Flying a council house from the upstairs loo

[dolphin38]

Wessex HC2 9G-AEL (XV729) at Biggin Hill

 

IMGP7342 by Phillip Wilmshurst, on Flickr

 

IMGP7344 by Phillip Wilmshurst, on Flickr

 

_IMG0425_1 by Phillip Wilmshurst, on Flickr

[Tramatoa]

XR498 looks as if it’s been on Ops over the Eisteddfod! 

[Tramatoa]

Well I’ll go to the foot of our stairs it seems I was mistaken in my belief that XT604 was the only yellow Wessex in the North. I didn’t see this last time I was at Cosford. Having said that something seems a little fishy about this cab........ who am I trying to kid, it’s a bit like them fitting Schräge Musik to their Dornier. Poor old thing, it looked well in its 72 Sqn colours in 2006. 

[Tramatoa]

10/10 for the intake and exhaust blanks though, absolutely spot on.  

[Tramatoa]

Apparently things have been moving near Mount Maunganui. Five ancient ladies dragged out of storage in September and I missed it completely. Lots of pics at sunlive.co.nz ‘Classic Flyers makes room for exciting fleet’. Apologies if the whole world has seen this already🙄

[AndyBunney]

On 1/12/2019 at 5:17 PM, Tramatoa said:

There we go, courtesy of Bobsyouruncle in post 216. The hook had a helical spring with a stainless end cap and rubber grommet where the cable went through  it, presumably to stop it making hard contact with the bell mouth on the winch when it reached full up. I’m pretty sure the pip pin was secured with red para chord. 

That's how I remember the winch hook on 22 Sqn between 85 and 88.

[bobsyouruncle]

Hi Gents.

Got some very slightly better views of the winch hook with the spring mentioned by Tramatoa and Andy Bunney.

Apologies for quality as they're either scans of prints from photo albums or photos of photos.

 

You can see it here with Kev Williams being winched into a 'D' Flight Leconfield Wessex.

Also notice they've put an extra attachment point on here for the rucksack to hang off (you normally just had to hold your rucksack in your hands while being winched).

 

I think they're doing cockpit visits here at a Valley Open day in the 1980s. You can just about make out the hook spring. Note no wet fit on this one.

 

This next one's on a Sea King, but has a slightly better view of the same type of hook. It's from an Independent newspaper cutting my Mum kept. I've included the second part of it, just purely for anyone's interest.

I remember it slightly differently to the journalist, but we might have been told incorrect info (I'm top left by the stretcher). We were told the Sea King was coming to the lakes anyway for a lady with a broken leg.

We were relaying patient vital signs via our base and Edinburgh Rescue to the Sea King and he decided to divert to us (as he had a serious head injury). Anyway, you can see the hook type. Sad story about the little girl.

I'm pretty sure that the Wessex guys had those cushions for the knees too, by the way?

 

 

[perdu]

On 13/01/2019 at 19:53, dolphin38 said:

Wessex XR498 recently seen at Cosford

 

Westland wessex HC2 XR498 by Phillip Wilmshurst, on Flickr

 

IMGP9183 by Phillip Wilmshurst, on Flickr

 

 

They must keep her well away from the grubby public, I've not seen her any time

 

I'd love to get up close to that 'un

[Tramatoa]

Bobsyouruncle thanks once again for posting these images. I remember these being in the role kit but never asked what they were for, now I know! The links were folded metal and the yellow collar was hard plastic, they were stowed on the left hand rail with all the other gubbins. 

Note also the helpless way you had to dangle from one of those strops, not at all like the Winchman’s harness which he was effectively sat in and would maintain directional control by kicking his legs. We just had to hang there like a hooked fish. I remember being unceremoniously dumped on the rear deck (excuse the land lubbers terminology) of a random German freighter in the Irish Sea so they could practice getting me off using a Hi Line. Happily I survived the experience and returned to the aircraft with 200 fags in one immersion suit pocket  and a bottle of Scotch in the other. Normally all we got was a bag of wet fish!!!!

Regarding the kneeling mat ours were very similar, rectangular foam about an inch and a half thick with a black fabric covering and a green webbing strap attached to the seat with a Martin Baker clip. Obviously ours were thicker, plusher and generally superior to the one shown 🙄.

We would occasionally do a swap with a SARTU cab if one of the C Flt pair went long term sick which meant humping all the role kit from point A to point B but it’s so long ago the detail only comes back with a bit of a visual prodding. Lord how I wish we had access to digital cameras and phones, I always felt such a chump sneaking my old Boots camera out. 

Edited January 18, 2019 by Tramatoa

[Tramatoa]

Doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun? Up to my ucksters in Boeing’s finest at the moment reading Hendie’s epic masterwork at brew time and realised a week had flown by. 

Back to Walter’s yellow incarnation and a quick look at one of Bobsyouruncle’s great photos which threw up another memory.

As has been pointed out previously the starboard gear has been painted black and has two steps attached. Of note are the warning markings on the cool gas generator which are smaller and much crisper than  those on the SH cab at  Newark. Also we can see (if we squint) the correct position for the  saltwater actuated switch on the rear of the oleo and the angle of the folding step. Lastly you can see strips of black bodge tape (tank tape to some) which was installed on the flotation cans during my time. Whether this actually served any purpose is a moot point, but someone at HQSAR must have thought it was a good idea. It would occasionally get a bit tatty and we would stick some fresh on but it was bog standard tape applied by hand.

I was thinking to have a look at SAR role kit next and if anyone has a proper photo of the Neil Robertson stretcher I’d be grateful if you would share as I’ve yet to find a decent one. I’m pretty sure it had at least one standard grey wool blanket wrapped up in it but this is to be confirmed.

Pip pip,

Tramatoa

[Tramatoa]

I started to have a look into SAR Role Kit yesterday and my first discovery was IrvinGQ in South Wales who seem to be the main supplier of harness kit to the MoD. For starters the piece of equipment highlighted in the preceding post is correctly termed a Grabbit Hook.

As well as being used for lifting stuff like rucksacks it can also be used to hook through the front of an Aircrew life preserver to rapidly

recover a growbag. 

Next up is a Hi-Line, although my memory of these is of an olive drab canvas pouch with black elastic sewn in two strips  though which the loops were fed allowing for rapid deployment. These were used to get the winch hook back down to the remote Winchman when moving numbers off the deck of a ship. They carried two, maybe three of these on the left hand rail stowage.

[Tramatoa]

Perhaps the old grey matter is in a more advanced state of decay than I thought......

This is the Hi-Line case as per the manufacturer’s website and the shape is as I remembered but I was a tad off with the colour. Maybe our Squippers produced their own version back in the day. I’m sure these were hung on the left hand rail, one above the other but I don’t recall the clips at all. Doddery old fart.

Edited January 29, 2019 by Tramatoa
Fat fingers

[AndyBunney]

8 minutes ago, Tramatoa said:

Perhaps the old grey matter is in a more advanced state of decay than I thought......

This is the Hi-Line case as per the manufacturer’s website and the shape is as I remembered but I was a tad off with the colour. Maybe our Squppers produced their own version back in the day. I’m sure these were hung on the left hand rail, one above the other but I don’t recall the clips at all. Doddery old fart.

I have a friend who was one of our Squippers at Leconfield. Next time I see or speak to him I will see if he has any photos of any of the SAR equipment.

[Tramatoa]

Again from IrvinGQ, here we have two strops (never seen one this new, ours were much faded) attached to the SAR type hook as previously discussed. Also with Grabbit Hook and Hi-Line.

The website is worth a look as it has   some company history and there appears to be a Draken in the car park? Not sure if it’s still there but I have fond memories of the Airfix effort from the seventies.

[Tramatoa]

Well I seem to have lost my audience but never mind, onwards and upwards as they say! 

While perusing the IrvineGQ site I came across the latest incarnation of the Monkey Harness. The version used on the SAR Wessex had a shorter strap and was weathered Olive Drab but the fixing hasn’t changed as far as I can see. There were two of these on the Rail.

[JosephLalor]

On 12/30/2018 at 9:19 PM, Wafu said:

 

Scimitar, the rotorhead is dark blue not black, at least I never saw a RAF cab or RN cab with a black head, only light grey or dark blue near midnight blue. I’m sure someone might put me right though😃

Pure guesswork on my part of course, but I'd have thought that rotorheads on British-manufactured military helicopters would be either Dark Admiralty Grey or RAF Blue Grey.

 

Checking now to see if someone's already answered Wafu.

Edited January 31, 2019 by JosephLalor

[Wafu]

On 1/26/2019 at 10:27 PM, Tramatoa said:

Doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun? Up to my ucksters in Boeing’s finest at the moment reading Hendie’s epic masterwork at brew time and realised a week had flown by. 

Back to Walter’s yellow incarnation and a quick look at one of Bobsyouruncle’s great photos which threw up another memory.

. Lastly you can see strips of black bodge tape (tank tape to some) which was installed on the flotation cans during my time. Whether this actually served any purpose is a moot point, but someone at HQSAR must have thought it was a good idea. It would occasionally get a bit tatty and we would stick some fresh on but it was bog standard tape applied by hand.

I was thinking to have a look at SAR role kit next and if anyone has a proper photo of the Neil Robertson stretcher I’d be grateful if you would share as I’ve yet to find a decent one. 

 

The black tap served two purposes, prevented salt water ingress and held the can lip under slight tension. Under each piece of tape was a v cut, this allowed the can to ‘pop’ off when fired.

 

If your looking for photos of SAR kit, I’m back in work on Wednesday and can look at what we have to what you want. PM me with what you want.

 

You crabs abs and your winch, look at the Oxford dictionary definition of a winch. The hoist hook has changed in design over the years, so it’s probably better to research the era you are modelling, for it to be accurate.

[bobsyouruncle]

Nice shots of some of the kit there, Tramatoa.

Ref. the Neil Robertson Stretcher, Stokes Litter and things like the Pneu-pac and winchman harness, I found photos of these in a book called 'Rescue' by Paul Beaver and Paul Berriff (you may remember the TV series on Scottish TV?),

 but I guess I'd be breaking copyright rules by posting here? 

I've looked on Amazon and you can get a second-hand copy for as little as £0.01 plus a couple of pound postage. 

It's mainly Sea King stuff as it was filmed with 202 Sqn, Lossiemouth, but most of the kit's the same and there's a nice shot of Wessex XR518 doing a one wheel hover/landing on pages 62/63.

Can't get that many things for £0.01 these days(!).

Bob.

[perdu]

JFI Tramatoa, audience still here but occasional distractions occur

 

Keep up the stirling work

[Tramatoa]

WAFU,

That's very decent of you I'll be in touch in due course.

Obviously an institution where they throw furniture at you for walking on the grass has to be taken seriously and I'll give careful consideration to using the term 'hoist' in future........

but it's clearly a winch cos it says so on the 731. 

Bobsyouruncle,

Thanks for the tip regarding the book. It stands to reason that I've never watched the program because it's about aircraft with an uncouth number of rotor blades which can't hack it on one engine but for 1p plus P&P I think I could be persuaded if the pic of 518 is in colour.

Perdu,

It's been a rough couple of months and this thread has been a tonic. Thanks for the words of encouragement. 

Pip, pip,

Tramatoa

 

Edited February 1, 2019 by Tramatoa
Repetition of obviously, obviously.

[Tramatoa]

While continuing my research into Role Kit it was pointed out to me that this is Flt. Lt John Mullan, Spec Aircrew Nav and a C Flt stalwart. Can anyone provide a clearer image of the area behind him? I have no recollection of this box, assume it’s Comms related.

[Tramatoa]

Next up is the Oxygen and Entonox walkround kits, pictured here again courtesy of Bobsyouruncle. A little research shows them to be Pneu Pac 2R Responder kits in a weathered condition. 

This one’s seen a bit more action and has faded down a bit.

Lastly a close up of the manufacturer’s logo.

 

Edited February 6, 2019 by Tramatoa

[Tramatoa]

Back again!

The Rescue book arrived a couple of days ago and has proved to be a good read, although it is very Duckcentric as expected. There are a couple of good photos of Walter doing his stuff in the mountains and I have to say it does a good job of showing what it’s like on a busy SAR unit. 

The pictures of the wreckage of XZ585 brought back memories of XT674 and XR524 and I know i’ve been guilty of engaging in banter in the past (as is our way) but it highlights the superb work the two Squadrons and the MRT lads did over many years and the risks involved. 

Well worth a couple of quid and recommended.

[Tramatoa]

It’s a bit like Balin’s tomb in here of late, isn’t it? Still, if five years in the block at Valley taught me anything it’s how to have a conversation with myself, isn’t that right Precious?

I thought I’d have a break from the Safety Equipment, primarily because despite WAFU’s help I can’t find a picture of an MS10 Liferaft in its box as I remember it looking, the modern equivalent tapers a lot more than I recall. Still,  I’ll find a photo of it in the end, won’t I Precious? 

I found a couple of extra snaps from Doncaster which brought back some happy memories.

This shows the exhaust end of the  Gnome, with the Kidney Panel visible. The panel had a fibre gasket on the rear which helped ensure the bolts fought you all the way in, then they were wirelocked in pairs. As a left handed  greenhorn this did my swede in for many happy hours, much to the amusement of my brothers in arms who took great delight in snipping anything that wasn’t up to scratch. Character building.....

To the purist this should be visible within the exhaust.

[Winnie]

Very interesting, sorry it's a tad quiet though. The Wessie isn't my most favorite helicopter, but another one with 2 gnomes is... lol

 

Don't get much involvement in the SAR stuff anymore, as I grew up.. (Dad was a rearcrew on Norwegian Sea Kings, and I grew up around the hangar...). Now instead I fly an Air Ambulance helicopter for "amusement" but it isn't a Sea King...