They’ve been buzzing round Dartmoor this week a bit as well.
Quick question - why didn't the Osprey land on the helipad? Is it because it's a hybrid plane/copter and therefore too heavy? Or just missed the landing spot?
Are most of these helipads just a bit of old agricultural matting laid in a handy field?
Hasn't the Osprey got some mad downwash speeds from it's rotors? It's one of the reasons you can't use one of the doors for rappelling from in a hover. It's about the same as a hurricane I think*
*I may have dreamt this, so don't take it at face value.
"The V-22 has a maximum rotor downwash speed of over 80 knots (92 mph; 150 km/h), more than the 64-knot (74 mph; 119 km/h) lower limit of a hurricane. The rotorwash usually prevents the starboard door's usage in hover; the rear ramp is used for rappelling and hoisting instead."
According to wikipedia.
That was a bit of a budget helipad. Maybe better make a proper one out of concrete next time.
It makes sense that the downdraft would be a lot more violent than a helicopter - smaller swept area and (I guess) quite a bit heavier too.
Are most of these helipads just a bit of old agricultural matting laid in a handy field?
The Sheffield one used to be, and IIRC you had to have a waiting ambulance transfer the patient 200m up the road. But now it's a proper thing right outside the Emergency Dept. Today I learnt our helipad is way cooler than Addenbrookes' tin pot affair 😀
@beamers, I'd like to say "Go me" but that sort of outs me as a bit of nerd...
That was a bit of a budget helipad
But how much will it cost to get the contractors back in to hammer it back down?
Wowsers - bet that gave the aircrew a start. 🙂
But how much will it cost to get the contractors back in to hammer it back down?
News article says it was closed temporarily... So about 15minutes?
Does the installer of that helipad do cheap driveways too by any chance?
But how much will it cost to get the contractors back in to hammer it back down?
NHS Estates PPI maintenance exception 78632 activated. Six months and £120,000?
Proper rubbish helipad that. Looks like something the chaps who run the fair might put down to get the waltzer over the muddy patch.
It wasn't actually ON the pad on liftoff, was it?
Bit shonky that.
Considering the amount of building going on round there at the moment it wouldn't surprise me if that was a temporary helipad. Would hope so anyway
I have some old roofing felt they can borrow if they want - it might do a better job!
Look at the difference between the headline and the firtst line of the actual text.
Addenbrooke's Hospital helipad destroyed by departing aircraft
A hospital's helipad has temporarily closed after it was badly damaged by the draught from a departing aircraft.
Maybe a deliberate action so that another team of military can get in and do another training exercise - Royal Engineers and a bridging exercise of some sort? 😉
Typical of how private companies rip off the NHS.
Contract will have cost millions, contractor will have got the helipad off eBay as cheap as possible
I've got a bit of old carpet in my shed; does this mean if I roll it out in my garden I can have my very own helipad?
Cool.
Hasn’t the Osprey got some mad downwash speeds from it’s rotors?
I think they intended to use it for coastguard type rescues but the downwash ended up drowning the casualties!
Is it because it’s a hybrid plane/copter and therefore too heavy?
I would guess mix of weight, suspicion that the downforce would trash it and also possibly that the engines could melt it.
The US navy have had issues with them causing decks to buckle due to the heat they put out.
destruction and destroyed are a bit of over sell on that! more like departing aircraft blows away non slip mat!
The blog War is Boring is pretty scathing about military tech that isn't all it's cracked up to be (i.e. most of it) This articles about 8 years old now, but it gives a flavour
Your periodic reminder that the V22 is a piece of junk
The US navy have had issues with them causing decks to buckle due to the heat they put out.
I think that's the F35 which is a cosmic heat ray compared to the V22's industrial desk fan.
EDIT: Soz stand corrected - https://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/v-22-osprey-a-flying-shame-04822/
saw 2 ospreys flying over on wednesday, wondered where they were off to.... thought it was Alconbury or Lakenheath.
Wouldn't be Alconbury, I saw two a few days heading east, I think they're based at Lakenheath.
Here's a Harrier GR3 destroying a football pitch:
And maybe the silliest of all
They had Ospreys when I was out in KAF. They are very noisy and seemed to spend a lot of time being maintained compared to the other types of aircraft being operated out there. It’s cool seeing them being unloaded from a C5 though.
Built to a stupid set of requirements - range and speed too much for a conventional helicopter, VTOL not practical for a transport plane. The edge cases where it's useful could probably be covered with helicopters using air to air refuelling.
Wasn't there some controversy a few years ago with Nepal refusing UK help using three of its Chinooks during a disaster saying they weren't suited to operating in Nepal mountains instead of preferring the US help saying it was better equipped with its Osprey's and the RAF mentioning about the downwash of the Osprey over the Chinook?
They’re based out of Mildenhall
I would guess mix of weight, suspicion that the downforce would trash it and also possibly that the engines could melt it.
Looks to me as if the 'helipad' was too close to the fenceline for the Osprey (what with it being considerably bigger that your usual air ambulance) so it landed in the space next to it - this allowed the downdraft to get under the matting and blow it away.
If the Osprey could have handed on the matting the downdraft would have effectively just been pushing the matting straight down - so it wouldn't have blown away.
Bastion's Role 3 helipad was solid concrete and could take two Ospreys but the downwash was huge.
With Addenbrokes, I'm reasonably sure that's the same helipad that was there since I last visited like seven years ago. Works for the Air Ambulance, why build something for a heavier helicopter? Maybe after this, the USAF will offer to build a proper one for them.
Makes you think...
Try ripping up tarmac too - in a vintage machine.
My bet is that the Estates Manager at the hospital has been lobbying for a new, 21st century helipad for some time. He kept being turned down for capital budget so he had a word with a mate at Mildenhall and they helped to move the issue up the agenda.
That one with the portaloos, "I'm johnny knoxville, welcome to Jackass!"
willard
Full MemberWith Addenbrokes, I’m reasonably sure that’s the same helipad that was there since I last visited like seven years ago. Works for the Air Ambulance, why build something for a heavier helicopter?
Exactly- people are saying "shoddy" but it's just built for the traffic and vehicles it normally gets not for flying white elephants.
It is/was shoddy. At the very least it should be rated for coastguard helicopters which still include the S92. It should have modern lights and, ideally, not require transport by land ambulance to the hospital. Most of all, it should present a risk to aircraft or anyone near it.
Obama flew into Cardiff for the NATO summit on an Osprey landing in Coppers Field (big city centre park).
IIRC the day after (they took off at night & the rotors looked amazing) you could see where the 3 Ospreys had landed/taken off as there were 6 circles where the grass had been blasted flat (think it might have been discoloured too..)