SASless #416 - as mentioned, the broken bits are just inboard of where the main spar goes into the lifting part of the blade, the inner end (about 70-80 cm) is the control cuff that surrounds the spar. It's not surprising that in a low impact (unpowered) break of the blade that this is where it would snap, since the inner end widens to the attachment points. The nature of the material is that it looks shattered even when it's "just" snapped.
I'm afraid I don't have the ability/skill to post a picture of the workings (wrong word, as there aren't any, really) part of the blade - but a cutaway might help to explain how this fantastically simple, completely self-contained, rotor blade design does all the jobs required of it.
Fortyodd - Completely support your summary of Police Ops. Another pilot is not necessary when flying VFR, within the weather limits and with the extra training mandated. All some of them would do is reduce endurance by 30+ mins!
Ornis - there are nearly 1000 EC135s flying all over the world as we speak, nearly 1200 have been built. This is a mature, but still maturing, machine with all early build/design issues (FADEC & ARIS problems etc) ironed out by the manufacturers.
Obviously, all aircraft types have the potential to deliver unwelcome surprises, (just as in the motor industry) as the head crack issue did last year. This will have been the concern of all current operators in this case, although the continuity of the rotor system would say (to those who know the aircraft) that it's not, something effectively confirmed by the team from EC working with the AAIB, from their update yesterday. Whilst the head issue is under control, it's still not 100% understood but there's a big team at EC working on it, since no manufacturer wants a good reputation tarnished by any hint of un-reliability.
The 135 has flown millions of trouble-free hours, in all conditions, with EC continuing to monitor the stats in every detail to see how things can be improved, be it parts, maintenance frequency or upgrades. I'm not in their pocket or employ, but have been regularly impressed with the continuous improvements seen over the last 10 years+ and it remains one of the best tools for the job, without the need for a blanket grounding, unless they discover a very good reason to, or a definitive cause - which, believe you me, both EC & AAIB will be looking for with the utmost urgency.
The other discussions about NVG and lasers have been fully debated before on earlier threads and, I would suggest, have no real relevance to this thread.
Last edited by zorab64; 3rd Dec 2013 at 16:02.
Reason: improve clarity