Another Aussie Ranger
 

This is Clyde Helicopters G-BRDL in use with Barossa Helicopters, South Australia as VH-FRL, retained its 'Barr's Irn Bru' colours throughout its time with Barossa, 1997 to 2006, when sold was repainted and registered VH-JTI, sadly crashed in Queensland in 2009, fuel starvation, sad loss for a grand machine.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4140/...a3368470_z.jpg
photo from Bridgette Kies, Barossa Helicopters.

WA http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/sr...lies/wink2.gif

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Repainted .. and still wearing the Saltire by the look of it. How thoughtful of those wonderfully accommodating Aussies!

Another Saltire-wearing craft was this RN SAR King:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-3...2520Rescue.jpg

(I do so enjoy Hogmanay in Auld Reekie).

Sav,

When she was with Barossa, retained the orange and blue that she carried at Clyde, down to the saltire on the near side, after sale was repainted into a modern two shades of green and yellow stripe livery, lost the saltire then - 2006 -, Bridgette told me they liked the orange colour scheme, and the saltire.

The Sea King I take it is from RNAS Gannet at Prestwick?
'Rescue 177' maybe


WA http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/sr...lies/smile.gif

another of VH-FRL, bit of good parking....:D

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5062/...7d128b3e_o.jpg

Biggin 206 & Tiger Moth
 

Yes Savoia,

Sadly I was fifty yards from the Ferranti 206/Tiger Moth collision being parked at the 03 (then) threshold waiting lift-off clearance when the Bell lifted from the adjacent grass. The pilot failed to make the standard look-out turn and lifted with four pleasure flying pax and climbed into the underside of the landing Tiger Moth. The M/R blades severed both wheels from the Moth as the M/R hub system parted from the Bell 206 airframe. Very fortunately for the spectators, the hull and M/R assy impacted just a few feet clear of the crowd line or I may have witnessed another Farnborough disaster.

Loved the G-BATU Enstrol pic outside the Spooner show tent at Cranfield. I gave the task of training the buyer, a certain Dick Hampton, to that wonderful character ex-Squadron Leader Tony (Nobby) Clarke, DFC. How could any parents called Hampton name their male child Dick!!!

Does anyone have a pic of the cartoon painted and displayed inside the Spoonair tent at the Cranfield show. The cartoon featured myself as a uniformed CP with a dozen rings and wings, my boss Roy Spooner with loads of pound notes tumbling from his pocket, and our Chief Engineer Bob Myatt dangling beneath a 1920 type helicopter spannering up the 'Jesus nuts' all while airborne.

Reference the float equipped G-BENO Enstrom. I hate to tell of the day I half sank the machine on landing to participate in the boat show at Brighton Marina. My ground/water handling boat crew attached the mooring ropes to the floats and not the skids which when pulled promptly shifted along the skid tubes allowing the spinning T/R and half the airframe to disappear beneath the waves!

The local rag ran the headline ... Shoreham pilot 'Plops In' to Boat Show.

More DK cock-ups on request.

Dennis Kenyon.

.
While the Department of Trade (Accidents Investigation Branch) concluded that Ferranti's pilot was to blame for the accident, citing failure to perform a 360° clearing turn prior to take-off, it should be noted that the Tiger Moth (the pilot of which had a total of 100 hours flight time and was authorised to wear spectacles for corrected distant vision) was, crucially, radioless.

Needless to say my godfather never accepted these findings emphasising the fact that the pilot of the Moth had never read the NOTAM covering the special arrangements for the show and which included the requirement of prior notification and disallowed landings on the grass runway towards which the Moth was headed. [The location of the operation of Ferranti's 206 has been allocated by Biggin Hill on the assumption that, with the grass strip closed, the allocated area (including the air space above it) would be free from traffic.]

An excerpt from the report reads: "The accident would most probably not have happened had the pilot of the Tiger Moth taken the simple precaution of telephoning Biggin Hill before departure and ascertaining if it was possible to use the grass strip, particularly as the NOTAM stated that ALL aircraft will have to use runways 03/21 ONLY and that the grass strip [to which the Tiger Moth was approaching] was closed during the show."

The Biggin Hill disaster of 1977 has been credited with shaping legislation which eventually required all aircraft be radio-equipped but, as with much progress in aviation, sacrifice was required. In this case Hugh Lovett and his four passengers. (RIP)

A more in-depth analysis of this crash (along with the alarming images of Ferranti's 206 being struck by the Moth) will be detailed on the Ferranti site.

More Floating Entroms ..

Enstrom clearly had a garage sale going on in the early 80's for their float gear as can be seen by another one of Dennisimo's 'floating Entroms' below:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-l...ter%252529.jpg
Enstrom F28C G-BHAX at Shoreham in December 1980 (Photo: Keith Sowter)

This craft was sold to one of Dennisimo's longstanding clients, Flair Soft Drinks of Leatherhead, Surrey, who also bought (through Dennis) the ex-Ferranti JetRanger G-AWJW.

The last time I saw Cy Rose (Cranfield '79) he had just bought an F28C (I think) - at least it looked similar to the craft above.

A French-made Englishman in Italy!
 

Well, I had to drop this in given that the craft in question is leased by a firm (Elitop) who are located in my neighbourhood.

Originally on the Japanese register this craft seems to have been bought by Russels Farm of Watford in 1994 but by 2009 had been acquired by Giuseppe Mazza (who's initials appear for'ard of the exhaust) and who brought the craft to Italy but, for reasons I am unaware of, has elected to maintain her on the British register. As mentioned, she is currently leased by Elitop of Montichiari which is south-east of Brescia (east of Milano) and roughly halfway along the road between Brescia and Lago di Garda (Lake Garda).

She is pictured in Albenga which is part of the Italian Riviera known as Il Riviera delle Palme (the Riviera of palms) in the Province of Savona.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-P...cio%252529.jpg
AS350BA G-FIBS (formerly JA9732) at the Aeroporto di Villanova d'Albenga on 24th July 2011 (Photo: Luigi Maccio)

http://planesandchoppers.com.s3.amazonaws.com/4329.jpg
British Army Westland-Bell Sioux XT228 in Bahrain in 1969

G-AWOL
 

Here's G-AWOL in Liverpool 1984. Operated by Red Rose Helicopters.
This was my first flight in a helicopter and got me hooked.



http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._6592493_n.jpg

All Ways Oil Leaks
 

Was it still leaking?

AWOL
 

My Dad came along thought the machine seemed a little worn. No oil though. :)

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In post 810 G-BBCA made her Nostalgia Thread debut when I mentioned that she was the second craft belonging to the Hambros Bank stable. Hambros and the late John Dicken have been the subject of my interest although, so far, I have been unable to gather much information. What G-BBCA threw up however was an outfit known as 'Time Aviation' (registered in London) which joins the ranks of smaller British helicopter operators with which I was previously unfamiliar. Others have included Freemans of Bewdly, Twyford Moors and BenTurner - the latter, so I was to discover, having accommodated my godfather as a director.

Today a second Time Aviation 206 cropped-up, G-BBFB:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-W...ton%252529.jpg
Bell 206B JetRanger II G-BBFB belonging to Time Aviation as seen at Biggin Hill on 18th May 1974 (Photo: Jonathan Walton)

Wearing the same minimalistic (predominantly white) livery, trimmed only by the slightest blue and red stripes, BBFB finds herself surrounded by nostalgia! To 'FB's' side is a Sopwith Camel which was designed by Sir Thomas Sopwith father of rotary-wing flyer Tommy Sopwith who was discussed some pages back. To 'FB's' rear quarter is a Sea Fury (or so it appears) which was designed and manufactured by Sir Thomas' company Hawker, so named after Sopwith's Chief Test Pilot, Harry Hawker. The Sea Fury remains one of the most exquisite WWII fighters ever built and still thrills with her distinctive sound, a sampling of which can be heard here.

In the photo the 'Time Ranger' obscures a quartet of Pitts Specials from the Rothman's Aerobatic Team one of which, clearly, is G-BADY and the other just might be G-AXNZ. 'NZ' of course was the Pitts purchased by the late great Peter Cadbury (aka The Cad) and a comment from PPRuNer FAStoat on another thread reads:

While on Rothmans, Brian Lecomber (who I think used to fly as RAT 4) was a dear friend to my father and was present during my first encounter with the sauce in the late 70's at Yeadon Aero Club, Leeds. I still recall that the barmaid was named Hilda, lol!

From Time Aviation BBFB moved on to Hanson's, in 1978, who retained her until 1981.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-S...euw%252529.jpg
G-BBFB - the subject of attention at Battersea Heliport on 15th July 1981 (Photo: Peter de Zeeuw)

I would be keen to discover further details about Time Aviation.

Look out, fix-winged content! The Sea Fury is the late Ormond Haydon-Baillie's G-AGHB which was badly damaged in Spencer Flack's first Sea Fury prang in Germany - it was eventually rebuilt with a P&W R4360 and is now a Reno racer. I suspect the Camel is actually a Pup, either Shuttleworth's or one of the examples rebuilt by Des St Cyrien; the other Pitts is G-BADZ. I was seven miles away as a Jet Ranger flies, 10 years old and not allowed to attend on my own! :{

Hi Peeps

i was wondering if any of you may have pictures or stories relating to helicopter operations at Oxford/Kidlington, i would love to see some pics of the Jet rangers G-BRMH G-BLCA G-OJFR G-STST G-MFMF . i worked at oxford on the flight line 1983-1995 and can relate to lots of the people and helicopters discussed in this fantastic thread, my father Dave Brown was the chief engineer at CSE for 43 years so i grew up around the place i can remember seeing the MET 222,s being build up in the hangar and to a young lad i thought they were the best looking gadget i had ever seen. Instructors at the school during my time were Bob Harris, Hugh Cahoon, Mike Smith, Graham Forbes, Andy gutteridge, George Warren. Look foward to see what comes back

Regards Chris Brown

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Dear Chris

I'm sorry that there haven't yet been any 'bites' in response to your post but, Rotorheads is an unpredictable place so keep checking because someone may well come back with some interesting information.

In the meantime what I can do is highlight some of the history behind G-BRMH which previously flew as G-BBUX; a craft covered earlier in this thread.

BBUX was imported by CSE (she was a Bell) in 1973 and was sold to William Monks of Sheffield in 1974. I know very little about Monks other than apart from being a builders merchant, William Monks had a passion for rotorcraft. Dennis Kenyon was also involved in this sale:

In 1977 Monks would buy the Agusta-built 206 G-WIZZ from Mann's which was later acquired by one of Dennis Kenyon's business partners, Peter Millward. Prior to her delivery to Sheffield, WIZZ sailed into Fairoaks from Agusta's facility in Frosinone (south east of Rome along the road to Napoli) courtesy of PPRuNer Geoffersincornwall. WIZZ's delivery story can be read on page 2 where you will also find the 'Wizz the Bizz' poem. A photo of WIZZ on the tarmac at Gatwick (during her delivery flight) can be found on page 3.

The helicopter industry can get a little incestuous at times, as you will see from the following: From Monks BBUX was bought by Mann's who sold her to Peter Cadbury becoming (in 1975) The Cad's second 206 after G-BAKU. Photos of BBUX in the Air Pegasus (Peter Cadbury's charter company) livery can be seen on page 20. Also on page 20 is a photo of the great Mike Smith from his Air Gregory days. Further images, courtesy of PPRuNer Helipixman, of both BAKU and BBUX, appear on page 22.

From Cadbury's BBUX went on to British Car Auctions and eventually full-circle to CSE in 1980. In '81 she was sold to RMH Stainless Steel when she began her journey as G-BRMH and which passage ended when she was exported to Belgium in 1996.

Well, if he's still around he should have a sackful of stories surrounding the servicings and shenanigans associated with the aircraft of CSE's many and varied clients some of which you must already know about, so please .. spill the beans lol!

Sav

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G-WIZZ
 

Hi Savoia ... knowing you like accuracy this is just to say that in 1982 I purchased G-WIZZ as a damaged helicopter, (heavy landing at Leeds/Bradford) but sufficiently heavy to be bought from insurers for £17,000. The previous owners were the Robinson family (a lawyer practice) from Weybridge. My Skyline engineering division re-built her for AOC work until she was sold. Note the famous G-WIIZZ registration on one side which few spotted, apparently not even you for a while!

Regards to all nostalgists. Dennis Kenyon.

MRR,

Knew Hugh Cahoon (huge balloon) from my brief stay with Agricopters in Chilbolton circa 1983, where he used to freelance for Peter Boitel-Gill back in the good old days.

Seem to recall he made the most splendid home brew wine which that year was a vintage "Hiller Killer".

Great character, hope he's still with us.

GTF.

G-MFMF has been with SWEB now WPD at Bristol 1986. Last time I saw her 2 months back she was getting a new tub.

They also run G-BARP and G-ZAPH which is new to the fleet.

Mmmm ...

Anybody got a clue as to where G-OIML (aka G-TCMM or G-JMVB ?) might now be ....

I flew it around for a bit when with Trent Air Services back in 1981/2.

It was a very nice machine ....

:bored:

G-OIML
 

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0...lam%252529.jpg
Agusta-Bell 206B JetRanger III, belonging to Autair Ltd (Freddie Wilcox) and leased to Trent Helicopters, seen at Cranfield on 4th July 1982 (Photo: Michael Haslam)

From post 483 on page 25 of this thread:

As stated above, IML was bought new through Ferranti via Mann's by Andrew Walters and from there was sold to Freddie Wilcox (Trent). After Trent she was bought by James Montford Victor Butterfield (September 1982) when she became G-JMVB.

Among her latter owners was Southernair of Shoreham whereafter she crossed the Irish Sea flying for a time with Westair of Shannon becomming G-TCMM. In 2004 she was acquired by the pilot's shop Transair and was again based at Shoreham. After a further UK owner she again returned to the Emerald Isle, this time to Wexford, (still keeping her UK registration) before finally being shipped-off to Australia earlier this year.
.

Mmmm ...

Savoia ... Thank you so much .... brought back some fond memories ... I will have to try and track her down if she is still here in Oz ...

Cheers :D

Osborn's Wessex
 

Since reading this comment I've been keeping my eyes peeled for any '64 images of Wessex in the Farnborough vicinity but, alas, I've not had too much success. There was a RAF HC2 on display that year and I do have a shot of that!

However, 1964 was supposedly the year when two Wessex demonstrated their in-flight refuelling capability (below):

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-x...x%25252064.jpg
Presumably Nigel remembers seeing this demonstration?

Another Wessex from '64 would have been this Mk 5 at Yeovilton:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-1...tie%252529.jpg
RN Wessex HU5 at Yeovilton air base on 25th May 1964 (Photo: Alex Christie)

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-u...52520Badge.jpg

Of the 848, just two images, one of which is likely to be of greater relevance to Nigel than the other:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M...son%252529.jpg
Westland Wessex HU5 XT471 of 848 Squadron attached to HMS Bulwark visiting Edinburgh during the Summer of 1973 (Photo: Peter Nicholson)

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-S...2525201965.jpg
Westland Wessex Mk 5 of 848's 'C' flight in Nanga Gaat in 1965

Some of the narrative associated with the above image reads: "On arrival in Singapore we disembarked for the RM barracks Sembawang and NAS Simbang where we prepared the helicopters for operations in the jungles of Borneo swapping the sand and green camouflage for the jungle green colouring that now denoted us a jungle bunnies.

After the period of preparation we once more embarked on the Albion and proceeded to Borneo. On arrival off Kuching 'B' and 'C' flights flew off to their respective areas of operation. We had now exchanged our Navy blue for the green uniforms of our Royal Marine brothers but we did not seem to convey the same outwardly appearance that the 'Bootniks' achieved and I suppose most of them were a little weary of 'Jack' with a rifle in his grasp.

'B' flight was to operate from our rear base at Sibu and 'C' flight was on its way up country to Nanga Gaat which was a few miles from the Indonesian border where the Gaat and barley rivers met. As we flew down the river it became apparent on just how much 845 Squadron had suffered whilst operating here. In the trees was a wreck of a Wessex 1, one of two that had collided as they approached the forward airbase. This was more compelling as Scouse Rothwell, a Naval Air Mechanic who had been in my class at Ganges and Condor had perished in the incident.

It was as it we had entered another world. We had all heard about the head hunters of Borneo but never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine I would live amongst them. The Iban tribesmen were used by the British forces as border scouts and one of my first sightings of them was as they disembarked from one of the Wessex."

Another Wessex character from this period was W.H. Sear:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-L...2520wessex.JPG
'Slim' Sear climbs aboard the Wessex

W.H. "Slim" Sear, OBE, AFRAes, was Chief test pilot of Westland Aircraft from 1952 until 1967. "Slim" Sear went to Westland after flying with the RAF and the Royal Navy and graduating from the ETPS and was responsible for the development and production flight testing of all the company's rotary-wing aircraft during his tenure. He played a prominent part in developing the all-weather and anti-submarine capabilities of the Wessex and was closely associated with the development of turbine types.

He was responsible for flight development on the Westminster which was, at that time, the UK's largest helicopter and, latterly, the anti-submarine Wessex Mk 3. He received an OBE in 1963 in recognition of his flight test work.
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G-OIML in OZ
 

CASA register has G-OIML re-registered VH-SHH to an aerial survey company near Jindabyne NSW.

Mmmm ...

Hofmeister ...... Thanks for the info .... :ok:

848 SQN
 

Following on from the mentionings relating to Nigel's Wessex days; Roi Wilson who was a senior pilot with 848 when they formed:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-9...n_1388632f.jpg
Capt. Roi 'Tug' Wilson ex-848 Sqn

"Wilson was already an experienced fixed-wing pilot when he converted to helicopters. He was not discouraged when engine failure forced him to ditch a Dragonfly in the Solent in March 1953.

He commanded the search-and-rescue flights in the carrier Eagle between 1953 and 1955, making nine aircrew rescues, most of them in the icy waters of the Denmark Strait.

The Royal Navy was quick to recognise the potential of the helicopter as a commando carrier, putting it to work in the Malayan conflict. From 1955 to 1957 Wilson was senior pilot of the newly-formed 848 naval air squadron, which flew the Whirlwind, ferrying troops deep into the jungle where they were taking on communist insurgents.

On one occasion he conducted a daring mountainside rescue of a critically-injured soldier by flying into a makeshift jungle clearing barely wide enough for the rotors and with no room to turn. Having hoisted up the casualty, he had to change from hover to horizontal flight while reversing out of the clearing in the fading light, drawing power at the limit of its performance from his machine.

The next morning, whilst flying over dense jungle, he again suffered engine failure, but successfully conducted an engine-off autorotation and managed to land in a tiny clearing, preserving both aircraft and crew.

For his conduct during these two incidents he was awarded the DFC.

Next, whilst serving on exchange with the US Marine Corps from 1957 to 1960, Wilson flight-tested a two-bladed Hiller helicopter, a type which had suffered a number of unexplained fatal crashes after the rotor hub had snapped off. He survived, and his work helped explain the potentially fatal consequences of zero gravity manoeuvres in helicopters.

Wilson volunteered for the Navy as a naval airman 2nd Class in 1941, learning to fly at Kingston, Ontario. By 1943 he was employed ferrying aircraft over North Africa, and on September 23 – while flying a Supermarine Walrus amphibian from Nairobi to Alexandria – his undercarriage collapsed on landing at Juba, Sudan. The aircraft was badly damaged, and Wilson enjoyed his first near-fatal incident.

On December 18 1950 Wilson suffered yet another engine failure in his Fairey Firefly of 812 naval air squadron, having to ditch in rough seas eight miles east of Comino Island, Malta. Caught by his straps, Wilson sank with the aircraft but managed to cut himself free; he shot to the surface, injured and minus his one-man dinghy. His observer, Lieutenant James Hawker, was already in his, and Wilson climbed in with him. Both men were rescued after a two-hour search by the submarine Tabard.

From 1966 to 1968 Wilson was commander (air) in the carrier Albion, involved in the withdrawal from Aden and in the Confrontation to prevent the Indonesian takeover of Borneo. In 1971 he became Chief of Staff to Commander British Forces Malta during the withdrawal from the island. In 1974 he was appointed CBE.

His last appointment was as Captain of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. As director of the lieutenants' course, one of his students was the Prince of Wales.

In a flying career spanning 64 years, he flew 3,000 hours on more than 40 aircraft types in the Fleet Air Arm. He flew a total of 6,000 hours from his first solo in a Miles Master in 1941 to his last logbook entry in 2005, when he piloted an Enstrom helicopter."


(Excerpts from Wilson's obituary in the Telegraph)

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The Kenyon Files:

Yes I heard about that! Perhaps your signwriter was suffering from dyslexia or something because on The Dancer he managed to paint another 'typo' this time Skyliine (with two ii's too!) and yes .. I didn't notice it until The Clarke had me standing directly in front it specifically quizzing me as to whether I noticed anything unusual and to which my initial reply was - no! "The mind sees .." and all that! I think Antonio's response was "bloody useless" or words to that effect, lol!

Dennisimo, you've enquired a couple of times about this. Would it be worth quizzing old man Spooner as to its whereabouts? Sincerely speaking I'm not sure where to begin on this one. Do you recall who the artist was?

More Kenyon-copters:

G-BBPO would have been another Kenyon-copter; bought by Spooner in 1973 she moved up to Wigan's world (Glasgow) where she flew for Airgo for about a year. After a couple of years back with Spooner she was sold to one of Dennis' longstanding clients, Flair Soft Drinks who, from my count, must have bought something in the order of a half dozen aircraft from the Maestro!

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-l...ter%252529.jpg
Enstrom F-28A G-BBPO at Shoreham in December 1980 (Photo: Keith Sowter)

lemonchiffon

Max roll rate,

I was a fixed wing instructor at Oxford between 1986 and 1988, Hugh used to give me the odd flight in the helicopters as he knew I was very interested in them, I well remember him teaching me to hover a Jetranger before putting it away for the night. In return I revalidated his fixed wing licence.

I'm afraid to say that I'm fairly sure he was killed some years back in a Jetranger crash whilst lifting from a confined area at the owners house. The Jetranger belonged to European Aviation.

Hi Jetranger111

Yes I thought that was the case with Hugh , real shame as you say he was a top chap , so were you on the commercial side or with the GAC at Oxford? .

Just looking at the pics of the enstrom and wondered if any of the Oxford ones are still about , I remember G-BBPN and G-BBXO but I’m sure there was at least one more on the fleet ,

After the Enstrom’s came a few R22 ‘s G-RACH is the only one that springs to mind.

and then a long list of SCHWEIZER 269C they broke a few of those in my time
but no one ever got badly hurt an extremely strong helicopter .

I will try and dig out any pictures’ I can find from my dad’s albums and post them at a later date

Regards Chris

Wessex at Edinburgh
 

Just a couple of minor corrections to the caption for Westland Wessex HU5 XT471 visiting Edinburgh during the Summer of 1973 (Photo: Peter Nicholson).

The a/c was with 846 Squadron not 848 Squadron, note the crest behind the cockpit. Secondly 846 Squadron wasn't attached to HMS Bulwark at that date.

In May 1972, the squadron was relocated to RNAS Yeovilton as the Wessex Headquarters and Trials Squadron (hence the "VF" on the fuselage side). It was only in February 1979 that the squadron was deployed aboard the commando carrier HMS Bulwark.

I looked up the details of the crash in which Hugh Cahoon was killed.

The JetRanger was G-BFJW of European Aviation and the crash was on 16 Dec 1996 at Parkway, Herefordshire, details as follows:

On take off in poor visibility, a/c drifted backwards from hover, main rotor struck tree & separated. A/c destroyed. 3 fatalities.

AAIB Field investigation: The helicopter was seen to climb in the hover to a height of about 20 ft. It then moved slowly backwards and upwards until one of the main rotor blades hit a tree. The force of this collision caused the rotor to detach itself and the helicopter was turned and thrown rearwards. The helicopter was flown in a controlled manner up to the time of the accident and the pilot had commenced a transition to forward flight by tilting the rotor disc forwards. Apparently, this was not done sufficiently to prevent the helicopter drifting backwards until it hit the trees. It was a dark night with considerable cloud cover and the lights of the adjacent house would at that time have been positioned below the helicopter and on the side away from the pilot and therefore out of his field of view. The effect of such a lack of visual clues would be to exacerbate the difficulty the pilot would have had in appreciating the rearward drift of the helicopter, possibly caused by the wind, in what was a very confined area. Safety Recommendation 97-22 made regarding minimum safety standards for corporate operators.

I'll tell you one thing..... It wasn't the first bit of wood he hit in his career :eek:

Talk about the proverbial cat...

RIP Huge.

I think I have to challenge Ahh de Havilland's correction. If you slightly enlarge the photo in question there is clearly a red circle around the inside of the yellow outer part of the crest. That does indicate the aircraft belonged to 848 Squadron at that time as the red circle is part of the 848 crest. The 846 crest of a winged horse with a serpent in a wavy blue/white sea is totally different.

Also from Lee Howard's excellent new book "Fleet Air Arm Helicopters since 1943", XT471 was allocated to 848 in May 1971 with side letters VF/A when on Albion and VF/B when on Bulwark. There were several incidents whilst on 848 from that time until XT471 was allocated to RNAY Fleetlands on 17/12/75 including damage to blade folding mechanism on Albion on 5/8/71 and a starboard engine failure on deck of Bulwark on 7/6/73. So this helo was definitely allocated to 848 on Bulwark in summer 1973 as indicated in the text alongside the photo taken on 24/7/73 in Savoia's post #835.

XT471 was reallocated to 848 in June 1982 for the Falklands conflict and after that went to various other units before dumped at Dishforth by June 1994. There is no record of the airframe ever being allocated to 846 Squadron.

Twyford Moors
 

My daddy worked for them before joining Bristow about 1968-69 I believe flying a H269A. No other info I'm afraid :ugh:

Ref above, anybody else have anything moors on them? :ok:

G-BBPO Etc
 

Hi Savoia,

Apologies for the absence (but even we 'olduns' still have to work now & then) ... The artist who dreamed up the DRK/Roy Spooner/Bob Myatt cartoon was the inimitable Wreford Fisher of Embassy Aviation, Sandown. A lovely character and a fine cartoonist.

Now G-BBPO (Serial No 176 - I'm an anorak at heart!) was sold by our sales division no less than six times. Graham Miller of the LONS country club, Derek Chandler of Flair Air, then Airgo up at Edinburgh, later Guy Moreton who farmed in potatoes, (hope you are well guy) and next a couple my brain wont recall. Oddly the heli was crashed on its original delivery flight when the engine quit on take off after a rainy night out with water in the fuel. The pilot reported that on the EOL landing run a small helicopter overtook him. (the T/R assembly!)

PO was originally fitted with Air Cruiser floats, hence the pitot tube above the nose ... in fact I was flying her just a couple of months ago at Shoreham training the owner's 16 year old son. I also flew her in the the 2008 WHC 'freestyle' event at Eisenach in Germany, but not having the turbo I didn't put on much of a show.

In the 1970s, we sold CSE ... and the two 'Lordships' - Iveagh and Waterpark, no less than six Enstrom 28A models. Registrations from my log book on request. And by the way the CSE school put 5,000 hours on G-BBXO ! Earlier the school had used the B2 Brantley until one shed a blade in the hover with Graham Meyrick on board who was sadly lost. Cy Rose's (he of Enstrom G-BAWI) son Greg was on board at the time and happily unhurt.

Oh such happy days days ... am I getting too old! But to perk myself up, I'm still displaying and scheduled to perform at Duxford Heli-Tech next month, probably the Sikorsky/Schweizer 269C, G-BWAV. Maybe an Enstrom 480.

Keep the 'nostalgia' stories coming lads. Dennis Kenyon.

With 847 replies, now 848, it just shows how old everyone is! After all if you are young, you haven't had time to have too many memories.:ok:

Yes indeed Nigel. I received a PM just yesterday from a well-known Rotorhead urging me to keep-up posting on the Nostalgia Thread so there's still a keen desire from some to continue reminiscing!

I've no objection to continue dropping images and notes from times past but I am mindful that there are Rotorheads who possess interesting images which remain stashed away in attics, cellars, log books and all manner of dubious locations! It would be great if some of those to whom this applies could make the effort to retrieve them, get them scanned and posted onto PPRuNe - for the sake of posterity!

If its too much like hard work then may I recommend the exploitation of your children or grandchildren for this purpose remembering always .. that this is for a good cause! :E

Finally, there are numerous drivers and mechanics reading PPRuNe who possess a mental library full of amusing, engaging and oft times humorous anecdotes from their aviation career. It could be your former CO performing a 'blooper', a CP trying to start-up with the tie-downs on or some entertaining story about the shenanigans of various clients and owners etc.

I've relayed a number of such incidents relating mainly to my godfather but I know there's a veritable ocean of additional information and stories out there so, please, nostalgia readers, dip in and tell us your experiences whether grand or modest!

A message from Maggs:

Magg's delight.
 

Well well ... now we COFs have the blessing and a green light from past 'Royalty' ... I'd better dig out the log books and post some of my dafter pics. Any one want to see me in 1970s flairs, posing masterfully astride Enstrom's Air Cruiser floats while sinking slowly into Brighton's marina? And there's more! Dennis Kenyon.

Sunday Express Bell 206B
 

Does anyone remember the Bell 206 used by the Sunday Express flown by ex SK pilot who supposedly challenged a Tonka crew to climb to 10,000 ft and supposedly beat them in his yellow bird?? :)

My very first ride in a chopper which inspired me to be what i do to this day...back in summer 93 at North Weald Airshow

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Ahh .. 'Bravo Mike'!

G-BBBM was a Bell-built 206B (1973 model) and was one of Ferranti's managed aircraft. The records have the owner as 'Firstcliff Ltd' but what I remember is the name 'Bob Woods' who, I assume was the registered owner of Firstcliff. Bob was one of the clients for whom my godfather continued to provide helicopter services after the demise of Ferranti and as a result I got to meet him, on several occasions, one of which was a trip to Cheltenham to bet on the gee gees.

As mentioned many times, both here on Nostalgia and on the Ferranti thread, my godfather had names for everything and everyone (you would have to have known him to understand) and 'BM' was the 'Brave Brave Black Man' and which used to be communicated in the Colonel's best African accent (if there is such a thing). I have no clue as to how he came up with that name but that is how I always remember him referring to this craft.

From being managed by Ferranti she was sold to Manfred Mann and then to Carl Beaman's show at Battersea later being bought by the Express in 1989. She was finally sold to Belgium in 1996.

An Italian in Glasgow and another Aussie Sycamore!
 

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In 1958 this Italian Air Force Agusta-Bell 47J Ranger MM80131 was seconded to Agusta for the purpose of a sales tour of the UK. Among her various stops was Glasgow's Renfrew Airport where this photo was taken on 10th April. Agusta were conducting a demonstration for BEA but that's about all I know. Any further info greatly welcome. (Photo: Iain MacKay)

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On page 41 there are some images of Aussie Sycamores and this is an addition to that collection. Capt HM Burrell RAN (right) with aircrew on board the aircraft carrier HMAS Vengeance c. 1954

This image just in today from the acclaimed black and white collection of RA Scholefield and which I simply couldn't resist posting ..

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Sud Aviation SA 321F Super Frelon F-BMHC attending the Paris Air Salon at Le Bourget on 3rd June 1967 (Photo: RA Scholefield)

Developed from the initial SE-3200 Frelon testbed this triple-engine design first flew on 7th December 1962 as was one of the largest Western helicopters of its day. On 23rd July 1963 a Super Frelon broke the FAI helicopter world speed record achieving a speed of 217.7 mph.

The Super Frelon enjoyed elements of international collaboration with the design of its six-bladed main rotor and five-bladed tail rotor being outsourced to America's Sikorsky Aircraft and its main transmission being designed by Itlay's Fiat SpA. But, this was typical of Sud Aviation's forward-thinking approach to aviation. The company was, in my view, one of France's greatest 'modern' aircraft developers who gave us the likes of the Caravelle and Concorde. Other Sud-inspired rotorcraft include the Alouette family, Gazelle and Puma.

The Frelon still flies-on of course in the form of the Chinese Z8.