Westland Scout/Wasp
Thread Starter
Westland Scout/Wasp
A question,if I may,to those who may know:I have seen numerous photo's of Wasps flying without doors fitted.,but I don't recall seeing a picture of a Scout so configured.Was this in fact done,and if not,was there a reason ?
Many thanks in anticpation.
Many thanks in anticpation.
Below the Glidepath - not correcting
The Scout was cleared for doors removed for flight. The AAC used them extensively in Hong Kong (660 Sqn AAC) with doors removed so they could lift the Chinese Illegal Immigrants (using Gurkha Regiment soldiers) crossing from China trying to reach Hong Kong. Quite a few pictures on the interwebs if your google-fu skills are up to it. The normal configuration was rear doors off, but all doors could be removed. There also were "flat" rear doors and "bulging" rear doors to accommodate a wider rear bench seat and more pax.
The Scout I underslung from Cadenas to Airport Camp in Belize had the doors off. It was a real sod to fly, swinging and bucking above 70 knots.
As the Puma was variable speed/constant fuel consumption I didn't have enough fuel to go direct so I dropped it off at an airstrip and my escorting Puma with the rotor blades, REME party etc looked after it.
I was night when I came back for it. I could only just see what was going on through the fog of mossies.
As the Puma was variable speed/constant fuel consumption I didn't have enough fuel to go direct so I dropped it off at an airstrip and my escorting Puma with the rotor blades, REME party etc looked after it.
I was night when I came back for it. I could only just see what was going on through the fog of mossies.
There were 2 types of bulged doors on the Scout. Small bulge to accommodate a stretcher transversely and the large bulge to accommodate 4 x pax or possibly 2 x stretchers. The Wasp only had the small bulge version due to the flotation gear above.
Large bulge:
Gents,
In the photo of the RAN Wasp we can see on top of the front part of the skids a pin either side, in the following photos we see what appear to be weights sitting on the pins. My question is what are they for? weight and balance or are they an early form of dampening?
Cheers
In the photo of the RAN Wasp we can see on top of the front part of the skids a pin either side, in the following photos we see what appear to be weights sitting on the pins. My question is what are they for? weight and balance or are they an early form of dampening?
Cheers
Gents,
In the photo of the RAN Wasp we can see on top of the front part of the skids a pin either side, in the following photos we see what appear to be weights sitting on the pins. My question is what are they for? weight and balance or are they an early form of dampening?
Cheers
In the photo of the RAN Wasp we can see on top of the front part of the skids a pin either side, in the following photos we see what appear to be weights sitting on the pins. My question is what are they for? weight and balance or are they an early form of dampening?
Cheers
The RN Wasp operated without doors because in the event of a ditching the flotation gear left the body of the aircraft below the surface and it made egress through the roof panel rather tricky I believe. Deflector panels were fitted to the forward hinges of the front doors to avoid a ninety knot gale in the cockpit in flight. It did make operating in the northern climes pretty chilly until they came up with heated gloves and socks which were particularly nice during the "Cod War".
A fairly lightweight single pilot operating the a/c could be right on the CofG limits, and so weights had to be used to get the CofG back in limits
Thanks Gents for the responses,
If it was to assist in C of G matters then I would have thought a few up the front would have been fairly handy if you have a crew member aft observing the under-slung loading party as in the RAN photo!
If it was to assist in C of G matters then I would have thought a few up the front would have been fairly handy if you have a crew member aft observing the under-slung loading party as in the RAN photo!
Chief Bottle Washer
Probably why the lightweight racing snake got away with no skid weights
Does anyone have any REAL idea of why the weights existed? Seems obvious for CoG purposes, but never had any CoG problems without them. Then again I don't recall ever doing a CoG calc. In my time flying the aircraft never saw, or even knew they existed, certainly no reference to them during conversion.
In current flying practice on type, they are for CofG. If you had the SS-11 fit or have the dual instrument panel, not required, else, solo and under 9st (ish) and depending on fuel load, they would be required. Next time I’m in the Hangar, I’ll take a photo of the CofG chart to demonstrate. You’ll note the RAN Scout has the sand filters fitted which will bring the CofG aft.
MR
MR