RAF Merlins
 

Just an observation but i have recently noticed the distinct lack of RAF Merlin activity recently.. i normally used to see a few out on the apron at Benson & beetling around the Abingdon circuit at regularish but very quiet of late.

I heard unofficially the Merlins are suffering abit from lack of spares - if so is this a common setback with new aircraft ???
Can anyone shed any light on this

Ta

The deafening silence leads me to think you may be quite close to the truth Neil......

Or it's air show season. I hear they make a lovely static...

rc - those would be Bosnian airshows perhaps?

Heard 6 RAF Merlins flying overheard British West Oxfordshire today in formation....

Real ones, that is, not those horrible clattering things from Benson. 4 Merlins attached to the Lancaster and one each to 2 Spitfires!

Lancaster
 

Good to hear the Lanc is out and about BEags, last I heard it was in dock for severe tailwheel vibration and looking at possble long-term repair.:ok:

You beat me to it, Beags, I was going to say that if you want to hear Merlins, then try the environs of Coningsby, Duxford, Old Warden or Filton. I didn't think that there were any about at Benson..........that's a helo base, isn't it? But I've said it now!?

Airbedane

There is a force of 3 (?) Freaky Merlins working for SFOR in Banja Luka, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

I know they are prone to "breaking" alot, i seem to remember one that was 6 days old when it visited my 2001 Abingdon Fayre at Abingdon airfield, upon landing the tail rotor unit went u/s.
And ie: one would start up, for it to shut down, crew dismount & get into another!!

But despite the niggles i guess on new types, it is a bloody big Helicopter - & agile too.

Wouldn't it pay for the RAF to purchase a big wad of spares so would not have the problem of "robbing" other Helis for bits so to have more serviceable?

Q: Why does the Naval Merlin have one main wheel each side whereas the RAF examples have two on each side??

And i noticed the Naval Merlin has "mirrors" above the cabin - any reason??

Neil
To enable manoeuvring within the close confines of a DD/FF flight deck.
And the mirrors...... so you can see behind! Check blind spot, mirror, signal, manoeuvre.
:ok:

The mirrors are so you can see if the top is on fire.
Amazingly enough that is not a joke.
Unlike westlands...........

About 10yrs ago I was at Wastelands and they told me that when the first landed the SH Merlin on the grass, it sunk in to the ground up to its belly.
Ooops!
Hence the SH version now has tandem wheels to decrease the wheel loading when landing on unprepared surfaces.

If the RN Merlins have the wing mirrors to keep an eye on possible fires up top (which they do), why dont the RAF ones have them? I know there are differences in the airframe (undercarriage/ramp etc) down to role specifics but arent the gearbox and engines the same, hence potentially the same problems ?

The wing mirrors would also be a help on the SH model to aid avoiding getting bounced one would think.

Oggin

I suspect you'll see a lot of the Merlin around Benson as it'll always remain the second choice when the Army needs SH!!!!

That is until they find a role that suits its limited payload, CSAR?

I'm sure its range and speed will be ideally suited to JPR.
The VIP version looks quite Gucci too and aptly named the
U/S101...sorry US101.

Mirrors
 

Oggin,

Not sure about the Merlin's mirrors but it could depend on the posn of the IR jammers?

The junglie seakings dont have mirrors either as the IR heat from jammers would reflect directly into the pilots eyes.

From memory the dangerous distance was 10m.

Might be the same thing?

Is the floor really made of highly compressed cardboard?

The mighty Merlin?!
 

The Merlins have been up north working with the army plodding around the Otterburn and Catterick area I think. Don't worry though, normal Abingdon service will resume I'm sure as they left Leeming on Friday, all at the same time not on a low loader or in a C-17!

"Wouldn't it pay for the RAF to purchase a big wad of spares so would not have the problem of "robbing" other Helis for bits so to have more serviceable?"

I wish....

Having enough spares would prevent us from doing three times the work required just to complete one job, and would make the aircraft last a bit longer as it wouldn't always be the same ones flying!!!

Couldn't have that could we?

:hmm:

A 28 Sqn Flight Commander was quoted in the RAF News saying that the Merlin was the best helicopter in its class in the RAF and indeed the world!!!!!

Which class would that be then:

a. The most expensive per copy class.

b. The least useable payload per gross wt class.

c. The guess which role it can do class.

Any other suggestions?