Originally Posted by
Jack Carson
The H-53/SK-65 aircraft were not equipped with main or tail rotor de-ice. The engine air particle separators (EAPS) negates any effectiveness of engine de-ice.
Thanks Jack, my "used to work for SIK" buddy seems may have recalled incorrectly. (Maybe the K has it?)
EDIT: Just talked to Gunny B.
He was crew chief on E's until about 2015. 22 years in the USMC. From his memory:
53D's didn't have de-ice.
53E's had them on the main rotor blades (his service goes back to the 90's), but (and this struck me as odd) initially they didn't have them on the tail blades.
While he was in, however, there was an airframes change that added De-Ice to the tail rotor blades.
I wonder if the original 53E's didn't have it, and a later AFC added that.
It may be that someone at NAVAIR decided that since the Seahawks had it, the 53e's should too.
No idea, I am guessing there.
The system was also, in Gunny's time, plagued with problems similar to what I recall being the issues in Seahawk. They often spot tied the circuit breakers out (off) to keep the electrons from doing bad things to the blades / heating blankets / wiring harnesses, etc.
He also recalled a near miss where a 53E, West Coast, apparently flew into icing, iced up, and got into some serious controllability problems.
Descent out of icing / clouds (and a little luck, apparently) got them to better air and they got home...he wasn't on that crew, but it was his wing where it happened.
Originally Posted by
JohnDixson
Sandie, the other aspect that came to mind was re to Lone Wolf’s observation that the E is an IFR capable ship flying qualities-wise is fine. But as you are intimating ( possibly ) if they could not scud-run, transitioning to an IFR clearance might bring rotor icing into consideration?
When I first flew Seahawks, AIRPAC had the deice harnesses removed for a while due to how often they were shorting out and forcing blade changes. (IIRC, slip rings and corrosion contributed to that). So we stayed out of icing conditions as an SOP. If the 53E does not have anti ice in the MRB and Tail, then an inadvertent flight into icing conditions could cause some problems. (EDIT: or, if they have it but it isn't working, same problem ...)