Love BBQ plates... NOT!:(

Thats why 431 did all the AAC choppers too... :eek:

Indeed - I was the Chief Tech 'Surveyor' for that particular Harrier. It had suffered engine failure on the approach and plonked down very hard indeed. The nose u/c was pushed backwards and upwards requiring major repairs to the frames aft of the nose bay. The two main undercarriage beams suffered distortion from the up-thrust of the main gear and the unreplaceable Frame 19 (?) at the front of the beams also suffered damage that was within a thou or two of being totally out of limits. As Rigga wrote, BAe turned the job down as, whilst they had replaced individual beams, they had never replaced both (how to maintain datums for the u/c pintle bearings?). However, politics reared it's ugly head in that a/c repair functions carried out by 431 MU were under threat and the 'Powers that be' saw the repair of XZ 131 as a justification for retaining the manpower and purpose. The Design Repair Authority at Dunsfold were intrigued by how we went about it and two of their most experienced designers came out on a visit to view and discuss the methodology (and went home with severe hangovers - but that is another story). Somewhere I have a photo of the repaired fuselage on a low-loader, ready for despatch back to Güt, with the team proudly standing in front.

PS - just found it... (I am sixth from the left - but look nothing like that now!)

http://www.kmercerphotography.co.uk/431MU_950.jpg

Were these the two pumas that ended up on their side at Baghdad Airport? If so it's good to know they're up and flying again.

There was one ended up on its side in ASF at Odiham :E

When they tow Pumas around in strong winds do they still tell the towing party to have both main doors open to stop it being blown over.

Lyneham Lad,
I recognise Mick Swift, Chris Baggley, Clive Clark and a few other faces but not more names...
I wonder where I was that day?
Rigga

Fifth from left is Jess Harker. As to your location? Well as it was 1984 maybe Big Brother should be consulted. ;)

LOL!
You must've followed me from Laarbruch or Honington.

Is that the chap with quite a nice office near the IOT school?:O

RAF 230 SQ Puma XW222 - is now in the Ulster Aviation Society hanger, outside Lisburn NI

Rolled over?
 

I was the crewman onboard, not so much roll over but tail rotor failure on the approach to land, intermediate gearbox decided to stop playing resulting in a stunning arrival at LZ!

The AS332 Super Pumas had overheat warnings for the inter and tailrotor gearboxes.

I wonder if Aerospatial knew about the problem already?

Was XW222 donated by Airbus helicopters? GTIGE, an ex Bristow 332L, which was traded in for a 225, fully serviceable but due for a Check 4 (the big one), was donated to the Helicopter Museum at Weston Super Mare.

I had to do the alignment checks on a Puma Engine mounts using the scope thing and shims for the feet, It took ages and although i nearly got them spot on i couldn't get them perfectly aligned, in the end the question was asked and Aerospatial came back with what sight windows are you using?, it turned out there were two sets with different limits, one for in use after the thing had flexed and one for manufacture, the new tooling we got came with the manufacture sights fitted lol, after we got the correct sights it was spot on.

Just found this thread. Log book tells me I first flew tremblers on 14 Feb72. The hours we spent trying to cure the vibe problem.

You were probably using the alignment tool the Air Force 'borrowed' from Bristow in about 1980.

Not all of it ;) - I've got her green Decometer on my bedroom shelf (along with the 'Serviceable' label). Bought legally and above board, I hasten to add.

Q-SKI, very long time no see!

I was brought in off leave to replace the pilot, aka "The flying vicar"!
You were damned lucky you hadn't picked up the usl because otherwise I reckon you'd have been in the Weser! When we arrived at the engineers park the aircraft was propped up by some long pieces of 4 by 2 with the port u/c hanging off.

The inter gearbox securing bolts hadn't been manufactured correctly, so torquing them up just caused the nuts to reach the ends of their threads, leaving the gearbox slightly loose on it's mounts and able to move until the Flector pack failed.

I last flew XW231 in January 1994 and left the RAF shortly afterwards. Back then she was an OCU aircraft.

My last ever Puma flight was, rather ironically, an engineering airtest in the oldest Puma, XW198, in February 1994.

I have a photo, how do I post?
Photobucket no good now - what would host the photo?

lsh
:E

Now there's a name from the past!

Awfully nice bloke and one he'll of a fitter, among other things...