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Sikorsky S-61N G-BEWL


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I'm not convinced many will be very interested in my next build but I like posting these to keep myself going. I'll give a little background which might (hopefully?) drum up some interest in a civilian type of flying that gets taken for granted by most people, but for those working in the industry it's a commute that almost all of the guys would rather not do. I've heard it said that North Sea helicopter pilots are the best nav. pilots in the world? Why? Because the weather is always bad. The North Sea is also rough, cold and dangerously unforgiving.

 

Back in 1981 I was born in Gilbert Bain Memorial hospital in Lerwick, Shetland. My mum and dad were not native to Shetland but lived there anyway, like many people, due to work. My dad was a licensed engineer with British Airways Helicopters there. Shetland was a quiet backwater suddenly developed and overrun with incomers due to the booming oil industry. The place was buzzing, and oddly, a strange mix of community feel and modernism. It's said that the scandal of the place back then was when the local Police bobby was found drunk in the public toilet, and the petrol station was usually closed but the pumps left on - you just left the money for your fuel under the door. Unthinkable nowadays in a world full of self-absorbed sorts, but there you go. I took my wife to Shetland about 8 years ago. On the ferry was a man who worked there in the 1980s who's life hadn't worked out. He had everything he owned in a rucksack and was moving back there to start again, looking for something he'd lost in the decades in between.

 

British Airways Helicopters seemed a happy company to me as a young boy. My dad was happy. My family was happy. I remember Christmas parties where they inflated covered life rafts for us to play in and they had Santa give us presents. One of my earliest memories was my dad carrying me up the steps of a helicopter in a hangar (I went to work to tinker with aircraft until September 11 2001 when "terrrrrrrrrism" became a thing and security tightened right up) - only my dad was prone to clumsiness and he fell. I remember the world going round and round as we fell. :lol:

 

A familiar sight and sound to anyone who lived in Shetland or the North East of Scotland from the early 1980s to the 2000s was the Sikorsky S-61N. It made a distinctive sound and anyone (well, me at least) could tell an S-61 from a Super Puma from the sound. Even recently, the sound of the recently retired RAF SAR Seakings would gentleman's parts my ears up on the rare occasions they airlifted someone to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

 

Of all the aircraft types my dad has worked on, and there have been many, he seems to remember the S-61s of British Airways Helicopters most fondly. Things seemed to go downhill in the new company that followed, British International Helicopters finishing off with the Robert Maxwell death scandal where he fell off the back of his yacht and everyone learned the company was bankrupt and he'd stolen and spent everyones' pension money. My dad was made redundant and left with pretty much nothing for his efforts - one of 60something engineers laid off in 1991 I think it was.

 

I've wanted to build this model for a long time, but until SMW this year hadn't got round to actually buying one:

edaa4505-d818-4820-b749-4a81dec9c7d8.jpg

 

It's actually a conversion set rather than a kit, but most of the kit is junked as there's so much in the conversion. The donor kit is the Revell SeaKing

95dde0a0-1301-4690-9781-4b1e9ba3af52.jpg

 

In the conversion you get a new fuselage, new tailrotor pylon, new sponsons and new rotor blades. All you need from the Revell kit is the cockpit interior and glazing, the main rotor head, the undercarriage and the Sikorsky 5 bladed tail rotor.

 

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in addition Whirlybird make a set of airliner seats as fitted to the S-61s, so I bought that too:

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I wanted to build one of my dad's and a Mk.II, which narrows it down to G-BEWL. If the reader will permit me a little further background, I was 9 years old when I learned how other people dealed with loss. I remembered Piper Alpha in 1988 but was a bit too young to grasp what was going on and why the grownups around me were so upset. On 25th July 1990, G-BEWL was carrying Shell UK workers to the Brent Spar semi-submersible mooring facility in the northern north sea east of Shetland:

eebcbe6e-0bb8-42bc-9b32-879c4998c5eb.jpg

 

The Brent field consists of four large fixed platforms, Brent A (Alpha), B (Bravo), C (Charlie and D(Delta). Oil is exported by pipelines exclusively now but there used to be a mooring facility for oil tankers to offload and ship oil away.

9c55bc37-8213-4205-af4b-73a3ecaa7337.jpg

 

This was basically a glorified tube floating upended in the sea moored to the seabed, with a helideck and a crane on top. It would rotate as ships moored to it.

 

This meant that it would often be orientated such that helicopters had the crane downwind of the helideck where they couldn't see it. The Captain and Co-Pilot were box experienced and ex-military. For reasons never explained, G-BEWL approached the helideck from a bad angle without adequate visibility. The helicopter's tail rotor contacted a handrail fitted to an anemometer mast on the crane's A-frame and yawed out of control through around 150deg before hitting the helideck, which I understand severed the tail with a main rotor blade and broke off one of the sponsons. The helicopter laid in place for a few moments at the edge of the helideck on the safety nets before falling over the side into the sea where it almost immediately sank. The crew already on the Spar immediately launched their escape lifeboat with 3 crew members in an attempt to go rescue survivors. Both pilots and 4 of the passengers lost their lives.

 

I never forgot the images on the news of the wreckage being recovered, and I learned that air accidents affect the engineering team profoundly - something which I don't feel is grasped or understood by many. I've decided to share the image of the wreckage - if Admin or Mods feel this is inappropriate then I won't be offended if you remove it - but my aim is to underscore that there is a cost to everyone involved directly or indirectly. The oil and gas industry is close knit and everyone in this part of the world is only a 2 or 3 degrees of separation away from someone who has been victim of some tragedy or another. These aren't just lumps of metal - they're about people:

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Anyway - that was a long introduction. British International Helicopters doesn't have too many happy memories in my family, and I will be building G-BEWL in happier times. I hope I can do the subject justice!

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You're going to enjoy this build, the Whirlbits kit looks good and I have one myself. From another standpoint, just for the memory of your and what your father did will be enough.i in my early days of industrial modelmaking built a model or Bent C rig, all be it the working decks. I found it interesting in the extream.

 

I'l follow your build with interest.

 

Colin

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I have an S61N in my future list of helicopters, sad though your memories ( ours too, be in no doubt) are I will be enjoying seeing you blaze the trail for me

 

I have had a copy of the Airfix Magazine which included a kit bash of the 61N in stock awaiting the time that I get it on

 

I like the look of that conversion

Edited by perdu
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:) I'm pleasantly surprised. Usually civil subjects are overlooked and I'm normally as guilty as anyone!

 

I've made a start, and by way of illustrating the point in Whirlybird's conversion I thought I'd point out the main differences in a S-61N model from an S-61A upon which the familiar Westland SeaKing is based. I always intended to do this in 1/48 which is my usual scale but Hasegawa Seakings are expensive and life's too short. Or at least my life is too heavily subscribed!

 

I've cleaned the flash out of the windows and doors, and given the fuselage sides a rub on coarse sand paper to flatten the mating surfaces. These are very nice castings with crisp detail, small moulding blocks and no pinholes. One tail boom half is slightly bent but not warped, and it straightens easily - not an issue at all :)

 

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The fuselage is the most obvious area of difference. Besides the windows, the S-61L, N and R (the R is more commonly known as the CH-3 and HH-3E Jolly Green Giant and HH-3F Pelican) are extended by means of a plug immediately behind the cockpit. The fuselage changes cross section immediately in front of the engine intakes - a subtle detail but when omitted (e.g. on the old Revell HH-3E it just looks wrong). The plug is forward of the cross sectional change - i.e. the same as the cockpit bulkhead. The doors are also moved around on the S-61L and N. Furthermore, the S-61N (and L) received a different tail rotor pylon angled at 45degs rather than the 33deg pylon on the SeaKing.

64a5d3a9-e3d9-4eb9-880d-fb427a4e8c62.jpg

 

The difference between an L and N is that the L is not amphibious, lacking the boat hull shaped belly and having tubular undercarriage structures with no sponsons, rather like a Junglie SeaKing. The N had the boat hull, baggage hold entry internal in the cabin floor and large sponsons to try to improve seaworthiness (ditched helicopters at sea usually end up floating upside down since all the mass in a helicopter is in the engines, gearbox and rotorhead - all located at the top, and this is the reason why offshore workers get dunked in a pool of cold water strapped into a simulator fuselage which lands in the water and rolls upside down from which they are to escape as part of their survival training).

 

a050aa5e-7d8f-4d5f-95c3-386feae7cba5.jpg

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Unlike the Westland aircraft, all S-61s built by Sikorsky had a larger horizontal stabiliser which was braced with a strut. The Westland Seakings had a small cantilevered stabiliser

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Lastly for today's lesson, the S-61s used different rotor blades to the Westland aircraft.

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I think my next task is to make the cabin floor using supplied plasticard and a template printed on the instructions.

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Bigdave22014 said:

By the sounds of what you're keeping from the Revell kit, it's a shame that Whirlybird didn't just add that little bit more and make it an actual kit - it almost is!

Sad about the history of G-BEWL, but this should be an interesting build.

:drink: and :pizza: ready.

 

I was speaking to Whirlybird about this and they were of the same opinion that they should just add the little bits and call it a complete kit. As I already had the Revell kit in the stash and no particular motivation to build a 1/72 Seaking it was no great shakes for me, but appreciate that psychologically buying a kit just to chuck the vast majority of it in the spares box seems a bit wasteful, even if the alternative was paying a few quid more for the alternative complete kit!

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Lived in Aberdeen between ages of 7-14 (1982-1989) as my father worked for British Airways Highlands Division back then and I too have far too many memories of the devastation and profound sense of loss within communities everything there was an accident offshore. 

 

I have many, many happy memories from my time up there though especially the amount of fast jets and military activity in this corner of Scotland back then - Bucc's, Shackleton's, Jag's, Phantoms, Nimrods etc, the list seems endless. Like yourself I could also tell you the difference between many of the helo types just by the engine sound ;)

 

Did your father know a chap by the name of Dick McClintock by any chance?

 

I'll be keeping a wee eye on your progress with this build as its one I've contemplated myself. I'd really love to do a Bristows Puma in the original livery from back in the 80's as my best pal from school went on to be a pilot with them. 

 

Looking forward to to your next instalment,

 

Eng

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Will be interested to see this one progress.

I remember when I was young and other than the odd Bell or S-76, it was 61N's everywhere. I used to skip school and go on the pickup run at Longside airfield.

IIRC G-BEIC and G-BEID had a bit of a jinx reputation amongst the crews, always a drama with Charlie!

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I'll pull up a seat for this one Jamie. A long time ago I was an Aviation Rep for Unocal sending the guys offshore to the Heather Alpha.We used Bond Helicopters and their S76's (still the most beautiful heli ever in my book) and occasionally their S61 which they leased from a Norwegian firm if I remember correctly. They also flew Bulkow 105s offshore & think it was Dauphins down south. Also got to know a few of the staff there and at British Caledonian Helicopters who flew a single S76 a couple of S61's and latterly Bell 214's.

Later I got to know a fair few folk at British Airways Helicopters, then BIH and also at Bristows.

Lost a few people I knew over the years in accidents offshore and saw peoples lives destroyed because of them and like you and eng. saw the devastation wrought by these accidents. When I moved to work in London I never quite got used what I thought was a lack of helicopter noise in the big smoke and the sound of one would have me straining skyward to see what it was.

 

Think you've picked a subject that will prove a fitting tribute to all the men & women involved in the dangerous job of getting our oil & gas to us and to those who've lost their lives in that pursuit.

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It seems there are quite a number who have been in or around these helicopters, or at least remember them flying overhead many times each day!

 

This little clip might bring back some memories of the sound :)

 

 

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I also just remembered I took this photograph from the winch wire of one of the Shetland Coast Guard's S-61Ns operated by Bristows. I must have been somewhere between 17 and 20 years old - I don't remember exactly but we returned for a visit as a family and my dad was friends with one of the winchmen. I'm not exactly sure how it came about but I was asked if I'd like to be winched for a Canadian TV crew and I thought "why not?". We flew from Sumburgh at the very south of Shetland, up the east coast of the mainland to somewhere near Lerwick where there was a boat at sea. The TV crew wanted to film a rescue for some documentary they were making so I was lowered on to the boat so I could be "rescued" again. I took the photo on the way down with my elbows tucked in as tightly as I could and trying to guess what the camera was looking at - I wanted the photograph but fancied falling straight through the winch strop and in to the sea rather less!

 

99740940-2360-4cf6-985f-c73985b4de03.JPG

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12 hours ago, eng said:

Lived in Aberdeen between ages of 7-14 (1982-1989) as my father worked for British Airways Highlands Division back then and I too have far too many memories of the devastation and profound sense of loss within communities everything there was an accident offshore. 

 

I have many, many happy memories from my time up there though especially the amount of fast jets and military activity in this corner of Scotland back then - Bucc's, Shackleton's, Jag's, Phantoms, Nimrods etc, the list seems endless. Like yourself I could also tell you the difference between many of the helo types just by the engine sound ;)

 

Did your father know a chap by the name of Dick McClintock by any chance?

 

I'll be keeping a wee eye on your progress with this build as its one I've contemplated myself. I'd really love to do a Bristows Puma in the original livery from back in the 80's as my best pal from school went on to be a pilot with them. 

 

Looking forward to to your next instalment,

 

Eng

 

Hi Eng,

 

I asked my dad this morning via Facebook messenger if he knew Dick McClintock. He replied saying he knew him well :) Is he a relative of yours?

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I'm in. I was brought up in Aberdeen and Peterhead so remember these, the pumas and even the earlier chinooks well, and the Penzance heliport version was a very common sight when we moved to Cornwall. My dad was working with Peterhead Coastguard on the night of Piper Alpha and I remember seeing the news reports late that (Friday?) night. I have always like the look of the S-61 and have often thought about the above kit but it was always on my wish list and never to my stash! Will be looking forward to seeing how you handle this.

Cheers now

Bob

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17 hours ago, Westie7 said:

I used to skip school and go on the pickup run at Longside airfield.

 

I used to go 'foraging' around there in my school days when it only seemed to be 'Bond' Helicopters present, although I wouldn't dare skip any school :yikes:!

 

Bob

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An interesting start and background.   I only the S-61 from fire fighting roles here in Canada where it has occasionally be contracted for use including this summer's fire in Fort Mac Murray. 

 

Shame it's not a complete kit but you seem to know what to toss and what to keep so it's a great start.  Looking forward to seeing the completed build.

 

foresterab

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12 hours ago, SovereignHobbies said:

 

Hi Eng,

 

I asked my dad this morning via Facebook messenger if he knew Dick McClintock. He replied saying he knew him well :) Is he a relative of yours?

 

Bit of a long story sir! Just dropped you a PM,

 

Eng

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Trying to think ahead, I've made my first blunder! What's annoying is that I'd decided what to do then my fingers did the wrong thing whilst talking to someone about an entirely different subject. :angry:

 

The S-61N had a substantially different instrument panel and centre console layout to the military helicopters, which themselves are substantially different to each other.

 

The closest configuration I can find is Eduard's SH-3D set, a Sikorsky built S-61 Sea King for the US Navy. It's closest, but there are still differences. What I meant to buy was their Zoom set:

ss477_.gif

https://www.eduard.com/store/eduard/sh-3d-sea-king-interior-s-a-1-72-1.html?cur=1&listtype=search&searchparam=sh-3d

 

Plus exterior set

72562.gif

https://www.eduard.com/store/eduard/sh-3d-sea-king-exterior-1-72.html?cur=1&listtype=search&searchparam=sh-3d

 

Much of both is of no use to the S-61N but the grilles around the main rotor head, tail rotor gearboxes etc, windscreen wipers, certain pieces for the main and tail rotors are the same.

 

What I actually bought was their large SH-3D interior set

73477_1x_z1.gif

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https://www.eduard.com/store/eduard/sh-3d-sea-king-interior-s-a-1-72.html?cur=1&listtype=search&searchparam=sh-3d

 

Which contains a whole heap of useless stuff for the price of the exterior set I could have used. That'll teach me to answer people who are talking to me. Grrr. It's done now though and the vendor is not know for their flexibility in amending orders so I shall make do and get the exterior bits a bit later.

 

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