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Aviation History
1977
1977 - 0032.PDF
30 FLIGHT International, I January 1977 SEARCH AND RESCUE cidents. but its lack of payload has posed problems. Despite its outstanding manoeuvrability, the Whirlwind's distinct lack of power can be embarrassing, especially in turbulent mountain weather, and the short (60ft) winch cable can also result in difficulties. Normal SAR Whirlwind (and Wessex) crew is three— pilot, navigator/winch operator and aircrewman (in the RN the last-mentioned is a diver). Range is around 80 n.m., de pending on wihdspeed. Crews have developed various techniques to cater for the Whirlwind's shortcomings. Of particular interest is the use of a 120ft extension tape to cater for cliff incidents by allowing the aircraft to hover clear of downdraughts. This gives a total cable length of about 180ft, enough for most incidents, but the pilot then has to beware of causing the casualty and crewman to "pendulum" as they are lifted off. The answer to this is a standard of precision handling unapproached else where. The winch operator verbally "flies" the aircraft, with the pilot obeying his instructions to the letter. The RN has found the aircrew diver (trained originally for carrier planeguard duty) of immense value in incidents at sea. He can be "jumped" directly down to the distressed craft, and can easily be recovered to brief the aircraft crew on the exact nature of the problem. Many distress messages are so garbled that this capability is highly de sirable and has proved itself time after time. The diver can be left on the scene to look after survivors while the air craft departs with a full load, and he can also carry out an underwater search. For offshore operations, SAR Whirlwinds ought to have fixed-wing top cover for both safety and communications purposes. Their crews do not however regard this as essential, believing that having to wait for the appearance of top-cover aircraft migiht militate against a prompt arrival at the incident. So far, three Royal Air Force SAR helicopter units have been re-equipped with the Westland Wessex HAR.2. This new type does not repre sent a significant advance over its predecessor in range, endurance or "close-in" reaction time, but its greater power and survivor capacity (ten) has already made all the difference in a number of incidents. At about S^min, its reaction time is slower than that of the Whirlwind, but its communications equipment (HF especially) is many times better. This again has already proved its value for mountain rescues. The Wessex has been bedevilled by ice-ingestion prob lems, but modifications to remedy this are now in hand. Like the Whirlwind, the Wessex has a basic crew of three, but its present winch-cable length of 100ft is about to be trebled. It is also much better instrumented than the Whirlwind, although it still has neither ILS nor VOR. This reduces the type's capabilities when operating in bad weather into the many airfields which lack precision ap proach radar, and the fitting of these two basic aids is long overdue. Weight penalty The weight penalty involved has ruled out the installa tion of radar in the SAR Wessex. Range could be in creased by the addition of an external tank (as in the civil Wessex), but this would involve a major modification of the present gravity-feed fuel system and is seen as not worth the trouble. The Wessex handles less precisely than the Whirlwind—what amount to "advance" corrective control movements are required—but its excess of power can be very useful in tight corners. Like all RAF search- and-rescue helicopters, it is fitted with a fuel-dump system so that range can be traded for rescue payload, but even with full fuel at take-off, giving three hours' endurance, it still has some 1,0001b payload available. When offshore aviation incidents take place near oil or gas rigs, SAR Wessex crews are well aware of the value of "rig-hopping". Those SAR Whirlwind Flights not scheduled to receive the Sea King are being re-equipped with the Wessex. The most comprehensively equipped SAR helicopter available in Britain is the Westland Sea King HAS.l. This is currently operated by the Royal Navy from Culdrose in Cornwall and Prestwick in Scotland, and aircraft are de tached afloat for duty on board certain larger warships. The RN Sea King's primary task is anti-submarine work, but its usefulness for long-range SAR operations has been demonstrated time and time again, especially around the Western Approaches. It has an operational radius of action (plus time allowance for winching) of over 200 n.m., a
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