Westland Lynx (Merged threads)
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Dan,
If I could get my money back then I would, but that might be slightly unfair on my school
Seriously though, of course I was taught about teetering-head, sloping-ground et al, but you'll notice that the SH-60 doesn't have a teetering head and that you would not deliberately land your helicopter on sloping ground when there was someone under the disc! That is why I asked what had happened.
What I was meaning to say was that I did not know that wind gusts would cause the disc to move to such an extent that it could strike someone who was presumably already ducking beneath it.
I should have worded my post differently, my bad.
If I could get my money back then I would, but that might be slightly unfair on my school
Seriously though, of course I was taught about teetering-head, sloping-ground et al, but you'll notice that the SH-60 doesn't have a teetering head and that you would not deliberately land your helicopter on sloping ground when there was someone under the disc! That is why I asked what had happened.
What I was meaning to say was that I did not know that wind gusts would cause the disc to move to such an extent that it could strike someone who was presumably already ducking beneath it.
I should have worded my post differently, my bad.
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Roger That
Roger That
On the blade sail point, my understanding is that main blades are most dangerous when moving slowly, ie: at the beginning of the engine start procedure, and at the end of the shutdown. Main blades on all types get the bulk of their rigidity from centrifugal force, and are therefore less likely to sail out of the normal plane of rotation as rotational speed increases. Yes, people?
Maybe someone has seen written advice on this point in any civil/military handling or POH manuals?
For my part, it was always drummed into me during my early days about the dangers the main blades represent. The 'thumbs up/eye-contact-with-the-pilot' rule was perhaps the first lesson I learned.
Anyone else receive similar instruction?
On the blade sail point, my understanding is that main blades are most dangerous when moving slowly, ie: at the beginning of the engine start procedure, and at the end of the shutdown. Main blades on all types get the bulk of their rigidity from centrifugal force, and are therefore less likely to sail out of the normal plane of rotation as rotational speed increases. Yes, people?
Maybe someone has seen written advice on this point in any civil/military handling or POH manuals?
For my part, it was always drummed into me during my early days about the dangers the main blades represent. The 'thumbs up/eye-contact-with-the-pilot' rule was perhaps the first lesson I learned.
Anyone else receive similar instruction?
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For the record, during run up and coast down (especially coast down) the blades can go very far from the nominal path. This is true of teetering, articulated and some rigid rotors. As the rotor passes thru the first flapping frequency (usually about 35 to 40% Nr) the wind excites the upwind passing blade which sails upward, then crashes down when it is pointed into the wind. This is repeated for each blade as they pass by, with the tip path excursions getting larger and larger. On one European aircraft, several incidents of blades striking the deck have been experienc3d in winds of about 35 knots!
Rule of thumb, NEVER walk under a rotor when it is starting or shutting down.
Rule of thumb, NEVER walk under a rotor when it is starting or shutting down.
Iconoclast
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Did I go far enough?
To: Dantruck
I went on the website and found no reference to the Subject incident. Maybe I didn’t explore the site sufficiently and if the photos were referenced on the website I stand corrected. However when I posted the site the arguments/discussions didn’t last as long as this thread and it along with other comments on deck landings eventually disappeared from the first page.
I suggest that all of the participants on this thread recall the "Deck Landings" thread on this forum. Go to page two and scroll down untill everything turns blue.
I went on the website and found no reference to the Subject incident. Maybe I didn’t explore the site sufficiently and if the photos were referenced on the website I stand corrected. However when I posted the site the arguments/discussions didn’t last as long as this thread and it along with other comments on deck landings eventually disappeared from the first page.
I suggest that all of the participants on this thread recall the "Deck Landings" thread on this forum. Go to page two and scroll down untill everything turns blue.
Last edited by Lu Zuckerman; 21st Feb 2003 at 17:58.
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In the most awful cases, I'm not convinced that actually seeing pictures of bits of body is any more effective in a safety education sense than reading/being told what happened.
Some of the worst photographs I've ever seen were of the remains of a young girl killed doing her first parachute jump on a weekend course - I represented her family. The poor girl drifted away from the LZ, was unable to steer back, and descended straight into the blades of a hovering helicopter. It doesn't take much imagination to work out what the photographs looked like, does it?
Is it really necessary to see the photographs of what remained of her to learn the safety lesson: Parachuting and turning blades are a potentially lethal combination - especially if novices are jumping?
Do we need to see the photographs of what remained of the child that poor father instinctively lifted when leaving a helicopter with the blades still turning in order to learn the safety lessons of that incident?
Doesn't this case fall into the same category?
Let's just get on with learning how such a thing could happen - and the importance of avoiding the potential danger.
Some of the worst photographs I've ever seen were of the remains of a young girl killed doing her first parachute jump on a weekend course - I represented her family. The poor girl drifted away from the LZ, was unable to steer back, and descended straight into the blades of a hovering helicopter. It doesn't take much imagination to work out what the photographs looked like, does it?
Is it really necessary to see the photographs of what remained of her to learn the safety lesson: Parachuting and turning blades are a potentially lethal combination - especially if novices are jumping?
Do we need to see the photographs of what remained of the child that poor father instinctively lifted when leaving a helicopter with the blades still turning in order to learn the safety lessons of that incident?
Doesn't this case fall into the same category?
Let's just get on with learning how such a thing could happen - and the importance of avoiding the potential danger.
Thanks for the link B Sousa
'A picture paints a thousand words'
All too often I've come across incidents where people (normally youngsters) have been bitten or surprised by 'real life'.
Can't imagine the photos surprised any one of us here......what would you think a decapitated body looked like?
More and more people, used to the 'wrap in cotton wool/ litigate if one forgot to use commonsense' culture, imagine death as portrayed by an actor in a Columbo movie - has fallen from a 20-storey building but is seen lying on the pavement with their limbs laid out in the fashion of the Isle of Man!
looked at some of the other links, quite horrific yet sad.
All I'm saying is - don't be so precious, we're all big boys and girls and, need it be said - never compromise safety (running late, do I really have to close down before letting the pax on, they've been on a chopper before, not fitted with a rotor brake, what could possible go wrong)?
Strange to think that the serviceman was caught considering you would have thought that he (I think the body was male) would have safety briefings up the ying-yang!
All too often I've come across incidents where people (normally youngsters) have been bitten or surprised by 'real life'.
Can't imagine the photos surprised any one of us here......what would you think a decapitated body looked like?
More and more people, used to the 'wrap in cotton wool/ litigate if one forgot to use commonsense' culture, imagine death as portrayed by an actor in a Columbo movie - has fallen from a 20-storey building but is seen lying on the pavement with their limbs laid out in the fashion of the Isle of Man!
looked at some of the other links, quite horrific yet sad.
All I'm saying is - don't be so precious, we're all big boys and girls and, need it be said - never compromise safety (running late, do I really have to close down before letting the pax on, they've been on a chopper before, not fitted with a rotor brake, what could possible go wrong)?
Strange to think that the serviceman was caught considering you would have thought that he (I think the body was male) would have safety briefings up the ying-yang!
The cause is clearly blade-sail, a phenomenon which has been known about for some time, but not well understood until reasonably recently. Much of the basic theory of why blade sail happens was cracked 10-20 years ago by Dr.Simon Newman, who has published several very deep papers on the subject and is also author of "Foundations of Helicopter flight". I had lunch with Simon (who taught me as an undergraduate and has become a friend and collaborator on various non helicopter safety projects) a few months ago and we got chatting about the subject in general. Apparently with the newer more rigid rotor systems such as on the Merlin he's finding the need to start getting involved again, not because these systems are prone to decapitation based incidents in the way that the Wessex and EH60 are/were, but because the same forces and mechanisms are putting huge fatiguing loads on the actual hub mechanism and it is starting to become a serious worry at the design offices of places like WHL. Thus ends my theoretical knowledge of blade sail, but that should be enough for anybody interested to look up SJN's published work on the subject.
Regarding the website, as a moderator from elsewhere, could I lend my support to the moderators here. The subject is utterly worthy of discussion, the discussion is not aided by morbid pictures of somebody who was in a highly unfortunate accident. I have worked on the investigation of 6 fatal accidents in my career, in none of which would sight of anything more detailed than the summary of a pathologists report have helped me in my work - for which I am deeply grateful.
G
Postscript, the following references are relevant...
Helicopter flight around as ship's superstructure
JOURNAL AEROSPACE ENGINEERING - IMechE, 2002, Vol. 216, Part G, pp.13-28. (Wakefield, Newman, Wilson)
The phenomenon of helicopter rotor blade sailing
Proc. Instn. Mech. Engnrs, 1999, Vol.213, Part.G, pp.347-363. (Newman)
The design, development and operation of the shipborne helicopter.
Transactions of The Royal Institution of Naval Architects, 1999, Vol.141, Part.C, pp.192-210. (Newman)
The influence of blade flexibility on the sailing behaviour of helicopter rotors
Journal of Defence Science, 1996, Vol.1, No.4, pp.498-507. (Newman, Walker)
Regarding the website, as a moderator from elsewhere, could I lend my support to the moderators here. The subject is utterly worthy of discussion, the discussion is not aided by morbid pictures of somebody who was in a highly unfortunate accident. I have worked on the investigation of 6 fatal accidents in my career, in none of which would sight of anything more detailed than the summary of a pathologists report have helped me in my work - for which I am deeply grateful.
G
Postscript, the following references are relevant...
Helicopter flight around as ship's superstructure
JOURNAL AEROSPACE ENGINEERING - IMechE, 2002, Vol. 216, Part G, pp.13-28. (Wakefield, Newman, Wilson)
The phenomenon of helicopter rotor blade sailing
Proc. Instn. Mech. Engnrs, 1999, Vol.213, Part.G, pp.347-363. (Newman)
The design, development and operation of the shipborne helicopter.
Transactions of The Royal Institution of Naval Architects, 1999, Vol.141, Part.C, pp.192-210. (Newman)
The influence of blade flexibility on the sailing behaviour of helicopter rotors
Journal of Defence Science, 1996, Vol.1, No.4, pp.498-507. (Newman, Walker)
Last edited by Genghis the Engineer; 22nd Feb 2003 at 08:45.
Gatvol
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Its over and done with. Even earned me a warning on my "Banning from PPrune Record." Thanks Danny. I do hope if Lu Zuckerman (with one N) posted a reference as he mentioned, he also got a warning.(Hello Mr Moderator)
Someone emailed me and reminded me that this is a British website and although you can observe a London Tabloid Picture of Lady Di doin the deed with whoever, thats news. Anything else is distasteful. Im going to have to remember in the future that Im on the other side of the pond. Reality is something that happens daily and people do their own choosing on where they visit on the internet. Computers here have delete buttons. My point is why did you go there in the first place knowing what you were about to see and why did you stay so long.
Genghis writes:"I have worked on the investigation of 6 fatal accidents in my career, in none of which would sight of anything more detailed than the summary of a pathologists report have helped me in my work - for which I am deeply grateful. "
Im glad to see that someone who works on Accident Investigations only has to shuffle the paperwork. You have been very lucky. Some of us have had the unfortunate responsibility to take the case from the scene to the courtroom. Even worse when they are your own troops.
Yes, its a no value site. Lets move on.......
Someone emailed me and reminded me that this is a British website and although you can observe a London Tabloid Picture of Lady Di doin the deed with whoever, thats news. Anything else is distasteful. Im going to have to remember in the future that Im on the other side of the pond. Reality is something that happens daily and people do their own choosing on where they visit on the internet. Computers here have delete buttons. My point is why did you go there in the first place knowing what you were about to see and why did you stay so long.
Genghis writes:"I have worked on the investigation of 6 fatal accidents in my career, in none of which would sight of anything more detailed than the summary of a pathologists report have helped me in my work - for which I am deeply grateful. "
Im glad to see that someone who works on Accident Investigations only has to shuffle the paperwork. You have been very lucky. Some of us have had the unfortunate responsibility to take the case from the scene to the courtroom. Even worse when they are your own troops.
Yes, its a no value site. Lets move on.......
Whilst this storm is blowing.....I am in the midst of creating a crewmember/passenger training program for where I work. I looked at the pictures being referenced with a thought to maybe using some of them in the presentation. After some careful deliberation I elected not to use any of them. The audience I must play to, the political correctness that must be observed, and the possible adverse reaction some of the more sensitive of the audience might have to such graphic representations of the price of carelessness, made me leave them out.
Having been an investigator and police officer and a longtime helicopter pilot with combat experience, the sights of tragic ends of lives is nothing new nor really shocking anymore. These photographs are both repulsive and representative at the same time.
My opinion is guided by the reasons people view these kinds of pictures or video's....if used properly in an effort to prevent similar losses of life then I see some benefit to it. If just for mere idle curiosity, then I consider that less acceptable.
Violent death is a fact of life. The prevention of unnecessary loss of life is a worthy goal.
If I had an audience of only SWAT members, EMT's, Flight Nurses, Paramedics, or police officers and firemen.....I would probably use the pictures in the presentation. Passengers do not need to see things like this.
Having been an investigator and police officer and a longtime helicopter pilot with combat experience, the sights of tragic ends of lives is nothing new nor really shocking anymore. These photographs are both repulsive and representative at the same time.
My opinion is guided by the reasons people view these kinds of pictures or video's....if used properly in an effort to prevent similar losses of life then I see some benefit to it. If just for mere idle curiosity, then I consider that less acceptable.
Violent death is a fact of life. The prevention of unnecessary loss of life is a worthy goal.
If I had an audience of only SWAT members, EMT's, Flight Nurses, Paramedics, or police officers and firemen.....I would probably use the pictures in the presentation. Passengers do not need to see things like this.
Sousa....seems some still cannot grasp what you are saying....autopsy reports, accident reports, eye witness accounts, court transcripts, all fail to record the reality of the event as does recovering the remains of the unfortunate persons who die in crashes. Compound that with the trauma that comes from packing up the remains of those you are personally involved with makes it even worse.
Crash scenes can be overwhelming.....sights, smells, sounds, all remain with you for a very long time. Maybe that is why some of us are prone to speak out in support of strong safety programs that meet the "reality" test instead of merely sounding good on paper.
If we shock someone with a graphic picture or video and they learn something from it.....maybe that will prevent that person from finding their way into a similar photograph with them as the subject.
Genghis......maybe more engineers and pilots should be exposed to the real life results of bad engineering and flying techniques.
It is all well and good to read about it....and maybe attend a funeral, offer condolences, and have a cup of tea and chat about the dear departed. It is another thing to see up close the results of poor performance.
In high school drivers education classes, we all had to watch Signal 30 films....but until our class lost four members due to a 100+ mph crash....it did not sink in. The wrecked car was mandatory viewing .....and after a few days in the warm air....standing downwind was not very pleasant.
Crash scenes can be overwhelming.....sights, smells, sounds, all remain with you for a very long time. Maybe that is why some of us are prone to speak out in support of strong safety programs that meet the "reality" test instead of merely sounding good on paper.
If we shock someone with a graphic picture or video and they learn something from it.....maybe that will prevent that person from finding their way into a similar photograph with them as the subject.
Genghis......maybe more engineers and pilots should be exposed to the real life results of bad engineering and flying techniques.
It is all well and good to read about it....and maybe attend a funeral, offer condolences, and have a cup of tea and chat about the dear departed. It is another thing to see up close the results of poor performance.
In high school drivers education classes, we all had to watch Signal 30 films....but until our class lost four members due to a 100+ mph crash....it did not sink in. The wrecked car was mandatory viewing .....and after a few days in the warm air....standing downwind was not very pleasant.
Iconoclast
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What is right and what is wrong?
To: Genghis the Engineer
The Merlin rotorhead is fully articulated by means of elastomeric bearings.
To: Flying Lawyer
I can appreciate what you are saying relative to what should be discussed on this website. However I belong to a legal association made up mainly of aviation accident lawyers and I fully believe that during litigation they would have no compunctions relative to making a point by showing gory pictures to the jury. Maybe not in England, but most certainly in the USA.
Several years ago the Ohio State Highway Patrol had a campaign whereby when they stopped someone for speeding they would give then a handout containing pictures far more gory than those on the disputed website.
Apparently with the newer more rigid rotor systems such as on the Merlin
To: Flying Lawyer
I can appreciate what you are saying relative to what should be discussed on this website. However I belong to a legal association made up mainly of aviation accident lawyers and I fully believe that during litigation they would have no compunctions relative to making a point by showing gory pictures to the jury. Maybe not in England, but most certainly in the USA.
Several years ago the Ohio State Highway Patrol had a campaign whereby when they stopped someone for speeding they would give then a handout containing pictures far more gory than those on the disputed website.
Re: Merlin, OK bad example - it's not my specialist area as I made clear, rest of the point remains valid.
Re: gory bits. We still live in a moderately dangerous world, most of us have had the misfortune to lose friends or family to accident or disease of some form (personally I've lost 5 colleagues to air accidents, in two cases I had met their families; I'm sure I'm not particularly unusual) . This tends to make most of us aware of the consequences of safety failure in any sphere. I fail to see why being directly exposed to the actual mess would make make us more or less professional than we should be already - possibly when trying to do a difficult technical job I think it's more likely to cloud the judgement. Additionally, I can't see why I as an Engineer and Pilot am likely to learn any more from a dead body than a pathologist could from a bent aeroplane. As specialists we work in our areas and then discuss the results to make sense of the big picture.
G
Re: gory bits. We still live in a moderately dangerous world, most of us have had the misfortune to lose friends or family to accident or disease of some form (personally I've lost 5 colleagues to air accidents, in two cases I had met their families; I'm sure I'm not particularly unusual) . This tends to make most of us aware of the consequences of safety failure in any sphere. I fail to see why being directly exposed to the actual mess would make make us more or less professional than we should be already - possibly when trying to do a difficult technical job I think it's more likely to cloud the judgement. Additionally, I can't see why I as an Engineer and Pilot am likely to learn any more from a dead body than a pathologist could from a bent aeroplane. As specialists we work in our areas and then discuss the results to make sense of the big picture.
G
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To Lu and anyone else who's missed the point.
- Whether or not the pictures are a valuable 'flight safety' tool is, I accept, a matterr of opinion. There have been good arguments both ways.
- Links to these particular websites are NOT acceptable on PPRuNe. That is Danny's decision, and is final.
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Just thought i would throw in my pennies worth.
I do not believe there is any need to show such graphic pictures in public.These pictures have been the topic of discussion in my crew room for the past week or so.Some have viewed them and some haven't.I have not.The main point that has been made by the 'fors' is that it would be an education for potential HLOS and pax to see the results of not keeping one's head down.
I disagree,i believe it can only cause further concern and stress to our pax as they are not trained crewmen and even though they spend a lot of time riding around in the back they are generally not very comfortable with it.Good training with the emphasis on SAFETY should be sufficient as well as a proper grounding in heliborne ops,including crawliing in and out of the aircraft and physically pulling the blades down to demonstrate what can happen.And recurrent training.
And as we are aware even the most experienced crew/ground staff can and do have accidents.This is a fact,we are all capable of having an unfortunate incident through no fault of our own and i for one would not like think that my wife or child could end up seeing photographs of the kind being discussed here,freely available on the internet.It is at the least voyeuristic and at the worse pornographic to publicly display such things.
However if as part of a properly conducted safety course to those who need to study such things,they are presented,with permission from the family,etc then i can see a use for them.At the end of the day it appears that these pictures were probably obtained illeagally and if so then their use is wrong.I hope that whoever did take them is hung out to dry.
What of the family of this poor guy and what of his personal dignity ?
Refering to blade sailing i was shuting down yesterday(a bell) and had given the HLO a thumbs down,to signal that he was to stay away from the arcraft untill the blades had stopped.He stayed clear untill the last few revs and then decided that it was okay to walk forward even though we were giving him frantic hand signals from the cockpit to stay put !!! My little chat with him can not be published here !
I do not believe there is any need to show such graphic pictures in public.These pictures have been the topic of discussion in my crew room for the past week or so.Some have viewed them and some haven't.I have not.The main point that has been made by the 'fors' is that it would be an education for potential HLOS and pax to see the results of not keeping one's head down.
I disagree,i believe it can only cause further concern and stress to our pax as they are not trained crewmen and even though they spend a lot of time riding around in the back they are generally not very comfortable with it.Good training with the emphasis on SAFETY should be sufficient as well as a proper grounding in heliborne ops,including crawliing in and out of the aircraft and physically pulling the blades down to demonstrate what can happen.And recurrent training.
And as we are aware even the most experienced crew/ground staff can and do have accidents.This is a fact,we are all capable of having an unfortunate incident through no fault of our own and i for one would not like think that my wife or child could end up seeing photographs of the kind being discussed here,freely available on the internet.It is at the least voyeuristic and at the worse pornographic to publicly display such things.
However if as part of a properly conducted safety course to those who need to study such things,they are presented,with permission from the family,etc then i can see a use for them.At the end of the day it appears that these pictures were probably obtained illeagally and if so then their use is wrong.I hope that whoever did take them is hung out to dry.
What of the family of this poor guy and what of his personal dignity ?
Refering to blade sailing i was shuting down yesterday(a bell) and had given the HLO a thumbs down,to signal that he was to stay away from the arcraft untill the blades had stopped.He stayed clear untill the last few revs and then decided that it was okay to walk forward even though we were giving him frantic hand signals from the cockpit to stay put !!! My little chat with him can not be published here !
I was on the U.S. Naval Safety Centres Site the other day, and there is a comment on these pictures that they were actually stolen, and then reproduced on the net. However, they have a link to "Picture of the week" where they show some safety related issues some of you may be interested in, icluding the poor feller who managed to wrap his hair around the tail rotor driveshaft, while it was spinning (look for picture : Hairball)
www.safetycenter.navy.mil for anybody interested
Anyhow, Hope these are more of interest, and certainly not as gory as some of these others, and in the interest of safety.
May the poor sailor rest in peace.
www.safetycenter.navy.mil for anybody interested
Anyhow, Hope these are more of interest, and certainly not as gory as some of these others, and in the interest of safety.
May the poor sailor rest in peace.
Last edited by Winnie; 24th Feb 2003 at 16:47.
Gatvol
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Winnie Writes: Anyhow, Hope these are more of interest, and certainly not as gory as some of these others, and in the interest of safety.
The degree of gore of the posted website will no doubt determine the amount of complaints that will go to the Head of PPrune via the Moderators.........
Of course those who complain will have to view the site thoroughly.........in the interest of safety..
Good Luck.
The degree of gore of the posted website will no doubt determine the amount of complaints that will go to the Head of PPrune via the Moderators.........
Of course those who complain will have to view the site thoroughly.........in the interest of safety..
Good Luck.
Iconoclast
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Gore on mass media.
The gore shown on the two CSI television programs makes the gore on the website pale by comparison and these two shows are the highest rated shows on television. I do not know if they are presented in the UK. See my post above.
Heliport
Heliport
Last edited by Lu Zuckerman; 25th Feb 2003 at 17:31.
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I've asked the US Navy
I have lodged a request with the US Navy to release details of the cause together with any safety recommendations that resulted from its investigation.
I'll post whatever feedback I get.
Dantruck
I'll post whatever feedback I get.
Dantruck
Iconoclast
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I beg to disagree.
I do not believe that the accident was the result of “Tip sailing” during shut down or, start up.
I believe that the blades were traveling at a very high rate. I believe this because of the amount of damage to the effected blade. I will stand corrected but I do not believe you can see the other blade tips to determine if there were multiple strikes.
I believe it could have been caused by one of three or more reasons.
1) The ship rolled and the blades acting as a gyro the rotor displaced 90-degrees later resulting in the disc tilting downward.
2) The pilot tried to correct for the movement of the ship (Pitch and/or roll).
3) This is a no-no on board ship. The pilot did not turn the autopilot off which is a requirement for shipboard ops.
Or........
IMHO
I believe that the blades were traveling at a very high rate. I believe this because of the amount of damage to the effected blade. I will stand corrected but I do not believe you can see the other blade tips to determine if there were multiple strikes.
I believe it could have been caused by one of three or more reasons.
1) The ship rolled and the blades acting as a gyro the rotor displaced 90-degrees later resulting in the disc tilting downward.
2) The pilot tried to correct for the movement of the ship (Pitch and/or roll).
3) This is a no-no on board ship. The pilot did not turn the autopilot off which is a requirement for shipboard ops.
Or........
IMHO
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'Hot & High' tests for Super Lynx 300
Colorado
Crews from British helicopter builder Agusta Westland are testing the high-altitude capabilities of the Super Lynx 300 at the Fremont County Airport in preparation to sell the aircraft to military users in Malaysia, Thailand and South Africa.
"We are completing the high trials to give a full-flight envelope to our customers," said Dave Glover, a 35-year Agusta Westland employee who is overseeing the tests. "This is a prototype which we have sold to Malaysia, Thailand and hopefully South Africa for use as a utility aircraft on land and as a naval aircraft."
The helicopter must be tailor-made to fit customer needs, so it has been tested at 4,000 feet in Morocco last summer; and in the wintry climates of Sweden and the Arctic Circle, Glover said.
The crews brought the helicopter to Fremont County's airport recently for testing at higher altitude. They will go on to Leadville for the very-high altitude tests starting Aug. 10.
"This is high-density testing when the temperature is hot and the altitude is high," said pilot Mike Swales, who has been flying Lynx helicopters for 25 years, the past two testing the Super Lynx. "We are flying the helicopter at maximum weight at the limit of performance and it is performing how we want it to."
"It is performing exactly as we expected, but, of course, we had to prove it," Glover said.
During flights, high-tech equipment measures stresses and strains on the helicopter from the main rotor to the blades, preserving data on recorders so that it can be analyzed. The test flights are done sometimes at low speed and include complicated maneuvers so that the technical crew can see how it performs in winds from all directions, Glover said.
Mechanics David Hedditch, Paul Neale, Neil White, Ray Gunner, Gary Howells and Eric Burton make sure the helicopter stays in top-notch working order.
The high-performance chopper is the ballerina of helicopters -- able to fly sideways in fluid motions. The Super Lynx comes from a line that includes an earlier Lynx that shattered the 220-mph world speed record with a 249-mph mark in 1986, Glover said.
As many as 16 Agusta Westland employees are on the job in Colorado, although a change of crew will be coming shortly, Glover said. After testing in Leadville, the crew will move on to Phoenix before returning home to Britain Sept. 7.
"We are completing the high trials to give a full-flight envelope to our customers," said Dave Glover, a 35-year Agusta Westland employee who is overseeing the tests. "This is a prototype which we have sold to Malaysia, Thailand and hopefully South Africa for use as a utility aircraft on land and as a naval aircraft."
The helicopter must be tailor-made to fit customer needs, so it has been tested at 4,000 feet in Morocco last summer; and in the wintry climates of Sweden and the Arctic Circle, Glover said.
The crews brought the helicopter to Fremont County's airport recently for testing at higher altitude. They will go on to Leadville for the very-high altitude tests starting Aug. 10.
"This is high-density testing when the temperature is hot and the altitude is high," said pilot Mike Swales, who has been flying Lynx helicopters for 25 years, the past two testing the Super Lynx. "We are flying the helicopter at maximum weight at the limit of performance and it is performing how we want it to."
"It is performing exactly as we expected, but, of course, we had to prove it," Glover said.
During flights, high-tech equipment measures stresses and strains on the helicopter from the main rotor to the blades, preserving data on recorders so that it can be analyzed. The test flights are done sometimes at low speed and include complicated maneuvers so that the technical crew can see how it performs in winds from all directions, Glover said.
Mechanics David Hedditch, Paul Neale, Neil White, Ray Gunner, Gary Howells and Eric Burton make sure the helicopter stays in top-notch working order.
The high-performance chopper is the ballerina of helicopters -- able to fly sideways in fluid motions. The Super Lynx comes from a line that includes an earlier Lynx that shattered the 220-mph world speed record with a 249-mph mark in 1986, Glover said.
As many as 16 Agusta Westland employees are on the job in Colorado, although a change of crew will be coming shortly, Glover said. After testing in Leadville, the crew will move on to Phoenix before returning home to Britain Sept. 7.