Hong Kong
 

EC155 of the Hong Kong Government Flying Service
http://www.info.gov.hk/gfs/photo1/ec155/ec15508.jpg

couple of shots taken during our latest adventures last month.
dr

http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PP...onmemorial.jpg



http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PPRuNe/mandalay.jpg

heliport: took those shots with a pocket digital, sony dcs72, so there is no fancy equipment, have loads of pictures, if people are interested and blenderpilot does not mind posting them then we will send them through.
dr

the washington dc pictures were taken from falcon 1 which is metro pd's as-350 and the vegas pictures from md 530f. our company specializes in special operations equipment, flir, nightsun mounts etc for law enforcement and paramilitary groups so we get alot of good photo oportunities. here is one from last week with border patrol, these guys are the unsung heros, tough job, but the crews are dedicated and most professional.
dr


http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PPRuNe/bortac.jpg

Are you sure Goldsmith is still alive - thought he died last year!

And now, let's dredge up some memories from you pros....

For those who learnt to fly on a Bell 47, here's my baby. Now on Private Cat in the UK, fully restored and in great nick, and does about a hundred hours a year (and probably 200 hours a year cleaning and fettling!).

http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PPRuNe/G-BFEFB47G.jpg

A perfect day's pleasure flying.... Crossing Ullswater quickly to avoid the military traffic always screaming down the middle of the lake.

http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PP...swater2002.jpg

Here she is in the late 60's/early 70's. She is an Agusta machine, a G3-B1 Sioux, one of the first 150 the AAC took in 1964. (50 from Agusta, 100 from Westland). Anyone remember her (XT 132)? and does anyone recognise the location?

http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PPRuNe/XT132-3.jpg

I've traced 18 ex AAC pilots who have her in their logbooks, most of who learned to fly on her. One of the pleasures of owning a classic machine is making contact with those who flew her. If you have any AAC B47 memories it would be great to hear them (we could start another thread).

Latest trip
 

I spent last week in the Pacific Coast with some developers looking for a spot to build a new airport, I took the following pictures and I hope you like them.



My favorite helicopter, and his improvised caretaker
http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PP...liguardian.jpg



This place belongs to an englishman named Goldsmith, he flies here in an executive 757, and brings and english helicopter pilot to get him here from Manzanillo airport (mmzo), maybe someone knows who he is?
http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PP...mithsplace.jpg



This is MMZO airport
http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PP...zanilloapp.jpg



Mexican Pacific Coast has more than 1000 kilometers of deserted beaches
http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PP...cificcoast.jpg


Hotel area of Manzanillo, Mexico
http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PP...dasmanzani.jpg

Carlos, I'm ready to move. Do they have any rice or cotton so I can make a living?
Barryb

PS: Great looking 412. Bet they would make a great crop duster.

Ah heck....he gone and done ruined it for us!

I have been looking for just such a place like that to retire....was gonna put a shovel and a tail rotor blade over my shoulders....and start walking until the third person asked me what those things on your shoulders are. At that exact point....I was gonna dig me a big ol' hole.....throw the shovel and tail rotor blade into it.....kick the dirt over both of them and call that location my final resting place.

I thought if no one knew what a tail rotor blade was....they knew nothing of helicopters.....and if they did not know what a shovel was....they knew nothing of hard work! And....that fellow Rotorheads sounds like Paradise to me!

B47,
Those are some really nice pictures! And that is one piston helicopter (the only one) I would absolutely love to have! Congratulations!

Crop Duster,
Actually while at the airport (taking pictures of crabs), I could hear piston planes buzzing near the airport, I asked and was told there is lot of them around working on Banana, Papaya and Palm plants, I was told it was mostly Piper Pawnees.

A Bell 412 a crop duster? Never seen one, there is a about 5 Bell 212's cropdusting around here, spraying herbicide on pot and amapola for the federal police. It makes my skin crawl to see them work, they spray fields up in the mountains, hidden between trees, and upslope, so they start at the bottom with some airspeed and end up at the top with a pedal (almost hammerhead) turn, and as it manuvers like a bird, you can see the downwash mixing up with the chemical coming out of those loong spray booms while listening to that 48FT main rotor spinning those almost 2FT wide blades, I can't help to get a grin on my face.

I have to get some pictures of that.

Manzanillo port is also a popular stop for tuna spotting boats.

Blender, I flew a Pawnee about a hundred hours one summer. Alot of fun to fly empty but loaded with 120-130 gallons at 3000 feet elevation it was a dog. No comparison with the 500 gallon 1000 hp Thrush I fly now.

That sound you mentioned from the rotor of the 212 is even better when you're sitting there doing it. Just after daylight and just before dark, it'll give you chill bumps all over.

Those guys that are spraying the drugs must have big gonads or could be over half nuts. A couple of guys from here in north La. are down south doing it in Thrushes and AirTractors. Not worth the $115,000 they make.

North Sea
 

Having a quiet weekend at home scanning photos, I thought these may be worth sharing. In 1976-79 Bristow operated 4 Bell 212's in the Brent Field to shuttle the workers around the field, and I had an engine mishap one morning. Not wanting to fly 100 nm back to Sumburgh, and denied the largest pad (Brent B) because a 234 Chinook was due in later, I put down on a spare deck and awaited the black hand gang. I landed to one side so that North Scottish could get in with a Bo105.

The engine was deemed U/S, but after defuelling we had to wait until cooler evening temps to ferry single engine back to the maintenance hangar that we had on Treasure Finder (IIRC). I was assured that Redhill had approved the S/E ferry, and was daft enough to believe the engineers!

When we got to Treasure Finder, no such approval was sought nor given (young and gullible?), then the engineers showed me the shrapnel holes in the tail and tail rotor :eek:

Anyway, it was a salutory lesson, in making a judgement call to "do the right thing" and get the 212 to our hangar facility.

http://www.eacott.com.au/gallery/d/2...on+deck+02.jpg

The turbine :(

http://www.eacott.com.au/gallery/d/2...ne+failure.jpg


http://www.eacott.com.au/gallery/d/3...S+B-105+02.jpg

Thought y'all might like these photos: The World Trade Center photo I took while in a CH-46E while on a formation flight to NYC back in 1993 - guess I got lucky with the camera. The CH-53E is a nice, politically incorrect camo job that a friend sent.


NEVER FORGET

http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PP...YC1993CH46.jpg


OLD SCHOOL

http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PPRuNe/53eldy3.jpg

Hey John,
....that takes real BALZ to ferry a machine home OEI!
(get it? balls/balz....:p ....no? well I thought it clever)

Thanks, Steve, don't give up your day job ;)

FWIW, G-BALZ was one of the 212's featured operating in Iraq for the UN weapons inspectors, with photos in this thread. Wonder if their engineers looked as plug ugly & threatening as our two culprits :eek:

John,

They shave most days anyway, but most of them were still the same guys from way back then!

:E

B47,
Having just unearthed my old military logbook from under a pile of dust and cobwebs, I find that I flew old '132' four times during my time with 'Advanced Rotary' at Middle Wallop in the mid 70's. Good to see that it's still flying and being well looked after.

Well done, fly safely,
Chopperman.

John,
The hairy engineer in your photo of BALZ is Ray Farnes who finally retired from Bristow in Nigeria 2 years ago. He looks just the same now, except that his hair and long whiskers are rather greyer. He, like BALZ is in fine fettle.
;)

Now this is history
 

http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PPRuNe/Bell47.jpg

I crewed and maintained this HO3-S in the Coast Guard. It was resurrected from the boneyard and completely overhauled to flight condition. It will be placed in the Smithsonian Aircraft Museum later this year. Prior to entering Coast Guard service the Sikorsky was operated along with five others by the Greyhound bus company which employed them as a taxi service in the Boston area.

http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PPRuNe/H3.jpg

I also crewed and maintained this HTL-1 picking it up in Miami and flying in it to Floyd bennett Field in Brooklyn, NY where we installed floats. We later flew both the HTL-1 and the HO3-S to Boston and placed them aboard the CGC Eastwind for her cruise to Greenland in 1952. The HTL-1 crashed after the cruise killing the pilot and the flight mechanic.

:ok:

Sorry, the pictures got switched

RN oldies
 

An old shot from the cockpit of a Sea King on the deck of RFA Tidepool. I had forgotten how close the clearances were; to think the blades are out there somewhere, day & night ;)

http://www.eacott.com.au/gallery/d/3...ck+from+SK.jpg


We (826NAS) operated from Albion for a while, to help remove Brit expats from Bangladesh when they had a squabble with India. Trogging across the Indian Ocean we painted Union Flags all around, to avoid being mistaken for Vikrant or other similar vessels. Midshipmen "surplus to requirements" were taken by Wessex V to Arethusa, here...

http://www.eacott.com.au/gallery/d/3...o+Arethusa.jpg

Yosemite National Park
 

A few shots my Flight Nurse took while we were inbound to the Ahwahnee Meadow LZ to pick up a patient that had fallen while climbing.
Our BK is down for Maintenance so we're in our backup B3.

Dropping into the valley
http://www.eacott.com.au/gallery/d/3...AStar+001a.jpg


Bridal Veil Falls
http://www.eacott.com.au/gallery/d/3...AStar+002a.jpg


Holding over El capitan Meadow, @ or below 500' due to the Peregrin Falcons roosting above.
http://www.eacott.com.au/gallery/d/3...AStar+003a.jpg


Ahwahnee Meadows LZ
http://www.eacott.com.au/gallery/d/3...AStar+004a.jpg


California Highway Patrol did the hoist/rescue with Yosemite SAR
http://www.eacott.com.au/gallery/d/3...AStar+005a.jpg

Fantastic shots RotorCaptain,
Bridal Veil Falls just look magnificent....very envious!

Here are a few at random:

S-92 in Alaska, USCG pilot at the controls:
http://s-92heliport.com/images/S-92%20AK.jpg

My AH-1G Cobra on the ramp at Chu Lai, Vietnam 1970:
http://s-92heliport.com/images/mighty%20mouse.jpg

Flying Comanche Prototype #1 over Florida, 1998:
http://s-92heliport.com/images/Nick%...0in%20RAH2.jpg

this is my latest girlfriend ive put her in the harem with the md 600 and the hiller 12c http://www.caa.co.uk/srg/aircraft_re.../g-bzyb001.jpg

Rotorheads Around the World
 

More superb pictures. :ok:

Norwegian pilot winched to safety
 

A pilot and his young son were winched to safety after their seaplane somersaulted and crashed on take-off. The aircraft wound up floating on its back after hitting a rock on Lessjavri Lake in the north of Norway.

http://images.thesun.co.uk/picture/0,,2003300585,00.jpg

Pilot Julius Eriksen and his six-year-old son escaped and clung to one of the plane’s floats.
Watchers on the shore raised the alarm and a Royal Norwegian Air Force rescue helicopter raced to the scene from the nearby Banak air base.

http://images.thesun.co.uk/picture/0,,2003300584,00.jpg

A winchman was lowered and the lucky pair were hauled aboard unhurt. The plane sank shortly after their escape.

Amazing pictures
 

Keep them coming.

For those of you who think that West africa is all just jungle and mangrove swamps, here are a few shots of our 365N3 (which I think is the first in Africa) which is operating in Cameroun in support of moperations on the Tchad-Cameroun pipeline project. Most of our flying in Cameroun is in the mountains, which are really beautiful.

At Limbe, on the coast at the foot of Mount Cameroun:
http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PP...mbeWaiting.jpg

The landing site is at 9500 feet, but the N3 is a very good hot/high machine. The temperature was around 12 centigrade on the day.
http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PP...amerounHLS.jpg

The summit was making one of its rare appearances. At 13435 feet, it's West Africa's highest:
http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PP...CameSummit.jpg

Rotorheads regulars .....


Flying Lawyer (Tudor Owen) and Nick Lappos at Sikorsky http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ture042600.jpg



And in the great man's office,
preserved as it was on his last day. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...office_cst.jpg




No, not Nick - the other great man!

I thought the 4077th flew the 47 D.
Great looking aircraft .

Lovely shots Soggyb! Also wouldn't mind knowing what are min. experience requirements for F/O's on Schreiner 365's etc. in Africa? I need hours from somewhere!!!!!

IHL: Yep, thats true. Still seems to be a popular paint scheme for 47's in general though. ;)

jobs around the world
 

http://www.tv.is/besto/hover.jpg
Here is pilot JK.Bjornson coming in for refueling. Thougt this picture were nice because of the powerline there about meter above his rotordisc. :mad:

http://www.tv.is/besto/refueling.jpg
and here he landed.:ok:

I'll try to find another picture of him doing some stunt.

Fly safe!!!:}

http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PP...gleHelipad.jpg


Six Scouts, a Wasp and a Gazelle at Lake Vyrnwy, North Wales for two days of intensive mountain flying guidance from ex-army men who used to fly them when they were but boys.

A fabulous couple of days away from the daily grind for all who participated.

The Scout

Blenderpilot

What is the meaning of the number 2 on your tailnumber (XC-SCT)? Is that a heli of the secretaria de comunicaciones y transportes? Not to long ago, I ferried on of their King Airs from MEX to MFE (also XC registered) ...

MD 600 - XX382 - I'm sure I've bounced that one around Ternhill a few times doing EOLs with student QHIs. I hate you for owning your own Gazelle (lucky bast**d) almost as much as I hate Rotor Captain for getting to fly around Yosemite!!!

Just a normal day at the office!!

http://www.jetthrust.com/vote/pics/img3e7e95d9d1437.jpg

Squawk7777

Yes SCT means Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes and the #2 means the main SCT is the Falcon Jet they also have, along with about 25 other aircraft, SCT does the same thing the DOT in the U.S.

We mostly fly around the country scouting for good places for new roads, airports, bridges and such, but when the hurricanes strike we usually spend about a month doing disaster relief carrying sick, food, water, medicine, looking for improvised runways for the IAI Aravas to take over. It never fails and we have usually been out every year since 1996.

You say you got a ride in one of the KingAirs, I love going around in the red Cessna Citations the ones that do the verification of navaids and procedures, those flights are soo much fun, in one day they will fly to 5 different airports do the app a couple of times and do the most awsome manuvers I have seen a private jet do, (except the acrobatic lear 23 I saw in Acapulco a few months ago, an american fellow who does amazing things!) If you ever get a chance hop into one of their flights!