On the Puma HC1 we were required to practice double engine failures once a month, by having both throttles pulled by a squadron “beefer”. The aircraft was loaded to MAUM by the fitting of a steel frame in the cabin, and a suitable number of lead weights added to it.
The HC1 initially came with “draggy” metal main rotor blades and it was critical to be very prompt in lowering the collective when entering autorotation to prevent rotor under speed, and leaving it on the bottom stop whilst manoeuvring. When the aircraft were retrofitted with composite main rotor blades, as they all were, the handling in autorotation became quite different because the blades were much more efficient and the rotor could quite easily over speed in manoeuvre. Because of the poor engine response on the Puma, with no automatic anticipators on the engines, it was then very important to get the NR under control “in the governed band” before raising the collective to significantly pull power.
I went out with a new Beefer to carry out my monthly training. The brief was for the crewman to sit on the jump seat and handle the throttles, under the Beefer’s command. The brief was for the throttles to go forward at a low altitude once it was obvious the aircraft would make the chosen field and a flare recovery would then be carried out.
I carried out a couple of practices, which I thought were ok. The new Beefer then said he would show me how to do it properly because he thought I flared a bit too high…so I sat back to watch. Having climbed away, he went into QHI mode patter, demoed his auto, aiming for a cabbage field. Unfortunately he flared very late in my humble opinion and the NR was still above the governed band when he began to pull power. The NR drooped and the aircraft carved a swathe through a row of very nice cabbages as the patter ended in the words “Oh f******* hell!”. We then went back to base where shredded cabbage was hosed off the undercarriage.
I’m not going to name names but it wasn’t OldBeefer.
Last edited by ShyTorque; 19th April 2023 at 06:29.