Sea King Engine Failure from the Hover
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CG
It really did have my Pentax Spotmatic and when I got home they had stopped making them..............
The Atlantic conveyor apparently had 600 aircrew watches and the Masirah snow plough on board when it went down!
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Not for one moment suggesting that it was the case here, but I remember instructing the baby AEMs at Culdrose many years ago and found an interesting situation.
We went "up top" on a cab to do a little AFS instruction and found not only the incorrect SWG tell tale wire (emergency escape thickness), but the chap who had wirelocked it had failed to set the system first (power on etc). So there we were with taut wire of the incorrect SWG on a shut down engine (OTG "off" position).
We ended up doing a trawl and found others too, but usually they couldn't understand why they were finding broken wire on every AF.
Glad your safe
Cheers
We went "up top" on a cab to do a little AFS instruction and found not only the incorrect SWG tell tale wire (emergency escape thickness), but the chap who had wirelocked it had failed to set the system first (power on etc). So there we were with taut wire of the incorrect SWG on a shut down engine (OTG "off" position).
We ended up doing a trawl and found others too, but usually they couldn't understand why they were finding broken wire on every AF.
Glad your safe
Cheers
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Typically, the tell-tale did not tell its tale and refused to snap.
Nice catch.all the same
Spacer - firstly, very well done. I know it's practiced time and time again, but when it happens for real ...etc etc.
Secondly. You say the engine "ran down". Didn't you have a run away up, though?
Thirdly - did you have something similar up north a wee while earlier in your tour?
Secondly. You say the engine "ran down". Didn't you have a run away up, though?
Thirdly - did you have something similar up north a wee while earlier in your tour?
Interesting!!
In the early '70s the Sea King was at Boscombe on trials flying. One of our TPs (Canadian Maj Jay D****) was doing a high hover (untethered) and had a run down on one engine. Arrival on terra firma was a bit precipitate and he recalled 120+% on the working 'donk'. His comments were colourful!!
PS Old Duffer - Snap!! (nearly
)
In the early '70s the Sea King was at Boscombe on trials flying. One of our TPs (Canadian Maj Jay D****) was doing a high hover (untethered) and had a run down on one engine. Arrival on terra firma was a bit precipitate and he recalled 120+% on the working 'donk'. His comments were colourful!!
PS Old Duffer - Snap!! (nearly
)
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Screw: We did have Nr decay, with the good engine topped out at about 140%. I did indeed have to lower the collective to stabilise it, but then I drooped it more for the flyaway (we got it down to 92%).
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Rather than the makings of an article for Air Clues I see this as being the makings of a Green Endorsement or even an AFC!
Well done Spacer - and to your crew!
MB
Well done Spacer - and to your crew!
MB
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Rather than the makings of an article for Air Clues I see this as being the makings of a Green Endorsement or even an AFC!
What..... For surviving an engine failure? Goodness me...the medal makers would be busy if that was the case....
On the 332l Super Puma helicopters there is a training limiting box that restricts the max rpm to one engine. The object of this is to reduce the time that the engine spends at Max Contingency during its overhaul life. To keep the andreneline levels correct engine failures are done at a lower calculated weight but the box gives the same engine and rotor reactions as it would if it was at higher weights. Basically you do not have to ballast an aircraft up to MUW to find out how it reacts at that weight with an engine failure; the engine restriction brings the same result at a lower weight.
A civil engine can have a Max Con limit of 2.5 minutes. When that's gone, it's gone and the engine comes out. A military engine, regularly banged up to Max Con during trainng would be unlikely to reach its TBO either. Not the sort of thing to find out when you need it.
A civil engine can have a Max Con limit of 2.5 minutes. When that's gone, it's gone and the engine comes out. A military engine, regularly banged up to Max Con during trainng would be unlikely to reach its TBO either. Not the sort of thing to find out when you need it.
Vec - if the RN had a similar incident I have no doubt that awards/endorsements would be forthcoming
A simple engine fail in fwd flight is one thing but in the hover (and at a power that SOPs would say was committed) over the sea at night it is a whole new game and Spacer did an excellent job of saving the aircraft and crew.
A simple engine fail in fwd flight is one thing but in the hover (and at a power that SOPs would say was committed) over the sea at night it is a whole new game and Spacer did an excellent job of saving the aircraft and crew.
Definitely a GE, I would say. Spacer most certainly saved the a/c.
Interesting scenario though: this is a text book example where the crews are heroes for getting away with it - tea and medals all round. But IF it had ditched during the transition from a committed situation, the world around Spacer would have buried him in condemnation.
This is the domain of the Captain - welcome.
This is the area which sorts the men out from the boys (sorry wheat from chaff)!). Very rewarding and yet, so very unforgiving............
How to 'teach' this to ab initio's
That is the question.
Spacer you dun good, son - take a days leave
Interesting scenario though: this is a text book example where the crews are heroes for getting away with it - tea and medals all round. But IF it had ditched during the transition from a committed situation, the world around Spacer would have buried him in condemnation.
This is the domain of the Captain - welcome.
This is the area which sorts the men out from the boys (sorry wheat from chaff)!). Very rewarding and yet, so very unforgiving............
How to 'teach' this to ab initio's
That is the question.Spacer you dun good, son - take a days leave
FE driver - the Sea King advanced single engine exercises are conducted with the 'good' engine in manual at a set Tq figure that ensures no limits are reached, let alone exceeded so the engines are not regularly banged up to max con in training - they don't even get to inter con on the SE package. The setup allows for overpitching and allows simulation of a poor engine in a heavy aircraft albeit at normal training weights.
We do 25 hourly PPIs up to inter con limits to assess the health of the engine so there is no reason for them not to make their TBO.
We do 25 hourly PPIs up to inter con limits to assess the health of the engine so there is no reason for them not to make their TBO.
Crab. Nice to hear. I lost a friend on a Puma before the days of restricting engines during practise failures. The engine doing all the work at Max Con threw in the towel and they both died.
IF it had ditched during the transition from a committed situation
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Vec - if the RN had a similar incident I have no doubt that awards/endorsements would be forthcoming
A simple engine fail in fwd flight is one thing but in the hover (and at a power that SOPs would say was committed) over the sea at night it is a whole new game and Spacer did an excellent job of saving the aircraft and crew.
A simple engine fail in fwd flight is one thing but in the hover (and at a power that SOPs would say was committed) over the sea at night it is a whole new game and Spacer did an excellent job of saving the aircraft and crew.
Spacer did a superb job but if we were to give an AFC for every engine failure then the AFC would be worthless... Lets give him a pat on the back, a "good show" but not an AFC please
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Thanks everyone for your thoughts on this. I hope it's started a chat in the crew room about what you'd do if faced with a similar situation. Happy Christmas, and safe flying!
