Puddle Jumper

[Puddle Jumper]

Here's a link to a helicopter video that a friend sent me. Take a look, I will warn you that it takes some time to download. I myself find this type of flying completely stupid! I fear for any individual who ever steps inside this aircraft in the future. I can only imagine the stress and overtorqing that this machine must have went through to make this. No wonder aircraft insurance is so high! :down:

Here is the link:
http://libra.technology.users.btopenworld.com/DRKJ2002.WMV

 

[highbladedown]

Reminds me of Dini Petty when she flew the "Pink Dink" Hughes 269 in Toronto for one of the radio stations, round and round and those run on landings on the tarmack at the foot of Spadina where nothing short of price less!!

HBD

 

[bag swinnger]

The first time that I saw this one I thought it was suppose to be crash footage, and I kept thinking, oh here it comes. but it never did and I was almost dissapionted that it didnt because he is sooo asking for it!
which leads me to the question what is a good pilot?
Is this a good pilot because of what he can do?
or is it a good pilot to be considerd safe, and to never attempt anything considerd risky? :wacko:

 

[highbladedown]

There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but no old bold pilots. Testicles, specticles, wallet and watch..........blast off!!

 

[Seismic Pilot]

Obviously Puddle Jumper has never been to an Airshow or the races in Nevada....and saying this is the reason insurance is so high is lame I guess my car Insurance must be high as well due to those iresponsible Nascar guys, Come on don't take it so seriously enjoy it for what it is.

 

[highbladedown]

Remember 269 models were used as training aircraft for UH1 and UH1H models in "NAM".......get the picture.

 

[Randy_G]

There was less stress put on that aircraft than a spray cycle, logging, seismic, or any production long-line job. Many of the maneuvers he performed are low stress (1-1.5G), and he looks to not be at max gross weight. Repetitive heavy lifting is far more "abusive" on an airframe/engine/rotating bits than what this guy is doing. Heck a properly co-ordinated 45 degree banked turn loads ~1.5G and you do that in training. He looks to be practicing for an airshow. I have no problem with what the guy is doing, if he's performing at airshows, and is on top of the maintenance.

Let's assume that he's an airshow pilot who's practicing, he isn't why insurance is so high. Guys pushing bad weather (and it pushes back 😉), flying beyond the a/c's, or your own capabilities, not performing a decent D.I., pushing fuel, etc. Yes there are accidents when people "hot-dog", but every year more a/c are damaged because of the reasons (and others) mentioned here. These are some of the reasons that insurance rates are high.

Cheers

 

[MagSeal]

Here's the culprits website...

make up your own mind about what he does and why.

http://www.easyk.co.uk/kenyon/

 

[Puddle Jumper]

..................

 

[MagSeal]

gee, where do you think I got his name?

Could it have been because the video name was also his name as well??

I guess if he was too concerned he would A- not name the video file after himself
B- not advertise his talents on his website
C- enter the airshow circuit under an
assumed name

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Point made.

 

[ChairmanoftheBORED]

Get a grip PJ,

Like RandyG says logging causes more damage than this....there are more issues with basically incompetent pilots driving up insurance issues than these guys doing the airshow routines.

You assume all the manouvers resulted in an overtorque or excessive G loading. I don't really think the helo knows whether it is upside down or not. As long as the pilot is not pulling excessive pitch to droop the rotor, and maintains moderate positive G, then this flying is adventureous but safe.
Remember, helicopters were never certified to do continuous autorotations either. Most of the training machines have done 1000's of hours of "test flying" beyond the parameters of the initial manufacturers limits for that exercise.

The flying in this video is interesting but repeditive. What I find most interesting is that DK couldn't land at the end accurately..........now that's dumb.

This video has been out on PPRUNE for a couple of weeks now and there was little negative comment from the rest of the world. :blink:

 

[Over-Talk]

I do NOT condone the type of flying in the video, but it is something we have come to expect at "airshows".
However I think it is improper to point the finger too harshly at people who know what they are doing, and the possible consequences of their actions.

If the pilot is DK....then he knows about risks.....and stresses on Hughes 269s.
He has been flying aerobatic demonstrations for a long time, and knows all too well about the consequences of accidents.

His 18 year old son (DK jr. ,also a pilot), and two passengers were killed in a March 2000 crash of a Hughes 269C in England. The crash was caused by the inflight break-up of the helicopter.

A tail-boom attachment lug was cracked and had been welded before DK bought the helicopter. Repair welds in this area of the lug are not allowed.

The helicopter engineer XXXX XXXX, 48, from Kent, was cleared of three charges of manslaughter but later jailed for eight months for licensing the illegal repair job to the area which failed, causing the crash.
This engineer did not perform the welding but he was responsible to check what repairs were allowed. He contacted the welders to have the repair performed.
There were no log-book entries to record the welded patch repairs that had been carried out on the left and right centre frame rear cluster fittings.

Hughes had known about problems in this lug area, and had come out with different versions of the lug, and specific instructions for crack inspection and repair.

For the full report; (be careful, it took years to write, and takes just as long to read)
http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_....hcsp#P153_9242

Three young people are now dead. Not because of aerobatic flying, or because the pilot only had 200 hours, but because of a negligent engineer. (Thankfully, negligent engineers are an extreme rarity).

This tragic accident, and many others caused by a variety of factors, are what makes insurance rates rise.
We all have a part to play in keeping insurance rates down. So, let's leave the "airshow" flying to DK, as we've all got enough to think about already.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Thanks for the replys. I must admit when incorrect and incorrect I was. Being inexperienced I took these types of manouvers as the lead to future aircraft preformance problems. My comment about insurance is also clouded as you pointed out as the pilot abviously knows what he is doing based on his years of experience. In addition my apologies go out to anyone I offended bye my comments.
PJ

 

[bag swinnger]

I am sure most of us did not know this pilot in the video, or new that he was involved in airshows before we saw it.
just judging by the flexing going on in the skid gear (constantly)as the machine is going around in circles on the ground. I wonder whats going to happen when it fails!
I also wonder how many chief pilots out there and company owners would like to look out the window, and see one of thier machines doing any one of theese manuvers.
I dont know any manufacturers personally, but I would bet that they get nervous when they see footage of this kind of stuff. arguably its different in the right hands, but how many people out there are training for engine outs during backwards flying at 30 feet agl, or a flame out when half inverted. I am sure that it would be interesting trainning.
I would like to think that I am a conservative pilot, as that is the way that I was trained, so I may have fairly conservative views on this topic. but it is interseting to note that there is a pilot that I know of, that figures he has superior flying skills and does these type of manuvers all the time, and interestingly enough he has also crashed more times than any one I know. Just some of my thoughts.