Floats, skids, Pumas and other things.

[donner]

Our Alouettes, when operating over water had floats also. As do all Aircraft operating over water. I think its a requirment for certification.

http://www.irishairpics.com/images/images/1008876M.jpg

Alouette IIIs do not have Skis. There is no Longer an A3 in the south East.

Coastguard (now part of Dept of transport)Contract CHC Scotia to Operate 4 Sikorsky S61 Helis. They are based in Shannon,Sligo, Dublin and Tramore.

http://www.irishairpics.com/images/images/1006823M.jpg

Photos of course come from www.irishairpics.com

Incorrect Goldie fish A111 do have skis but they are only fitted as required e.g poss snow conditions. they are not left on all the time as they cause drag and reduce airspeed

[hptmurphy]

Donner thank you for the clarifaction on that..any chance of the same on the Dauphins method of inflation.

[donner]

Harmon Rab

On The Dauphin flotatation is by way of two front floats, a sealed tailboom and the compartments for the fuel tanks are also sealed and will provide flotation. There is also provision for two ball shaped floats half way along the fuselage but i don't think the Irish ones have these due to space restrictions. I am not definite on wether we have the ball shaped ones or not.

Inflation is by means of a pressurizec carbon fibre cylinder which contains helium gas. The method of inflation is- pilot arms floats when overflying water and if ditching occurs he presses a switch on the collective. This causes a frangible disc at the head of the cylinder to heat and rupture and the gas escapes intl the floats

[hptmurphy]

So its crew activated.In all cases.Seems a little to much dependecy on the human element..as what happens if the crew becomes incapacitated....I thought an automatic means of inflation might be a better option.

I assume the new machine on order and already delivered have similar methods of activation.

[GoneToTheCanner]

Hi there
There might be a water-activated switch or an inversion switch. Either way,the helo is usually scrap after a water landing.It's very rare for a helicopter to survive a ditching, in enough pieces to be worth retrieving. The Alouette would, for example, have it's belly and tailrotor in the water, if it was on it's floats(they expand out to about 15 feet in length).Unless it was washed with fresh water at once, the salt would ruin it.
You know that if there is scope for an auto-activation system to accidentally fire a float, it will do so. Usually in the hangar, just before quitting time....
regards
GttC

[Barry]

You know that if there is scope for an auto-activation system to accidentally fire a float, it will do so. Usually in the hangar, just before quitting time....
regards
GttC

Last thing you want to do is land in a puddle and have the floats fire on you......

[GoneToTheCanner]

Hi there
It wasn't unknown in the Don for the allegedly "safetied" flare/float/fire bottle squibs to be triggered.I witnessed one future officer blow the bottles on 240 in the hangar. His excuse was that he had "finger trouble!"...I also saw the floating beacon fired off the tail of a Dauphin. It makes an impressive sight to see a big, heavy "frisbee" sail at high speed across a crowded hangar and the guilty NCO leap out of the cockpit and leg it!...I also saw a SAR crewman accidentally inflate a liferaft inside an Alouette. it took some fairly violent stabbing with the SAR knife to subdue the beast. Murphy's Law is unavoidable sometimes!.
regards
GttC

[hptmurphy]

The idea behind the hydrostatic pencils menetioned earlier was to prevent this type of thing....as they would only inflate after being submersed in water.

The human element in the other triggering devices is always the weakest link.

Have some lovely memories of escape chutes from aeroplanes being inflated by over enthusiastic young cabin attendants in Ryanair

[donner]

It has also been known for a winch cable to be sheared whilst in the hanger when the emergency cable cut was activated accidently

[Victor]

One of the Air Corp books has a bit on the skis for the AIII.

So its crew activated.In all cases.Seems a little to much dependecy on the human element..as what happens if the crew becomes incapacitated....I thought an automatic means of inflation might be a better option.

Typically human armed before they are over water, automatic firing.

Two- and three-engined aircraft can get away with a single engine failing if they are lightly loaded (payload + fuel), but don't expect a precise or soft landing. Apparently the Dauphins were banned from landing at Goverment buildings as they couldn't land safely in an urban environment if they lost an engine. Oddly this only came to light after the Tramore crash.

I saw a picture of I think a (Soviet?) Ka-25 floating, stably. Apparently this was done regularly and they could totter along at 5 knots.

On The Dauphin flotatation is by way of two front floats, a sealed tailboom and the compartments for the fuel tanks are also sealed and will provide flotation.

One would certainly hope the fuel tanks were sealed and empty.

[eelmonster]

i was at an RIA conference at the university of ulster in coleraine a few years ago - after the Tremore crash - and Mary McAleese was flown in by dauphin. obviously not too concerned about the northern urban environment then. i must admit to having felt a certain amount of satisfaction watching an irish air corps helicopter land on the 'wrong' side of the border for a change. i wonder from what direction they flew in - probaby from finner, in which case would they have flown over derry?? imagine what the bogsiders would have thought seeing that fly over.

[Victor]

i was at an RIA conference at the university of ulster in coleraine a few years ago - after the Tremore crash - and Mary McAleese was flown in by dauphin. obviously not too concerned about the northern urban environment then.

Different rules apply in a war zone.

UU-C isn't very urbanised, plenty of ditching spots, whereas at government buildings you only have the rugby pitch in Trinity (Merrion Square and St. Stephen's Green would be a bit too tight). Of course Bertie might have just said "I'm not flying in one of them yokes again!" :wink:

http://www.ulster.ac.uk/information/location/Coleraine%20Campus%20Map.pdf

[eelmonster]

facing the rugby pitch there's the cricket ground and football pitch at tcd. i'd say bertie said 'feck dat.' you're right there's a lot of green space around the uuc campus. i was talking to a member of staff - admittedly from the irish dept. - who said the BA regularly buzz around the campus in gazelles.