rogerguzzi Posted January 19 Hello All Just finishing a sandwich at lunch time when I heard the familiar sound of a Chinook and to my surprise there were 3!!! I still think they do not look as though should fly! But I do like them for their brut strength! Roger ps flying lorries? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted January 20 Hi Roger, back in the late 70's BEA took on some civilian Chinooks BV 234. They were truly awful things. The military version has metal blades and makes quite a racket. To quieten them down the civilians were fitted with Kevlar/plastic blades. Our first job when they arrived at Aberdeen was to map the blades to see where they were/weren't stuck down. They had a laminated construction but the manufacturing process was rubbish and the laminates were not the well stuck down. Every 100 hours or so they would be inspected to see what was happening. Shortly after BEA sold them one fell out of the sky (gearbox failure). I think all on board were killed. The Sikorsky SN61 was by far a better (but smaller) machine. Roger Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DeTRacted Posted January 20 I thought the heavy 'thump-thump-thump' that the Chinook makes is due to the interaction of the two sets of blades. Does a composite blade reduce that ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RedRooster Posted January 20 All choppers are horrible, cramped, noisy and make me want to sleep within the first few minutes, i don't know how the pilots stay awake. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted January 20 5 hours ago, DeTRacted said: I thought the heavy 'thump-thump-thump' that the Chinook makes is due to the interaction of the two sets of blades. Does a composite blade reduce that ? Hi Rob, yes , significantly so. I think the developement of the composite blade was rather rushed in order to get the civilian contract. I do not know what modern ones are like. Roger Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iani 1 Vehicles Posted January 20 9 hours ago, RedRooster said: All choppers are horrible, cramped, noisy and make me want to sleep within the first few minutes, i don't know how the pilots stay awake. Quite easy in military helicopters, there are so many warning lights & hydraulic fluid leaks to watch due to the absence of trim panels to hide them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeterC Posted January 20 Grandsons had a look around this one. Not impressed....no guns. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-11005144 If we had waited for it to take off they might have changed their minds. Hydraulic leak, landing gear, we were told by the two crew who hadnt gone to take tea in the farmhouse Peter Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TimBancroft Posted January 21 I live very close to RAF Odiham and since moving here in May I have become used to the chop chop of Chinnoks. As I type this I can hear one quite close to the house. Whilst chatting to my partner this afternoon, she told me one had just gone over with a big gun slung underneath.....all very interesting! They come over our place at low altitude, one can very clearly see the pilot and other crew members, sometimes the angles that they are at are crazy! Must admit I quite like them! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rod1883 Posted January 25 We seem to be in a regular training area for Chinooks - or wumpah wumpahs if you like. We often see them flying really low along the line of the River Arun, or the edge of the South downs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted January 25 Hi Rod, a couple of years ago I was walking around the headland at West Wittering into the bay area when a Chinook came over and landed inland. It looked like a common event. Roger Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeterC Posted January 25 They sometimes do low night flying around here, dodging the windmills. Hercules too. While eating carrots. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scooter Posted February 11 On 1/25/2020 at 7:12 PM, RogerH said: Hi Rod, a couple of years ago I was walking around the headland at West Wittering into the bay area when a Chinook came over and landed inland. It looked like a common event. Roger Very, they are all fixed over at Gosport and use Thorney for test flights, including night tests....at 3am ....grrrrrrr! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scooter Posted February 11 On 1/21/2020 at 6:26 PM, TimBancroft said: I live very close to RAF Odiham and since moving here in May I have become used to the chop chop of Chinnoks. As I type this I can hear one quite close to the house. Whilst chatting to my partner this afternoon, she told me one had just gone over with a big gun slung underneath.....all very interesting! They come over our place at low altitude, one can very clearly see the pilot and other crew members, sometimes the angles that they are at are crazy! Must admit I quite like them! they are also astonishingly fast..... they have to slow down so an AH-64 Apache Can keep up with them. A dozen new ones on the way. We have the biggest fleet outside the US Army. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnD Posted February 11 Apaches were seen over Lancaster recently, and their warlike appearance (bulging ?radar? over the rotor, missile pods +++) caused some alarm (!) I was surprised - I shouldn't have been, given their tactical purpose - to find that they are not operated by the RAF but by the Army Air Corps: https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corps-regiments-and-units/army-air-corps/ J. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nick Jones Posted February 11 We have big helos of many types around here due to the close proximity of Leonardos (prev. Agusta, prev. Westlands) and the fleet air arm bases at RNAS Yeovilton and RNAS Merryfield. This includes Chinooks. In fact we seem to be under the flight path too/from Merryfield (where they practice take-off and landing related things - allegedly more take off and landing there than Heathrow, though I have trouble believing that) and they often fly low. A Chinock popping up over the nearest hedge certainly gets your attention! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
John I Posted February 11 6 minutes ago, Nick Jones said: We have big helos of many types around here due to the close proximity of Leonardos (prev. Agusta, prev. Westlands) and the fleet air arm bases at RNAS Yeovilton and RNAS Merryfield. This includes Chinooks. In fact we seem to be under the flight path too/from Merryfield (where they practice take-off and landing related things - allegedly more take off and landing there than Heathrow, though I have trouble believing that) and they often fly low. A Chinock popping up over the nearest hedge certainly gets your attention! They seem to be a bit like locusts, we get them up here in the Surrey hills near dorking. They fly under the Heathrow and Gatwick flight levels at all times of the day and night. Can look out of the bedroom window and see them flying down the valley below the top of the trees, they're close enough to make the windows and doors pant! Not funny at three in the morning when they just sit in one place for minutes on end. Nice bits of kit though the "wocator" as the Navy use to call them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
