Underslung Load 'Incidents'
Belize 1977. A Scout has a No 5 seal failure on the OP at Cadenas on the extreme south west of the country. I was jungle winching down there and was told to sling it back. The pad on the OP was just sticks so that when another Puma brought the REME crew down I had to winch them down to their Scout. They got the blades off and ready for underslinging so in I came and lifted it off as far Salamanca to refuel; meanwhile the other Puma picked up REME, pilot and blades.
After refuelling as much as I dared with the weight of the Scout I lifted off with the other Puma in company. I had flown a few Scouts before so I was confident that it would tuck in nicely at about 115 knots after a bit of nodding and shuddering at 100. This one had a winch on and was an absolute dog.
After a fair amount of verbal abuse we eventually got it to fly at about 45knott with 30 degrees of drift on. Those who fly the Puma will know that it is a variable speed/ constant fuel consumption machine so I was going to run out of fuel before I reached Belize. I decided not to return to Salamanca but to continue on to Stann Creek, unload the Scout, punch off at high speed to Belize, refuel and then return to pick up the Scout. The other Puma would do the necessary as far as unhooking/hooking up/security etc.
I lifted of from Stann Creek just as it was getting dark. No troubles at Belize or coming back and finding the airstrip and doing a night approach with a Puma anti-coll as a guide. Just as I was coming into the hover we went IMC in mosquitoes; the poor sods had had then since I had left. As they were hooking the Scout up I could see the flicker of flame from the other Puma as he hit the starter switch and he was airborne less than two minutes after we left.
It was Open Air Cinema Night and I knew that Major ‘You’ll never have to bring any of my Scouts back’ in charge of the AAC detachment would be watching so I flew slowly around the camp at 300 ft with the landing light illuminating his Scout.
Cost me a few beers for the Puma crew; never did see the Major again.
After refuelling as much as I dared with the weight of the Scout I lifted off with the other Puma in company. I had flown a few Scouts before so I was confident that it would tuck in nicely at about 115 knots after a bit of nodding and shuddering at 100. This one had a winch on and was an absolute dog.
After a fair amount of verbal abuse we eventually got it to fly at about 45knott with 30 degrees of drift on. Those who fly the Puma will know that it is a variable speed/ constant fuel consumption machine so I was going to run out of fuel before I reached Belize. I decided not to return to Salamanca but to continue on to Stann Creek, unload the Scout, punch off at high speed to Belize, refuel and then return to pick up the Scout. The other Puma would do the necessary as far as unhooking/hooking up/security etc.
I lifted of from Stann Creek just as it was getting dark. No troubles at Belize or coming back and finding the airstrip and doing a night approach with a Puma anti-coll as a guide. Just as I was coming into the hover we went IMC in mosquitoes; the poor sods had had then since I had left. As they were hooking the Scout up I could see the flicker of flame from the other Puma as he hit the starter switch and he was airborne less than two minutes after we left.
It was Open Air Cinema Night and I knew that Major ‘You’ll never have to bring any of my Scouts back’ in charge of the AAC detachment would be watching so I flew slowly around the camp at 300 ft with the landing light illuminating his Scout.
Cost me a few beers for the Puma crew; never did see the Major again.
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I recall being tasked to pick up a load from Bessbrook to take to R21, which was (if my memory serves) about 10nm to the south. It was in the middle of the frame (tasking window), so we hadn't scoped it beforehand, but on arrival back at BBK from the previous task, the crewman's tone of voice should have revealed that it wasn't going to be an easy load! The load was a shed....flat packed and tidy inside a net, but with the pitched roof on top of the walls and floor, so as soon as we'd lifted it, the aerodynamics around the roof meant that it started flying independently inside the net!! On our way out of BBK up 'The Tube' it became obvious that we couldn't maintain normal speeds, so we reduced speed until the load settled.
Flying from BBK to R21 at 20(ish) kts takes a while!! I think we may have been quicker if we'd driven it there, although our hover-taxy most of the way wasn't that different.
Finally.....the load was dropped and we headed to BBK on vapour, landing I reckon about 30sec before the No1 Eng would have flamed out!
Good fun, but by God I learnt a lot about tasking flexibility out there!
Flying from BBK to R21 at 20(ish) kts takes a while!! I think we may have been quicker if we'd driven it there, although our hover-taxy most of the way wasn't that different.
Finally.....the load was dropped and we headed to BBK on vapour, landing I reckon about 30sec before the No1 Eng would have flamed out!
Good fun, but by God I learnt a lot about tasking flexibility out there!
What a difference between the way a UH-1 rides under a Chinook as compared to an AH-1G. The old Huey just points her nose into the wind and rides like rock. The Cobra on the other hand is just as slippery as its namesake. One would think the Snake being shaped like a weather vane would do just that.....WRONG!
Drag chutes were later made a requirement.....and later yet swivels in the drag chute line were made mandatory. Until the swivels were used....the drag chutes worked great for about two minutes....then they twisted themselves shut and the wild ride was on again.
What was a real hoot was to see a Combat Assault formation of 16-20 Hueys going somewhere in a big formation....usually in Staggered Trail formation....and pass them all with a Huey as an underslung load....giving out Road Runner mating calls over Guard (243.0). (Beep Beep....Beep Beep....Beep ah you get it!)
We could sling load a Huey much faster than they could fly by themselves. Same thing today with the Blackhawk and Apache too I hear.
Drag chutes were later made a requirement.....and later yet swivels in the drag chute line were made mandatory. Until the swivels were used....the drag chutes worked great for about two minutes....then they twisted themselves shut and the wild ride was on again.
What was a real hoot was to see a Combat Assault formation of 16-20 Hueys going somewhere in a big formation....usually in Staggered Trail formation....and pass them all with a Huey as an underslung load....giving out Road Runner mating calls over Guard (243.0). (Beep Beep....Beep Beep....Beep ah you get it!)
We could sling load a Huey much faster than they could fly by themselves. Same thing today with the Blackhawk and Apache too I hear.
Originally Posted by snafu
The load was a shed....flat packed and tidy inside a net, but with the pitched roof on top of the walls and floor, so as soon as we'd lifted it, the aerodynamics around the roof meant that it started flying independently inside the net!!
My favourite incident had to be lifting a portacabin across Falkland Sound in the summer of '82. They were rigged nose down for stability and, of course, the aircraft ended up nose down due to drag. What we didn't know was that the Army (could've been RM) decided to leave the bunk beds inside to save time shipping them separately. As we reached mid-channel, due to the nose down attitude, the unsecured beds slid downhill and burst through the front wall of the portacabin, much to the crewman's amazement. The increased air pressure resulted in the other three walls exploding and we were left with a frame, a roof and a floor!
It worked once; probably never again. I was taking a flatpack shed from Bessbrook to Crossmaglen. It would not fly above 20 knots without swinging violently so I slowed to the hover, fast 180 spot turn so I turned and the shed didn't and went the other way. It worked; no problems at 60 knots.
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Don't want to spin the dits, but here's a few snippet thoughts:
Always have a Tq figure in mind of what the ac should be hovering with. If the gnd party have passed the load in lbs instead of kg, and you fail to datum this rough figure with the Tq the ac is actually pulling, you will quickly set the record for heaviest flying chinook ever recorded.
If you think loads are dull as ditchwater, you're probably right, but they will at some point leave you with 5 seconds less thinking time than you need when they go wrong by way of punishment. While you take that 5 seconds, someone will get hurt, to guarantee you'll never see them the same way again.
As a pilot, try to talk with your hands not your mouth.
As a crewman, learn a cadbury's bunny voice...it works!
Always have a Tq figure in mind of what the ac should be hovering with. If the gnd party have passed the load in lbs instead of kg, and you fail to datum this rough figure with the Tq the ac is actually pulling, you will quickly set the record for heaviest flying chinook ever recorded.
If you think loads are dull as ditchwater, you're probably right, but they will at some point leave you with 5 seconds less thinking time than you need when they go wrong by way of punishment. While you take that 5 seconds, someone will get hurt, to guarantee you'll never see them the same way again.
As a pilot, try to talk with your hands not your mouth.
As a crewman, learn a cadbury's bunny voice...it works!
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Ref: Torque fiqures:
Omagh; not exactly a 'confined' area, but nevertheless sufficiently restrictive to add half a degree of pitch to USL and sow the seeds of doubt as to briefed AUW accuracy.
In response to a trend of this scenario, I picked up a 'buggy' and after a short hop across the trees to the football pitch, established a hover in open ground with short grass. Sure enough, we had lost the perceived weight gain.
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There was a kilos/pounds cock up that caught a Lynx pilot from the top of 40 who subsequently left-his-load on the west slopes of 40. He had been scheduled to return empty to BBK and having refuelled, saw an opportunity to take a wildcard USL en-route; and having transitioned, the USL took him downslope. It will happen again until eventually UK Mil Plc get their quano in one heap and use common unit measurements across all its aviation assets.
Omagh; not exactly a 'confined' area, but nevertheless sufficiently restrictive to add half a degree of pitch to USL and sow the seeds of doubt as to briefed AUW accuracy.
In response to a trend of this scenario, I picked up a 'buggy' and after a short hop across the trees to the football pitch, established a hover in open ground with short grass. Sure enough, we had lost the perceived weight gain.
_______________________________________________________
There was a kilos/pounds cock up that caught a Lynx pilot from the top of 40 who subsequently left-his-load on the west slopes of 40. He had been scheduled to return empty to BBK and having refuelled, saw an opportunity to take a wildcard USL en-route; and having transitioned, the USL took him downslope. It will happen again until eventually UK Mil Plc get their quano in one heap and use common unit measurements across all its aviation assets.
As a crewman, learn a cadbury's bunny voice...it works!
Aka 'Lady Whiteadder'....
Last edited by BEagle; 22nd Jun 2012 at 06:34.
Heard whilst at MPA in 91/92 of an Officers mess social ! where some damage had occured to a 78 Sqn badge/plaque on the wall by a Army unit and they refused to pay for said damage. Following morning the wokka wokka sound filled the car park as at Breakfast time a Chinook lifted up the Army unit's CO rover and dumped it on top of a flotel in Stanley. Believed they pay up eventually.
(If any one does know if it was a true story please fill in the gaps??)
(If any one does know if it was a true story please fill in the gaps??)
Avoid imitations
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Ref: Torque fiqures:
Ee bah gum, You were lucky! We had to 'ave t'collective pitch graph implanted in ower 'eads.
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An AAC officer flying a gazelle in Canada was tasked to pick up some dinosaur bones from a site in the middle of nowhere. Overconfidence/lack of knowledge ? Result: The load became unstable and he jettisoned it. "Establish new excavation site at grid.........".
I would love to know the full outcome of that one.
I would love to know the full outcome of that one.
Heard more than once....."Scramble! First guy up is Lead....Brief on Guard!"
Huey's and Cobras's got no tires!
We did frown upon the use of Air Force Common for our briefs.
We did frown upon the use of Air Force Common for our briefs.