Spinwing, Um..Lifting,
Thanks for the info, and the kind delivery.
You guys are seated up front while the turbines are running, I have to walk through the blast off the exhausts to ballast the aircraft before you get to settle back to cruise mode, and on specifically the Puma, it's ferkin murderous walking through the exhaust gas.
Assuming the turbines on the 139 and the puma are vaugely similar and the boom on the 139 is hovering (pun intentional) at around 80 Deg C on the helideck, backing upwards is going to put that slightly toasty exhaust gas right back back down on the boom about where it failed.
Now, it only takes 10 to 15 seconds to back up to 100' ato, you try putting yer face in the exhaust blast for 10 seconds and tell me it won't make a signifcant difference to the temperature of yer face (or the boom).
Say all you like about procedures for Cat ab, xy of anything at all, I write procedures for the stuff we do on the rigs, we guestimate at $41,500 / hr to run a rig offshore (inc all the support services) so, it's not small beer.
Just because it's written in a "procedure" does not make it right. these are procedures written by engineers unknown, not the holy grail. Any procedure is subject to review and input (not to be ignored or circumvented willy nilly)
By inference the recomendation from AW is to back the aircraft up from the helideck, putting hot exhaust gas over the boom (unless you can tell me it goes elsewhere ?) then transiton the heli into forward flight (I'm assuming there will be some difference in tailboom loads between backing and forward flight . . ?) with a now distinctly toasty composite, glued boom section.
The only comment from a pax pov on the GH crews is that they have been universally smooth, controlled and impressive.
If commenting on flight profiles is a faux pax on my part, well fly flight profiles that don't raise eyebrows elsewhere . . .
I fly gliders, in Scotland, in wave and have the utmost respect for rotary wing pilots.(some very senior rotary pilots also fly fixed wing and have taught me much over the years) None of this is meant as a "dig" at anyone, My arse is on the line as much as yours. I know that, even if some
(pompous twats) dismiss it.
If Shell in the Hauge have not ceased 139 ops, subsiduaries elsewhere have.
Europe has _THE_ best composite manufacturing in the world. (notwithstanding input from elsewhere)
It is where F1 composites are manufactured, The best gliders in the world are manufactured, racing bicycle frames are manufactured, in short, Europeans are pretty good at sticking light things together.
Americans, are very good at building heavy and throwing horsepower at them afterwards. (which actually seems to be the way to go in many applications)
I go to play in glued structures and trust them implicitly, however, they are painted white (to keep the heat down) and don't carry kerosene burning turbines. They work very well from 20 Deg C to -30 Deg C.
I believe that the flown profiles are likely to significantly increase the temps on the booms.
From what I know of the properties of the adhesives, this is not a good thing.
I most certainly _AM NOT_ having a "go" at the guys who take me to work, who I believe to be doing a very good job with the equipment they have.
(now if "someone" would look in the direction the bus was going, I'd be even happier . . . .specifically on T.O.) Those rig legs are pretty solid.