Helicopters 75 Years! Part-One.

Come a long Way!

The day of the helicopter is not yet over, despite many new drones are cheaper than keeping an helicopter in the sky? The helicopter derived from gyro-dynamics in aircraft to act like an early form of the Boeing-Vertol Osprey BV-22, which still occupies U.S. military research into the development and deployment of much newer and stable platform, which is changing the battlefield from science-fiction to reality!

Today nearly anyone can go up in a helicopter from pleasure flying to search and rescue? The small machines are in the Robinson family, while Bell and Sikorsky have held both the military and commercial market, go to any horse racing event and there are more helicopters between the tracks now parked up since riders cover more than one meeting a day?

The largest machines are still dominated by the Russians and Ukrainians with the Mil Mi-26 capable of carrying three tracked vehicles and one hundred and twenty-five combat troops! This helicopter was a development of the Mi-6 well known is Russia as the Cow because it was slow and vulnerable to ground rocket fire?

Mid range giants are the Chinook, Boeing-Vertol CH-47, which has been around since the Vietnam wars of the 1960s and the Sikorsky CH-53 Super stallion, S-92 SAR after that is the successful Westland-Leonardo EH-101 and the various derivatives of the Puma SA-330 to the H332 Super Puma that dominates the North Sea oil and gas supply rigs and wind turbines.

Europe has also taken the lead of the world market with the H-135/145 helicopter in Air Ambulance and police, electric line work along with several other smaller types?

Eurocopter EC-135/145.

Most Versatile.

The EC-135 is perhaps one of the most reliable and versatile helicopters ever built. Used by the emergency services, police, air ambulances, line inspections it is fuel officiant and has good seating options for a compact light machine. 

As far as I know military versions are in use in other countries. The helicopter has built up a reputation of being it is easy to operate for the trained pilots and push around.

This was all very true up until the Glasgow, Scotland crash on the Clutha pub. We still do not know the cause of this tragic crash, it has been suggested it ran out of fuel? Normally the most feared failure in a helicopter is the Jesus nut in the rotor area.

It's called the Jesus nut, because when it fails you will be calling on his name.

So we will have to wait and see what the enquiry into this crash finds.

Since the grounding of the EC-135, I have only seen the Wales Air Ambulance G-WASN make two dashes over Swansea City. But I have not seen the Heddlu pronounced (Hethli)/police G-WONN flying.

The EC-145 is a slightly larger version and I expect it uses similar components to the EC-135.

Tuesday 4th March 2014.

 It would seem that the EC-135's are back flying again with the Police and Air Ambulance services.

Emergency Service.

Fire, Police, Ambulance Services.

We are on the eve of 911, when terrorists flew four commercial airliners into three major buildings in the United States of America. The Twin towers in Manhattan, New York and the Pentagon in the capital Washington DC.

This was a day when the emergency services of any nation would be put to the limit. Reports after reports said 'that there was a failure in organization on the day.' A historical factor with the fire Department, which had not been resolved for over 100 years, lead to allowing their pride and competition to block off a determined effort to co-ordinate with other services. 

In Britain, there is co-ordination between services even in traffic incidents. Different agencies have all had to pull together to co-ordinate with each other. Much has been learned since 911, Madrid, Bali and 7/7, that we live in a different world of mass terror now. But also people are not as freindly or patient as they were much better maybe at one time.