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Helipix: As always, fantastic! Where would the Nostalgia thread be without your pictorial contributions? There would be many gaps and incomplete stories but .. thankfully we have you and the Helipix Collection! Well done. Another great image of
Estepo's G-BTWA!
Does anyone have any clues on the location of Helipix's two images? I was thinking that AXGO could have been at 'Redders' (Redhill) but am not entirely sure. BTWA outside the hangar with the HS125?
Reference was made to G-AXGO by both myself and
TRC on page 22. Sadly, she crashed into water during a 'water sampling sortie' on 2nd March 1978. However, before her demise she was owned by Charles Hughesdon's 'Tradewinds Airways' and registered to their Gatwick office. It is quite possible that Geoff Cox flew this craft. AXGO's first owner was Stewart Smith & Co. to whom she was registered in May 1969. She was the 33rd overall JetRanger registered in the UK and the 8th Bell (as opposed to AgustaBell) variant.
At some point, either under Stewart Smith's or Charles Hughesdon's patronage, AXGO was leased to John Dicken who, as mentioned previously, was a good friend to my godfather. Consequently Ferranti would hire aircraft from John (and others) when their fleet were committed.
Herewith is a quote from a former Ferranti pilot:
"Ferranti hired John's 206 G-AXGO, and I flew it for the day having picked it up at Brooklands. I thought it was a very “loose” machine and after about 5 hours flying (for Plessey) I landed at the Beehive. As I shut down the aircraft began rocking and my engineer’s face went white. The mast was at a slight angle and one of the bearings at a lateral gearbox attachment point had popped out but was still retained in its housing – no wonder it felt loose!"
Wigan: Great nostalgia! One sees the paper promoted the local Indian restaurant but failed to mention George Muir's firm! Wasn't their a group of Brits in the 80's (or so) who used to set-up meals in unique locations and raise funds for charity? A balloon and Kili (Mt.Kilimanjro) spring to mind.
Herewith another shot of BOUY from Wigan's own collection:
BOUY at Clyde's Heliport (Photo from the WiganAirways Collection)
At some point during Clyde's ownership of BOUY (from '91 to '96) them seem to have attracted some sort of sponsorship from BP. Perhaps someone knows the details? When this happened BOUY was re-registered as G-GOBP as seen below:
Bell 206B G-GOBP at Duxford in August 1991. (Photo: Martin Laycock)
GOBP was participating in a competition involving various 'celebrities', in this case with the then Radio 1 DJ Bruno Brooks, during Helifest '91.
Sadly, as with AXGO (and several of the craft we have covered in recent pages) BOUY was destroyed, while registered as G-LGRM, on 11th September 2000.
An excerpt from the accident report reads as follows:
"The helicopter left Caernarvon to carry out a pipeline survey in North Wales. The forecast weather was for a westerly wind of 10 to 15 kt and visibility greater than 10 km. In the Snowdonia area the forecast was for reduced visibility in cloud and rain. As the helicopter approached Snowdonia the actual conditions, as reported by the pilot, deteriorated as expected to a visibility of 3 to 6 km in rain showers with an overcast cloud base of 1,000 to 1,500 feet in the mountains.
The pilot reported that, with deteriorating conditions ahead and to the right, the helicopter was turned to the left towards a steep hillside and descended in order to maintain ground visual contact. During the turn an unidentified amber caption on the central warning panel illuminated and an undemanded yaw to the right developed.
The pilot did not specifically identify the caution but suspected a tail rotor failure when corrective action on the yaw pedals did not arrest the yawing motion. The pilot therefore turned in the direction of the yaw in 'an attempt to fly out and regain directional control'. But the helicopter continued to yaw to the right and in doing so intermittently entered cloud. Ultimately the helicopter made contact with the ground and broke up. The pilot and observer who were both wearing lap and diagonal seat belts survived with minor injuries.
Subsequent examination of the helicopter showed that the tail rotor drive system was fully functional at impact. Furthermore, the pilot could not be certain which amber caution he had seen illuminated."
S.