Happy Birthday - Sea-King 50th Anniversary

[Phil Kemp]

First Flight on the 11th March 1959. :ok:

[[email protected]]

I guess it wasn't raining that day or someone might have thought to weatherproof the aircraft:)

[SASless]

Crab,

It is cheaper to issue rain gear to the flightcrews.

Besides...if they did not leak like a sieve then they would not be helicopters.

[Blade Wake]

It's an icon of my youth and I nearly share the same 50th birthday. I grew up in awe of that aircraft for it enabled me to admire its crews and their amazing exploits. Subconsciously, I associate a Sea King with saving lives, irrespective of its operator's nationality. So I will raise my glass to the old girl... Oh wait! Barbie's coming over for dinner! We'll celebrate together then. And she's driving over in her Mini...

Great things of 1959. Lunatics included...

[Tallsar]

Happy Birthday indeed! - Another 50 in prospect? Its quite possible - and no doubt Mr Carson will help provide the zimmer frame!:ok:

[SASless]

The Sea King is a classic by any definition.

However, as a Chinook Pilot, I would like to remind you the Chinook first flew on my birthday in 1961, and is still rolling off the assembly line as the CH-47F. They no doubt will be flying long after I depart for warmer regions with perpetual fire.

CH-47F, 98-00011, which stared off as an A model before being upgraded to a D model, is now 44 years old and still going strong.

That is the difference between a classic and an Icon!

I wonder if the Sea King will outlast the S-92?

[leopold bloom]

guess it wasn't raining that day or someone might have thought to weatherproof the aircraft
I always found that the drips were in the cockpit.

[The Ferret]

I was born on 17 Feb 59 shortly before the first Sea King flight - I apparently flew the first Sea King as it passed 5,000 airframe hours hours back in the early 80s (so Westlands told me!) and now with a few thousand Sea King hours under my belt I am proud to share 2009 for a 50th birthday celebration with the King of the Skies!
:cool::cool::cool:

[zorab64]

I'm somewhat surprised that more ppruners have not stepped up to salute a venerable machine that many of us are proud to have flown - in my case, five formative aviation years.

Time to raise a glass to all those airframes that have served so many so well and with little recognition - whilst not the most exciting machine to fly, I always felt the Sea King had a forgiving nature and allowed me to hone my skills gently, as well as safely helping me pass on those skills to others.

Long may they continue to grace the skies.:ok:

[ianp]

Vaguely remeber in the early 90's Culdrose celebrating a significant SeaKing anniversary. There was a small book published which went through the history of this remakable aircraft and summarised by serial number where they all were. Anyone know if this is to be updated and reprinted for the 50th?
I consider myself lucky that I still get to fly SeaKings and as long as you don't want go anywhere in a hurry it is a cracking cab.

[SASless]

Seems there is a new member to the club who had her membership held in abeyance since 2001.

Sea King comes back to life
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 - Vector Aerospace Helicopter Services



http://www.verticalmag.com/control/news/articlefiles/10518-1.jpgOn the 2 April 2009 Vector Aerospace Helicopter Services Fleetlands performed the formal handover of Sea King MK4 ZF115 back to the British Ministry of Defence after an extensive repair, modification, and maintenance programme.
The aircraft sustained extensive airframe structural damage as result of an accident in November 2001 and was subsequently held in storage.
In June 2007 the Fleetlands operation was awarded the contract to repair the aircraft and bring it up to the latest modification standard. This involved nearly 30,000 man hours of effort and the embodiment of over 250 modifications, dating back over the last 25 years.
The recovery and return to service represents excellent value for money, as the work was completed at a fraction of the cost of a new build Sea King aircraft, providing an additional asset for the Front Line Command.
Sea King Project Team Leader, Group Captain Simon Moss MBE, stated, “The success of this 21-month project has been achieved through the close working relationship of Vector staff with the MoD Sea King Project Team (SKPT) and AgustaWestland”.
ZF115 will shortly return to the Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton in Somerset as part of the Commando Helicopter Force.
Photo: Tim Rice (right), Managing Director Vector Aerospace UK, formally handing over the MF700C to Captain Tim Davies (left) from the Joint Helicopter Command Headquarters and Group Captain Simon Moss (middle) from the MoD Sea King Project.


Sea King comes back to life (http://www.verticalmag.com/control/news/templates/?a=10518)

[Phil Kemp]

Today, the US Navy retired their last operational UH-3H Sea-King - the end of a long and illustrious 50 year career with this branch of the military.

Many might wonder what happens to these old birds when their day is done? :confused:

The ship was handed over to the Marine Corps, who will continue to operate her! :ok: :D

You gotta love it! :E

U.S. Navy Retires Last Operational UH-3H Sea King Helicopter - Southern Maryland News, Charles County, Calvert County and St. Mary's County News (http://www.thebaynet.com/news/index.cfm/fa/viewstory/story_ID/15874)

[bolkow]

I wonder what is the highest total airframe hours accumulated by a sea king airframe before retirement? Anybody know the answer to this bit of trivia? I do know the Penzance / Scilly Isles machine was around 46000 airframe hours and I am sure that was a few years ago. Just wondering who is the highest on hours.

[Adam Nams]

I always found that the drips were in the cockpit.

"Experts" surely.

[detgnome]

Nit Picking I know, but I'm sure that the Scillies machines are S-61s, which although bearing similarities to the Sea King, is a different aircraft.

I would imagine that the original Mk3 Sea Kings (circa 1978/79) must be up around 15000 hours by now - I remember when they went through 10000 some 10 years ago. I have no idea what the RN cabs have - traditionally they had fewer hours than the RAF ones, but with recent ops in the 'Stan, they may have increased significantly.

...perhaps someone with access to the 700 can shed some light?

[bolkow]

Yes, am aware that technically speaking the S61N is a different bird to the sea king but I have just become lazy about making the distinction. I blame the g-info site, which lists them under sea kings whilst omitting the navy and RAF sea kings.
My guess is that military airframes will be much much less in accumulated hours than the civilian S61's

[ianp]

If the Spitfire had also celebrated its 50th anniversay in service then that would have been on the 5th March 1986, we could have left a flight down at MPA instead of those noisy old Tornado things :ok:

[heliski22]

SASless,

I shouldn't worry unduly about the perpetual fire - I'm of the view it's probably the only place we'll know anybody anyway!!:E

[bolkow]

I imagine any of the rescue S61's could easily have 43000+ airframe hours, given they all came from commercial operators andn were slogging it out daily in the Norht Sea prior to their "retirement job"?

[Ian Corrigible]

CHC have an aircraft in Venezuela (YV235) that may come close to challenging the BIH ships' TTSNs.

Further to Um lifting's comment, the recently retired (/reallocated) UH-3Hs are mere babes by comparison, the high-time aircraft in the fleet having 'only' 17K.

I/C

[SASless]

On Friday, Nov. 11, in a stirring ceremony fit for a hero, the U.S. Navy retired the last operational UH-3H Sea King helicopter. The ceremony brought to close a 50-year tradition of Uh-3H Sea King service to the U.S. Navy.

The ceremony was held in Hangar 109 at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River at 11 a.m. After the ceremony, the helicopter was not through with its service to the country. It was passed on to the U.S. Marine Corps. However, the ceremony forever closed the door on the historic craft’s service to the U.S Navy.


The Marines must need more helicopters for them to take on obselete Navy aircraft!

[scottishbeefer]

All hail the mighty King!

[SASless]

Beefer old lad......leave Obama out of this please!

[leopold bloom]

The Sea King’s not done yet | Shephard Group (http://www.shephard.co.uk/news/rotorhub-com/the-sea-king-s-not-done-yet/6075/)

It may be the oldest aircraft in the Air Force. It may even be slated for decommissioning and replacement.
But the Sea King’s not done yet.
“That aircraft is still contributing significantly to current operations,” says Major Wayne Joy. As staff officer for the maritime helicopter project at 12 Wing Shearwater, he is responsible for all activities related to the transition from the CH-124 Sea King to the soon-to-arrive CH-148 Cyclone.
“It doesn’t do us any good as a community to focus on that system [CH-148]. That doesn’t drive what we do,” he continues. “What drives what we do is current operations, meeting the expectations of the country and the Navy, and getting out there and supporting those operations – be it in Haiti, the Horn of Africa or the Gulf [of Aden]. We are fully engaged in that, and we are very, very busy.”
That said, Maj Joy and many others at 12 Wing are also busy figuring out how best to use the Sea King to prepare the aircrew and technicians for the Cyclone. There is no comparison between a helicopter brought into service in 1963 and one introduced in 2010, Maj Joy says, but they are both maritime helicopters, and keeping those skill sets alive is vital.
“We still need to train aircrew and technicians to fly this thing because when we move into the new aircraft, we’re taking our community and converting it onto the new aircraft,” he explains. “If we were to let the Sea King community fizzle out, and then step into the new aircraft starting from zero, a lot of those maritime helicopter components would be lost, and the risk level for things like landing on a ship and operating a helicopter at sea goes high.”
The Sea King will continue flying well into 2012. Aircrew and technicians will be trained on the Sea King as long as they can gain six months of experience working with the CH-124 before entering conversion training for the CH-148.
In the meantime, a lot of work is going into easing the transition and equipping the CH-124 to mimic some of the capabilities of the Cyclone. Unlike the Sea King, the Cyclone is night-vision-goggle-compatible, which will take some getting used to by both pilots and crews.
“We’re introducing night-vision goggles in the Sea King because, with the new aircraft, that’ll be part of our day-to-day operations, and operating with NVGs is significantly different from flying unaided,” Maj Joy explains. Flying with night-vision goggles means no depth perception, little to no peripheral vision and a lack of contrast in the image presented due to the green wash imposed by the goggles.
Another significant difference that Maj Joy and his team hope to prepare Sea King crews for is the overabundance of information that will be available on the Cyclone. Whereas the tactical crew on a Sea King must continually input information on contacts they are tracking, the numerous software systems in the Cyclone will enable it to track many contacts independently. This will allow the crew to take a more strategic role in analysing the data rather than constantly updating it.
To prepare the tactical crew for this flood of information, Maj Dwight Bazinet developed the augmented surface plot which fuses GPS with map information and radar. Instead of a straight radar image, the ASP presents the radar picture overlaid on a map of the area, with objects such as navigation buoys already identified so that the crew can focus their attention on other, more important, contacts. The ASP can also be loaded with information before a flight to simulate the conditions in a Cyclone and help the tactical crew learn how to manage the influx of data.
“The Sea King and the Cyclone are generations apart; no comparison can be made between where we are now and what we’re getting with this system,” says Maj Joy. “We have to demand more from the people who are operating the Sea King now because the new aircraft is going to demand so much more from them. That’s why ASP is so important, because they can sink their teeth into that and see how fundamentally different it’s going to be in the aircraft.”
By Lesley Craig - Canadian Armed Forces

[John Eacott]

Trio of Sea Kings reach 45 yrs service
(http://www.fleetairarmoa.org/news/trio-of-sea-kings-reach-45-yrs-service)

In true Naval fashion a small glass has been raised at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in celebration of the remarkable careers of three of its legendry SeaKing helicopters.

The trio have each clocked up over 45 years of Fleet Air Arm service and were among the first batch to arrive on 700 (Sea King) Naval Air Squadron (700 (S) NAS at RNAS Culdrose in August 1969.

Built by Westland Helicopters at Yeovil, these Sea Kings was originally designated Helicopter Anti-submarine Mk 1s (HAS Mk 1) and have morphed through several configurations over their long and distinguished careers. Two are now Sea King Mk 5s, XV 647, and XV 648 with 771 NAS for Search and Rescue duties and XV 649 has been modified into a Mk 7 ASaC, the Airborne Surveillance version of the Sea King. All three are still operational and still pulling their weight on the flight-line.

700 (S) NAS with Lieutenant Commander Vic Sirett as Commanding Officer took delivery of six Sea King HAS 1s for trials and development. Each aircraft went on to achieve over400 hours flying in their primary Anti-submarine role in addition to load lifting, Search & Rescue, deck landings, troop carrying and the use of the general purpose machine gun. By the beginning of 1970 the Sea King had started to enter operational service. 706 Squadron received the new aircraft in January to replace its Wessex Mk 3s and the first front line squadron to operate the type, 824Squadron reformed on 24February.

The Sqn disbanded in May 1970 shortly after Vic Sirett demonstrated in XV 649 the Sea King’s long range capability, flying non-stop from Lands End to John O’Groats, a distance of nearly 700 miles in 4 hours and 19 minutes. For the flight and the successful introduction of the Sea King into RN Service, Lt Cdr Vic Sirett was awarded the Boyd trophy for 1970. By June 826 Squadron reformed with the Sea King and 824 Squadron embarked HMS Ark Royal for the aircraft’s first operational deployment.

The service histories of these particular Sea Kings are testament to the versatility of the aircraft over the years. Beginning as HAS Mk 1’s they were upgraded to HAS Mk2s in the 70s and then two were converted to HAS Mk5s and XV 649 to an Airborne Early Warning asset then a Sea King ASaC Mk 7, the final variation of Sea King.

“These aircraft were built from 1950s technology, the hydraulic systems are as reliable today as they were in 1969, which could these days be considered simple technology, however if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”, said Warrant Officer Ian Mitchell ,WO Engineer with 771 NAS and has worked on Sea Kings for most of his Naval career. “XV647 and XV648 have stood the test of time well, they’ve transformed from Mk 1s to Mk 5s having all sorts of modifications fitted and removed, even to this day we are still fitting new equipment”.

MaritimeSeaKing Commander at RNAS Culdrose, CDR Vee Dale-Smith, herself a Sea King pilot has flown them at Culdrose and on Operations in the Middle East. “As the Sea King comes to the end of its service with the Fleet Air Arm, these three Aircraft typify the excellence of the original concept and design. Over the past 45 years these three in particular have served all over the world on operations and embarked on all Royal Navy’s capital ships. Without doubt, everyone who has had the privilege to work with the Sea King over the years has developed a unique bond and loyalty to this fabulous helicopter and will have many an interesting tale to tell of their experiences”.

Between the three they have nearly amassed 50,000 flying hours which has seen them flown across the world where ever the Fleet Air Arm has ventured; from Carrier Task Group tasking in the Falkland’s during 1982 to providing “Over-watch” during 2014in Afghanistan, flying in temperatures that range from minus 35 degrees in the Arctic to over plus 50 degrees in desert conditions.

Sea King helicopters will be decommissioning over the next two years from the Fleet Air Arm and replaced by New Merlin Mk 2s and “Merlin Crowsnest” - which will take over the Airborne Surveillance task for the Fleet, serving on the Queen Elizabeth Class carriers.

The photos attached to the article show a very young JGE next to Andy Granuzzo who became Admiral USN and was definitely one of the Nice Guys. Re the article, I flew all three HAS1 mentioned when they had less than 1-200 hours in their F700s. To think they now share ~50,000 hours between them :eek:

:ok:

[Lonewolf_50]

I got to meet Rear Admiral Granuzzo when he was CINC Iberlant in the 90's. I don't recall him getting any further stars. A good man. EDIT: He retired with 2 stars as shown here. (http://capitolwords.org/date/2000/03/20/S1455-2_tribute-to-rear-admiral-andrew-a-granuzzo-usn/) (I hadn't realized he was an exchange pilot with the Brits, that was a very sought after posting among helo pilots).

VH-3's are still carting US presidents about ... :ok:

[Geoffersincornwall]

Along with JE I had the pleasure of flying those early Mk 1's along with Paul Hardcastle and Graham Lee. We were together on the very first Sea King Conversion Course straight out of OFT on the Wx3 in January 1970.

I can remember one night when we were doing some dunking in Falmouth bay along with the 700S boys and the fog came rolling over Looe Bar and over the airfield causing panic in the tower. The Air Traffickers made frantic calls and ordered us to return immediately. We explained that we had enough fuel to divert to Lossiemouth if the airfield weather got too bad. Suddenly folk began to realise we were in a completely new era of helo ops.

G.

[Non-PC Plod]

Amazing the old birds could go on so long. Imagine if they were still flying Spitfires in 1990?