Irish Helicopters Ltd
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They used to say about Cork Airport "If you want your son to be an alcoholic or your daughter to be a whore , send them to work at Cork Airport" ..... that was after you lot arrived in Ireland !!! I got told that , no personal experiance myself , cough .
Im not listening to your Australian stuff ..... cuz I know the truth .
Corruption of the highest order I say .
I went to work at Cork airport ..... Ive been a right whore ever since
, musta got something mixed up !!!
Do you remember the Shannon Kinghts pub and Fibber McGee's ? And that pub near 6 mile bridge ..... and the Honk ?
Im not listening to your Australian stuff ..... cuz I know the truth .
Corruption of the highest order I say .
I went to work at Cork airport ..... Ive been a right whore ever since
, musta got something mixed up !!!Do you remember the Shannon Kinghts pub and Fibber McGee's ? And that pub near 6 mile bridge ..... and the Honk ?
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thought you lads might like to read this
Coast Guard winchman retires with more than 30 years' service - The Irish Times - Wed, Dec 01, 2010
Coast Guard winchman retires with more than 30 years' service - The Irish Times - Wed, Dec 01, 2010
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That winchman is Sauce ..... I knew him well. Sauce is his nickname. I havent seen him in 17 years either. Yeah , a bit of a super hero he is.
Last time I spoke with him , he had a damaged back after landing on a ship , wrongly!!!
Anyone got contact details for him?
Taken from post 26 of this thread :
Best of luck to him .
P.S. you know , to be honest ..... this brings a tear to my eye. To think of what he has done, selflessly, thrown his life on the line for others day in and day out ..... Its a wake up call that there is still good people in this world ..... both winchmen and the crews who fly that bird , but especially the guy at the end of the line.
Just found this :
And :
Yep ..... tremendous respect for these people.
Im proud to know Sauce Donnelly
Last time I spoke with him , he had a damaged back after landing on a ship , wrongly!!!
Anyone got contact details for him?
Taken from post 26 of this thread :
Was the chief winchman called Noel or Sean ..... age thing now !!! His nickname was "sauce" .
He had about 700 boxs of matchs in his house in Shannon . He used to place a chair on top of the kitchen table and sit on it , so he could see over the wall around his house . The objective of this exercise was he could see the Aeroflot hosties walking to the corner shop . Then he would promptly jump down and scurry across the street and buy matchs , as an excuse to chat them up . He was very successful in that department !!!
He had about 700 boxs of matchs in his house in Shannon . He used to place a chair on top of the kitchen table and sit on it , so he could see over the wall around his house . The objective of this exercise was he could see the Aeroflot hosties walking to the corner shop . Then he would promptly jump down and scurry across the street and buy matchs , as an excuse to chat them up . He was very successful in that department !!!
P.S. you know , to be honest ..... this brings a tear to my eye. To think of what he has done, selflessly, thrown his life on the line for others day in and day out ..... Its a wake up call that there is still good people in this world ..... both winchmen and the crews who fly that bird , but especially the guy at the end of the line.
Just found this :
And :
Yep ..... tremendous respect for these people.
Im proud to know Sauce Donnelly
Last edited by Eket; 1st Nov 2011 at 08:02.
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As much as I enjoy finding out about people from my past , in this thread , its also sad to say I just learned that Guy Peren passed away .
He was the storeman/logistics man in Cork at IHL , and I never met a better man at it since .
God bless .
He was the storeman/logistics man in Cork at IHL , and I never met a better man at it since .
God bless .
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I saw that 500 in the hangar at Cork once also, the main blades were off it as they had found micro cracking in them according to the technician who was nearby and commented noticing my interest. I do recall it was used for fishery trasfers, and the remark was that it was very very fast, never saw it in action though. Godawful colour on it also in my opinion, overall greywith a dayglow tail.
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More IHL nostalgia photos
CIL tour west coast 1992. Sean Oakes in blue suit
Next when I was doing joy rides in EI-BKT off the pier in Kinsale 1992. Great fun during the Oyster Festival
Bolkow EI-BLD slinging. I believe this is Mick Coneally some where around Galway. The photo came from Fred Balcombe
Alouette II filming 1970's I believe, Can anyone identify the crew. Again from Fred.
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love these Irish Helicopters pictures, flew with Sean Oakes in both that alouette 2 and the bolkow. I know he is long retired now. I dont suppose anybody had a pic of the original Irish Helicopters bolkow EI-AWB in the green and white colour scheme? Later returned to bristow or bond and reverted to G-AZOM. After that came bolkow EI-BDI lost off Donegal, before finally EI-BLD which is currently up for sale.
They must be fairly early photographs bcause of the bolkow radome, and the pop out floats on the Jet Ranger EI-BKT. Which of the 212's is it, I assume its BFH?
Three out of four of these aircraft have since had accidents, AUI later became G-FILM and crashed with fatalities and was written off, I beleive they hit wires in a valley in some far flung foreign parts, BFH crashed with fatilities in Nigeria, noted earlier in this thread, and BLD had that incident with windshear at the Bailey where she splayed her skids but was returned to service. The report on that incident found no fault on the part of the pilot, but it was just one of those things that could not be recovered from.
Jet ranger EI-BKT became G-SKII and either last year or the the start of this year was up for sale with just over 10000 airframe hours, for £230000 with an overhaul.
They must be fairly early photographs bcause of the bolkow radome, and the pop out floats on the Jet Ranger EI-BKT. Which of the 212's is it, I assume its BFH?
Three out of four of these aircraft have since had accidents, AUI later became G-FILM and crashed with fatalities and was written off, I beleive they hit wires in a valley in some far flung foreign parts, BFH crashed with fatilities in Nigeria, noted earlier in this thread, and BLD had that incident with windshear at the Bailey where she splayed her skids but was returned to service. The report on that incident found no fault on the part of the pilot, but it was just one of those things that could not be recovered from.
Jet ranger EI-BKT became G-SKII and either last year or the the start of this year was up for sale with just over 10000 airframe hours, for £230000 with an overhaul.
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TWH
I heard a company called Trans World Helicopters (TWH) based in Shannon in the early 60's started doing work on the light houses before Irish Helicopters was formed? Is this true and does anyone know anything about TWH. Would be interesting to hear about the history of that company. I believe it was former UK robinson dealer/Instructor Mike Smith of the old Heli Air that operated TWH. Rumor was that at the time, it was the largest civil helicopter company in the world! Thats all I heard
Photo of Hughes 269B, EI-AOU, Trans World Helicopters
Photo of Hughes 269B, EI-AOU, Trans World Helicopters
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As far as I am aware the lighthouse service started around 1979 after a winter trial of some six months with an alouette 3. ? I am open to correction, memory and all of that. I believe Irish Helicopters was formed by Ken Besson when he bought the American Ambassadors hiller after he returned to the US?
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I spent my youth around the hangars at Cork Airport.
The sites of the original hangar and the development of the large hangar around 79/80 are now part of the new Cork Airport terminal.
I first became aware of Irish Helicopters around the mid 70s with the gas exploration off the south coast.
There was a rig located off the beach at Myrtleville, in Cork and was seviced by two Bolkow 105 machines one yellow and one orange. The orange one turned out to be EI-BDI which I recall may have been written off a decade later.
A school friend Derek, Cronin found the location of the IHL hangar at Cork airport and we headed there one friday eve after school.
Jim Egan, one of the engineers let us sit in the cockpit of EI-BAM, another B212 an Okanagan Helicopters machine was parked beside it. Stanley Horan was there that day as well.
Fergus O'Connor and another pilot an American named Bill Thompson were sitting in a portacabin and were the first pilots I met in my life.
I recall a couple of Okanagan 212s and a 61 around Cork at the time and those lads flew those machines everywhere.
I continued to visit the hangar as long as IHL had it up to around 1998.
The lads who worked there were the salt ot the earth and it was a blow when the company was sold by Aer Lingus.
I became friendly with a young engineer named Brendan White, who was a minefield of tech gen and I owe him a great debt of gratitude for the assistance he was to me in my aviation career.
Mick Hennessy was a brand new co-pilot on the 212 when I got my first "flip" from the site of the old hangar to the ramp at Cork airport around 1976, John Cooper and Alec Dunne strapped me in. I washed the windows of BAM and BDI to pay my debt for the flight.
I was hooked on helicopters after that and I'm sure the IHL lads regretted letting me go on that flip cos I was always around after that.
I never made it as an IHL pilot but had an opportunity at a flying cadetship around 1990/91 when IHL recruited 2 pilot cadets from the ECA which was a flying school based at Cork.
I had gotten an Aer Lingus cadetship a couple of years before and had just finished the course. I was grateful to Aer Lingus for the opportunity and decided to stay there.
As I recall, one of the trainees was an instuctor at the ECA and the other a student from the the school.
I remember the delivery of BHO and the training that went on around the airport in the weeks after its arrival. Cork Airport was the Mecca for helicopters in Ireland at the time.
There was a constant thump of the Bell's blades during the Summers, quieter in the winters.
I remember the preparations for the Papal visit in 79 and the new interior in 'Fox Hotel'.
I also recall the flying done around the time of the Whiddy Island disaster and the pipline inspections.
Thanks to all the contributors who have posted photos, they are fantastic and take me back to those great days...keep them coming please...
The sites of the original hangar and the development of the large hangar around 79/80 are now part of the new Cork Airport terminal.
I first became aware of Irish Helicopters around the mid 70s with the gas exploration off the south coast.
There was a rig located off the beach at Myrtleville, in Cork and was seviced by two Bolkow 105 machines one yellow and one orange. The orange one turned out to be EI-BDI which I recall may have been written off a decade later.
A school friend Derek, Cronin found the location of the IHL hangar at Cork airport and we headed there one friday eve after school.
Jim Egan, one of the engineers let us sit in the cockpit of EI-BAM, another B212 an Okanagan Helicopters machine was parked beside it. Stanley Horan was there that day as well.
Fergus O'Connor and another pilot an American named Bill Thompson were sitting in a portacabin and were the first pilots I met in my life.
I recall a couple of Okanagan 212s and a 61 around Cork at the time and those lads flew those machines everywhere.
I continued to visit the hangar as long as IHL had it up to around 1998.
The lads who worked there were the salt ot the earth and it was a blow when the company was sold by Aer Lingus.
I became friendly with a young engineer named Brendan White, who was a minefield of tech gen and I owe him a great debt of gratitude for the assistance he was to me in my aviation career.
Mick Hennessy was a brand new co-pilot on the 212 when I got my first "flip" from the site of the old hangar to the ramp at Cork airport around 1976, John Cooper and Alec Dunne strapped me in. I washed the windows of BAM and BDI to pay my debt for the flight.
I was hooked on helicopters after that and I'm sure the IHL lads regretted letting me go on that flip cos I was always around after that.
I never made it as an IHL pilot but had an opportunity at a flying cadetship around 1990/91 when IHL recruited 2 pilot cadets from the ECA which was a flying school based at Cork.
I had gotten an Aer Lingus cadetship a couple of years before and had just finished the course. I was grateful to Aer Lingus for the opportunity and decided to stay there.
As I recall, one of the trainees was an instuctor at the ECA and the other a student from the the school.
I remember the delivery of BHO and the training that went on around the airport in the weeks after its arrival. Cork Airport was the Mecca for helicopters in Ireland at the time.
There was a constant thump of the Bell's blades during the Summers, quieter in the winters.
I remember the preparations for the Papal visit in 79 and the new interior in 'Fox Hotel'.
I also recall the flying done around the time of the Whiddy Island disaster and the pipline inspections.
Thanks to all the contributors who have posted photos, they are fantastic and take me back to those great days...keep them coming please...
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Pad39a, yes BDI was written off after a ditching off donegal, fuel error on tank selection by the pilot of the time apparently, sometime shortly after the papal visit in 1979. The other yellow bolkow I assume was EI-AWB which was later painted green and white and eventually orange. It returned to Scotland to bristow whom it had been leased from for some six years and itself ditched 5 miles off skegness when it was flying in snow, from that point on an amendment was made that they fly using continuous ingnition to stop engine flame outs in hail Back in the UK AWB again had become G-AZOM.
Alouette 2 EI-AUI eventually returned to the UK as G-FILM and hit powerlines in a far away country flying down a valley with fatalities. BFH crashed in Nigeria somewhere, again with some fatalities. BAM is I believe in Canada, BHO is flying for the UK coastguard as BPWP, and BLY is somehwhere in Canada flying.
Alouette 2 EI-AUI eventually returned to the UK as G-FILM and hit powerlines in a far away country flying down a valley with fatalities. BFH crashed in Nigeria somewhere, again with some fatalities. BAM is I believe in Canada, BHO is flying for the UK coastguard as BPWP, and BLY is somehwhere in Canada flying.
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Jim Egan is now retired ..... Brendan White is in Yemen . Stan is doing fine and is now a production manager for a big company .
Hennessy is selling A/C , before the economic downturn .
John Cooper ..... a man I would sooner forget about !!!
Ive still got a tail rotor from a Bolkow (IHL) its painted green white and orange ..... before my time there . Any idea what A/C it came from ?
Hennessy is selling A/C , before the economic downturn .
John Cooper ..... a man I would sooner forget about !!!
Ive still got a tail rotor from a Bolkow (IHL) its painted green white and orange ..... before my time there . Any idea what A/C it came from ?
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Hi Ekat,
dont suppose you want to sell me that tail rotor?
If you give me the date yiou started there working, and I note you said it was before that time, I'll bet you a pint I can narrow it down as to which bolkow it was. I can tell you that someone must ahve painted a used tail rotor that colour because none of them were on aircraft in service in that colour. If you scrape a bit off it coul;d give a clue, if its yellow underneath its definitaly AWB
dont suppose you want to sell me that tail rotor?
If you give me the date yiou started there working, and I note you said it was before that time, I'll bet you a pint I can narrow it down as to which bolkow it was. I can tell you that someone must ahve painted a used tail rotor that colour because none of them were on aircraft in service in that colour. If you scrape a bit off it coul;d give a clue, if its yellow underneath its definitaly AWB
Does anyone have any details on any helicopters operated by a past American Ambassador to Ireland? I have heard mention of a Hiller (possibly EI-ART) and a Hughes 500 being operated at some point, often from his residence in the Phoenix Park. Thanks.
500 Fan.
500 Fan.
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Brendan has left Libya ..... he is now back in Yemen , since 3 days .
Sell my tail rotor . I dont know what to say about that , cuz I dont have it handy . Im in Austria now , and the tail rotor is in Ireland . Painted ..... must be some great paint to stick up to tail rotor air flow and still stay on . From what I remember ..... it looks a little worn , but the colors are just fine . Must root it out when I get home , I know exactly where it is . Dick Murray wanted me to make a garden windmill outta it , never got around to that . I started workin there , and found it lying around . First Bolkow that I worked on with IHL was BLD ..... started workin there around 1990 to 1995 .
J.C still up in Shannon ..... pity they didnt base him out on the Blaskets !!!
Sell my tail rotor . I dont know what to say about that , cuz I dont have it handy . Im in Austria now , and the tail rotor is in Ireland . Painted ..... must be some great paint to stick up to tail rotor air flow and still stay on . From what I remember ..... it looks a little worn , but the colors are just fine . Must root it out when I get home , I know exactly where it is . Dick Murray wanted me to make a garden windmill outta it , never got around to that . I started workin there , and found it lying around . First Bolkow that I worked on with IHL was BLD ..... started workin there around 1990 to 1995 .
J.C still up in Shannon ..... pity they didnt base him out on the Blaskets !!!