Wessex Helicopter Restoration Project
 

Good afternoon,

Apologises if this has already been posted but as a keen admirer of the vulnerable Wessex I came across two chaps who are gauging support and interest in possibly get one up and running again.

If you, like me, would love to see a Wessex back where she belongs please visit http://www.wessexhelicopter.co.uk/home/4577804282!

Regards,

anotherpruner 😃

Wessex Helicopter Restoration Project
 

Please excuse my appalling grammar...was in a hurry posting this between meetings!

anotherpruner

I never found the Wessex to be vulnerable, even to ham fisted pilots - venerable perhaps ;)

Wessex Helicopter Restoration Project
 

Al-bert, please see my second post in which I apologised for my first post and it's grammatical issues! Unsure how to edit a post from the app :(

Regards,

anotherpruner

sorry if I've upset you anotherpruner - I thought post two was an apology for grammar, not spelling ;)

Oh,I gather you are in Yorkshire :E

This'll be Danny Wilsons Wessex then.He has been fighting the CAA for years trying to get a Wessex 2 certified in the UK.......they just won't have it,quoting the previous military stresses,the lack of OEM support.and the fatal crash of a Bristow Mk 60 that ended the types civil career.
The NZ CAA followed the same line after a Mk 5 being used for logging crashed in New Zealand. Danny did manage to get an ex Ghana AF Wessex sold by Bristow flying in Ghana on gold runs quite a few years ago ,which is probably why this latest aircraft is registered there. It's being used for SAR at present in warm waters!

I hate to put a damper on this, but the obstacles to over come would be huge, having some experience of certifying odd aircraft. For a start you would need the backing of a design authority, this could only possibly be Westlands, or may be Bristow, but I am sure they are busy with other things.
You need this for the approval of Maintenance Schedules, flight test schedules, flight manuals, and the issuing of service bulletins.
I believe the authority for the Vulcan was Marshalls.
When the ex Royal Jordanian S76s were certified, we had to get certification from the high ups in the R.J.A.F. that they had only been flown in accordance with the flight manual, and that all parts fitted were from an approved source.
As for the aircraft themselves, things to consider would be, engine and gearbox overhaul lives, engine and gearbox finite component lives, rotor blade finite lives, and engine cycle lives.
You would also have to maintain a bonded store for any parts held, and approved certs for those parts.
I am sure I have only scratched the surface, and there are many more considerations.

If not already done - I think that a chat with the Whirlwind Owners about all of the issues mentioned above should put the WHRP objective and its obvious expense into clear view.
I shouldn't think that would put off the real enthusiasts, but it might make them realise how difficult and long a trip this might be.

A daunting prospect and for a Wessex 2? Hardly worth the effort I would have thought. Now if you were talking about a Wessex 3 or, at a push, a 5, altogether a different story and certainly worth undertaking.

The Wessex club already have two flying!