8 Wessex Helis and Spares - No reserve auction
Brings back loads of memories as I have flown 6 of the 8 on 18 and 72 Sqns.
The ZFWs look a little light as I seem to remember (long time ago
) we had about 2200lbs of payload with an hours fuel.
HF
The ZFWs look a little light as I seem to remember (long time ago
) we had about 2200lbs of payload with an hours fuel.HF
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Well Hummingfrog whoever buys them will probably need some help with pilot conversions and probably engineers also
My guess is they are heading to the African continent
Auction closes tomorrow
My guess is they are heading to the African continent
Auction closes tomorrow
Last edited by aseanaero; 23rd Sep 2007 at 17:30.
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maxtork said, "It makes you wonder sometimes. There is another thread going right now about the EMS industry in the US and how it is driven by profit. Nobody is going to run bigger better machines because they cost more. Here we have a bunch of proven aircraft capable of carrying two pilots and all the avionics you could ask for as well as extra fuel without sacrificing payload and with the low purchase price could probably be operated for the same as an star! And we are not allowed to operate these because they are not certified and therefore safe? Oh the irony!"
This is why we have horse races, max! As I see it, the Wessex is a waste of fuel and aluminum, it is neither efficient nor adequately safe for today's environment. Any EMS operator that tried to run these beasts, would have to be run by Monty Python. That anyone would consider getting out of a more modern machine into that dinosaur shows how little we (collectively) have progressed in our understanding of what it is we fly and what our real dangers are.
That the entire lot of dinosaur bones is up for grabs at only 135,000 gives me some hope, though. One new Land Rover costs more, and is worth more.
This is why we have horse races, max! As I see it, the Wessex is a waste of fuel and aluminum, it is neither efficient nor adequately safe for today's environment. Any EMS operator that tried to run these beasts, would have to be run by Monty Python. That anyone would consider getting out of a more modern machine into that dinosaur shows how little we (collectively) have progressed in our understanding of what it is we fly and what our real dangers are.
That the entire lot of dinosaur bones is up for grabs at only 135,000 gives me some hope, though. One new Land Rover costs more, and is worth more.
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Nick,
I wasn't specificlly implying that someone should trade in their Astar for one of these although it would be fun. On the other thread the discussion was about the capabilities of the aircraft and how the operators today don't want to spend the money to get it. Certainly using the newer machine should allow a better safety margin if all thing were equal and I was suggesting they weren't. If both could be properly maintained and supported which would be better, a brandy new 407 flying at high altitude and near max gross or one of your 1970s technology UH60As with load to spare and two pilots and maybe crew cheif to keep eyes out of the cockpit? Sure one is going to burn more fuel as it is bigger but if you could buy it surplus from Uncle Sam the lower purchase cost would offset the difference.
The problem here is that many mil surplus aircraft are no longer supported by the manufacturer so a Wessex EMS aircraft wouldn't be practical from the start. although Sikorsky hasn't supported the S58 for decades and yet there are still bunch flying today...very safely I might add! Don't get me wrong Nick I'm all about new but I've seen an awful lot of accidents with "new" aircraft recently they just come from "new" problems.
Fire away
Max
I wasn't specificlly implying that someone should trade in their Astar for one of these although it would be fun. On the other thread the discussion was about the capabilities of the aircraft and how the operators today don't want to spend the money to get it. Certainly using the newer machine should allow a better safety margin if all thing were equal and I was suggesting they weren't. If both could be properly maintained and supported which would be better, a brandy new 407 flying at high altitude and near max gross or one of your 1970s technology UH60As with load to spare and two pilots and maybe crew cheif to keep eyes out of the cockpit? Sure one is going to burn more fuel as it is bigger but if you could buy it surplus from Uncle Sam the lower purchase cost would offset the difference.
The problem here is that many mil surplus aircraft are no longer supported by the manufacturer so a Wessex EMS aircraft wouldn't be practical from the start. although Sikorsky hasn't supported the S58 for decades and yet there are still bunch flying today...very safely I might add! Don't get me wrong Nick I'm all about new but I've seen an awful lot of accidents with "new" aircraft recently they just come from "new" problems.
Fire away
Max
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max,
Just pulling your tail! You are dead right, ".....it would be fun."
I have about 1000 hours in the S-58T/H34. It is a gentleman's helo, and a proper macho entry to the cockpit, all the same.
Just pulling your tail! You are dead right, ".....it would be fun."
I have about 1000 hours in the S-58T/H34. It is a gentleman's helo, and a proper macho entry to the cockpit, all the same.
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You got me Nick! Hook line and sinker.
Aseanaero said "Well Hummingfrog whoever buys them will probably need some help with pilot conversions and probably engineers also"
Keep us posted as to where they go...Have wrench will travel!
Max
Aseanaero said "Well Hummingfrog whoever buys them will probably need some help with pilot conversions and probably engineers also"
Keep us posted as to where they go...Have wrench will travel!
Max
I think the exit from the cockpit is more amusing than the entry - funniest I have seen was a bloke on my Wessex course coming out feet first and facing outwards...he ended up very precariously with both heels wedged on the top step and his hands behind him desperately hanging on to the door frame. No problems, it's only 10 feet to the ground from there
Bring back Wessex SAR
Bring back Wessex SAR
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To the experienced Wessex guys
Did the LP/HP cocks have a habit of sticking ?
When we prepared one of the helis for a ground run it wouldnt flip into HP , the Wessex rated pilot and 2 ex RAN engineers were scratching their heads and couldnt get it to work for about an hour , with nothing to lose and as I have a bit of a nack with all things old and complicated (leave my Mum out of this) I climbed into the cockpit and slowly and gently moved between LP and HP positions (maybe 20 times) and then all of a sudden there was this 'clacker board' sound (the sound when the flights are changing on the old style flight boards at the airport) the indicator showed HP and next thing it was working and we could get a start
The heli hadn't been started for 18 mths and this one had been sitting in the weather all that time (not one of the helis in this package)
To be honest I think if you had 5 airworthy Wessex you would probably only have 3 available at any one time in a civvy environment , lots of little electro - hydraulic - mechanical gremlins , electro mechanical anything is usually temperamental
Also if I was buying this package I would probably want at least another 10 zero time RR Gnomes , they were going for GBP 6,000 - 8,000 not so long ago but supplies are drying up (Everett Aero had 35 of them and now all gone) as these engines make their way to the USA to power tractors , boats and other contraptions
Did the LP/HP cocks have a habit of sticking ?
When we prepared one of the helis for a ground run it wouldnt flip into HP , the Wessex rated pilot and 2 ex RAN engineers were scratching their heads and couldnt get it to work for about an hour , with nothing to lose and as I have a bit of a nack with all things old and complicated (leave my Mum out of this) I climbed into the cockpit and slowly and gently moved between LP and HP positions (maybe 20 times) and then all of a sudden there was this 'clacker board' sound (the sound when the flights are changing on the old style flight boards at the airport) the indicator showed HP and next thing it was working and we could get a start
The heli hadn't been started for 18 mths and this one had been sitting in the weather all that time (not one of the helis in this package)
To be honest I think if you had 5 airworthy Wessex you would probably only have 3 available at any one time in a civvy environment , lots of little electro - hydraulic - mechanical gremlins , electro mechanical anything is usually temperamental
Also if I was buying this package I would probably want at least another 10 zero time RR Gnomes , they were going for GBP 6,000 - 8,000 not so long ago but supplies are drying up (Everett Aero had 35 of them and now all gone) as these engines make their way to the USA to power tractors , boats and other contraptions
aseanaero - not a particular problem with the Wessex, unlike the starter relay that used to stick - the answer was stamping your feet on the cockpit floor which worked most of the time. Some crewmen used to take a fireaxe to the relay (percussive engineering), unfortunately not all of them knew which relay was the correct one and battered the main drive actuator instead!!
We still use the Gnome in the Sea King so there should be plenty around, there are a few modifications required because of the way they are mounted in the Wessex.
We still use the Gnome in the Sea King so there should be plenty around, there are a few modifications required because of the way they are mounted in the Wessex.
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"We still use the Gnome in the Sea King so there should be plenty around, there are a few modifications required because of the way they are mounted in the Wessex. "
Is the blue fuel control computer interchangeable between the Wessex and Sea King ?
Is the blue fuel control computer interchangeable between the Wessex and Sea King ?
Originally Posted by aseanaero
Is the blue fuel control computer interchangeable between the Wessex and Sea King
Because the Sea King allowed the darn things to be trimmed "on the go", unlike the Wessex with them buried in the nose, we used...........one
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Sold , going to a (for the moment) undisclosed buyer in Africa
http://aero-auction.asean-aerospace.com/item.php?id=47
I'm sure the rumor mill will work it out soon
Chapter 3 of the Wessex about to be written
http://aero-auction.asean-aerospace.com/item.php?id=47
I'm sure the rumor mill will work it out soon
Chapter 3 of the Wessex about to be written
Last edited by aseanaero; 24th Sep 2007 at 15:44.
asanaero - I don't think there is any difference between the Sea King computer and the Wessex one but the Sea King has the facility of engaging manual throttle which the Wessex never had. Double computer freezes were a bit of excitement in the Wessex but the SK is straightforward in double manual.
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Not Ghana and not any country with embargoes
If anyone knows of any ex military S58Ts or OV-10 Broncos for sale or surplus PM me
If anyone knows of any ex military S58Ts or OV-10 Broncos for sale or surplus PM me
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Apparently one fix for the blue fuel computers was to give them a quick bake in the oven to drive moisture out
Dont ask me what temp or for how long
Dont ask me what temp or for how long
Make sure the buyers know the answer to the classic question about the fuel computer - 'which is made first, microswitch A or microswitch B?'
One disables the lightup sensor circuit and the other enables the computer safety circuit.
One disables the lightup sensor circuit and the other enables the computer safety circuit.
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This sort of disussion on microswitches reminds me of that old motoring saying
"LUCAS - THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS"
I dare say Lucas Aerospace et al probably fell in the same category
I think the new owner needs to pair up a couple of 'Dads Army' Wessex engineers with some young keen engineers to make sure the wheel doesn't get re-invented concerning quirky systems problems
Anyone know of any zero time Gnome engines in the UK for sale ?
"LUCAS - THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS"
I dare say Lucas Aerospace et al probably fell in the same category
I think the new owner needs to pair up a couple of 'Dads Army' Wessex engineers with some young keen engineers to make sure the wheel doesn't get re-invented concerning quirky systems problems
Anyone know of any zero time Gnome engines in the UK for sale ?
Zero time Gnomes? I doubt it - but there are plenty of knackered ones that the Junglie force have worn out in Iraq.
Had one 2 days ago which we had just flown for 4 hours - the engineers went out to do the compressor wash and found the No 3 bearing had all but seized. The mag plug was impressive.
Had one 2 days ago which we had just flown for 4 hours - the engineers went out to do the compressor wash and found the No 3 bearing had all but seized. The mag plug was impressive.