How High Have You Been (legally!)?
Join Date: Dec 2002
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12,000' in a Bell 47 Sioux a few months ago as an experiment.
Even at that altitude still going up like a lift and had a consistent ROC of 950'/min (down to the turbo of course), but without oxygen, thought we'd better stop there.
Even at that altitude still going up like a lift and had a consistent ROC of 950'/min (down to the turbo of course), but without oxygen, thought we'd better stop there.
Nigel's escapade over Cornwall reminded me of the height climb in the RN wings syllabus, when we were taken to 10,000ft (gasp!) in a Whirlwind 7 to be show effects of controls. 1 hour scheduled for the sortie, parachutes, the lot, out of Culdrose. 30 minutes for the old girl to stagger up there, then various flight regimes, finishing with a demonstration of the stick shaking as retreating blade stall was approached. Long, long auto down.
Years later I found the instructors were just as nervous as us, and a surreptitious kicking of his cyclic was the stick shaking demonstration!
Operate all the time up around 9-10,000 ft in the Oz Alps, don't even think about it these days
Years later I found the instructors were just as nervous as us, and a surreptitious kicking of his cyclic was the stick shaking demonstration!
Operate all the time up around 9-10,000 ft in the Oz Alps, don't even think about it these days
Join Date: Sep 2003
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15,000' a few times doing tests in a EH 101, oxygen & chutes etc.
As an aside the Hypoxia course at Boscombe Down was great fun, just like getting drunk, but with no hangover. And I now know that I can't do many jigsaws at 25,000' without oxygen!
As an aside the Hypoxia course at Boscombe Down was great fun, just like getting drunk, but with no hangover. And I now know that I can't do many jigsaws at 25,000' without oxygen!
Join Date: Apr 2003
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46driver,
A compound should have a slight advantage on altitude operations, since it cruises in autorotation, and uses the rotor in a much more unloaded mode, but it generally swaps the lower load on the rotor for more speed, at the same degree of stall. This means that it should have the same altitude characteristics, but should be 20 to 40 knots faster, or for identical speed, should go a few thousand feet higher.
regarding the V-22 and USMC missions, the customer choses the aircraft's properties and we build them. Imagine the way you'd treat a swimming pool designer if he started insisting that you didn't want the deep end over there !
Time will tell what the V-22 can really do, so far, the glowing wishes of the salesmen has not met the cold light of reality, but the woeful predictions of the naysayers hasn't been realized, either.
A compound should have a slight advantage on altitude operations, since it cruises in autorotation, and uses the rotor in a much more unloaded mode, but it generally swaps the lower load on the rotor for more speed, at the same degree of stall. This means that it should have the same altitude characteristics, but should be 20 to 40 knots faster, or for identical speed, should go a few thousand feet higher.
regarding the V-22 and USMC missions, the customer choses the aircraft's properties and we build them. Imagine the way you'd treat a swimming pool designer if he started insisting that you didn't want the deep end over there !
Time will tell what the V-22 can really do, so far, the glowing wishes of the salesmen has not met the cold light of reality, but the woeful predictions of the naysayers hasn't been realized, either.
Join Date: Feb 2002
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Flew an R22 to 10,500ft up mont blanc france. I will try and scan the photo. Met a another pilot at the airport cafe at Le Touquet on the way back and he told me ha had flew the r22 upto 17,500ft and if was still climbing.
Yes and i believed him knowing his other antics.
Yes and i believed him knowing his other antics.
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As a former test pilot, I flew many different models up to and above the published flight manual limits (normally 18,000 ft.) and just like Nick Lappos, we did various system failures while flying at the CG and speed limits.
Always had parachutes above 12,000 due to the possibility of a fire or failure that would require a quick landing, which you can't do from way up there. Also O2 above 12,000 ft.
Some locations where we did the testing, we had commercial airliners below us as they descended for landing. ATC would call, "traffic is a helicopter above you at FL180", which got some interesting responses from the airline crews over the radio.
Always had parachutes above 12,000 due to the possibility of a fire or failure that would require a quick landing, which you can't do from way up there. Also O2 above 12,000 ft.
Some locations where we did the testing, we had commercial airliners below us as they descended for landing. ATC would call, "traffic is a helicopter above you at FL180", which got some interesting responses from the airline crews over the radio.
12000ft in a Bell47G3B1 to check out the turbocharger. It worked well all the way up. Just took a while to get there... Still - I was hour building at the time!
Bizarre feeling when descending - passing down through 3000ft I didn't want to go any lower as it already felt like I was too low.
Bizarre feeling when descending - passing down through 3000ft I didn't want to go any lower as it already felt like I was too low.
5' 9" officially. [And 12000 feet without oxygen in a Wasp]. So that makes it: 12,005 and 9" in total. (I was standing up at the time).
However this was an ICAO answer based on PA. The actual temperature was colder than ICAO @ 12000. And the DALR was a little > than 1.98/1000' so the DA height was: 14,569'
However this was an ICAO answer based on PA. The actual temperature was colder than ICAO @ 12000. And the DALR was a little > than 1.98/1000' so the DA height was: 14,569'
Last edited by Thomas coupling; 2nd Jan 2013 at 17:12.
Join Date: Oct 2004
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TC as you know there is always some smart arse but I could not resist.
I am sure it is the Hogmanay effect and you meant the ELR was > than 1,98C not the DALR which is fixed at 3C.
Happy New Year.
I am sure it is the Hogmanay effect and you meant the ELR was > than 1,98C not the DALR which is fixed at 3C.
Happy New Year.
Pufman: Close but no banana!
I didn't say the DALR was 3 degrees/100', did I?
I said it was a little greater than 1.98 degrees
.
You have assumed old boy! Never assume...........
If you look real close...you'll notice that the DA calcs are are even more bollo**s
Typical yank reaction: jump in first and question it later. HNY
I didn't say the DALR was 3 degrees/100', did I?
I said it was a little greater than 1.98 degrees
.You have assumed old boy! Never assume...........
If you look real close...you'll notice that the DA calcs are are even more bollo**s
Typical yank reaction: jump in first and question it later. HNY
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