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Old 19th Dec 2012, 16:14
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flyer43
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: UK
Age: 72
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Combining Gearbox and Freewheel unit

Back in the mid eighties, shortly after Bell decided that the C-box was so reliable that they could dispense with the freewheel unit between it and the MGB to save weight and cost etc, I happened to be on a Bell 212 in Trinidad which was fitted with the new C-box unit.
Shortly after departure from base with an underslung spray bucket fitted to disperse an oil spill close to the shore, we experienced a double indication of C-box oil pressure failure!
Luckily, we were only a short distance from land as, in the few minutes it took to return and land, the C-box oil temperature was rocketing skywards!
As pointed out already by 212man, things could have become rather hairy had we been further from a suitable landing spot, other than the sea of course!!
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