Highest groundspeeds

[Randy_g]

Reading one of the other threads I thought about what the highest groundspeeds others have gotten.

For me, I was flying in a Hu500D (with a long-line door V.N.E. 100kts) with an indicated airspeed of 95 kts. My peak high groundspeed was 177 kts.

I also managed 155 kts in a Bell 205 a few years ago (100 kts IAS).

Cheers

http://randyspics.tripod.ca/gifs/naughty.gif Randy_G

http://randyspics.tripod.ca/gifs/man_grilling_hamburgers_sm_wht.gif

[Joker's Wild]

Was northbound from Victoria to Vancouver in a 76 several years ago. Turned the corner at East Point, 3500 feet and took a look at the groundspeed indication. Yikes, 212 knots!!!

Big, big, southeast winds blowing that day. Made getting home a quick trip indeed.

[flygunz]

I think size matters here. Flying from west to east Falkland in a westland Scout (Queen of the skies) my directional consultant concluded, after a significant amount of time on the whizz wheel, that our G/S was 202 kts.
Not bad for a single engine klingon pursuit ship.:D

[CyclicRick]

Cor...a Scout! I got 4.9hrs on a Scout!

My record was from Soest to Detmold in a Gazelle, according to the minitans we were at it at 204Kts.

I managed 151Kts in a 206 today on an air test! and I was only at 114kts IAS

[212man]

So far, 205 kts in an S-76 on a modestly breezy day in the N.Sea. However, if there were any decent winds in these parts I would expect to see some really serious speeds.on the EC-155, thus far only seen 196 kts g/s.

This is an a/c that will give you 165 kts TAS at FL90 straight and level. Imagine that with a decent tail wind and in the descent.

[Thud_and_Blunder]

Fastest:

Also the Falklands west to east, and 212 kts like the Canadian 76 story. This was in a Chinook.

Slowest:

Close run between 2 Chinook underslung-load trips:

- the trip preceding the above-mentioned fastest was a sortie carrying a load limited to 40kts IAS. Six hours and 2 refuels to move from a certain quarry to a certain hilltop.

- the recovery of a Bristows S61 from N of Ullapool to Aberdeen in 1998. As it had been stripped of everything it was as light as a feather, and refused to go above approx 20kts without trying to join us in the Chinook cockpit. Again, 2 refuels, plus a 17-minute, 11nm (downwind...) diversion to Lossie with a Chip Caption. We arrived at Dyce after 4h30m flying - the Bristows chief engineer had driven back by Mondeo and beaten us by well over an hour.

[Old Man Rotor]

ATC "Approach" once asked me to confirm my aircraft type...!!!

They couldn't believe that a 76 could track across their patch at 208knts..........as we did'nt have an area nav system or flying directly to a DME we couldn't confirm that.........but I trust them!!

[Steve76]

This is bizarre....
I also saw 212kts while offshore in an S76C model.
Thats the highest I have seen but I think other guys in the operation had higher. During a decent frontal change the tailwinds off SE Oz are commonly the in region of 50kts+. Sounds crazy to be out there but at least you have constant Cat A performance:D .
Oh! and absolutely nothing ever stops the oil flowing.....:rolleyes:

[BlenderPilot]

Bell 230 in a Mexico City to Acapulco flight, I got about 185 KTS GS, thats as high as I've seen, now flying a Beechjet at FL410, Las Vegas to Mexico City I once got 650 KIAS but thats another story.

[GLSNightPilot]

Oh! and absolutely nothing ever stops the oil flowing.....


Steve, down in South Louisiana they have a saying, "It don't rain in the oil patch", meaning about the same thing.

[John Eacott]

Bell 212 isn't renowned for speed, but a couple of breezy days in the Brent Field saw 170kt or so downwind, with the Decca Danac unwinding at a ridiculous rate ;) Awfully slow trip back into wind, though!

Also got to 199kt G/S in the BK117 in the High Country, IAS wasn't too high as the tailwind was trying to nasty things to the pitch, any faster and it wanted to nose over, or so it seemed :rolleyes:

[Twisted Rigging]

Abz to Forties, AS365N2, 3000ft, cracking tailwind, 145Kt A/S, 242Kt G/S.

It Bu**ered up our estimates a bit, Deck crew still eating, fortunatley we didn't have to return that day.

[IHL]

212 Man; This is a little off topic but, how does the EC155 compare to the 76 for payload , range, ect??

[Nick Lappos]

Would you believe 220 knots with 10 knot quartering headwind in the XH-59A under auxiliary thrust in Melbourne, FL in 1982?

Nick

[SASless]

Nick,

Now why would we ever believe a thing a Cobra Jock had to say.....gunnies reputation for prevarication is well known to all. Guess the next thing you will tell us is that you also got some phenomonenal rate of climb out of that thing too.....unlike any other helicopter flying.....but I bet you will not brag about its fuel economy! Now as I recall....standing there on the ramp with my white shirt wilting into a non-descript shape.....it was impressive when you guys engaged "warp" drive on that thing! Sheeeee-it Doc.....you guys left town in a hurry.....almost like the bride-to-be's father had turned up with the shotgun painted all white!

:)

[rightpedalRIGHTPEDAL]

138kts in an R-22
That was memorable

[SASless]

My mind must work in reverse.....why is it I clearly recall the flight from the Ninian Field to Sumbrugh in an S58T.....where the groundspeed was a whopping 35 knots.......and my fuel reserves disappeared with the onset of those high winds and the intense snow squalls that made the weather zero-zero at the airfield and rigs! Definitely a story I wish to have fabricated!:(

[Randy_g]

My slowest groundspeed was in a 500D. Slinging some of that plastic portable dock cubes. I only had to move it 2 miles, but it took 20 minutes. The guy who hooked me up, damn near walked to the drop off site before me.

I had to sling a survival tent that was on aluminum skids northeast of Yellowknife. Groundspeed was around 40 kts, but with the quartering tailwind I was having to track backwards in order to get to the spot. Made my neck sore having to look out of the rear door window in order to see where I was going.

Cheers

[John Eacott]

"138kts in an R-22
That was memorable"

Straight down with the rotor brake on ?? ;) ;)

[Bertie Thruster]

Falklands '94 Chinook along the Stanley Road: only 200 kts but it was at 50ft so I got to enjoy it!

[Q max]

... that my 270kt ground speed from Sonderstrom to Ammasalik hasn't been beaten many times over. I think the really fast ones are just holding back!

[the coyote]

S76C Bass Strait 209Kts cruise.

Couple of the guys had 226 Kts straight and level a couple of months ago.

110 Kts in a KH-4!

[wde]

Well there are some speed demons out there...

My best was chugging uphill to a scene call flying a BK-117 A4 for 49 minutes and collecting the patient and being at the hospital in 18 minutes...sustained ground speed for 1 minute of 201 kts!!!

Once was on an IFR flight in a Bell 212 (Cdn military version CH-135) chugging along at 80 kts G/S when ATC asked what kind of aircraft we were...we responded that we were a

..."CH135, a military version of the Bell 212."

An incredulous controller responded:

"You're a HELICOPTER?????", to which we replied in the affirmative. A moment passed before we queried the controller as to his curiosity.

It turns out that he thought we were a US military KC135 and he was wondering just what the heck we were doing with an 80 kt G/S....

LOL

[SASless]

Better than being confused with a 135.....you should have heard the Italian controllers at Malpensa Int'l while flying a CH-47C slowed....hovered....and backed up on a GCA approach using the VASI and ILS indications.....Mama mia! Called the outer marker twice on one approach!;)

[Pub User]

My best was 221kts, at about 300' agl in a Chinook. We still had a few knots of airspeed we could have added, but as that was already 20 kts over my previous best I didn't feel the urge!

[Bertie Thruster]

My slowest;70 kts indicated while moving backwards into gully with winchman out on 100ft of cable. (Wessex mk2)

(Winching Downs Syndrome children off the side of Ben Nevis during annual "Ben Race" which was hit by an unexpected hill storm)

[Q max]

that IS excellent.
"tell the kids today that and ....."

[SASless]

Bertie....don't yer knackers get in the way of the cyclic? The man needs a wheelbarrow to get to and from the aircraft.

[rightpedalRIGHTPEDAL]

To John Eacott

'Ere digger
Are you somehow doubting the veracity of my claim?
Put it this way when I popped out of the trees in a hover the ASI was reading 60kts. I had the choice to surely get it wrecked on the ground or leg it for cover. (Not something to be repeated.);)

[FLIR]

Remember one VERY dark, dark night, solo, flying back to Stanley FI from West Island. Nearly missed the airport with 215 on the Gazelle mini-tans - thank god for radar!!!! Sure had sweaty palms that night!!!!!!:cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:

[Vfrpilotpb]

186 knt ground speed in a Gazelle last year with a very stiff tail wind Huddersfield to Blackpool still 20% left on the throttle, one week later Sherburn to Blackpool in a new R22 Blackpool approach asked if we we intending to get any closer than Kirkham after we had run head first into a small gale with 30+ knt winds and gusts, we were almost stationary with an indicated 60 knts on the IAS:D

[GLSNightPilot]

This seems to me to be a rather pointless discussion. I've seen 170+ knots in a 412, & was impressed, but seeing the same groundspeed in an S76 is unremarkable.

[almost canadian]

220kts in a s76, making a dash 8 driver confirm with atc that we were indeed a helicopter....

[oldpinger]

Fastest in one of HM finest grey flying trucks, 180kts off Scotland on JMC,

Slowest, 30kts for a 3 mile transit with two boxed rotor blades underslung:(

Made Oakey-Willytown IFR in one hop once (about 370nm)in a Seaking with 10 people and a poo load of bags, must have been in the region of 150kts. Amazing what you can do on the way home. :D

[Captain Lai Hai]

188 kts (GPS) H500 ER on descent from 12 and a half over the Goroka gap PNG

Highest for me was 20,000' (ISA+20) just to see if it would do it after dropping pax in the sticks near the infamous Mt. Kare

[Red Wine]

Without incriminating one self........what is the lowest you have flown.........for me .....- [minus] 125 ft AMSL [or should that read BMSL...?

Lake Eyre....South Australia.

[The Nr Fairy]

-210' MSL. Furnace Creek Airport in Death Valley, California.

[DTibbals53]

In a CH-53E, brand new out of the Stratford, Conn. factory, enroute to CA with a fine Northeastern cold front pushing us at 10,000 feet, Houston Center reported us at 258Kts ground speed. They asked for and recieved an ammended flight plan so they could see a helicopter that could turn the numbers in a low approach. 1991 in the late fall.

:D

[SASless]

Ah but Stan.....this is safe talk!;)

[Weight and Balance]

No memorable high ground speeds, but lowest ground speed occurred on several flights at 20,000 ft in a BO 105 in 1988, on engine trials.

We were on an assigned Block VFR heading, westbound out of Fort Erie. On at least 2 flights at Vne for that altitude (60 KIAS, I think) we kept drifting to the east, back into US airspace. Buffalo Center kept getting rather upset. They eventually got used to us motionless or backing up at 20,000 ft, but the airline pilots never did.

[Bertie Thruster]

Moving backwards at walking pace with 70 kts IAS. Not that remarkable but had winchman+casualty out on 150ft of cable. Ben Nevis, Scotland.

[tell]

Fastest – 200kts in a Puma east bound out of Aberdeen.
Slowest – Bell 47 out of MW on a “long” nav. Following the A303 and seeing the cars going passed underneath.
Highest – 17,086 over Mt Kenya in a gazelle. (The boss was away on RNR).
Biggest rush – Low level, 150kts in a lynx at night. On PNG !!

Did you hear the one about the pilot fighting strong head winds on his way back to Aberdeen. ATC requested his ETA. His reply was, “standby, I’ll check my calendar”.

Or the S61 crew that departed the Brent field, climbed to cruise altitude (IMC) and started to eat their breakfast. A short time later the clouds broke and they were still over the Brent field.