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"You've violated your PG13 limits and are in X-rated territory now. Expect extremely limited distribution of your productions from now on."
But a helluva story!
Nice explanation. Light now shines upon the topic. Leads to one more question. So if you're hover-climbing up a steep hillside with rock outcroppings and other obstacles under an indefinite 100 ft ceiling with a forward RVR of 400-600, aren't you more or less perpetually in the "transition to forward flight" mode, half in and half out of the "dirty" air and thrashing the bejesus out of your powerplant, transmission, and rotor system? Sounds ugly, specially if hot and heavy.
Thanks again,
Wes
Would this help?
Small story:
Anecdotal Times
Finessing the girl
Take off for Albania, summer 1996
Our detachment of four UH-60A's self-deployed to Tirana Albania for a sixty day joint exercise that I actually have no fucking clue why we should go there. Except, maybe as a diplomatic overture of friendship and cooperation, seeing as we are part of the first U.S. Army units to set foot in that country since the fall of the Soviet Union and break up of the Warsaw Pact.
We took off from our base Ansbach, Germany in some seriously over laden beat up and abused Alfa model Hawks. Every bird is near maximum structural gross weight (or exceeding it slightly) primarily due to the fact we mounted the Extended Range Fuel System (ERFS) wings and 2 X 230 gallons external tanks, plus stuffing in all the living and maintenance support shit one has to have to operate self sufficient for 60 days or so. I took the aircraft with the weakest set of engines, just because I got the most flight experience of the team and I didn't want any of these pussy ass pilots to bitch and moan or use "marginal power" as an excuse if they happened to ball one up; again, because none of these weenies have really operated our aircraft where power management is critical before, so allow me to whine about it here. I took all the pilots out the week prior on nearly an hour flight each to simulate and practice power limited; take-offs, and approaches then tossed a few emergency procedures for good measure.
I know my bird is gunna be heavy and the old girl is weak – so I've done two engine washes on the gal, as we fondly refer to them as 'douches', to clean the turbines; hoping that'll maybe allow me just another sliver or two more percent of power engine reserve – hell one half of one percent would be cool.
I'm lead ship, planning to depart on our little runway here (and ya, I mean it's little), but seeing how there's a 5 to 7 knot cross wind, and, well, I want every damn knot of wind on my nose (headwind) as possible today I decide to launch our little band of aircraft from the adjacent grass field heading diagonally away from the tiny runway. Unfortunately not a wind full in the face headwind, but better than a complete crosswind. I'll have to settle for quartering left headwind to avoid over flight of the high school – I mean if even an engine hiccups anywhere along takeoff – rotor RPM is going to drop faster than Paris Hiltons panties and we'll be joining some teacher's classroom. It's better to take flight over the football field and then the only other obstacles; the 12-foot high fence a quarter of a mile away and the light poles of the high school football field, but we can fly between them.
Finesse Mister, finesse this girl, like the time you did on that one wheel landing at 10,000 feet atop that boulder to drop off those firefighters in Yellowstone.
Smooth boy, smooth.
Everyone's lined up. I reposition my hands and fingers on the controls, light touch, very light. Left thumb, index and middle finger in the outside edge of the collective stick. The right thumb and middle finger lightly riding on the cyclic stick. Feet light on the pedals to feel her torque. It seems like I have to pull the collective up to my arm pit just to get this heavy girl light on the wheels, and she's groaning as first the right wheel slowly leaves the ground and then the left wheel (this is known as Translating Tendency Effect) then the tail wheel very smoothly rises from the ground as I tenderly apply left pedal to counteract the main rotor torque. She hovers in a much more level attitude, not so much nose high like normal because of the external fuel weight forward on her frame.
She feels good, heavy as hell, but good.
I continue to very slowly increase power to get to our standard 10-foot hover height for a power/weight check. I can hear the engines wailing, giving all they can give, but my baby won't go, eight feet is as high as she'll hover and I'm at maximum power or 96% torque.
Ya, we're going to have to milk this one together sweetie.
OK, that's enough power check for me I allow the aircraft to settle down 3 feet, to a 5 foot hover. Confirmed. We are fat like four motherfuckers, maybe five. I'm guessing I'm about 500-800 lbs over maximum structural gross weight with 3% power to spare at a damn 5-foot hover – Christ!
I already hear a couple of pilots whining over the radio as they call in completing their power checks. Seems everyone else has 6-8% power to spare. Fuckers.
Glancing at my co-pilot: "You wanna do the take-off?"
"OH Hell NO!! You see everyone looking at us? The commander, the rest of the company, our wives and kids all standing by the hanger?" "Shit, AFN is here with a camera!"
"I know. I was thinking if we can't get enough altitude and snag that fence, its gunna be slightly embarrassing - and, well… I wanna be able to blame it on someone else."
Hmmm, OK, guess not.
As I instructed last week, in severely power limited situations – this is not a time to bad ass jerk handle this bird like some rabid lust fuck, this lady will slap you down hard, and at your own peril if you disrespect her. She requires an intimate sensual interlude, with soft and caressing touches, hints and tender gliding control, intently listening and feeling the responses of what she needs and desires. It is plainly, tender gentle sex.
I tell my co-pilot; "Watch my power, rotor RPM, and TGT (engine temperatures). We only got 3% power available to fuck with so I may ride rotor RPM down to 96-97% at maximum power – no worries – cool?"
"Ahh ya 96-97% rotor RPM…if gets lower start worrying." My co-pilots responds.
"Exactly." "Chief, keep an eye outside on the main landing gear would you? The aircraft will descend a few feet on this takeoff, just keep me read in when we got maybe 2 feet between the ground and the wheel – cool?"
"Yes sir."
OK, now let's split." Pressing the mic switch to the second detent; "Break. Flight, 23 is on the go."
Then by virtually thinking, and no perceivable control input – she starts hovering forward very slowly, then to walking speed, and then slightly faster then a walking pace.
Good girl. You feel great.
I motion up tenderly just a cunt hair on the collective – There! Max power of 96% Torque with both engines at TGT limiting and rotor RPM dipping to 99%.
Com'on, ride it honey.
As Effective Transational Lift (ETL) nears the aircraft will shudder slightly and may drop in altitude a few feet. This occurs because basically the aircraft out flies all that old nasty recycling air that circles through the rotor system at a hover (and eats up significant power) and begins entering fresh undisturbed air (requiring less power than moments prior to ETL). Ya, I know this is fascinating shit, but it's a significant aerodynamic phenomenon, particularly today, particularly on this take-off, because – Like, I need to get to ETL so I have more fucking power available, so I can get this fat lady over the rapidly approaching 12 foot barb wire wrapped fence, before we play like a fly caught in the spider web with it.
Our speed is slowly but constantly increasing – 10 knots. I can feel it, your struggling girl. Her nose wants to climb (Blowback Effect) – No, no honey, not yet, as I hold her nose level with care.
"Rotor RPM 98%."
"Copy."
We are about half way to the fence. Just passing a street light a ways off to my left that I'm using as my point of no return marker. Well damn – maybe that was not a good one - should I pick another one real quick?
"Rotor RPM 97%"
"Copy"
A smidge of left cyclic to maintain my ground track – I cannot let the wind or translating tendency keep us off our intended ground track. I have an urge, a real urge to pull more power (collective) so we can climb – but knowing fully it won't work, the engines computers have sensed 850 degrees Celsius TGT which equates this morning to be 96 % Torque and it sends a signal to the fuel control to sequence fuel on and off to maintain and not exceed that temperature to protect the engines. My engines are giving everything they can. Pulling up collective, while having an immediate, and quite temporary, psychologically satisfying and comforting feeling, will…be like very bad, as the big fan above my head will slow considerably unable to provide hardly any sustaining lift and we will crash. Not good, and it would be bad for my self-image.
"96% Rotor RPM!"
We are over three quarters of the way there. 20 Knots, Com'on babe. I feel ya, you're close…A slight shudder…the aircraft begins settling…more lateral shuddering (Transverse Flow Effect)…
"Sir, wheels are about a foot of the grass."
"Ya ya, let's hope there are no ant hills." Com'on babe I know you can do it.
25 knots.
You're there babe! Immediately followed by a pronounced lateral shudder and shaking of the aircraft because of our weight and the slow measured takeoff, as my girl begins to lift in a positive climb in our wonderful new fresh air aerodynamic environment as we cross 8-10 feet above the fence in between the light poles.
Ok, Mr. Mister lower the power and let the rotor RPM comes back to 100%, now let's tag a 65-knot attitude for climb out.
Hot damn! Babe you are soooo sweet to run my fingers over. Are we good together or what?
Well, that was fun. Whew.
BTW, Husky, is your username by any chance a reflection of a certain Kaman "eggbeater" of a half century ago?
Cheers,
Wes
thanks for sharing this.
Good old Ansbach, Germany. I was stationed there for 6 years (lived there for 6 additional years as a civilian for 12 years total).
Flew a Blackhawk to the Balkan region several times. Flew from Ansbach, Gernany to Linz, Austria, to Hungary, then to Mostert, Bosnia, and then to Kosovo. Flew into Albania a few times while there.
1st trip was a flight of two Blackhawks from Kosovo to Ansbach. Flew from Rammstein to Kosovo on a C-130 to pick up the UH-60's for maintenance. Flew them back in one day.
2nd trip was from Ansback to Kosovo when we deployed. Refuel stop in Linz. Overnight stop in Hungary. Refuel stop in Bosnia.
3rd trip was just the reverse as we re-deployed back home to Ansbach 10 months later.
Flying through the alps in Austria, and along the Croatian coastline was just beautiful though.
Why Damn! We may have passed one another. Was there 96-98. Of course, didn't spend much time there.
96-98 I was in Stuttgart, and still in High School...lol
My dad was stationed there.
I lived in Stuttgart from 88-98, and in Bad Kreuznach from 80-83. I was in Ansbach from 2000-2012 (2000-2006 on active duty Army).
What you unit were you in at Ansbach though? Several of the guys in my unit had been there around your time as well.
C'mon guys, you're makin' me feel like an auld fahht.I may have a few years on ya then..lol.
C'mon guys, you're makin' me feel like an auld fahht.
571st MEDEVAC
You know, the "grey eagles" back in my student days decried our tendency to "slavishly" track the VOR, and declared that pilotage and dead reckoning were dead and we didn't know how to navigate without our "electronic Mama". This despite our own instructors demanding an accurate plot, precise timekeeping, and constant heading and ETA corrections, along with a constantly updated fuel howgozit, and constant traffic scan while working the whizwheel.Never. I feel kinda young reliving again. It was a time. Before GPS...still had to relay on ole 'dead reckoning'
You know, the "grey eagles" back in my student days decried our tendency to "slavishly" track the VOR, and declared that pilotage and dead reckoning were dead and we didn't know how to navigate without our "electronic Mama". This despite our own instructors demanding an accurate plot, precise timekeeping, and constant heading and ETA corrections, along with a constantly updated fuel howgozit, and constant traffic scan while working the whizwheel.
Now we old farts decry the youngsters' dependence on electronics to aviate, nevermind navigate, and wonder if they can even handle a basic no-automation airplane anymore. Cycle of the generations.
"There's no such thing as a safe monoplane!"
"How can you fly safely if you can't feel the wind on your face or hear it in the wires?"
"You can never trust landing gear that's designed to fold up!"
"It may be okay for Jimmy Dolittle, but you'll never catch me barging around inside a cloud, no sir!"
"What, no propeller?? Just a blowtorch? Sounds pretty fishy to me!"
Cheers,
Wes
So, if I typed in the in puter 2000ft and 20 degrees C and a desired true airspeed of 120 kts at an aircraft weight of 18000 lbs; what's my est fuel burn for hour? Max rate of climb speed and fuel burn? And maximum range speed and fuel burn?Fine, I'm all good with it...if pilots understand how the information comes together to produce the final data.
View attachment 568762
Oh boy, a multi variable performance chart! Haven't done one of those in awhile. My professional flying stopped 25 years ago, due to deteriorating vision. And not being a math maven, it isn't the sort of thing I do for fun.So, if I typed in the in puter 2000ft and 20 degrees C and a desired true airspeed of 120 kts at an aircraft weight of 18000 lbs; what's my est fuel burn for hour? Max rate of climb speed and fuel burn? And maximum range speed and fuel burn?
Nice.Oh boy, a multi variable performance chart! Haven't done one of those in awhile. My professional flying stopped 25 years ago, due to deteriorating vision. And not being a math maven, it isn't the sort of thing I do for fun.
Well, as it looks to me on my tiny cellphone screen, 120 Kt TAS cruise should burn about 840 lb/hr @ 2000'.
Best R/C should happen at 78 TAS, or 72 IAS, at about 740 lb/hr.
Best Range at 134 TAS, 130 IAS, at 1010 lb/hr. In practice, I'd plan on a little fudge factor on these numbers, as operational engines are never as fresh as flight test engines.
The aircraft isn't specified, but I would guess from the fuel flows and speeds it's a pretty efficient rotary wing bird with a pair of 600-700 HP turbines. No fixed wing turboprop would have such a low fuel flow at Vy, nor such a low Vy speed. (Except maybe a Twin Otter or a Dornier 228; and I don't think their best range speeds and fuel flows would fit this profile.) Thanks for the exercise. I needed a good workout.
Cheers,
Wes
Gangs of fun! Old home days.Nice.
Wasn't that fun? LOL
Gangs of fun! Old home days.
BTW, what manual did you get that from?
Cheers,
Wes
Ultimately, the celebrity has to be the responsible one.I know the only connection is celebrity but it reminds me of the death of Princess Diana. In all the wild conspiracy theories the fact is she got in a car with a drunk driver and didn't even put a seatbelt on. It seems possible that you can be so famous, rich, powerful whatever that you believe the normal rules of life don't apply. They leave a lot of sad people asking WHY?