Lucky dude ...

[RW-1]

From Heli-News:

The main rotor separated from an Enstrom F-28A during a flight in
Napoleon, Ohio. No one was seriously hurt.

The pilot said he experienced an in-flight vibration during a sightseeing
flight and returned to the airport, according to a preliminary report from
the NTSB.

"I came back to the airport and the main rotor departed the aircraft
about 10 feet off the ground. The mast fractured right below the hub,"
the pilot told the safety board.

The separation happened on the second flight after a 100 hour inspection.
The pilot, who also holds an airframe and powerplant mechanic's
certificate, said an 18 minute test flight went fine, the NTSB said.

The rotor system didn't cause any damage after it 'departed the
helicopter.'

Portions of the main rotor mast surrounding the fracture were shipped to
the NTSB's Materials Laboratory for examination.

The pilot told the NTSB he had about 9,000 hours of flight experience,
2,000 in helicopters and about 1,000 in the Enstrom.


------------------
Marc

[SPS]

Lucky ?

Incredibly so ! The only thing missing was the pot of jam for him to fall into.

It will be interesting to see what the NTSB come up with as a cause, no teetering or underslinging with this head. Stress and work
hardenening resulting in fracture maybe
(although I do not intend to treat this as a guessing game).

There's is a good chance of them discovering the real cause as both fracture faces are undamaged. Lots of evidence to work on.

[rotorque]

Where's the swash plate and pitch links situated on these helicopters? Do they run up inside the mast or are they a conventional setup?

[Lu Zuckerman]

From all of the pictures on the Enstrom site it seems that the pitch rods run inside the transmission and mast. If that's the case the swashplate is most likely located under the transmission. This is similar the the AH-56 Cheyenne. I think

------------------
The Cat

[hoverbover]

To all

Yes the pitch links do run up the inside of the mast on the enstrom 28 helis,and as lu says the swashplate is located under the main rotor gearbox, a very reliable system by all accounts !

regards
hoverbover

[swashplate]

Naaahhh mate!!!!

SWASHPLATE is located in Milton Keynes!!! :) :)

[This message has been edited by swashplate (edited 28 February 2001).]