How effective is a wire strike protection installation when a helicopter flies into a power line or telephone line at speed?

What are the general limitations of such systems eg, max wire thickness?

Does anyone perhaps have photos of a helicopter that survived such an incident?

Im actually looking for photos of helicopters that have had WSPS installed, and then had an incident where the system worked as intended.

The pix on those two links and most of the ones I can find appears to relate to accidents without WSPS.

Thanks for any help!

HELAS system (on EC-135) can detect, I think, 5mm thick wire on 1.5 km distance, LASER system.
It costs 700.000 EUR.

It's called HELLAS. German border police has it.
Apparently 50 units in operation world wide.
Go to 34:00 in this report. Seems to be working nicely.

Die fliegenden Hightech-Cops - Die Reportage XXL - N24.de

This was a friend of mine:

Linky thing to PDF of "Lessons Learned"

Try this link.

I have seen firsthand how well the system works. Up to 3 wires the size of your thumb is the reported ability.

Cheers

This is excellent equipment that should be standard fit.

Wire Strike Protection good
 

So tell me why wire strike protection isn't on all helos?

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7195/6...570f4c38_z.jpg

Because we don't all wazz around at low level!

You stay airborne forever? Of course you low level, at least 2X/flight.

That is correct but I do try to take-off and land in non-wazz mode!:p

...
 

It's a good question but complicated answer,

Mostly additional weight and expense if you question honest management. (if you can find any)

They are a good proposition in certain applications, for an example where you have pilots flying somewhat standard tasks such as charter in flatlands, corporate/VIP where you're not landing anywhere very challenging but might land in a yard where someone just installed a SWER since last time you were there, and forgot to mention it etc :ugh:

But: Many transmission conductors are too large to cut (18-29mm) steel reinforced (most small gage are aluminum) and we don't have the mass or speed for the cutter to work correctly.

Landing in moraines or toe-ins to steep terrain etc, the bottom cutter can be a real danger. (I swapped ships one time back in the early 90's and forgot it had the cutters installed and nearly flipped the 212 over when it caught on a rock sticking out of moraine debris). We then removed the bottom cutter blade, but our PMI (principle maintenance inspector) said the STC was all or nothing, so we pulled the system out...

Personally I don't like them for utility ops, where logic would suggest they're most needed. But I can see the merits for other types of work...

Naturally, if I'd survived a wire strike because of a WSPS I might feel differently...

170

Safety Study of Wire Strike Devices Installed on Civil and Military Helicopters
http://www.tc.faa.gov/its/worldpac/techrpt/ar0825.pdf


Page 25, Table 8. Helicopters Involved in Wire Strikes

Can I be really shallow and say that I had a set fitted on my 206 because they look really cool:ok:

Shall I get my own coat or does someone want to fetch it for me?

Im with you - Half of everything is looks! :rolleyes:

Eddie1 - may we have your source data for "Wires are one of the main reasons for fatal accidents in helicopters" please?

Put WSPS on my 407 because my insurance company thought was a good idea (even though I dont fly in a wire environment). Not so much in love with the looks.

The bottom one can get in the way of nose mounted cameras.


Mickjoebill

The outboard 4 feet of the main rotor blades sometimes get in shot using a side mount too - maybe we should get them all shortened.

I can think of quite a few nose mounts that avoid the lower cutter, but maybe you brief your pilots to fly under the wires so the top cutter can get them.

They are good for catching birds too.....I got this one at night back in 97:

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j3...t/Strike-1.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j3...t/scan0009.jpg

Whilst the single pole brackets can be fitted the cutter can get into shot and is compromised because the camera sits well in front of it.

Incorporating a cutter into nose mount hard point (the so called sharks fin on AS 350 single pole mounts) would be a help, because the area between camera pole and nose of the chopper is a natural trap for wires that slide down the windscreen.


Any stats on the number of occurrences, without wire strike kit of where the wire bites, is it mast or skids/crosstubes?


Mickjoebill