Weight of Wessex Helicopter Blade

[Will69]

Hi all,
I was just curious what one of the Wessex helicopter blades weighs. I helped unload 4 of these blades from storage in Melbourne, Australia, and they were a lot heavier than they looked. I don't know the year of manufacture of the helicopter in which the blades were originally taken from. But, I was curious to about how much one of those blades weighs, (and it's length, if anyone knows that too). I do know these Wessex blades had depleted uranium in the tips for weight balance.
Thanks,
Will69

[Quemerford]

Not sure about depleted uranium; always looked like lead wire in the tip and lead weight on the blade to me. Standard procedure back when was one bloke on either end to lift in/out of a box.

[sycamore]

Don`t think Uranium was around when WX blades were made...should have weight painted on blade root end; it`s about 26 1/2 ft long,and I think about 140 lbs....would hurt if it hit you..

[spitfirek5054]

Spent 7 1/2 years working on Wessex HC 2, as a Rigger, UK, and Hong Kong,and the blades had Depleted Uranium as the tip weight.

[Blossy]

[QUOTE=sycamore;10577437]Don`t think Uranium was around when WX blades were made...

Oh but it was! The atomic program could never have happened without it. ;)

[Will69]

I'm pretty sure the blades I unloaded had depleted uranium in them... The reason we unloaded them was for the army to come and take the uranium out of the blades!

[megan]

Definitely depleted uranium in the blades. Wessex Squadron of ours touched blades during a formation flight (both landed OK) and hours upon hours were spent searching the bush for the scattered weights, was involved in the SAR scramble. Depleted uranium was often used as a balancing medium in aviation, 747 being one of many.

[Ascend Charlie]

hours upon hours were spent searching the bush for the scattered weights

Did you make it easier by using a Geiger counter?

[John Eacott]

Definitely depleted uranium in the blades. Wessex Squadron of ours touched blades during a formation flight (both landed OK) and hours upon hours were spent searching the bush for the scattered weights, was involved in the SAR scramble. Depleted uranium was often used as a balancing medium in aviation, 747 being one of many.

Dave Warren, IIIRC?

[megan]

Did you make it easier by using a Geiger counter?I very much doubt Geiger counters would have been available to the troops doing the search

Don't recall the crews involved John..

[Dave B]

A bit of thread creep, but many years ago in Port Harcourt Nigeria, Barny Swinton Bland flying a Whirlwind series 111 on floats, went down with vibration from a lifting blade pocket. He was floating around in the swamps until we got a crew out to him and changed the blade.
The old blade was dumped, and everyone got back safely. A few days later, while flying over the same area, it was observed that the local village had retrieved the blade, and it was mounted on trestles and being used as a fish gutting table. Its probably still there.