nbl, Sorry for the delay, somebody has to work around here!
You asked, "If you are flying along in a S92 and for whatever reason you lose all the oil in the MRGB can you continue to fly safely to somewhere or do you have to land immediately/ ditch."
If the leak occurs in any point external to the gearbox housing, the pilot can isolate the box and fly home for several hours. The oil level is monitored and a shutoff valve is provided.
If the box should develop a hole in it at any point above a few inches from the bottom, the case is the same, as the amount of residual oil needed to fly home is quite small and low in the box.
If the speculated leak is at the very bottom, the leak could drain the box, triggering the same warning, but it is possible that it could drain the box, forcing a need to land immediately.
I do not know if the 225 system relies on recirculation of its fluid, if so, it could be the same case, in that a bottom leak would cause loss of the secondary fluid as well. If the fluid is only sprayed and not recovered, however, this last case could be covered by the 225's design. I wonder if someone can answer that.
In terms of the uninformed speculation of certification of the 92's design, the type certificate of the S92 was issued based upon the design and testing as described, so those who do not possess FAR/JAR examiner ratings yet spout that the system does not meet FAR/JAR are simply off base. FAR/JAR authorities have fully approved the box, and the rest of the 92 design (as they have the AB-139 and several other truly new designs, and as they have specifically not approved the EC225's design to the latest standards.)
I must add that the protection for the EC225's intermediate and tail gear boxes as well as the 92's (and every other helicopter) are identical to this protection of the main GB, because of the same FAR/JAR. Leaks of the primary housing are not considered, and immediate landing is required in all those cases.
Last edited by NickLappos; 17th November 2007 at 21:17.