Whirlwinds?

[swashplate]

Lookled like a brace of 'em at 17.55hrs last night going towards Cranfield. they were in echelon formation.

Anyone any info?

[Vfrpilotpb]

Could they have been Wessex's? I could be wrong but I thought all Whirley Birds had gone to Heaven!

[swashplate]

hmmmmmmm.......

'suppose they could have been Wessex's

.....but they sounded like pistone helo's and main wheels were at the back and two small front wheels at front.

....then again, y'never know.....

[Floppy Link]

hmm
aren't Whirlwinds turbine?
1 x RR Gnome if I remember correctly

i.e. a single engine Wessex! Sort of...

the original Sikorsky was a piston design, got turbinised when Westland built them under licence and called 'em Whrlwind

[Thud_and_Blunder]

Floppy,

Getting warmer.

The Series 3 Whirlwind had a Gnome (and arguably a much better cockpit for night-flying than the Wessex..), but the original Westland S55s had the same piston as the Sikorsky. And the non-canted tail-boom... ZZZzzz.

I remember reading in Pilot a year or so ago about a civvy Whirlwind operator - was it the ex-Queen's-Flight HCC12? - somewhere in England to the west of Berks. Perhaps that's who was operating that day.

[capt waffoo]

T & B, surely the S55 had a Wright or Pratt engine, and the Whirly a Leonides or some such. I seem to recall tales of how they had to make the Leonides run backwards which it did, for a while, hence the number of Whirlies that went for the deep six!

I heard if a Whirly in civvy hands near Skipton a few years back, but its a big toy for civvys to afford.

[Thud_and_Blunder]

Capt W,

The early Whirlwinds (HAR 1 & 3) had the Wasp, the later HAR 5 and HAS 7 had the Alvis. Many of the later HAS 7s, which I believe didn't spend long in the AS role 'cos the Wessex arrived, were converted to HAR 9s (Series 3, with the Gnome).

I now claim my sad spotter's badge Grade 3, and retire for the night (packing all these boxes has done my back in...).

Cheers,

Thud

[ShyTorque]

Spotter alert!

The later RAF versions of the series 3, the HAR 10 also had the Bristol Siddeley Gnome 101, 1050 shp but de-rated I seem to remember.

I got the bug for rotary flying after a spell as a Whirlwind passenger/professional survivor whilst holding at RAF Leconfield. I later trained on them as pilot, rather underpowered but quite a docile old beast (the aircraft, not me!); basic students were required to do solo engine-off landings at around the 70 hour stage.

They got something of a reputation for tail rotor drive failures once retired from active service and sold on to the civvy market.

[John Eacott]

Ah, the sweet nostalgia! After a hefty 50 hours on Hiller 12E's I was let lose on a Whirlwind HAS7 for c.40 hrs, with Malarky Jim as my instructor. Well remember the Alvis Leonides, you could hear each cylinder catch during start up! That long climb up the side into the cockpit, the lousy vis. through numerous window panes, Sproule net practice (solo) with a very agitated CPO in the back pointing out in a broad Irish accent "Get up, me bleeding feet are getting wet!!" Bursting a tyre during auto's at Predannack (sp?), and M' Jim holding a hover back at Culdrose for a wheel change.

Hardly miss it

ps how's the big move going, T & B?

[Thud_and_Blunder]

Hi John ,

Ta for asking. As mentioned yesterday, I nearly did my back in trying to move a few bits of furniture on my own - some people never learn, eh? Never mind - this morning there was 2 hours 20 mins of jungle inserts to keep me happy, including winching 6 blokes plus kit into a conf area at 4500 feet. Puts it all into perspective - sometimes I can hardly believe they pay me to do this! All this talk of Whirlwinds - my instructors on the Mk10, one of whom frequently contributes here - often used to chat about their own days in Borneo in the Series 3, although I believe your own parent service used the piston aircraft here as well. Wouldn't have had much more payload than half a verbal message at these DAs, I'd imagine - they were welcome to it! Could've been worse - they might have been on Belvederes. Ah, the smell of AVPIN, not to mention that funny sound they make just before they explode...

I can remember having all of RAF Valley to myself one Sunday for solo EOLs, 'cos the Masters Mafia among the SARTU crewmen wouldn't fly with me until I'd finished them. Also remember having the devil's own job doing nose-up sloping ground landings, but don't remember what Oldbeefer says about me having icicles on my pre-pubescent 'tache while sweating through yet another IRT re-sit.

Off on resettlement training next month - I have to learn how to 'sell myself' before I'm fit to be released into the real world. Sounds a bit risque to unworldly-wise little old me...

How goes the ski season? Only asking out of jealousy, mind!

Cheers,

Thud

[ 30 July 2001: Message edited by: Thud_and_Blunder ]

[John Eacott]

AVPIN!!! The whole ship went on alert for RAS of that stuff, the Wessie 1 was wonderful to watch as the stuff fired off the starter motor. Well remember one Wessex HAS1 came out of major rebuild at Culdrose, parked out on the ramp. The subsequent explosion on the first start sent the whole starter assembly across the ramp, through the hangar doors (closed at the time) and finally came to rest at the other end of the hangar. Pilot thought it a good time to go to stand-easy after that

Snow? After the worst season in 35 years in Canada, we're shaping up for the worst in living memory here. Still, we're busy flying the skiers, they've got not much else to do

[capt waffoo]

swashplate, I cant imagine what you saw but it wasnt a brace of Whirlies, cos there aint one A brace, that is. There are 55 Whirlwinds on the CAA register, believe it or not, one is the twin engined aeroplane and of the other 54 all are deregistered but one. That one is on a permit to fly and is registered to an address in Ireland.
http://www.srg.caa.co.uk/aircraftregister/ginfo_dbsear ch.asp

[ 31 July 2001: Message edited by: capt waffoo ]

[ 31 July 2001: Message edited by: capt waffoo ]

[Jed A1]

There is also at least one on the N reg flying around the UK.