually happened, in the way its presented to us......... and the pilot felt nothing!

It smells to me ,

Peter R-B
Lancashire

[nomorehelosforme]

Surely someone has some pictures? As mentioned would expect dents aswell as cracks? Windscreen damage mentioned, what about panel damage?

[mickjoebill]

Photographer says there was an indentation.
Has given me pilots name, it is a legit story, seen from his perspective anyway.

Maybe the Nevada based pilot will chip in :)


Mickjoebill

[mickjoebill]

Last word from the photographer who was shooting with doors off and legs dangling.

it was an off-road race with immensely more powerful cars than rally cars, 36" wheels that are not entirely enclosed. The terrain is also much rougher and rockier than a rally race (I film both).

I felt the rocks hitting my legs while filming and I identified the crack on the window as it happened. I'm certain that the rotor blade underwent the inspection before the flight and I'm pretty sure that the crack would have been detected if it was there.


Mickjoebill