Curious About The Soloy Hiller

[twinstar_ca]

 

another interesting vid on youtube (see the latest one i posted in the vid section of the astar spinning on the pad).

 

Is that a simplex bucket and it looks like the rotating parts at the bottom are tied to the a/c. as the driver cranks, it looks like the spreader fan begins to spin as well.

 

i also thought the 12E was a center drive. is it something with the soloy c of g that moves the pilot to the left seat?

[Iceman72]

That was the config of the 12E but the SL4 had the pilot fwd and three behind just like a Bell 47J model but the SL4 had a blown 540 lots of power for its time.

[rotormatic]

 

another interesting vid on youtube (see the latest one i posted in the vid section of the astar spinning on the pad).

 

Is that a simplex bucket and it looks like the rotating parts at the bottom are tied to the a/c. as the driver cranks, it looks like the spreader fan begins to spin as well.

 

i also thought the 12E was a center drive. is it something with the soloy c of g that moves the pilot to the left seat?

 

The Soloy Hiller is either a 12D or 12E converted with a Allison 250-C20 or C20B engine. The pilot can operate the ship from the center or left seat, just like the piston version. Most utility operators use the left seat for external loads. Spray pilots seem to like the center seat.

 

The bucket is powered by a hydraulic system, and the pump is driven on the spare pad of the main transmission.

 

The turbine is rated at 1250 pounds on the hook. Piston ship was limited to 1000 pounds.

[Gary Watson]

That was the config of the 12E but the SL4 had the pilot fwd and three behind just like a Bell 47J model but the SL4 had a blown 540 lots of power for its time.

 

 

Is there any SL4s still around? The only one I can recall was Klondike's in the early 70s. I know it had an engine failure on a friend in Grand Cache around 72 but don't know what became of it

[Cw-ITR]

We fly a fleet of Soloy hiller 12e's with the Allison C20B for herbicide spraying. Any questions just shoot them over and ill try my best to get them answered.

[DNH INC]

Cw-ITR do you happen to work for WAA?

 

Anyhow, the black fert bucket looks the same as the ones we made ourselves at the shop when I worked for my previous employer for 11 years. Ours may have been a copy of someone else's as that is WAA usually did, then somehow modified and screwed it up a bit! The Soloy Hiller HL2T has a pump attached to the pilot's (left) side of the transmission. It is mounted on the spare pad PTO location and driven by a brass shear key. So depending on the position the pilot has the pump toggle switch in, or dependant upon a leaking seal in the hydraulic pak, as soon as the tranny starts turning, (during startup) the fluid can start flowing through the lines. The pump is always turning when the tranny is.

To the other question, yes, Hiller 12Es came out of the factory meant to be flown from the center however, any Hiller I have seen or flown (about 20 different ships) has had duals or the dual hardware added to allow it to be flown from the left seat. Far more practical for just about any job and necessary for proficient vertical reference work. It has nothing to do with the Soloy CofG, as any piston machines I have seen or flown were set up the same.

 

 

another interesting vid on youtube (see the latest one i posted in the vid section of the astar spinning on the pad).

 

Is that a simplex bucket and it looks like the rotating parts at the bottom are tied to the a/c. as the driver cranks, it looks like the spreader fan begins to spin as well.

 

i also thought the 12E was a center drive. is it something with the soloy c of g that moves the pilot to the left seat?

 

[amodao]

Gary, I think North Delta Copters in Delta, BC has a SL4 Cabin/Airframe in their hangar.

[helidude]

Amodao!! You're still alive!! Where have you been hiding?!?