Echo 4 flys with a doctor and paramedic, day-light hours only, based at a Level 1 trauma centre, Umhlanga Hospital. Split crews and finances between state and private.

Based at sea level. Temps in the low 30s (celcius) in summer with very high humidity.

Operational area extends to Drakensberg mountain range, which goes up to about 10,000 feet, need to refuel to get there and back from primary base.

Medical kit is fairly standard, weight-wise and similar to the UK.

Reg.: ZS-RLP.

Quote from a medical report: "Despite appropriate patient positioning, the severely limited cabin space requires that aggressive airway management be undertaken [on scene before loading] if any doubt exists as to the integrity of the patient’s airway."

Anton :cool:

EC 120 UK work?
 

Hi Rotorheads,

After a stint on the continent returning back to the UK.

Has anyone got any leads for possible EC 120 work anywhere in the UK.
I am flexible as I have made no arrangements to go anywhere specific in the UK.

Thanking you in advance.

Colibri:)

Aeromega 01708 688361 and London Helicopters 01737 823514 operate them commercially.

EC 120 hydraulics failure?
 

Hi Folks,

Anyone ever had an hydraulics failure on a EC 120 or other eurocopter?


Drive from transmission to hydraulic pump sheared off. Possibly due to cold weather.

Nomads
:(

Well rotorheads,


That is good news then........

I know there are some ec 120 drivers out there, but apparently this hydraulic failure is not a common occurence.

Safe Flying;)

Ec 120 B1???
 

To all those out there with inside info- will we be seeing a EC120 B1 soon.(Meaning will they boost the power usable on them?)
Eurocopter did it with the EC155, why not do it to the 120?It would only do good to the machine.

No longer in the loop , I am not sure if the EC120 is limited by transmission torque. EC155 B1 has better hot and high performance ( If I recall correctly ) but no increase in usable lift capacity at normal temps . Putting a more powerful engine will usually result in beefing up of the whole drive train not sure if they have delivered enough units to justify any large investments in upgrades.

a gruntled former employee.

Widgeon,

Yip, the 120 is limited on torque.
So is the 155B1 any better than the 155B? I have heard conflicting stories.You would think they would give you a good aircraft for $7mill.

I think the idea was that if the 120 had more power available , it would compete too much with the as350 and affect sales , It is limited but still better than the 206!
;)

sirs: spoke with program mgr for the ec-120 at the show, as our products fly on almost all the law enforcement 120's the common complaint we hear is the need for more power when in law enforcement configuration. eurocopter is well aware of the need to upgrade the transmission to accept more power, but as widgeon mentioned i think this will come with time as witnessed by the growth in power on the as-350. i do not believe the market share loss to the 350 is really an issue, at least from a law enforcement viewpoint, rather a noise issue, therefore the ec-130 and md 520 are more likely to be considered the competitors.
IMHO, eurocopter must upgrade the power or market share will be lost to other mfg, in particular robinson if they move forward on a turbine light single and or MD, if they make it through the next year they will be a very strong company.

Hey cal thought you were planning to put a RR donk in one !!!!

widgeon: cant get one over on you, i think a pw 200 series in the 120 would make for a very serious helicopter that would without question become the industry standard for light single turbine, can only wish. missed your smiling face in dallas, good show, and have agreed with aec to supply side mount to the factory, looks as though edmonton will convert as well.

EC120B Nr Speed Sensor
 

The EC120 has a main rotor rpm speed sensor mounted in the MRGB, it is a phonic wheel type system. Can anyone tell me if the output signal generated is a 1 pulse / rev signal, or is it a straight frequency / voltage output?

Also, does the phonic wheel have a master tooth, and if so what is the physical position of the main rotor when the master tooth is lined up with the sensor?

Flytest,

As a general rule, the rotational speed pickups are magnetic sensors that have wound coils and a central iron core. They are mounted so that the tip passes within a fraction of an inch (perhaps .040") from a gear that is mechanically tied to the main rotor. This gear has N teeth, so the waveform that the probe sends out is an N per revolution sine wave. The electronics are basically a counter circuit (digital these days, analog in older models) that converts the wave form into a number for the tach. There is usually a smothing term in the processing to account for slight changes in signal strength due to variations in the tooth position, where a closer passing tooth causes a much stronger signal. Development usually involves adjusting this processing, and also making gross adjustments of the probe to set its standoff distance for a clean strong signal. The probe is often a dual wound coil, so that two signals can be had (in Sikorsky's, we pass a different signal to each pilot, for some redundancy).

Here is one description of a phonic wheel system (it was the first hit of a Yahoo search for, strangely enough, "phonic wheel speed sensor"). Note that the software requires you to input the pulses per revolution and the wheel circumference, so that the software can know the frequency range and speed of the teeth, part of the smoothing processing:

http://www.evosport.com/product/imag...e/Velocity.pdf

Here is an even more technical report. Note that Anti-Lock Breaking Systems use these sensors to measure wheel speed differences:

http://www.cedrat.com/applications/P...%20wheel-2.pdf

EC120 Crash At Swansea Airport
 

An EC120 rolled over during hover taxi/landing at Swansea airport. No major injuries.

More info : BBC News

Try a twin Squirrell :oh:

TC - Do you mean it was an AS355 that rolled over, or that you should try and roll over an AS355 because it rolls better :confused:

:E

EC 120 in the Beeb picture though!

Looked at the pics on the news website and definately EC120 on its side.

:E

I swear when I checked Mikeb's link the picture showed a squirrell. Coupled with the fact that someone just rang me and told me that a twin squirrell had just 'stoofed' in S wales.

I look again, now at the link, and the bloody picture has been changed...honest, guv!