westland seaking details wanted

[merlin101]

Anyone know of or have close up pics of the under slung cables/hook fitted to seakings? In particular the release cable that goes into the fuselage(?)

Dave

[Rickoshea52]

Try the walk round section - 

 

[merlin101]

thanks, didn't think to look there!  you think same fit on RAF MK3's?

Edited March 4, 2020 by merlin101

[LaurieS]

May help building one at present. This is a FLightPath PE of the Cargo Sling

in 1/48

 

Laurie

4 minutes ago, LaurieS said:

May help building one at present. This is a FLightPath PE of the Cargo Sling

in 1/48

 

Laurie

I might even remember to publish the pictures ha ha.

 

http://     http://  

Edited March 4, 2020 by LaurieS

[Rickoshea52]

2 hours ago, merlin101 said:

thanks, didn't think to look there!  you think same fit on RAF MK3's?

I don’t see why not. There was a short period of time circa 2003/4 that the SACRU was removed from HAR3’s at Lossiemouth and possibly at other flights because they saw little or no use. I think they were later refitted after the floods at Boscastle or a terror incident showed a need to have them after all. 

[andyf117]

Nice clear view of the SACRU in this enlargeable (right click, 'open in new window' or 'view image') view:

Edited March 5, 2020 by andyf117

[merlin101]

Thanks everyone, it's for a 1/72nd kit I'm making!

Dave

[torqueofthedevil]

On 3/4/2020 at 11:24 AM, Rickoshea52 said:

I don’t see why not. There was a short period of time circa 2003/4 that the SACRU was removed from HAR3’s at Lossiemouth and possibly at other flights because they saw little or no use. I think they were later refitted after the floods at Boscastle or a terror incident showed a need to have them after all. 

SACRUs were removed from all the airframes apart from the pair in the Falklands, because they saw very little use and they got ruined by all the salt spray. The cables also created a snagging hazard in the event of a ditching; OC D Flt 202 Sqn from 2002-4 had been in the Wessex which ditched off Hong Kong ten years earlier and I suspect he may have highlighted this point. I can't recall exactly when this decision was made, but 2003-4 sounds about right; I don't think this policy was ever revisited (@rickoshea why would Boscastle have created a requirement for them to be refitted?).

 

The SACRU could be refitted without undue delay when needed - this happened regularly on the OCU when the students reached the single USL sortie, but elsewhere on occasion too, such as at Boulmer in April 2008 for firefighting around Harbottle. 

Edited March 8, 2020 by torqueofthedevil

[Rickoshea52]

1 hour ago, torqueofthedevil said:

why would Boscastle have created a requirement for them to be refitted?

- At the time there was talk of a potential requirement to sling equipment and other flood defence kit by helicopter to any potential area of concern. Although Chinooks provided the UK standby for heavy lift the thought was the SAR flights would be capable of limited USL capability at much shorter notice. 

 

The SACRU could be refitted without undue delay when needed

- When you only have two cabs on the flight taking one off state for a SACRU fit isn’t very popular, if both cabs are serviceable it’s not so bad as you can do one while the other is still on “first” However, if only one cab is serviceable and on “first” there is no way it will be allowed to have any maintenance or role equipment fit done unless absolutely unavoidable. 

 

[torqueofthedevil]

2 hours ago, Rickoshea52 said:

 

There may have been talk, but I don't think it ever translated into action - unsurprising really, seeing as no helicopter fleet in the world could prevent a flash flood like Boscastle. I'll check back through my photos but I'm not expecting to see any SACRUs in the last 12 years or so of the SAR Force. 

 

And fitting SACRUs or anything else to aircraft on SAR readiness isn't about popularity - it's about doing with what the tasking authority requires, which was usually life-saving but occasionally MAC-A or similar. What wouldn't be popular is to turn up to any task requiring USLs to be carried and then being unable to assist because the SACRU was u/s having been carried around over the sea for years gathering salt but not being used! 

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

The RN SAR Sea Kings didn’t routinely fly with the SACRU fitted, either - though you’ll find photos of 771 cabs with it fitted (e.g. for that hardy perennial, the “load-lifting a cow from the bottom of the cliff” sortie!).

 

As a matter of interest, did the HAR3 fleet ever have the load beam, or was that strictly an early HC4 thing?

[andyf117]

46 minutes ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

As a matter of interest, did the HAR3 fleet ever have the load beam, or was that strictly an early HC4 thing?

Some of the Grey Whales were fitted with it when 'down south':

[wellsprop]

Am I right thinking the SACRU has 4 smaller cables coming off it that go directly up into the cabin to allow the SACRU to be stowed? 

 

They appear visible here

 

 

How was the SACRU stowed horizontally, rather than being left in its vertical position? 

[Wafu]

Apart from the four attachment cables that allow the SACRU to hang under the rotor mast, it has an electrical cable for operation and a Bowden  cable for emergency release, these were P Clipped to each other and came from the starboard side upper and lower sponson. The stowage cable routes from the port side and is a nylon lanyard that the aircrew pulls to stow the SACRU off centre towards the port side. 
 

If you’re making the 1/48 the rendition the Hendie does a brilliant 3D printed one from his ‘shop’ on Shapeways, I can’t recommend these enough, Hendie’s excellent work in miniature.

 

https://www.shapeways.com/product/AZ7XZE3JJ/westland-wessex-sacru-cargo-hook-1-48?optionId=64938881&li=shops