PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Puma helicopter 50th anniversary paint scheme unveiled
Old 12th Jul 2021, 18:20
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Fareastdriver
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: UK
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That sorry looking Puma is XW214. When the blades clipped the door gantry it turned over and after the blades had disintegrated the head started winding up the gannet wire surrounding the hangar. One of the blade weights went across the pan, through a thin brick wall and carved a groove along the desk of the occupant. Just before it had gone to NI Airfix used it as a model for a 1/72 kit. When the kit was ready we were asked to collect the first (gratis) kits at Battersea and fly them in XW214. We then had to break the news that yet another of their kit sources had suffered an accident.
We flew them, anyway.

When we first got our Pumas in 1971 they were not equipped with 'stings'. After 230 were equipped we then started getting Pumas in the 231 range. They were fitted with the stings so we waited for them to be retrofitted to our earlier examples. No way; was the official line, they are going to stay like that.. Then XW219 had this discussion with the the ground in Stamford PTA.

Two weeks later they were all fitted.
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