Bristow Photos
Funny how the US Army with the Bell UH-1 series was able to kill off the CH-34.
I always wondered why the Sikorsky folks did not put a GE Turbine in the 34 and save us from the back breaking Huey.
You don't reckon politics and a Texan in the White House had anything to do with it?
I always wondered why the Sikorsky folks did not put a GE Turbine in the 34 and save us from the back breaking Huey.
You don't reckon politics and a Texan in the White House had anything to do with it?
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TTO,
The Wessex was by no means always a twin. It started off in life as a single and in its life as the Wessex 1 or Wessex 3 was used for ship-borne SAR or anti-submarine duties. The Wessex 2 (RAF) and Wessex 5 (RN) came a lot later. The Wessex 60 was the civil variant of the Wessex 2/5. It had a lot more power than the S58T, but the 58T didn't suffer the intake icing problems of the Wessex and was also much smoother as it had bifilars. When I'm next on leave I'll look at my old photos and logbooks as I flew all the Bristow 58Ts. As SAS says, Queen of the Skies
The Wessex was by no means always a twin. It started off in life as a single and in its life as the Wessex 1 or Wessex 3 was used for ship-borne SAR or anti-submarine duties. The Wessex 2 (RAF) and Wessex 5 (RN) came a lot later. The Wessex 60 was the civil variant of the Wessex 2/5. It had a lot more power than the S58T, but the 58T didn't suffer the intake icing problems of the Wessex and was also much smoother as it had bifilars. When I'm next on leave I'll look at my old photos and logbooks as I flew all the Bristow 58Ts. As SAS says, Queen of the Skies
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The picture of G-BCTX could indeed be 1977. I can see it has the fuel dump mod on the aux tank which we only did around 76-77. I can't place the location but for it to be parked next to the Wessex I can only think of Great Yarmouth or Redhill.
Graeme
Graeme
The picture of TX is definitely taken on the Redhill ramp, I spent a long time looking at that view 
. The cheat sheet notes on the picture provide the following data:
Manufacturer: Sikorsky Type: S-58Version: Registration: G-BCTX Sector: Commercial - Current Colours: Bristow Helicopters Country: United Kingdom Location: Redhill Photo by: Carl FordDate: 1977-06-04
I remember packing up the last of the 58's with Graeme back in 1980 or 81 when they headed out to South Africa. I got a lot of great experience on the S58T, and worked some very talented people on that programme. If I am lucky and get a scanner for Christmas, I have thousands of shots of all this stuff that I can stick on here. Back in the early 90's the company I worked for bought a 58T, it was the biggest bag of crap I have ever operate - I was very happy to see it fly away. Still quite a number of them around in the US, and old round motors as well. Come to that, theres a lot of 55's still out there.
Give us a call sometime Graeme, I'm on Skype if I'm awake. I saw Al at Helitech last year, and others with secret identities on here that I am not at liberty to disclose!
I was very sorry to read about Bob Innes if that information is correct. Bob was a very positive influence on a lot of people who are in this business today. He always had time to stop and BS, and always caught up on the news of everyone he had ever worked with or known. A good man.
. The cheat sheet notes on the picture provide the following data:Manufacturer: Sikorsky Type: S-58Version: Registration: G-BCTX Sector: Commercial - Current Colours: Bristow Helicopters Country: United Kingdom Location: Redhill Photo by: Carl FordDate: 1977-06-04
I remember packing up the last of the 58's with Graeme back in 1980 or 81 when they headed out to South Africa. I got a lot of great experience on the S58T, and worked some very talented people on that programme. If I am lucky and get a scanner for Christmas, I have thousands of shots of all this stuff that I can stick on here. Back in the early 90's the company I worked for bought a 58T, it was the biggest bag of crap I have ever operate - I was very happy to see it fly away. Still quite a number of them around in the US, and old round motors as well. Come to that, theres a lot of 55's still out there.
Give us a call sometime Graeme, I'm on Skype if I'm awake. I saw Al at Helitech last year, and others with secret identities on here that I am not at liberty to disclose!
I was very sorry to read about Bob Innes if that information is correct. Bob was a very positive influence on a lot of people who are in this business today. He always had time to stop and BS, and always caught up on the news of everyone he had ever worked with or known. A good man.
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Davy07.
I didn’t see it burn but the story was – it had landed on a river-side wooden helipad for a running re-fuel. See the fuel drums. Two pilots on board. At some point it ‘twitched’ and both pilots went for the rudder pedals. The result – it rolled off the helipad onto the fuel drums. No one hurt.
The mess you see on top of the fuel drums is the main gear box and engines. Probably lying at the bottom of the Batang Hari river.
What happened the 330? Am i correct in saying thats the tail and tail rotor gearbox in the photo or the whole ship?
The mess you see on top of the fuel drums is the main gear box and engines. Probably lying at the bottom of the Batang Hari river.
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Johannesburg Light Plane Club, at Baragwanath is most definitely defunct I'm afraid,
I went to the site a couple of years ago while on holiday, its a horrible Industrial area, the only thing left in amongst the garbage is the beautiful old WW II hangar that we (Helicopter Services Pty) rented.
The ONLY sign that JLPC ever existed was a large chunk of concrete with blue tiles on it, part of the swimming pool, behind the hangar.
Is Colin Sole reading this forum, we were together in Warri and friends in Joburg. he purchased my motor cycle when I left.
I went to the site a couple of years ago while on holiday, its a horrible Industrial area, the only thing left in amongst the garbage is the beautiful old WW II hangar that we (Helicopter Services Pty) rented.
The ONLY sign that JLPC ever existed was a large chunk of concrete with blue tiles on it, part of the swimming pool, behind the hangar.
Is Colin Sole reading this forum, we were together in Warri and friends in Joburg. he purchased my motor cycle when I left.
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Soggy
As one who knows next to nothing about either type I bow to your superior knowledge.
What I was getting at is as I understand it the Wessex 60 was built as a twin turbine where as the S58t was a modified piston single.
Did Bristows do the conversions of the S58ts themselves or were they already modified?
The Wessex was by no means always a twin.
What I was getting at is as I understand it the Wessex 60 was built as a twin turbine where as the S58t was a modified piston single.Did Bristows do the conversions of the S58ts themselves or were they already modified?
Bristow bought the aircraft from the German Army as I recall and did the "T" mod themselves at Redhill.
The 58T used a twin pack concept....two Pratt and Whitney PT-6 engines driving a combining gear box then a drive shaft input to the man transmission.
The twin pac is generally the same as in the Bell 212.
With Dash Six PT-6's the old girl had good single engine power....not as good as the Wessex with two big Gnome's unfortunately.
The Wessex used a different concept to get the drive to the MGB.
The 58T used a twin pack concept....two Pratt and Whitney PT-6 engines driving a combining gear box then a drive shaft input to the man transmission.
The twin pac is generally the same as in the Bell 212.
With Dash Six PT-6's the old girl had good single engine power....not as good as the Wessex with two big Gnome's unfortunately.
The Wessex used a different concept to get the drive to the MGB.
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TTO,
Yes the Wessex 60 was always a twin, but in the military it operated as the Wessex 1 and 3, both of which were singles and as the Wessex 2 (RAF), Wessex 4 (Royal Flight) and Wessex 5 (RN). The Wessex 60 had excellent single-engine performance for its day and an excellent fuel control system. As SAS says the 58ETs were modified by Bristow from ex German military machines, the old radials being changed to PT6s. In the cabin you could still see some of the ex-military markings in German! I could never understand why Bell never went for the much easier Sikorsky system of a manual flight idle gate, rather than an electric idle stop. The Bristow aircraft had engine air bleed heaters which were never as effective as the BAH paraffin burners, and the passengers often complained in winter when the cabin only attained a few degrees above freezing. They were very smooth because of the bifilars and the worst thing the company did was to remove them from aircraft on the Teesside contract to save weight. We operated them from many bases in UK - Aberdeen, Sumburgh, Haverfordwest, Southampton, Bournemouth and Skye that I remember. This gave us lots of variety. I was also lucky enough to operate one in Portugal for a few months from the old BEAS pad in Figueira da Foz in support of Shell's last offshore well in Portugal in 1977.
Yes the Wessex 60 was always a twin, but in the military it operated as the Wessex 1 and 3, both of which were singles and as the Wessex 2 (RAF), Wessex 4 (Royal Flight) and Wessex 5 (RN). The Wessex 60 had excellent single-engine performance for its day and an excellent fuel control system. As SAS says the 58ETs were modified by Bristow from ex German military machines, the old radials being changed to PT6s. In the cabin you could still see some of the ex-military markings in German! I could never understand why Bell never went for the much easier Sikorsky system of a manual flight idle gate, rather than an electric idle stop. The Bristow aircraft had engine air bleed heaters which were never as effective as the BAH paraffin burners, and the passengers often complained in winter when the cabin only attained a few degrees above freezing. They were very smooth because of the bifilars and the worst thing the company did was to remove them from aircraft on the Teesside contract to save weight. We operated them from many bases in UK - Aberdeen, Sumburgh, Haverfordwest, Southampton, Bournemouth and Skye that I remember. This gave us lots of variety. I was also lucky enough to operate one in Portugal for a few months from the old BEAS pad in Figueira da Foz in support of Shell's last offshore well in Portugal in 1977.
Sogs,
Ever pump your onshore diversion fuel over the side by forgetting to shut off the transfer pump while topping up the internal tanks from the external tank?
Ever pump your onshore diversion fuel over the side by forgetting to shut off the transfer pump while topping up the internal tanks from the external tank?
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I also seem to recollect a story about a 58T external tank which had its vent taped and re-sprayed during a check. I believe a very impressive demonstration of the ability of the fuel pumps to draw down to a vaccumn resulted in a somewhat flat but wrinkly ET. Perhaps 'That Pilot' could confirm?
TOD
TOD
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I have been looking for some pictures from Nigeria and have found a couple. I'm sure I have some more need to do quite a bit of digging.
This is on the Sea Trucks boat going to Bony Beach for barbeque. Jan Biles, Bill Denman, Alan Biles, Tony Barrett.
This is a certain persons farewell night at Port Harcourt, Alan Biles, Ian Jonson, Annie Queen.
Santa Claus arriving at the Port Harcourt Golf Club, I think it was Jim O'Brien but too long ago now. Sorry for the poor quality picture.
This is on the Sea Trucks boat going to Bony Beach for barbeque. Jan Biles, Bill Denman, Alan Biles, Tony Barrett.
This is a certain persons farewell night at Port Harcourt, Alan Biles, Ian Jonson, Annie Queen.
Santa Claus arriving at the Port Harcourt Golf Club, I think it was Jim O'Brien but too long ago now. Sorry for the poor quality picture.
Last edited by GCMOIR; 7th Dec 2008 at 04:49.
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Okay, this is driving me NUTS!! How do you get the pictures on the website. I have followed some instructions from an earlier post - well obviously I haven't - but I can't see where I've gone wrong.
Help please.
Graeme
Help please.
Graeme
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A few more from Duri:
The Old Hangar 1983
PK-HBK with test load. Sorry about the crop!
Serious rebuild! Graham "Boots" Conway, Alan Biles, Dennis Cummings and Graham Chiverton.
PK-HCA at Kamayoran(sp?) Jakarta
Joko Prayogo in PK-HCH on ferry from Jakarta to Duri prior to being painted in Heineken colours and sold to a PNG company.
The late Dave "Badger" Atkinson with Pete Harris outside the Duri Bar
Pete Cawthorne's leaving party, Duri bar 1986
Snods!
And if you were in Duri you must have been here!
Pete Cawthorne,Tony Sollit, Bob Turner and Martin Heather
The Old Hangar 1983
PK-HBK with test load. Sorry about the crop!
Serious rebuild! Graham "Boots" Conway, Alan Biles, Dennis Cummings and Graham Chiverton.
PK-HCA at Kamayoran(sp?) Jakarta
Joko Prayogo in PK-HCH on ferry from Jakarta to Duri prior to being painted in Heineken colours and sold to a PNG company.
The late Dave "Badger" Atkinson with Pete Harris outside the Duri Bar
Pete Cawthorne's leaving party, Duri bar 1986
Snods!
And if you were in Duri you must have been here!
Pete Cawthorne,Tony Sollit, Bob Turner and Martin Heather
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Pictures from Nigeria
Okay, I think I have the hang of posting pictures so here are some more.
5N-AJT had some problem and put down at Bony. For the life of me I cant remember what it was but must have been serious as extensive surgery was required!
Tom Ridgers directing construction of work base platform.
Work on-going. Derek Queen on the left and Tom Ridgers.
Twin Pac out and "C" box removed. Bennet at the left and Monday in the foreground.
Replacement main rotor blades arrive. Gordon Woods is the pilot.
Job completed. Ralph Ashcraft on the left, myself at the cabin door.
Along for the flight back to Port Harcourt. Annie Queen on the left, Tup Moir on the right.
Graeme
5N-AJT had some problem and put down at Bony. For the life of me I cant remember what it was but must have been serious as extensive surgery was required!
Tom Ridgers directing construction of work base platform.
Work on-going. Derek Queen on the left and Tom Ridgers.
Twin Pac out and "C" box removed. Bennet at the left and Monday in the foreground.
Replacement main rotor blades arrive. Gordon Woods is the pilot.
Job completed. Ralph Ashcraft on the left, myself at the cabin door.
Along for the flight back to Port Harcourt. Annie Queen on the left, Tup Moir on the right.
Graeme
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More B212 repairs
From one climate extreme to the other.
This is in Applecross on the West Coast of Scotland. We had a brand new B212 which had taken over from the Wessex on the Navy support contract. In this incident the lockwasher locking the nut on "C" box output flange had not been properly installed and allowed the nut to back off. This allowed the flange to have excessive movement which very soon destroyed the output bearing. They landed at the Applecross base after getting chip light illuminated and that was as far as it was going. We managed to position the helicopter between two buildings and rigged up a work gantry to support a block and tackle. Then we had some of the worst winter weather in years. All good fun!!
"C" box change at Applecross.
On the left is Malcom Innes and on the right is John Neilson. Andy Crossland is kneeling pretty much out of sight.
Graeme
This is in Applecross on the West Coast of Scotland. We had a brand new B212 which had taken over from the Wessex on the Navy support contract. In this incident the lockwasher locking the nut on "C" box output flange had not been properly installed and allowed the nut to back off. This allowed the flange to have excessive movement which very soon destroyed the output bearing. They landed at the Applecross base after getting chip light illuminated and that was as far as it was going. We managed to position the helicopter between two buildings and rigged up a work gantry to support a block and tackle. Then we had some of the worst winter weather in years. All good fun!!
"C" box change at Applecross.
On the left is Malcom Innes and on the right is John Neilson. Andy Crossland is kneeling pretty much out of sight.
Graeme