Originally Posted by
H Peacock
Does the Puma now have any form of wire deflectors/cutters? It didn't in my day.
No cutters, just deflectors. You can see them quite well in the first photo. They're the square section bent metal bars at the top of the frames either side of the centre screen.
It's nice to see that they work. I worked on 33 sqn for ten years and always dreaded seeing a big strike as I was sure that it would just deflect the wires up, rip off the intakes (a very flimsy bit of kit) and throw them up into the disc. Glad to see I was wrong.
The wire cutter issue was put forwards years ago. It got to the point where some civvies came to Benson and covered the nose in white stickers and then took photos. This was for modelling the front on a computer and then simulating strikes to find the best location for the cutters.
It died a death shortly after (money I assume).
Incidentally, the square plate with the hole in it between the deflectors is known as the 'duck plate'. It is name after the breed of bird that came through the screen and knocked both engines back to idle many moons ago. The hole gives some visibility but is slightly smaller that the gap between the throttles.