Mind the Door.......
 

It seems that a new Merlin may have been Cat5 in Belize last week. It was being delivered to Belize on a C17 and when it was being offloaded the Loadmaster dropped the door onto it. There is no way to stop or reverse once started. Ouch! Awaiting comment from ABIW in defence.....

Couldn't have been Wilts, him being a J person ;)

A new Merlin? Crikey! Shouldn't this be linked to the 'More Merlins' thread then? And there I was thinking they were all a few time zones east. What's it doing over there (apart from being dinked)?

TI

I believe it was going to be used for SAR duties...

I believe there was an incedent with one of the "new" Chinooks about six years ago. I heard that whilst being offloaded at Bristol docks, the shear pin on the towing arm did exactly what it said on the tin. Unfortunately, the aircraft had been inhibited against corrosion during the voyage and the brakes failed to operate, resulting in a fair bit of damage when it collided with the tractor. :D

...or should it instead start a new thread called 'Less Merlins'?

It will need some Magic to keep himself in a Job after that then!!:=

I have it on good authority(:8), that no structural damage was caused to the a/c.

Which.........the C17 or the Merlin or neither ?

Good job the C17 has to have the Movers loading under the direction of the ALM.........:eek:

Nope
Affirm

Indeed, Movers team leader reading from the tie down scheme says ' next lower the ramp', The ALM lowers the door.

Thanks for all the leadership Mr ALM.

Why are we using C17's to transport Merlins to Belize? Very strange.

Because it wont fit into a Hercules is my guess:sad:

Maybe because they can't fly there direct?? :\

Nothing wrong with that. Think of all the night stops they are missing out on. Gander, Tampa.......................

Obvious
 

Why use a C17 to take a Merlin to Belize??? Why on earth would you want to waste tens of valuable aircraft flying a Merlin across the top of the atlantic to get all the way down the States to Belize (and back!!)! Use a C17 and go direct. Shame the C17 load-"master" was blind.

And think about it. Lots of Brit troops go to Belize to train in the jungle. Why not aircrew? They need Jungle training too!

And it wouldn't be a "new" Merlin. They are not even in service yet (if they ever will be).

Yes I guess you are correct after all there a some pretty big jungles in Iraq and Afg.

I am led to believe that the Merlin was on a super-secret Bin Liner hunting mission. :eek: :eek: None of this jungle training malarkey.

Sorry, Monday morning and trying to pull myself out of that weekly bout of depression. :uhoh:

What would you use to transport Merlins to Belize? They are there on Ex and the quickest way is by air.

<pedant>Fewer Merlins...</pedant>

HiyaLander - How is the intact Merlin doing? Surely it must have gained a new brow courtesy of the C17 door or is it that tough?

Not sure, but apparantly, the damage was negligabubble (sic) to both A/C.

There has always been a bit of annoyance of the position of the buttons on the C-17, i.e.

Door Close

Ramp Down


Too close together.

Homeward Bound
 

It's coming home soon for other reasons... in the back of a C17!! Hope it's not the same loading team (and yes that includes the Loadmaster before any movers get excited)

TMJ - touche, though perhaps in this case . . . less Merlin


oddly enough, I saw a TV prog once that said Belize was the car theft capital of a very large area. They get stolen in the southern states and driven down there. Apparently it's so bad that if you were to check the VIN of official vehicles, many of them would come back as stolen.

That being said, maybe a C17 isn't necessary afterall, just a little creative parking...

Never let the truth get in the way of a good rumour...
 

eyespied,

you're quite correct, the C-17 loadie did have a bit of "finger trouble" and yes he did cause a teeny weeny bit of damage to the tail section of said Merlin. The aircraft isn't Cat 5'd, infact, the tail has been fixed. :) It is in Belize to support the Battle Group currently on Ex. Tropical Storm...

..Or at least it would be if they hadn't found that the internal workings of the main rotor gearbox are corroded! :bored: I'm led to believe that the aircraft they sent over here had spent a considerable amount of time in the hanger. As the rotating parts within the gearbox had not rotated for some time, they lacked that certain protection that oh, say, oil might have given them against any nasty bits of moisture getting in there.:ugh:

It has flown (once). And the boys (and girls) have been all over it trying to sort things out. I hope their efforts will not be in vain. I fear the Army may try and nick the TV screens out of the front if it sits around much longer:eek: . Regards

RotP

Pedant Alert
 

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh! (Number of 'a's might be wrong),

Call me picky but that should read 'fewer' not 'less' Merlins.

Tin hat on and ready for heavy return fire.

Regards,

HAL

Try looking six posts up the page from yours. I think you have been beaten to it.:ok:

But why is it wrong?





Because you can't use "Less" with 'countables'.

Apparantly.