Can you refuel a rotary in flight?

[mini]

Or the Mi8 gig with the 205 liter drums and a hand pump to "top up" during flight... (over water) shudder

[Senior Pilot]

Originally Posted by skadi

In the good old Seaking ( Behind the rack housing Hydraulics etc ), you could use a small hose with a silver sinkhole for that. But the engineers didnt like that very much...

Since it vented outside the hull, it wasn't an issue: used it many times

Although there is a Rotorhead who had an A25 raised in his name after claims that the P Tube was too small: ISTR he was presented with a suitably mounted plaque on leaving the Squadron

[zorab64]

And I remember a Squadron disembarkation when somebody used it about 10 miles from landfall and arrival at a refuelling base - the Engineer Officer, thinking he was being conscientious, noticed a slight "leak" whilst waiting for re-fuel, and decided to "taste" the drops as part of his investigation.

As they say, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing - but all the junior NCOs & aircrew (who did know which holes on the aircraft were which) had a good laugh!!

[Senior Pilot]

If the deck is too small for the helicopter, it is usually a better option than returning to Mother and being off task for the transit

[Um... lifting...]

Sea state, weight, aircraft footprint are the big ones. Landing gear malfunction is another. Fouled deck (cargo or whatever else). Lots of reasons, but they generally can be boiled down to the aircraft 'can't' land. Probably an exception or two to that.

[wobble2plank]

I remember once briefing a bunch of sea cadets that the small silver topped tube next to the broom cupboard was an 'emergency' communications system similar to that seen on WW2 destroyers in case of intercom failure.

The Obs and the crewie played along beautifully.

Oh how we giggled

HIFR was always a pain in the ar$e, not only because it prolonged the flight without the chance to re-stock on 'cheesy, hammy eggies' but also because many of the transfer pumps on the smaller frigates were too weak.

This meant that the hover height required in order to get the fuel flowing put you beautifully into the recirculating downwash from the rotors. Resulting in quite a few troublesome pop surges due to salt water ingestion and salt build up on the IGV's!

Ahhh, the good ol' days

[Senior Pilot]

Originally Posted by wobble2plank

it prolonged the flight without the chance to re-stock on 'cheesy, hammy eggies'

Isn't that what the winch is for

[wobble2plank]

Sadly not since the mid 90's when the ACRB went 'orders only'!

Cost cutting, always hits where it hurts!

Though I did winch up a bag of live lobsters from a rather kind Norwegian fisherman once, always knew there was a reason for carrying that blackboard in the back.

W2P

[nimby]

Wanna Laugh!

If you don't like HIFR from a ship ... How about buddy refuelling a Harrier from a Helicopter (Merlin)?

Studied & OK, but the idea got canned when the aircrew heard about it. Can't think why

[500e]

Bravo73
Will ask CFI for demo
I always luck out on the good bits.
.

[bast0n]

Originally Posted by Nigel O

In the 1964 Farnborough airshow a Wessex 5 trailed a fuel hose from its cabin which was picked up by the winch on the following Wessex 5 using a crappling hook.. All this was done within the airfield boundry......no problem!

I was there too. The WX5 had no internal fuelling point and the pressure refueling point was too far from the door to reach from the cabin - unless you wanted to gravity refuel. Unwise in flight!

I fell off my Triumph Tina scooter owing to a surfeit of Horses Neck and perhaps the same malaise affected your recollections!!!

PS why does my quote not turn up in blue?

[RJM]

Thanks very much for the responses. There's always an answer (or at least an educated guess) on Pprune!