Originally Posted by
OttoRotate
If we go full mythbusters on this idea, lets assume a perfectly good S92 is sitting in 40m of water with a fully functional emergency flotation system. The float bottles are serviced with a nitrogen and helium mix to around 2500PSIG. I don't know the exact number offhand, but I think the floats are around 5PSIG when fully inflated. So while the pressure at 40m is around 60psi, the bags might still inflate enough to raise the aircraft to the surface. Again, though, I think the weight of the QCA (rotorhead and MGB) would cause it to flip upside-down along the way.
Actually, the total pressure at 40m depth would make a 5psi at surface only fill the floats to 27%, making the lifting force only 27% of the 'on surface floating force'.
As we can be sure that the floats don't work now, and that that way of lifting stuff in water would be a bad idea, its only a theoretical discussion. Nevertheless, could be nice to know, cause the same fenomena applies also to inflatable floating jackets and so on( not exactly 27%, but the principle)