Thread: Old huts

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

yes we used one a bit in Gisborne - American chap flying it - ex Vietnam pilot - sadly killed back of Gisborne in it - an old Ruahine culler told me the first time they used one it was driven up to Mangaweka on back of truck from Wellington - otherwise very slow expensive flight up ahh - pilot stuck the blades on and did the job - back onto truck and home again - Hiller 12E was a marked improvement quite a bit more grunt - and then there was the Llama -first time I saw one used could not get over what they could lift - man they were slow but very grunty - dont quote me but was something like ( just pilot low fuel ) Bell 47 450 lb -Hiller 12E 600 lb Llama 900 lb - One Gisborne pilot had a Hiller 12e that had been fitted with a turbine instead of the flat six Lycoming -used to go and load for him on weekends and he would let me fly it home with the duals in - but feck spraying scrub back of Gisborne bloody drums of yup 245T

Bell47 G engine was turbocharged 435ci Lycoming.
Hiller 12E twin carb 540ci Lycoming.
12E Turbine conversion was Soloy conversion, installed an Allison 250 C-20 ( Jetranger / Hughes500 C/D) in place of the VO540. Lighter engine and better ISA+ performance.

Fond memories….fading





Soloy in for hot end inspection.

B

Originally Posted by shift14

Bell47 G engine was turbocharged 435ci Lycoming.
Hiller 12E twin carb 540ci Lycoming.
12E Turbine conversion was Soloy conversion, installed an Allison 250 C-20 ( Jetranger / Hughes500 C/D) in place of the VO540. Lighter engine and better ISA+ performance.

Fond memories….fading

Attachment 227163

Attachment 227168

Soloy in for hot end inspection.

B

yup thats the beast - cant remember the name of the pilot did ag work Gisborne - suffered from overheating the transmission - cyclic shake was noticeable

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

yup thats the beast - cant remember the name of the pilot did ag work Gisborne - suffered from overheating the transmission - cyclic shake was noticeable

Was the pilot Polish ?. Rex Nawalaniec ?


From memory that’s the transmission oil cooler on top of the engine mount with the duct attached to the exhaust pipe. They tried to draw fresh air through the cooler augmented by the fast moved exhaust gases in lieu of ram air.

Because of the extra power of the Allison, the limiting factor was the torque the transmission could absorb, hence the overheating.

No power controls, hence the cyclic shake. Keeping the head and blades in dynamic track and balance was an art. Made easier when the Chadwick Helmuth gear came along.

B

Originally Posted by shift14

From memory that’s the transmission oil cooler on top of the engine mount with the duct attached to the exhaust pipe. They tried to draw fresh air through the cooler augmented by the fast moved exhaust gases in lieu of ram air.

Because of the extra power of the Allison, the limiting factor was the torque the transmission could absorb, hence the overheating.

No power controls, hence the cyclic shake. Keeping the head and blades in dynamic track and balance was an art. Made easier when the Chadwick Helmuth gear came along.

B

yes helicopters - have they not come a long way from that Bell 47 - I worked out I have been lucky enough to fly in 12 different makes and models - favourite McDonnel Douglas 500E - most impressed by Kawasaki Bolkoff twin turbine - bloody piece of kit - fun factor Hughs 300 C- scary Robbie R22 on a windy day

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

yes helicopters - have they not come a long way from that Bell 47 - I worked out I have been lucky enough to fly in 12 different makes and models - favourite McDonnel Douglas 500E - most impressed by Kawasaki Bolkoff twin turbine - bloody piece of kit - fun factor Hughs 300 C- scary Robbie R22 on a windy day

I think you will find the Bolkoff is a Messerschmidt product. A mate of mine owned one for a few years. Yes, bloody impressive bit of kit. Entire rotor head is made from one piece of titanium. Fleet wide they have logged something like 13 million hours in the air with not a single rotor head failure.

Originally Posted by XR500

I think you will find the Bolkoff is a Messerschmidt product. A mate of mine owned one for a few years. Yes, bloody impressive bit of kit. Entire rotor head is made from one piece of titanium. Fleet wide they have logged something like 13 million hours in the air with not a single rotor head failure.

yes likely like a lot of machinery ya dont realize what's underneath - or from where - we had a Finnish Valtra 390 hp tractor on demo was a Massey Fergusson in disguise - our Clause tractors John Deere engine Massey Fergusson trans - helicopters likely the same - our big rig helicopters here are Augusta Westlands Augusta is Italian -Westland is I think English - Aussie have a chopper in the outback - looks like an old Bell 47 but is I believe a Kawasaki

Originally Posted by XR500

I think you will find the Bolkoff is a Messerschmidt product. A mate of mine owned one for a few years. Yes, bloody impressive bit of kit. Entire rotor head is made from one piece of titanium. Fleet wide they have logged something like 13 million hours in the air with not a single rotor head failure.

Essentially same machine from memory, made under license by Kawasaki.
Awesome air ambulance