Military AircrewA forum for the professionals who fly the non-civilian hardware, and the backroom boys and girls without whom nothing would leave the ground. Army, Navy and Airforces of the World, all equally welcome here.
Thought there would be a post on here or the Rotorheads, I have heard a rumour that Boulmer Sea King had an Engine Failure. I hear everyone ok, but shaken up a bit, no other details! Day/Night? Surge/Stall or just failed?
I don't know but there was an incident shown on last night's Highland Rescue of HMS Gannets Sea King getting caught in a vicious down draft and coming within 6' of hitting the ground, which caused them to abort the rescue, land and wait for the casualty to be brought to them. So perhaps it's that which started the whisper.
Its hardly news for a helicopter to suffer an engine failure. Regularly practiced and although it will get your pulse racing its won't make the headlines (Unless you bugger it up).
Low, consistent hover over the sea can lead to salt water ingress which has, for me, in the past lead to engine surge. As VVHA suggests, not unusual just a little more 'exciting' than normal.
Also turbulent conditions whilst in the hover with strong cross winds relative to the aircraft can cause upset of the air intake on the downwind engine leading to surge. (I seem to remember that the maximum sideways taxi speed of the Seaking was set at 30kts due to this problem.)
Nothing too exciting.
But never let that get in the way of a good Jurno story.
Apparently the eng failure in this case was caused by a faulty Overspeed Trip Governor which operated and shut the engine down. The aircraft was hovering at 50' asl at the time, during a night-time training sortie. Prompt and correct action by the crew meant that the aircraft was recovered without further difficulty. Total cost of eng failure: 1x new OTG, 4x new seat covers!
As TorqueOfTheDevil said, we were in the 50' hover, and the engine ran down. An exciting moment. And vec, you're right. We do practise it all the time, just not from the hover. I'd gladly never see it again.
Pasptoo: Typically, the tell-tale did not tell its tale and refused to snap.
Out of interest, what sort of torque were you pulling before the failure? How fast did the engine run down? Having practised many times, I have always been very interested to see what the reality would be like. I have always kind of assumed that you are on the water from 40 feet (pinger) unless high winds
If I might interject, Spacer's experience seems an ideal "Air Clues" article. Pertinent not just to the military world, but I'm sure anyone else who flies twins in a 50' hover a lot would find it a useful read.
At Tern Hill in the summer of '64 a Wessex turned up at Tern Hill (still new enough to cause a stir). The then CFI - a chap called B*&^%$Łt - decided that the young fella flying said Wessex should take him for a trip and this was duly authorised.
On return, said CFI says to pilot something along the lines of: 'what happens if you lose both donks in the hover'? and without further ado, pulls back both speed select levers.
I don't know. I believe the RN do as part of the Adv SE package, but we practice 10/15ft hover (to land), then a transition that we abort and land, finally a transition that we continue with drooping Nr. We don't do any from the hover into the flyway (apart from the sim).
I suppose that makes sense....the Advanced SE profile was as a result of Pingers spending hours in the dip and so it was their bread and butter to practice SE flyaways from a 40' Hover.
Early 80s (1st April it was), we had one where one of the engines suddenly went to idle which resulted in the aircraft ditching. The engine was put into manual and run up again without problem and recovered. The only thing we could find that caused it was a suspected loose conection on a relay.
It was amazing how much kit was 'lost' overboard and written off though.
Saintsman, at the risk of severe thread drift abuse....
A civvy mate who worked in the science department of a high schol near here came in to work on a Monday morning to find they had been burgled over the weekend. Plod was summoned and all departments were asked to compile a list of what had been taken.
With everyone seeing this as an opportunity to tidy up inventory discrepancies, and furnish personal toolkits as well.... you can imagine the returns.
By the end of the week plod reports that based on the evidence of method of entry, graffiti on the walls, local enquiries and the amount of missing stuff....they are looking for three, former pupil, teenagers who were seen climbing a fence to get in and must have made their getaway in a couple of lorries with forty foot articulated trailers.
