SAS, this "crisis" you refer to applies to all helicopters without the benefit of a backup main transmission. It is not enough, IMHO to say, "Well, transmission failures are a fairly rare event..." I think we've all heard enough anecdotal stories that attest to the fact that they *do* happen, and in all types!
So that is the eventuality for which we must prepare, and for which there is really no hardware solution. I'm sorry, but I just cannot...will not trust the engineers who say to me, "Bob, don't worry, it'll last a goooooood thirty minutes without oil at MGW. Yepper, good thirty minutes."
Uh-huh. Right.
I guess that's part of the reason (perhaps subconscious) I never got into the deepwater stuff. There is always that lingering helicopter pilot distrust (paranoia?) of the machinery.
No matter what solution the manufacturers come up with, we'll still be in the same boat, so to speak, should we ever again be faced with transmission oil pressure gauges at zero or nearly so, and an hour to go to "feet dry."
Stop. Subject change.
As you all can plainly see, my last post was edited by one of the mods, who took issue with a comment I made and felt that it constituted a vicious personal attack on a someone, and then had to berate me in the remarks section. Just to set the record straight, I DID NO SUCH THING. I intended no such thing. Anyone who read the post before it got edited can back me up here.
I cannot even mention the subject again under fear of excommunication - you all know how pissy the mods can be when they get on their high horse. I'VE BEEN WARNED!
Suffice to day, in a discussion of this sort, to wit: a potential serious problem with a production aircraft that is touted as having a superior level of safety compared to the VH-71, it's good to hear all viewpoints and opinions. I wonder how the President of the United Skates would feel if he were riding around in an aircraft based on the S-92 right now? That's all I'm saying. So although the mods like to wield their power like a cudgel, I believe they/he over-reacted in this case.
~Bob
Now, back to your regularly scheduled discussion of transmission failures!