PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Hawaii tour helicopter crash kills 4 (now incl photographs)
Old 19th Mar 2007, 14:22
  #31 (permalink)  
Devil 49
"Just a pilot"
 
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Jefferson GA USA
Age: 74
Posts: 632
Received 7 Likes on 4 Posts
The crash aircraft appears to be an AS350BA or B1. The difference between these models and a B3 is engine power, and some strategic structural reinforcement. This aircraft model's hydraulics-off performance becomes more difficult as weight increases in an aircraft, and especially as each model's lift power increased, thus the load compensating hydraulic assembly in the TR mechanism of the B2 and later.
The original AS350 had symmetrical airfoil blades, the "blue" blades. The "gray" blades visible in the photo are asymmetric airfoil, a further issue with the hydraulics. I've never had a jackstall with blue blades.
Devil 49 is offline