|
My guys called it the "Ju Ju Platform" |
Ju Ju Platform
Some of my guys did not like passing close by!
|
Treasure Finder
Treasure Finder
http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...ndbasinmap.jpg During the late seventies and early eighties the North Sea oil fields were probably at their most active and this led Shell to instigate a Bell 212 shuttle service to serve the Brent oil field installations and surrounding rigs. The Treasure Finder was to be found in the East Shetland basin and consisted of a fairly large hangar built as part of an accommodation platform and attached to a production platform typically the "Brent B". The hangar had an average compliment of five Bell 212's fitted with a vast array of avionics and safety equipment to enable such tasks as search and rescue. The work rota was 2 weeks on / 2 weeks off. http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...surefinder.jpg There were two heli-decks, one either side of the hangar, and the photo was taken from one heli-deck looking through the hangar out to the other. The 212 on the left ( G-BGMI ) is fitted with a " Nightsun " high power searchlight as part of the S.A.R. commitment. http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...asures212s.jpg A good night shot showing the two heli-decks with a 212 stationed on the right hand one. http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...nder_night.jpg Note the tow cart still has the BEAS logo. http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...der_towing.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...sureFinder.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...sureFinder.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...sureFinder.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...indergroup.jpg |
Treasure Finder
I was one of the Chief Pilots on the Treasure Finder for a number of years. The sophisticated SAR equipment was developed after a fatal accident one night when all 6 crew members were killed when the aircraft was flown into the sea. Bristow and Louis Newmark, with funding from Shell developed a partly auto hover modification for the 212. It was the LN450, which was later fitted to the full auto hover S61s and went on to become the LN400. It was mostly the addition of a Doppler coupled to the flight director and Decca RNAV and enabled the pilot to hover at 40 feet radalt with his feet off the pedals, but controlling cyclic and collective manually, after being given FD directions from a target overhead position (usually derived from getting an overhead from the homer), to descend to 200 feet and run in to wind to the target until a visual was obtained. It required quite a lot of continuation training, which was paid for by Shell. We also got the FLIR fit in addition to the nite sun which we'd had for some years. We had also experimented with some early marks on the ANVIS night vision system, which was n ot particularly successful at the time.
The aircraft were already very nose heavy and C of G problems became worse with the Doppler fit, so Bristow also went ahead and fitted the Kevlar (helium filled) float bottles in the hell hole to help rectify this. For its day, I though the system was very successful and I felt a lot more confident on night SAR call outs in bad weather in the LN450 machines |
Dave Ed
Tim Jones says, "Cheers for that" oh the memories.
Well it gave the engineers here a chuckle, lol. Keepitup |
Used to share a room on the Treasure finder with Mr Pedder first a week of nights then second week days change over day was a struggle.
|
"Wally" who got that name from his all brown outfit!
|
Leftovers
Leftovers
So, having worked through all the bases I had on the original Skyweaver website, I have about 100 pics left in the original picture files....... Bell 206ixes http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a.../Bell206/b.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...ndiepkhbo3.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...ell206/jv9.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...longranger.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...206old_big.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...flying_big.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a.../ferrysea1.jpg |
That is me flying G-AWVO over the heli-lanes in London - when we were based in Battersea (during the time that I too used to fly singles)
Jim |
If memory serves, VR-BEI already had around 5000 hours on the airframe when I arrived in Abu Dhabi in 1974. Would love to know if it's still flying.
|
VR-BEI 30544
'Echo India is currently flying with Servicios Aereos De Los Andes in Peru as OB-1906-P. Hours unknown.
Early Abu Dhabi sister ship VR-BEJ is currently in Kenya with the British Army Air Corps as ZJ969. Last time I paid any attention to it, it had around 30K on the clock. AB |
Ref. Post #2369, the second photograph (PK-HBO during a refuelling stop) is rather faded, the helicopter is definitely in the red/white/blue Bristow colours, although at the time this scheme was still relatively new. Also, notice that the photograph is printed in reverse - look at the locations of the refuelling point and tail rotor.
The third photograph (PK-HBO again - details anyone?) shows the vessel 'Craestar', registered in Port Vila, Vanuatu. Formerly a Taiwanese trawler converted for seismic work, it was later transferred to the Indonesian register and renamed 'Ratna Sumatera' ('Pearl of Sumatra'). Both photographs are from the Rio Tinto Operation and show typical working environments, the Padang main base was only used for scheduled maintenance and crew-changes, they were probably taken circa 1973. The 'Craestar' was only used for a brief period which was just as well as only a few members of the heli crew could adapt to the onboard conditions - small and constantly moving. Chas Newport (ex RN) loved it while Mike McCormack (ex RAF) was permanently sea-sick! The Rio Tinto Operation was a geological survey that entailed flying geologists into pre-determined points, usually small rivers or streams, to gather samples for analysis. The prime purpose was to identify commercially viable copper deposits. This analysis was done at Padang. The full name of the client was Rio Tinto Bethlehem Indonesia (RBI) and this resulted is at least one bizarre event - one day a geologist received a letter from his sister addressed; Mr. xxxx Rio Tinto Bethlehem Indonesia Everyone was amazed that it actually got to him! |
Instead, they put a guard over the levers. Needless to say one pilot drifted, hooked the heel of the skid under the guard and over she went. Trapped in the 212, the sliding door was too high for him to reach to open, and the front door was too heavy to push open. One of the other pilots jumped onto the (now smouldering) 212 and pulled the pilot out, and soon after the legs of the passenger seats were highlighted to be used as a ladder for emergency escape when a 212 rolls onto its side. The Nordraug also had no adequate firefighting equipment for the deck, so shortly after the accident a firefighting monitor was installed. |
I think your wrong there John. That's the Sedco704 doing the pipeline between the Claymore and the Piper Alpha. It was the accommodation barge and was putting concrete covers on the pipe at the same time. Was on it 1976 as back to back with Bob Cowan. The trolley was a nightmare!!
|
Thanks: it looked familiar, though!
|
Dave,
The 'seismic lance' on VR-BGB is actually a magnetic anomaly detector boom. The boom was hexagonal in cross section AFAIR and the box about one third back was the MAD box. There were 4 of the aircraft in Iran for IHAC on contract to Prakla Seismos doing a uranium for Uriran. They also had a groundwave detector in the tail boom which bulged out of the side of the baggage compartment and a skywave detector fitted behind the pilots' seats. Much of the forward part of the cabin was taken up by the electronic bays. There was also a camera pointing down from the port chin window taking a photo every 30 seconds to cross check navigation. The crew was 3: pilot, navigator and electronics operator. The aircraft were fitted with Doppler to accurately measure drift and with Decca TANS. There was no Decca in the mountains in Iran, but the TANS took in information from the Doppler and the navigator kept a constant update of it from his map reading so the pilot normally just had to fly the drift indicator and keep his needle in the middle to stay on tracks. Tracks were typically 150 km long, maintaining 60-80 knots groundspeed (I forget now whether the survey height was 200 or 400 feet agl). At the end of the track we moved 500 metres to one side and then flew the reverse until we had covered all of the boxes the geologists wanted surveyed. Fun and interesting work which came to an end during the revolution when Prakla Seismos were one of the first companies to pull out (which was how I ended up in Nigeria). |
Indeed that picture was taken on the Sedco 704, over the Claymore/Piper tie in. I was involved in changing A BO105 m.g.b. in that very hangar. I seem to recollect a BEAS Bell 212 breaking a skid on the back edge of the trolley and having to land on sandbags and baulks of timber, I'm guessing that would be '76 or early 77.
|
That's right, a night of adventures that one. Someone fell through the pilots roof window that same night and we made a replacement out of L72 and flew around like that for about a year.
|
I remember the Sedco 704 well. The corrugated iron hangar was pretty flimsy and when the CAA came out to inspect the operation (probably for the first time), the downwash from the S61 that was bringing them in to land blew one of the hangar doors off & over the side into the sea - not the best start!
We were a happy little bunch there as I remember, mostly BEAS with the odd person seconded from Bristow before the operation eventually became Bristow Offshore. The trolley wasn't the easiest thing to land on initially because you couldn't see it from the cockpit - suitably placed broom handles visible through the pilot's door window & through the perpex panel in front of the pedals did the trick. Also some riotous times ashore when we managed to escape for the odd night - but that's another story :ok: |
Sedco 704 and G-BARJ.
bluesafari/mtoroshanga,
The breaking of both skids occurred to G-BARJ on the night of 10th.January 1977 whilst carrying out the Piper/Claymore shuttle as PNF, my logbook tells me. My last flight with BEAS before disappearing to Norway for seven years. Oh happy days! With fraternal greetings, ambi |
If you remember the chief pilot who was an American from Hawaii had the most trouble landing and had the trolley made wider after shift one day then we found it wouldn't go in the hangar!! I rest my case regarding stick to what you know.
|
Leftovers
|
If you remember the chief pilot who was an American from Hawaii had the most trouble landing and had the trolley made wider after shift one day then we found it wouldn't go in the hangar!! I rest my case regarding stick to what you know.
In those politically incorrect times he was known as 'Nip in the Air' if I remember correctly ;) |
"Frosty" was his Nickname.
|
John T........ I remember his first name but his last name something like Tanigawa?
|
Correct :ok:
He was a little difficult to understand sometimes: once when flying with him I was asked to operate 'the environmental selection system', which I eventually worked out was the B212 sliding pilot's window. I also learnt about shooting up things in 'Nam with 20 mikemikes. Oh what fun we had :) |
That's the one- good to hear from you boys. Good Luck!!
|
A Little Known Operation
In April 1986 a short drilling contract came up in Haverfordwest, South Wales. One 76, GBISZ, was purloined off Redhill as the sole aircraft. The Aberdeen A team was sent down to pick up the aircraft and run the operation. In charge was Action Man plus two pilots, ably supported by Redhill Hanger’s best.. We operated from offices rented from a one ship plank operator which also included hanger space. The flying depended on the same criteria as Sumburgh in the eighties. You waited until the fixed wing from Aberdeen arrived and then you took them on to the rig. When Haverfordwest was socked in then it would go to Brawdy, just up the road, so no problem for us to shuttle them from there. The rig was only thirty minutes away so you could always go to Cardiff. Action Man was incredibly fastidious as I found out after my first flight. Whilst I was waiting for the engine wash he presented me with a copy, written in copperplate, of my MSLS to sign. This was because one of the major advantages of my life was that nobody could read my handwriting so I couldn’t be nailed for anything. His role expanded to planning the flight log, filling in the MSLS and doing the compressor wash. In the end all I had to do was pitch up twenty minutes before T/O, climb into the aircraft, do the trip, step out, sign a couple of forms and go back to the hotel. All good things come to an end and so did this contract. I was detailed to take SZ back to Redhill. The route took me just south of Odiham. my last RAF base, so I thought it might be a good idea to nip into the old squadron and show them my shiny S76. A chat with the powers at Redhill where I explained that as the company was on the lookout for pilots my showing up might be enough for a few to return the Queen’s shilling. This was agreed as long as there were no landing charges. I confirmed this fact with Odiham and it was laid on. I took off from Haverfordwest and in the back I had one of our pilots and a Redhill engineer plus two bits of Welsh totty off for a dirty weekend in the Smoke. The general track was East and I cleared with Cardiff and then up came Bristol. I flicked through the Aerad and the first one I saw was Bristol, Filton. This I was happy with because the last time I had been in this area was when I delivered a Valiant to Filton in 1965. I called up Filton, gave them an overhead and everybody was happy. Apart from this Shorts Sherpa that went by at right angles about 300 ft below me. That’s when Filton asked me to contact some airfield called Bristol Lulsgate. There was bit of a discussion and it was apparent that I had erred slightly. Maybe more because it was quite common for amateur pilots to inadvertently brush a Control Zone but I, being a professional, had gone through the whole thing, longways. I then continued to Odiham. Lots of interest in the aircraft at Odiham. Strange things like VORs ILSs, weather radar and NO oil leaks. The girls had coffee in the crewroom looking slightly shaken. They hadn’t expected to arrive at Odiham via a 60degree/2G/100ft break over the squadron offices. The proceedings were then slightly soured by the adjutant asking me to telephone the supervisor at Lulsgate. I apologised profusely to him and I thought that was that. I continued to Redhill and then followed a miserable train journey back to Wales to pick up my car. Two weeks later a call from Flight Safety at Redhill. Bristol had filed an MOR and the CAA wanted an explanation. I wrote the most grovelling apology, pointing out that Lulsgate was over the page from Filton. They Let Me Off!!!!!! Either it was a brilliant story or they couldn’t make head or tail out of what I was writing about. It kept my sheet clean so that in the end when I retired I could claim forty-eight years of undetected crime. |
Action Man could be one of the most annoying and pedantic people sometimes.
But he was THE best Line Training Captain money could buy. What he taught me on the S-76 contributed to hundreds of offshore single pilot landings at night offshore conducted without fear (for me), never being short of fuel, always being ahead of the aircraft and could probably have saved quite a few of the lives we have seen lost recently. He could take the lowest time HP Student and turn them into a first rate FO within a few weeks. I will always have the utmost respect for him as an aviator. |
terminus mos
I will heartily concur with that. One favour he did for me at the end of that detachment was to arrange that all the paperwork would be carried by me to Aberdeen instead of sending it to Redhill in the aircraft. Thia ment that my drive back to Aberdeen was a DUTY trip so I got paid duty mileage for the whole journey. In those days you could only claIm the rail fare if driving yourself to another operation . Nowadays you would probably be better off to claim the rail fare. |
Leftovers
Leftover Wessexes or Wessi?
http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...dieweshill.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...white/jv27.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...wessex_big.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...termuseum1.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...essextails.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...ngwess_big.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/wessex60.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a.../wessexsea.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a.../wessextwr.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...fueler_big.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a.../trfailure.jpg |
I think your "Hiller" under the Wessex might be a Bell 47 J.
Great to see all these old photos. Thanks. |
B-Bob
The nip in the air??? |
Little Known Operation
If memory serves me there was an earlier operation at H-West.
There was an S58T based there in the late 70's. Don Hutchins (Chiefy, ex RAF) was the engineer. Travel to H-West was by Peters Aviation Heron I think as was the route to Sumburgh in the early days of that op. Correct me if I am wrong please. Ken |
You're right. There were a few thirty-day hole/single aircraft operations daun sauf in the sixties.
|
Leftovers
Leftover people
http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...agroup1_cn.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...agroup2_cn.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a.../srilanka1.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...ndievip3mt.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...ndievip4pa.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a.../ppasiair1.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...puma2group.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...lar901crew.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/ppmaggie.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...eople/gfry.jpg |
Leftovers
Leftover people 2 of 3!
http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...yconfgroup.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...ople/deeps.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...ud_tshirts.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...people/mh1.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...le/nikpik3.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...ple/cathy1.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...eople/kp26.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...ple/jwooly.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...bugistreet.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...le/cliveh2.jpg |
leftovers
Leftover people 3
http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...m212course.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...lysgordon1.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...ople/bigal.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...lysgordon2.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...le/1stiger.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/6bellsir.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...le/abwinch.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...ple/agreen.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...ople/abdi1.jpg http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...rlwind_big.jpg |
thats my Dad, Bill Nicholls, in the photo with Alan Green, but not sure who the lady is..
|
| All times are GMT. The time now is 00:41. |
Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.