Ec135 at egkb
 

Hi fols
A couple of days ago i landed at Biggin Hill EGKB and as i spotted an awesome black EC135 across the ramp i walked towards it a and took a peek inside, i noticed that secured to one of the pax seats there was a life raft and that the Paris plates were pinned to a clipboard on the pilot s seat.
My question is, is it a normal practice to have the liferaft out on one of the pax seats when flying overwater? I believe the 135 is a twin engine, i spotted two exhaust pipes, so i was a bit surprised, unless it is a requirement.
Second question, i noticed that there is no lever on the overhead despite of the fact it was crammed with switches and cb's, are they located between the setas?
Finally the cyclic and the collective and the pedals had been removed from the the left seat, is it a lengthy process to put them back or is it just a matter of inserting a couple of pins?

Thanks

Baobab

No need for levers cause of FADEC

The (de)installation of left controls can be done within max. half an hour.

skadi

And from personal experience taking the duals out requires the well oiled hand of a very small gynaecologist!


SND

If you are flying alone, the raft needs to be where you can get at it when you ditch. Plus it needs to be secured, so strapped in the pax seat is a good place.
Twins crash just as much as singles, so yes a sensible precaution to take a raft in a twin.

Well said!
But with oiled hand its almost impossible to loosen the connector plugs... :E

skadi

Baobab, nice that you spotted 2 exhaust pipes on the 135... But as I see you are a close observer, this helicopter is Bentley green, not black :}
Concerning the liferaft, well... It is pretty reassuring to have it close to the pilot, unless you rely on the passenger in the back to handle it for you.